“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His Name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).” (Matthew 1:22-23)
Why did God choose a virgin to conceive Jesus? It certainly wasn’t because there’s something bad or terrible about sex, as some people think. And it has nothing to do with His status as the Son of God. He isn’t some half-and-half creature!
No, this is the fulfillment of a promise God made to a very frustrating king named Ahaz years ago through the prophet Isaiah. Ahaz was facing war, and he was trying to cope with it on his own instead of asking God for help. God promised that help anyway—and even invited him to name a miracle as proof and God would do it! But Ahaz actually refused. Can you believe it? So God chose the miracle instead: A virgin would conceive and bear a Son, and call His Name Immanuel (see Isaiah 7).
Who sends a baby to war? Only the Lord—the God who delights in using the weak to overturn the strong. And in this case, He came Himself—not some lesser person or messenger. God came as a human baby into this world to overcome all the power of the devil. Through His life and death on the cross, He rescued us and set us free. And through His resurrection, He gave us everlasting life with Him forever.
Who else would think of such a thing?
Prayer: What You do amazes me, Lord. Thank You. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
* If God offered you Ahaz’s choice, what would you pick?
* When in your life have you seen God use something weak to defeat the strong?
* Read Psalm 2, which is about Jesus. Does anything surprise you about the way they describe Him?
Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights reserved
