The Greatest Sign of All Time

The Greatest Sign of All Time

Isaiah 7:14 

 

Illus. Signs.

 

There are many signs in our world that display popular places, important locations, or were made famous by their association with certain people. None, however, are as popular, important, or associated with as great a person as the sign that I am calling “the greatest sign of all time.” This particular sign is not a manmade sign covered in lights, but rather it was and is a God given sign of the Savior, born of a virgin, born for us, and called “Immanuel: God with us.” This morning we will study the sign sent by the Lord himself by turning to Isaiah 7.

 

Isaiah 7:14, Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. (NASB 95’)

 

Isaiah 7:14 is a famous Scripture that is often quoted and considered at this time of year with Christmas just a few weeks away. As we look forward to celebrating the birth of Christ, we also look back on the prophesies and promises that centered on His life. Isaiah 7:14 is a prophesy, a promise given centered on the birth of Jesus, before the birth of Christ. It was a sign given surrounding a virgin who would be with child and have a Son, called Immanuel.

The sign was given during a defined time historically and contextually, it was a sign spoken from the Lord, through Isaiah and specifically to an ancient king. As we look back on this Scripture however, we understand that much more was happening and the sign being sent was not just for that king, but for God’s people and for all to see!

This morning I want to give some reasons why this sign is the greatest of all time, and the importance of the sign not only in times past, but in our day and time. That said, we will look specifically at three important aspects to consider from Isaiah 7:14: the sign displayed, the Son delivered, and the Savior determined.

 

1. Accept the Sign God Displayed

 

Isaiah 7:14, Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign…

 

• When Isaiah spoke of the sign God Himself was giving, it was a Hebrew word that means signal, flag, mark, or promise, or pledge.

 

• It is a sign given, like a sign on the side of a freeway that tells us what is ahead if we stay on that freeway.

 

• When Isaiah spoke these words, he was speaking of something that was to come. It was something that could be looked forward to, a signal, promise, or pledge of what was ahead.

 

• When God gave this sign, He was revealing that something was ahead, something to look forward to, a sign of something to come, a promise that will come to pass.

 

• From verse 1 of Isaiah chapter one we learn that the book of Isaiah is a book filled with visions Isaiah saw during the reigns of four different kings of Judah.

 

• Isaiah saw visions from the Lord. He is often referred to as “the Prince of Prophets.” Isaiah is quoted 62 times in the New Testament.

 

• The sign is one of many Old Testament prophecies, a prophecy is a foretelling, and this sign God was going to give, this prophecy in Isaiah 7 is an important one.

 

• Isaiah 7:14 starts out with the word “therefore.” And I have said this many times, but an important question to ask when we see “therefore” is “what is therefore there for?”

 

• As chapter 7 begins, we find the nation in trouble. 735bc

 

• 200 years after Solomon’s son of David died. When he reigned Israel was a united and great nation. After Solomon died there was trouble and 10 of the twelve tribes all from the north, did not want to be ruled by the throne of David and they formed their own nation. They took the name Israel with a city capital of Samaria. The two tribes in the south formed a nation called Judah with the capital city Jerusalem. They were loyal to the throne of David.

 

• In Isaiah 7, we are 200 years into the division.

 

• There is a powerful nation in the northeast called Assyria. Their king, Tiglath-Pileser was an expansionist. He wanted to take more land and nations, with his eyes set on Egypt in the south.

 

• The nations in between were nations Assyria wanted to conquer. The two nations between Judah and Assyria were Israel (immediately to the north), and Syria above them.

 

• Israel and Syria had formed a coalition to fight against the Assyrians and they asked Judah to join in with them and Ahaz, the king of Judah not wanting to mess with the Assyrians, declined.

 

• In response, Rezin, king of Syria and Pekah, king of Israel, decide to attack Judah.

 

• King Ahaz, full of worry and fear, responds by sending messengers and money up to Assyria.

 

2 Kings 16:7-8, So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son; come up and save me from the hand of the king of Aram, and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.” And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent a gift to the king of Assyria.

 

• The king of Judah turned for help from his bullies to the biggest bully…Take care of them and I will be “okay.”

 

• With King Ahaz looking to and trusting in the help of the Assyrian king, the Lord sends Isaiah his way with a message.

 

• Isaiah tells him (verse 4), “take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because these two stumps of smoldering logs or on account of their anger…”

 

• He continued (verse 7), “This is what the Lord says, ‘it shall not stand or come to pass.’” Then after details about the downfall of these enemies the Lord says at the end of verse 9, “If you will not believe, you will certainly not last.”

 

• So the Lord tells him, it’s not going to happen, they are not going to take you out. What Ahaz did or said would have no impact on the situation, the Lord was going to take care of it.

 

• Then in verse 10 the Lord, through Isaiah says to the king, “ask for a sign from the Lord.” It was a sign of confirmation that the Lord would do what he said he would do. That he could trust in the Lord not earthly kings.

 

• Ahaz responded, “I am not going to put the Lord to the test,” in other words, far be it from me to question the word of the Lord! But the reality was that he didn’t want to ask for a sign that would show what God was going to do, because he had already decided what he was going to do…It is challenging to trust the king of kings when your trust is already invested in the Assyrian king.

 

• Isaiah responded with a sign. Not only a sign so that Ahaz would know God was going to take care of the enemy attacking him, but so that the entire house of David, all of God’s people would know that God would take care their enemy and they should and could trust in Him only!

 

Isaiah 7:14, Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him Immanuel.

Illus. The Son given.

 

Illus. Signals.

 

• The Lord spoke of a specific sign. And the Lord was going to specifically give that sign He said we would give.

 

• Over 700 years later, the sign would be sent and given. Matthew wrote about it in Matthew chapter 1when giving the details of Jesus’ conception and birth.

 

Matthew 1:22-23, Now all this took place so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”

 

• Jesus is the arrival of that sign. It may have been studied and seen in the distance, but the sign was not fully display until the day Jesus was conceived and born.

 

Illus. Specific sign.

 

Illus. Short List.

 

• Ahaz didn’t trust enough to ask for the sign, but the sign was given and whether Ahaz believed it or not, it was going to happen. The Lord was going to defeat the enemies, but in verse 9 He said to Ahaz, if you do not believe, you will not last.

 

1. Behold the Circumstances of the Son Delivered

 

Isaiah 7:14(b), …Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son…

 

• Just before the Lord delivers the details of the sign, we are given the word “behold.”

 

• To behold is also translated to “look,” or to “see.”

 

• The Lord says, “look at this, see this, behold, a virgin will conceive and give birth to a son.”

 

• This tells me that the sign the Lord gave, is something He wants us to see, a clear sign that God alone was going to give.

 

Illus. Dream interview.

 

• As theologian Millard Erickson wrote about the virgin conception of Christ, he noted that next to the resurrection, it is the most debated and questioned truth surrounding the life of Christ.

 

• Much debate is centered around the miraculous aspect. There is no way virgin conception and giving birth would be possible outside of a miracle.

 

• Outside of a miracle, outside of the hand of God, it would not be possible.

 

• But in looking at the prophecy, that is what the Lord wanted us to behold, to look at, to see, His hand.

 

Illus. Case for Christ.

 

• Many have scrutinized the Isaiah 7:14 prophecy and the biblical texts pointing back to it.

 

• Some of that is due to the Hebrew word used by Isaiah, “almah.”

 

• The word “almah” in Hebrew can mean virgin, or young woman.

 

• That said, the word “almah” when it is applied to specific women in the Bible, it was applied to women who were virgins. Still, the word itself can mean “virgin,” or “young woman.”

 

• The scrutiny is attached to the suggestion that if Isaiah wanted to say virgin specifically, he would have used the word, bethulah, , which is a common word translated as “virgin.” The definition in Hebrew refers to a virgin, a woman who was set apart sexually, or a woman of marriageable age, living the household of her father.

 

• Christophe Rico and Peter Gentry wrote a book in 2022 called “The Mother of the Infant King.” In their book, they contend that the word “almah” is the most appropriate and applicable word in Isaiah 7:14.

 

• Their reasoning is that while a “bethulah” is a common word for virgin, it is a word that can refer to a virgin of any age.

 

• On the other hand, “almah,” translated virgin in Isaiah 7:14, can refer to a virgin and must be a young woman.

 

• “Almah” designates an age and a status, “bethulah” does not.

 

• Over two hundred year prior to Jesus’ birth, the Jewish rabbis began translating the Hebrew Bible into Greek. When they did, they used the specific Greek word for virgin, “Parthenos,” in the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament.

 

• What this tells us is that the understanding of this text, long before Jesus was born was that Isaiah was referring to a specific sign, about a woman of a specific age, with a specific status.

 

• Virgin conception was not just the understanding of the Septuagint translators, it was also declared in the New Testament Scriptures.

Matthew 1:18-24

 

• Joseph had questions about the circumstances. He was betrothed, or engaged to Mary and she ends up pregnant. Knowing it wasn’t him who got her pregnant, he was planning to send her away.

 

• Joseph is told that the child conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She was going to give birth to a son, a son was being delivered to save people from their sins!

 

• When Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14, he too uses the Greek word for virgin in reference to the prophecy, not only this, but we also read that Joseph kept Mary a virgin until Jesus was born.

 

• What was happening was to fulfill a promise God gave 700 years earlier, the sign from Isaiah 7:14.

 

• As we look at the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ conception and birth, we see that Joseph himself had a difficult time understanding, and Mary had a faith filled question or two.

 

Luke 1:26-35

 

• The angel tells Mary, you will conceive in your womb, Isaiah 7:14, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son.

 

Illus. Circumstances.

• What took place, the conception of Jesus was a work of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary.

 

• The Son being given was divine, He was a Son, who is born, but He was fully God.

 

Colossians 2:9, For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. (NLT)

 

Isaiah 9:6, For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

 

III.  Consider the Savior Determined

 

Isaiah 7:14 (c), … and she will call His name Immanuel.

 

• The greatest sign of all time, God incarnate, born to us, Immanuel.

 

• Matthew translates Immanuel for us in Matthew 1:23, “Immanuel, which translated means, “God with us.”

 

• It’s Jesus. He is the Savior God determined, the only Savior and the greatest sign of all time!

 

• Joseph was told, in Matthew 1:21, that the child Mary was going to give birth to would be a son, that was to be named Jesus and He would save people from their sins.

 

• His name tells us much about Him, Jesus, Yeshua, “God is Salvation.”

 

• What did He come to save us from? Our sins.

 

• When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him he spoke these words, “behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

 

John 3:16-17,  For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.

 

• Jesus was sent into the world, God with us, the only one who can save us!

 

Illus. Promise.

Matthew 28:20, “…I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

 

Galatians 4:4-5, When the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.

 

Illus. Born to Save.

 

 

Isaiah 7:14

14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him Immanuel.