Understandably, reading so much biblical theological freight in Matthew 5:1-2 may seem more than a little contrived to some. I trust upon further reflection the text will bear the weight with no undue stress. Much of my warrant for adopting a “thick” reading of Matthew 5:1-2 comes from the precedents of fulfillment passages in the previous four chapters. Astute readers will rightly point out that there is no such formula in 5:1-2. However, Matthew’s use of a fulfillment formula in certain passages does not thereby exclude any other fulfillment ideas in other passages. His literature is not so stilted and technical. The introduction to his gospel which entails a seven-fold fulfillment signals that we ought to be reading his whole Gospel with this kind of expectation. Seven quotations from the Old Testament are given in the context of Jesus’ early life and ministry. Matthew declares each passage, whether formal prophecy or not, as fulfilled in Christ. From these fulfillment passages we learn much not just about the Man preaching the Sermon on the Mount, but also the King of the Kingdom of Heaven. As we will discover, there will be no right understanding of the Kingdom which does not begin with the King.
“Immanuel” (Matthew 1:22-23)
The first of the seven fulfillments explains the unique arrival of the Christ child. The heart of the Gospel, and thereby the center of everything, is the Incarnation. How can we understand the King and the nature of His kingdom if we miss this? Logically, then, Matthew begins with the miracle of the virgin conception and declares it fulfills the sign of “Immanuel.” It is unclear if Joseph and Mary were aware that their predicament fulfilled this prophecy. Out of the seven fulfillment passages in Matthew’s opening four chapters, it remains unclear how much any of those involved understood their interesting times as the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy (except Jesus Himself, Matthew 4:12-17). So these are Matthew’s Spirit-led interpretations of past events as fulfillments of Old Covenant promises (2 Peter 1:20-21). The particular details of the Man, Jesus Christ, connect with particular prophetic Scriptures (John 5:39, 46). Once the light of Christ connects, the contexts of those passages are illuminated to their full Christological significance (2 Peter 1:17-19). Matthew had been taught and blessed to read the Scriptures this way (Luke 24:25-49). The veil had been lifted for Matthew and is lifted for all who are in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:12-18).
We should first consider the particular details of Christ’s conception and birth which occasion this fulfillment of prophecy. The name, “Immanuel,” comes as an answer to Joseph’s personal dilemma. How can it be that Mary is with child, other than by adultery? This riddle is answered by a trio of verses (Matthew 1:18, 20, 23). First, we are told that after Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before their wedding night, she was found to be with child. This conception was not by normal means, but by the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:29-38). Second, Joseph is told the same information and instructed to care for Mary and the Child, Who is to be named, “Jesus.” The name clarifies. “Yeshua,” meaning, “the LORD saves,” will save His people from their sins. In other words, God shows up personally—“Immanuel.” Summarizing the couple’s situation and the angel’s instructions, Matthew writes, “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us”” (Matthew 1:22-23). The richness that meets us here reminds us that the meaning of the prophecy (Isaiah 7:14) does not turn on so slender an axle as Joseph’s bewilderment. Matthew roots the significance of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:18) in a carefully constructed genealogy (Matthew 1:1-17). He emphasizes Jesus’ Messianic person, descended from Abraham and David (Matthew 1:1, 6, 17). He clarifies His Messianic purpose, delivering His people from their exile (Matthew 1:11, 16-17, 21). The means by which Mary conceives and the name Joseph gives the Child both point to the truth of the Incarnation—God with Man, “God with us.” The Child is conceived of God in Mary, and as God in the flesh, He will work a mighty deliverance.
Having established Matthew’s particular details which connect with Isaiah’s sign of “Immanuel,” we should look at Isaiah 7:14 in its context. I think a majority of saints would be surprised to discover how the sign of Immanuel was given in Isaiah’s day, how the prophecy was fulfilled within just a few years, and how the significance of “Immanuel” was explained to Judah and Jerusalem in the 8th century B.C.. While it may initially seem like Matthew is improperly taking Isaiah’s words out of context, we may trust the Holy Spirit to faithfully and truthfully exalt Christ through the prophetic and apostolic word (John 14:26; 15:26). In fact, as we allow the light of Christ to seep into the wider context of Isaiah 7:14, we will be blessed by a recursive illumination of Immanuel’s arrival in Matthew 1:23. The Spirit’s connection of these two verses and two contexts is actually fitting and fascinating in ways that lead us to worship the King.
The sign of “Immanuel” was given to King Ahaz of Judah in regards to his “full blown” fear of Pekah and Rezin, kings of Israel and Syria (Isaiah 7:1-9). News came to the royal house that Pekah and Rezin had made an alliance (Isaiah 7:2). The combined armed forces of Ephraim and Syria were thus marshaled against Judah. Although their attempt failed (Isaiah 7:1), it was not for a lack of morale (Isaiah 7:4) or scheming (Isaiah 7:5-6). Indeed, Damascus, the capital of Syria, and Samaria, the capital of Ephraim, will not last long (Isaiah 7:7-9). Not only will their power be broken soon by an Assyrian invasion (c. 722 B.C.; Isaiah 8:4), Ephraim’s very existence as a distinct people will be snuffed out within sixty-five years by Assyrian policies (c. 669 B.C.; Isaiah 7:8). Ahaz is to stand firm on this promise, rather than shaking like a leaf in the wind. His fear of Syria and Ephraim is ridiculous in light of the fact that they and Judah will suffer a devastating Assyrian invasion within the next ten years. Judah will barely survive (Isaiah 8:8), but other nations, like Ephraim and Syria, will not survive (Isaiah 8:9). Still, yet, Ahaz is not to fear Assyria, but the Lord. Assyria’s invasion is the Lord’s work.
To steady Ahaz’s fear upon the Lord rather than on men or death, God compels him by the prophet to ask for a sign (Isaiah 7:10-11). Ahaz’s refusal to obey leads to God providing a sign anyway, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14). God goes on to say that this child, “Immanuel” will serve as the mascot of the Assyrian invasion. While the little tyke is still slurping baby mash and incapable of basic ethical decision making, the Assyrian invasion will hit with a devastating force (Isaiah 7:15-17). By the time the Assyrians are finished with Judah the survivors will all be slurping baby mash and be grateful to have it (Isaiah 7:21-22). They are judged because of their poor ethical decision making (Isaiah 5:7). Knowing about this invasion before it comes about is no advantage in stopping it. The sign, “Immanuel,” declares that it is unstoppable. God is with them in this invasion, with Judah in their judgment. Who can stop God (Isaiah 8:10)?
Now, just who is this baby mascot? Who is his mother? Would you be surprised to learn that the baby is Isaiah’s second born son, by his own wife? That Isaiah already has a son, “Shear-Jashub,” is clear (Isaiah 7:3). Why he should bring him to meet King Ahaz is initially less clear. “Shear-Jashub” means “the remnant shall return” which echoes the final note of Isaiah’s commissioning message (Isaiah 6:13). The prophet’s son is himself a prophecy. That fact and the fact that the boy is put before King Ahaz prepares us to look for another prophetic message to come in a similar fashion. Isaiah and Shear-Jashub stand before King Ahaz and Isaiah declares the word of the Lord, “Stop fearing Ephraim and Syria. They are not the true threat. Ask a sign of the Lord so that you will be convinced.” I like to think of Isaiah saying this while his hands are placed on his son’s shoulders. At Ahaz’s refusal, Isaiah gives the prepared sign, another child with another odd name (Isaiah 7:15; 8:3-4).
What about the child’s mother? The word translated “virgin” in Isaiah 7:14 has been controversially translated as “young woman” by the Revised Standard Version. While considered a win by liberal scholars and thus demonized by fundamentalists, the argument proves to be an adventure in missing the point. There are two terms that could have been used to describe a young woman of childbearing years. The claim is that “almah” implies virginity in certain contexts, but it is not as specific as the Hebrew word “betulah”, which more directly means “virgin.” A survey of passages shows this contrast to be somewhat overstated, but if “almah” has more flexibility than “betulah” then that is actually a win for Bible believing fundamentalists. This means that “almah” can refer accurately both to Isaiah’s wife and to the virgin Mary. One is the mother of a sign, and the other the mother of the Destination (Telos). How often do we find such biblical patterns of prophecy: shadow and substance, promise and fulfillment, type and antitype? The Scriptures are replete with such glories of Christ. We read about the promised sign of Immanuel, that “before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings” (Isaiah 7:16). Then we read twelve verses later, “Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, “Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz; “for before the child shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria” (Isaiah 8:3-4). Just like his older brother, “Shear-Jashub,” so also “Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz” is a prophecy, “swift to the spoils, speedy to the prey.” This second born child of Isaiah is a prophecy of the Assyrian invasion, with a nickname that serves as the mascot of the whole ordeal (Isaiah 7:14-16, 22; 8:8-9). The mascot reminds the people that God is near to them in this destruction. He is with them in this judgment. That this presence of divine judgment does not exhaust the significance of the “Immanuel” prophecy is made clear by repeated promises concerning the Child (Isaiah 9:6, 11:1), Whose reign (Isaiah 9:6-7) will usher in a new creation (Isaiah 11:1-10) and a new covenant (Isaiah 11:11-12:6). It is appropriate to think of this trajectory in Isaiah as Matthew’s seven fulfillment passages trace this same arc from first to last. Immanuel’s saving revelation (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23) will reach the Gentiles and His glorious light those in darkness (Isaiah 9:1-2; Matthew 4:15-16).
By first reading Isaiah 7-8 in light of Christ, we are better able to appreciate how this Old Testament context enriches the prophetic fulfillment in the New Testament. Matthew is not taking Isaiah 7:14 out of context, he is purposefully merging contexts in an interpretive matrix. Jesus’ supremacy serves as the satisfying fulfillment of all the jots and tittles of all the law and prophets. Declaring Jesus Christ as Immanuel, when keeping with Isaiah’s original context, signifies both judgment and salvation. As “Immanuel” is a sign to Ahaz of both deliverance and destruction, and a promised child to Judah of judgment and salvation, so also is Jesus Christ. He is Immanuel, “God with us.” He saves His people from their sin, but He will also bring God’s judgment upon idolatrous Jerusalem. This is what happens when God “visits” throughout the Old Testament (Genesis 3:8-24; Genesis 11:1-9; Exodus 7:14–12:30). The arrival of the King brings judgment upon His enemies which means salvation for His people. “Immanuel” brings terror to the proud (Matthew 23:1-36) and hope to the poor in spirit (Matthew 9:10-13). The arrival of this King to establish His kingdom will certainly rouse opposition even as it rescues the perishing (Matthew 5:10-16).
The Man—Part 2, “Bethlehem”
