Matthew 1:22-23 New Living Translation
All of this occurred to fulfill the
Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel[1], which
means ‘God is with us.’”
The key word I would like to focus on today is the word “fulfill”. If there is any doubt among believers that
God orchestrates the events of history, causing or allowing things to take
place for his own purposes, then consider this.
The Old Testament, written by man empowered by God’s Holy Spirit,
predicted to each precise detail the birth of Jesus. How else could anyone have known what was to
take place hundreds of years after they had passed away? They couldn’t know that’s the point. Since there are no coincidences in God’s
economy, then what was revealed thru the Old Testament prophets must have been
foretold by Almighty God as a means of preparing man for an event of monumental
importance. I’d say the total forgiveness and removal of all accumulated sin
for each created individual is monumental to say the least.
The name the child was to
be called reveals who he truly was, the Son of God born of a woman, making him
wholly God and wholly man. He alone
could save mankind from the plight that awaited them. He alone, being wholly God, could live life
as we were created to live; without sin. This is such incredible news. No
matter what we have ever done in our lives we can have our slate wiped
completely clean. As a stained garment
can be bleached clean, so can our souls be made clean as well. All this in exchange for a changed life
dedicated to living a righteous life for God.
That is truly a great and awesome exchange.
Do you believe in the
existence of God today? Do you know the
total significance of the birth of Jesus, the birth that the world is
attempting to make irrelevant in the minds and hearts of future generations? Christ is the only hope for a sin sick and
dying world. Without Christ there is no
hope at all and without hope there can be no life worth living. Celebrate the
birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world like you never have before. He is worthy of all our praise, glory and
honor. Until next time, walk with the
King and be a blessing!
Resource: The Life
Application Study Bible.
[1] Matthew
is quoting from the prophet of the Old Testament in Isaiah 7:14.
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