Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14
The son that was predicted in today’s verse is Jesus. And his birth was truly miraculous.
Isaiah says that when he is born, his name will be Immanuel which means God with us. In other words this birth is so amazing because the human baby being born is also God at the same time. Isaiah tells us the manner of his birth—his mother Mary would be a virgin. This just adds more proof that this son is truly God being born of a woman.
This unique birth was not designed to draw attention to Mary but to point to the divinity of Jesus Christ. He is truly God come in the flesh. There is no other explanation for a virgin birth.
This is exactly what happened. Joseph and Mary were engaged, but not yet married. They did not have sex, but Mary became pregnant through a miracle of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:26-35; Matthew 1:18-20). We can’t explain this; we don’t fully understand it. But it’s exactly what Isaiah predicted.
Isaiah calls it a sign—the birth of Jesus is one of a kind. Virgins aren’t going to all of a sudden start getting pregnant. The testimony of the Bible is that Jesus was born miraculously to the virgin Mary. This testifies to Jesus’ deity, setting him apart from all others. And it demonstrates how Jesus can be both God and man simultaneously. This is necessary if he is to be our Savior. He needs to be like us (of the same flesh) so he can represent us and bear our sins. He also needs to be unlike us (perfect and free from sin) so he can satisfy the wrath of God on our behalf for our sins and grant to us his perfect righteousness.
More than an academic debate over the technicality of how Jesus was born, the virgin birth is essential to our salvation. This is what makes it possible for you to experience the presence of God through his Son, Immanuel. Because Jesus is God and because he came to earth as a man, whatever difficulty or temptation you face today at camp or as you prepare for work, God is with you through the work of his Son.
