The sermon texts for this coming Lord’s Day are Isaiah 7:1-17 and Matthew 1:18-25. This sermon is part of the God’s Road Signs sermon series and the specific sign that we will be looking this week is found in Isaiah 7:14.
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Here are some helpful ways to prepare for this sermon:
1. How many different signs does Isaiah speak about in verses 14-17?
2. Based upon what Isaiah says in verses 14-17, did Ahaz have any reason to believe that a virgin would conceive of a son during the next few years of his life? In other words, did Ahaz understand that the sign of a virgin conceiving and bearing a son was something he could expect to witness?
3. Matthew, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, applied the sign of the virgin bearing a son to Mary and Jesus, an event that took place roughly 700 years after Isaiah spoke this sign in Ahaz’s presence. How do the statements concerning curds and honey, also spoken by Isaiah (Is 7:15-17) apply to Jesus? Or do they? Why do you think Matthew doesn’t mention those things in connection with Jesus, as well?
4. The prophecy says that the child born to the virgin will be named “Immanuel” (Is 7:14; Mt 1:23). Yet in Matthew 1:25, Joseph names this child “Jesus.” How do we account for this apparent discrepancy?