WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE MIRACLE CHILD What Child is This? – The Miracle Child “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel … For to us a child is born, to us a son is given …” Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6a

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE MIRACLE CHILD

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.” (Isaiah 7:14-16)

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE MIRACLE CHILD The Dual Nature of Messianic Prophecy There is a sign to be given directly to King Ahaz, during the time of Isaiah, and there is a future prophetic application concerning the Christ. The immediate sign to King Ahaz is that a young unmarried woman within his royal court would become pregnant and give birth to a son. This son would be called Immanuel probably highlighting the fact that this sign is proof positive that God is still with the people of Judah, despite appearances to the contrary. Two feared kings will be deposed - Rezin (of Syria) and Pekah (of Israel) are destroyed within two years of the prophecy. Amazing stuff!

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE MIRACLE CHILD Examining The Messianic Prophecy The Messianic prophecy indicates that a virgin will conceive a son. “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus … “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:31-35) “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:18)

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE MIRACLE CHILD The phrase about eating eat curds and honey indicates that the Messiah would have very humble beginnings. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2) A humble, yet divine origin from the town of Bethlehem becomes associated with the Messiah.

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE MIRACLE CHILD Isaiah indicates that “the virgin … will call him Immanuel”, while our passage from Luke 1 mentions in no uncertain terms that Mary “[is] to call him Jesus”. The term “shall be called” is a Hebrew idiom that is an indication of a title, not necessarily a direct name. Jesus easily earns both titles - “God is with us” and “the Lord is our salvation”. Isaiah chapters 7 – 9 form a little prophetic package. The prophecy of chapter 7 comes to pass … “In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took … Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and deported the people to Assyria.” (2 Kings 15:29)

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE MIRACLE CHILD “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE MIRACLE CHILD “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the L ORD Almighty will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9: 2-7)

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE MIRACLE CHILD The gloom that overshadows the land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be broken and that Galilee will become an honoured place. Where does Jesus begins His ministry? “When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah …” (Matthew 4:12-17) In Jesus, the light that illuminates the way of the righteous, now shines from the heart of gloomy Galilee! Through the ministry of the Messiah oppression would end and peace would be established. Peace will define the reign of the Messiah, war will become a thing of the past. But how will this be accomplished? What is it about the miracle child that enables this all to occur?

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE MIRACLE CHILD Four specific titles are given to the child: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. “Wonderful Counselor” - somehow this child will be one who provides miraculous, extraordinary, kingly counsel to His people. “Mighty God” - the all-surpassing power of God, somehow located in this child. “Everlasting Father” - this child is somehow the possessor of eternity, and as the possessor of eternity, it is within His authority to present this reality to others. “Prince of Peace” - this child is somehow a ruler whose reign is marked by completeness and wholeness; a peace that eternally increases.

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE MIRACLE CHILD How is all of this accomplished? “… the zeal of the L ORD Almighty will accomplish this”. Zeal is a passion or strong desire and deep devotion for an object, so it would seem that God’s deep desire for something enables this all to occur. It is God’s zeal for us that accomplishes all of this! “God so loved the world [you and I] that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE MIRACLE CHILD Light, joy, love, hope, life, salvation all meet in this child in the manger. Thanks be to God for indescribable gift of Jesus Christ, through whom we receive continual gifts. What gifts, you might ask? 1.His gift of wonderful counsel; Scripture and the Holy Spirit to guide and direct 2.His gift of the ongoing presence of the Mighty God with us through His Holy Spirit 3.His gift of eternal life through His death and resurrection 4.His gift of everlasting and ever increasing peace

WHAT CHILD IS THIS? - THE MIRACLE CHILD On that night some 2,000 years ago, we were gifted with the most impressive gift imaginable: “while [Mary and Joseph] were [in Bethlehem], the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son … he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.”