UNABRIDGED ENGLISH FOLLOWS THE JAPANESE

聖書の始まりの物語では、アダムとエバがエデンの園で神とともに暮らし、すべてが完璧であったことが書かれている。罪はなく、アダムとエバは神を完璧に讃え、必要なものはすべて与えられていた。豊かな食べ物と水、裸でいても恥ずかしくない結婚生活、多くの子どもを持つようにという命令、アダムには神が歩かれる園を守る祭司王の仕事、動物に名前をつける仕事、そして何よりも神が彼らの中におられた。しかし、アダムとエバがともに蛇の声に耳を傾け、神の言葉に基づくのではなく蛇に耳を傾けることによって善を再定義し、悪を望み、神の命令に背いた結果、地球は神の呪いの下に落ち、全人類が罪深いものとなった。アダムは自分の罪深い問題を妻と神のせいにし始め、エバは夫であるアダムの権威に反抗しようと罪深く願うようになった。アダムとエバはその罪のゆえに神の聖なる臨在から追放され、それ以来人類は、神が契約を結ぶことによって特定の人間に恵みを与える場合を除いて、神の聖なる臨在から追放されて生まれてきた。しかし、神は人類に未来への希望を与えた。神はサタンに一生涯塵を食べるように呪いをかけた。それはサタンが永遠に敗北し続ける未来を意味した。そして神は、将来「女の子孫」を遣わすと約束された。その男はサタンの頭を砕くが、その男はかかとに傷を負う。旧約聖書全体を通して、神が契約によって慇懃にされた民は、サタンを打ち負かすその約束の者に希望を抱いて生きた。しかし、約束の方はいつ来られるのだろうか？約束の方はどのような方法で来られるのだろうか？人々はその方をどのように認識するのだろうか？預言者イザヤはイエスが生まれる何百年も前に生きていて、この約束の方の誕生について具体的に語った。彼がイエスの誕生について語ったことはすべて実現した。数百年後、イエスはこの世にお生まれになった。今日は、約束の方の到来を予告した2つの箇所を読んでみよう。

I. 処女マリアがイエスを産むことは、罪からの救いのしるしであった（イザヤ7:14）。

それ ゆえ、 主 は 自ら、 あなた がた に 一つ の しるし を 与え られる。 見よ、 処女 が 身ごもっ て いる。 そして 男の子 を 産み、 その 名 をインマヌエル と 呼ぶ。

イザヤ書は、イエスが生まれる約700年前に書かれた旧約聖書の預言書で、新約聖書におけるローマ書の機能のように、罪人に対する神の法的論拠を説明し、彼らのための救いの道を概説しているため、イスラエルを語る上で最も重要な部分の一つとして知られている。この書は、預言者イザヤの視点から、ユダとその近隣諸国に向けて書かれたもので、預言者イザヤは、来たるべき裁きと救いの幻視を行ったり来たりしている。イザヤは文字通りではなく詩的に書いた。例えば、バビロンの滅亡を預言するとき、彼は “わたしは天を震わせ、地をその場所から揺り動かす “と書いた。バビロンはイザヤが預言したようにその罪のために滅ぼされたが、天は文字通りには揺れず、地は文字通りにはその場所から動かされなかった。しかし、この書物は罪に対する神の裁きに関する書物だけではない。神の契約の民もまた、罪深いにもかかわらず、神からの将来の祝福を約束されていた。イザヤ書6章で、神はイザヤの罪を贖い、イザヤにそのような預言を与えることができる務めを与える。歴史的状況は、ユダ国の第12代王アハズ王が、アッシリアからの侵略に対抗するため、イスラエルやシリアの国々と軍事同盟を結ぶよう誘惑されていた。イザヤは7章から8章にかけて、アハズ王にその軍事同盟に加わることを思いとどまらせ、代わりに神に信頼するよう書き記した。7章10節から12節までで、アハズ王は（7:10-12）、その軍事同盟に加わらずに神がユダの国を解放するしるしを求めるように命じられている。しかし、アハズ王は宗教的謙遜を装い、神のしるしを求めないと言った。預言者イザヤは、神の命令に従わない王を叱責した。13節で、イザヤはダビデ王家に語り始める（7:13-14）。それは英語で読むとわからないが、8-10節までは「あなたたち」という代名詞は単数だが、11-12節では「あなたたち」という代名詞は複数である。また、14節はダビデ王家について語っている。ダビデ王家は軍事同盟を結ぶ代わりに、神の臨在が敵からの解放を与えてくださると信頼しなければならない。神は、アハズとイザヤの時代に奇跡的なしるし、すなわち解放のしるしとなる出産が起こるという希望を与えることによって、彼を信頼することを奨励した。即座に関連するのは、その子が10代前半になる頃、その子が自分の行動に法的責任を持つ年齢になる頃、アハズ王があれほど恐れていた国々はもはや存在しないということだ。その子の誕生は、神が間もなくダビデの家を敵から解放するしるしとなる。それゆえ、ダビデ家は神への信仰を持ち続け、軍事同盟を結ぶなどという愚かな行動によって戦争をエスカレートさせることなく、敵対する2つの国の脅威が過ぎ去るのを待つように命じられた。そうすれば、ユダ王国は、たとえ蹂躙されて貧しく地味な王国となったとしても、独立した王国として次の世代に受け継がれるであろう。

それから約700年後、イエスについて書かれたマタイによる福音書は、序章でイエスの誕生の状況を報告している。天使がヨセフのところに来て、ヨセフが婚約していた処女マリアについて話した。天使は言った。”彼女は男の子を産むから、あなたはその子にイエスという名をつけなさい”。(マタイ1:21）。処女が身ごもって男の子を産み、その子をインマヌエルと呼ぶであろう。イザヤ書7章に預言された誕生は、アハズとイザヤの時代に起こった誕生であったが、それは、再びダビデ家の解放のしるしとなる、来るべき大きな誕生の型であり影であった。しかし、そのしるしは、ユダを侵略する武力からの解放を示すものではなく、神の契約の民の罪からの解放を示すものであった。

マタイの福音書に登場する天使が、処女が子を宿すと言ったとき、そしてそれがマリアに成就したとき、天使はイザヤ書の一節を正しく解釈した。聖霊がマリアにイエスを宿らせた時、マリアは処女だったのです。はっきりさせておきたいのは、聖霊なる神とマリアは性的な関係を持っていなかったということだ。処女懐胎という奇跡的なしるしは、イエスが性交渉や他の自然な受胎方法なしにマリアの中に懐胎されたので、非常に重要な意味を持つ。処女懐胎は非常に驚くべきことであり、誰もが注目するところである。イエスが受胎されたとき、イエスは聖霊によって、マリアからの生物学的物質のみを用いて受胎されたのです。まさに約束された “女の子孫 “である。イエスはマリアの本性に従えばマリアの子であり、イエスは今や肉体的な人間である。しかし、イエスは神の本性に従えば子なる神でもあり、それはイエスが三位一体の神の三者のうちの一人として、永遠の過去に存在する霊であることを意味する。永遠の昔から、イエスは完全に神であった。処女マリアの中に宿られた時、イエスもまた完全に人間となられた。聖霊の力によって、マリアの罪の性質は超自然的にその過程でイエスに移らないようにされた。イエスは蛇の頭を砕くために来られた約束のお方である。アハズの時代にダビデ家に神のしるしを告げたことは、ベツレヘムという小さな町での身分の低い幼子の処女降誕の象徴であり、影であった。神はイエスを、国軍の力を用いるのではなく、わざわざ身を低くして人間となることによって世界を救うように定められた。悲惨な屈辱の中で生き、そして民を罪から救うために死なれた。イエスだけは、サタンによる最大の誘惑や愛する人々からの残酷な仕打ちに直面しても、忠実であった。その従順が死につながったとしても、彼は罪を犯さなかった。

イザヤ書のこの節が私たちに教えてくれる教訓は、”罪と死という大敵から救い出してくれるために、あなたは何に信頼しているのか？”と自問することである。別の言い方をすれば、”人生に問題があるとき、誰の声に耳を傾けるのか？”ということだ。あなたが人生で苦難を経験するとき、誰に耳を傾けるかで、あなたが救いのために誰を信頼するかが明らかになる。誘惑に駆られたとき、家族や友人との間に争いが生じたとき、あなたは誰に助言を求めるだろうか？神が与えてくださったしるし、すなわち、神が罪と死からの解放を与えてくださったことを示す処女懐胎のイエスに目を向けるだろうか。イエスとその使徒たちの命令に目を向け、悔い改めて信じ、イエスに従い続けるのか。それとも、処女懐胎のイエスのしるしを無視し、ニュースのポップサイコロジーの話やインターネット上の記事のアドバイスに目を向けて、自分なりの方法で救いを見つけ、問題を解決しようとするのか？自分のために立ち上がり、より自立した利己的な人間になろうとするだろうか？それとも、へりくだり、キリストとその言葉に依存するようになるだろうか？今、あなたが困難にどう対処するかは、あなたが人生で直面する最大の試練にどう対処するかの指標となる。あなたが直面する最大の試練とは、イエスが生者と死者を裁くために再び来られるときである。あなたが今、人生の小さな困難に対して何を頼りにしているかは、イエスが再び来られるとき、あなたが救いのために何を信頼するかに直接関係している。アダムのように他人のせいにしてきたであろう自分の罪の永遠の重荷が、神の正義に対して積み重ねられているとき、どうしてあなたは義とみなされ、永遠に神の神聖な臨在にとどまることができるだろうか？結局のところ、あなたの罪のゆえに、あなたは神の神聖な臨在から永遠に追放され、永遠に神の正義に苦しむことに値するのだ。「義人は信仰によって生きる」のであり、その信仰とは、イエス・キリストと、イエス・キリストがあなたの罪を負い、あなたの罪を贖うために死んで、あなたの罪を彼の義と交換し、あなたが義人とみなされるために完成された御業を信じることでなければならない（ローマ1:17）。すぐに世の声に耳を傾け、その言葉に満足と安息を見出そうとしないでください。世は、彼らの父サタンの奴隷として生きている。彼らは彼の誘惑の奴隷なのだ。イエスに目を向け、イエスと使徒たちの命令に従いなさい。処女降誕のしるしは、イエスだけに救いを見出すよう私たちを指し示している。イエスだけがインマヌエルであり、私たちとともにおられる神であり、現在も、そして永遠においても、あなたにとって唯一可能な救い主なのです。

II. イエスの初臨は約束された祝福をもたらし、正義と平和の神の王国を発足させた（イザヤ9:2-7）。

２ 　 闇 の 中 を 歩ん で い た 民 は 大きな 光 を 見る。 死 の 陰 の 地 に 住ん で い た 者 たち の 上 に光 が 輝く。 ３ 　 あなた は その 国民 を 増やし、 その 喜び を 増し 加え られる。 彼ら は、 刈り入れ 時に 喜ぶ よう に、 分捕り 物 を 分ける とき に 楽しむ よう に、 あなた の 御前 で 喜ぶ。 ４ 　 あなた が、彼 が 負 うく びき と 肩 の 杖、 彼 を 追い立てる 者 の むち を、 ミディアン の 日 に なさ れ た よう に打ち砕か れる から だ。 ５ まことに、 戦場 で 履い た すべて の 履き物、 血 に まみれ た 衣服 は 焼か れて、 火 の 餌食 と なる。 ６ 　 ひとり の みどり ご が 私 たち の ため に 生まれる。 ひとり の 男の子 が私 たち に 与え られる。 主権 は その 肩 に あり、 その 名 は「 不思議 な 助言 者、 力 ある 神、 永遠 の父、 平和 の 君」 と 呼ば れる。 ７ 　 その 主権 は 増し 加わり、 その 平和 は 限り なく、 ダビデ の 王座に 就い て、 その 王国 を 治め、 さばき と 正義 によって これ を 堅く 立て、 これ を 支える。 今 より とこしえ まで。 万 軍 の 主 の 熱心 が これ を 成し遂げる。

8章は、神への反逆を犯したユダの国に対して下される神の裁きを予言している。しかし、その裁きの託宣と次の裁きの託宣の間には、希望が与えられている。9章には、その民に祝福をもたらす子が生まれるという別の幻が与えられている。それは、ガリラヤの地が神からの光を経験し、その地の人々がもはや暗闇の中で生きることがなくなるという予告であった。節では、その光が国の人口を増やし、喜びと平和をもたらすと。6節では、神は支配する子を約束し、その子は「すばらしい助言者」、「力ある神」、「永遠の父」、「平和の君」という称号を持つ。神は、この子がダビデの王統に連なる王となり、平和と正義と義の王国と治世が永遠に続くと約束された。

しかし、いったいどんな子供が、「力ある神」のような称号を果たすことができようか？アハズ王にとっても、預言者イザヤにとっても、その時代にこの預言を成就できる子供はいなかった。明らかに、この子供は神であると同時に、正義と義をもって神の民を治めるメシアでなければならなかった。さらに、この子は神の国の重みに耐え、その支配と統治を通して平和を確立することができなければならなかった。しかし、これは偉大なプライドを持つ人間や、武力で国々を征服する能力を持つ人間には成し遂げられないことだった。人類の罪深い反逆に対抗する神の解決策は、戦士の王を遣わすことではない。その代わりに、神はこれらの偉大なことを成し遂げるために平和の子を遣わされるのである。聖なる超越的な神と罪深い人類との間の距離は、和解するにはあまりに大きすぎる、だからこれは神の臨在の比喩に違いないと、罪深い誘惑に駆られる人もいる。しかし、もしそれがこの聖句の意味するところだとしたら、この聖句はすべて無意味なものになってしまう。しかし、その代わりに、これらの節は最も驚くべき出来事への期待を示している。創造主ご自身が子供として被造物に入られたのである。罪のない方が罪人の中に住み、私たちの罪の重さを負われた。無限の神はご自分に有限の性質を加えられた。永遠なるお方が死と復活を経験されたのです。この約束は、神が人類と真に共におられるという約束だった。神は私たちの一人となられた。

イエスがガリラヤの地のカファルナウムに住まわれた時、マタイはイザヤのこの約束が成就したと言っている（マタイ4:14-16）。イエスは世の光であり、イエスが行かれた先々で、闇の中に住む人々に救いの光が示された。イエスは神の権威を証明するしるしと不思議をもって、神の教えの力で来られた。イエスのしるしと不思議は、群衆の誤った誘導やトリック、希望的観測によるものではなかった。その代わりに、彼が行った奇跡は公然のものであり、証明可能なものであった。イエスはまずガリラヤの会堂で、主の霊が自分の上におられ、暗い場所で輝く光となるだけでなく、イザヤ書（イザヤ書61章）の他の箇所にあるメシア預言の直接的な成就として、囚人を暗闇から解放して盲人の視力を回復するためであると述べた。水をぶどう酒に変えた最初の奇跡は、ガリラヤのカナで行われた。その後、彼はガリラヤで他の多くの奇跡を行い、それは預言された光がガリラヤの暗闇に放射される始まりとなった。その宣教の大半は、エルサレムでも行われたが、そこで私たちの罪を贖うために十字架刑に処されることを予期していた。反抗的な人類の罪を自ら背負うことによって、ご自分を信じる私たちにご自分の義を与え、ご自分の死によって発足させたご自分の王国、終わりのない王国の一部とされたのです。主は、主を信じる私たちの上に恒久的な支配を確立し、私たちがその祝福に値しないにもかかわらず、主の御国に生きる祝福として、主の従順による契約の祝福を私たちに与えてくださった。しかし、御国が発足したとはいえ、まだ完成したわけではない。イエスの王国は始まったが、まだ完成していないのだ。イエスはご自分の王国、その市民への恩恵、そしてご自分の支配と統治を確立された。しかし、人々がイエスを信じるようになるにつれて、イエスの王国は今も世界中でゆっくりと成長している。イエスが生者と死者を裁くために再び来られるとき、イエスの王国は完成し、地上に物理的に存在することによって確立される。そう考えると、イザヤ書の預言はイエスによってまだ成就していないが、同時にイエスによってすでに成就していることが理解できる。

今、信仰によってイエスに結ばれた神の民として、教会はイザヤ書9章に述べられているイエスの特徴によって区別されるべきである。結局のところ、王は王国の市民を導く。イエスを思い起こさせる聖霊を私たちに送ることによって、王は私たちが王に従い、イエスに従う力を与えてくださった。ですから、私たちは善（正義を含む）、愛（憐れみを含む）、義、平和（ガラテヤ5:22-25）といった聖霊の実を結ぶことで成長しなければなりません。また、ガラテヤの信徒への手紙には、イザヤ書ではイエスの性格の一部として言及されていない、他の聖霊の実もある。例えば、私たちは愛、喜び、忍耐、親切、優しさ、自制心においても成長しなければならない。このようなことは、キリストご自身の栄光のためにキリストを指し示すために一般の人々との関係においてだけでなく、キリストを賛美するような形で自分の家族と関わる私的な関係においてもなされなければならない。教会には、他の人々に提供する独特の性格がある。それは、聖書に啓示されているキリストの真理に結びついた性格である。私たちが神から受けたものは、喜んで他の人々に与えるべきです（第1ヨハネ4:11）。

In the beginning story of the Bible, we read about how Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden with God, and everything was perfect. There was no sin, and all of their needs were provided for. They had abundant food and water, a marriage where they were naked and not ashamed, Adam had a job as a priest-king to protect the garden where God walked, and best of all, God was among them. But after Adam and Eve both listened to the voice of the serpent, redefined good for themselves by listening to the serpent instead of based on God’s words, desired evil, and disobeyed God’s command, the earth fell under the curse of God and all humanity became sinful. Adam began to blame his wife and God for his own sinful problems and Eve began to sinfully desire to rebel against Adam’s authority over her as her husband. Adam and Eve were banished from God’s sacred presence because of their sin, and humanity since then has been born in exile from God’s sacred presence except when God has condescended to certain humans by way of making a covenant with them. But God did give humanity hope for the future. God cursed Satan to eat of the dust all the days of his life, which signified a future existence of perpetual defeat. And God promised to send a future seed of the woman, a man who would crush Satan’s head although the man would also suffer a wound to his heel. Throughout all of the Old Testament, the people whom God condescended to by covenant lived with a hope in that Promised One, who would defeat Satan. But when would the promised one come? What would be the way that the promised one would come? How would people recognize the promised one? Two prophets named Isaiah and Micah both lived hundreds of years before Jesus was born, and they spoke specifically of this promised one’s birth. Everything that they said about Jesus’s birth came true. Hundreds of years later, Jesus was born into the world. Let’s read three passages today that foretold the coming of the Promised One.

I. Jesus being born of the virgin Mary was a sign of salvation from sin (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.

The book of Isaiah is a book of prophecy in the Old Testament, written about 700 years before Jesus was born, and is known for being one of the most important parts of the story of Israel because it explains God’s legal case against sinners and outlines a way of salvation for them, similar to how the book of Romans functions in the New Testament. The book is written from the perspective of the prophet Isaiah, who goes back and forth between giving visions of coming judgment and giving visions of coming salvation. Many of the prophecies are written regarding the people of Judah, but also many are written about the nations that were nearby to them. Despite Isaiah being full of prophecies, Isaiah wrote poetically and not literally. For example, when prophesying the fall of Babylon, he wrote “I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place.” Babylon was destroyed like Isaiah prophesied, but the sky did not literally shake and the earth was not literally moved out of its place. While most of the book is prophesying judgment and redemption, those acts of God were connected to historical events. As Isaiah wrote, he exposed the sins that people around him were committing, denounced those sins, and predicted God’s judgment against that evil. But Isaiah also gave the hope that the people of Judah would have God’s grace restored to them, and that God’s covenant people would receive future blessing from God. Isaiah did not write in a narrative format, but instead wrote many separate units that go back and forth describing events in Isaiah’s own time, plus the intermediate future of the coming of Jesus, and the eschatological future when Jesus will come a second time at the end of human history. In chapter 6 of Isaiah, God atones for Isaiah’s sins, and gives Isaiah the ministry so that he can give such prophecies. In Isaiah’s time, King Ahaz, the twelfth king of Judah, was being tempted to join a military alliance with Israel and Syria against Assyria. From chapters 7 to 8, Isaiah wrote to dissuade King Ahaz from joining that military alliance. In chapter 7, from verses 10 to verse 12, Isaiah addresses King Ahaz (7:10-12) and commands him to ask for a sign that God would deliver Judah without a military alliance. However, King Ahaz faked humility and said that he would not ask for a sign from God. The prophet Isaiah rebuked the king for not obeying God’s command. And, starting in verse 13, Isaiah begins to address the house of David (7:13-14). That is not apparent when we read it in English, but from verses 8-10 the Hebrew pronoun “you” is singular, but in verses 11-12 the Hebrew pronoun “you” is plural. That is why verse 14 is considered a Messianic prophecy, because it is a prophecy given to the House of David. Instead of entering a military alliance, the house of David was to trust that God’s presence would give deliverance from the enemy. God even encouraged trusting him by giving the hope of a miraculous sign in the days of Ahaz and Isaiah, a birth would occur which would be the sign of deliverance, and that woman would have been a virgin at the time of the prophecy. That meant that within the time of his late childhood, when that child would be at the age where he would become legally culpable for sin, the nations that King Ahaz was so scared about would no longer exist. The birth would be a sign that God would soon deliver the house of David from her enemies. Therefore, the house of David was commanded to continue to have faith in God, and allow the threats of the two nations that opposed them to pass away without escalating war by taking foolish actions such as entering an international alliance. In that way, the kingdom of Judah would pass onto the next generation as an independent kingdom, even if it became a poor and unassuming kingdom because of being ravaged by war.

Some 700 years later, when the gospel of Matthew was written about Jesus, the introductory chapter reports the circumstances of Jesus’s birth. An angel came to Joseph and spoke to him about the virgin Mary to whom Joseph was betrothed. The angel said, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus” (Matthew 1:21). Matthew wrote that “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a sin, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’)” (Matthew 1:22-23). The birth that was prophesied in Isaiah 7 was a birth that occurred in Ahaz and Isaiah’s day, but it was a type and shadow of a greater birth to come that would signal the deliverance of the house of David. The gospel of Matthew said he was to be called Immanuel, which means “God with us,” because “he will save his people from their sins.” When Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, it was a miraculous indication to God’s people that God was going to provide a greater deliverance to his people, not a deliverance from two warring earthly kings, but a deliverance from sin.

In recent times, there has been some debate about whether this specific verse should read “the young woman shall conceive” or if it should read “the virgin shall conceive.” This is because the Greek Old Testament used in the era of Jesus verse clearly mean “virgin.” After Christianity, new Greek Old Testaments were written that read “young woman” instead of “virgin.” That was probably a deliberate attempt by antichristian Jewish groups to stamp out the doctrine of the incarnation of Jesus. Scholars think this because before Christianity, there was never any question about how that verse should be understood. In modern times, some have wrongly theorized that the Apostle Paul came up with the Christian message, but in Matthew’s gospel it is not the Apostle Paul preaching the Christian message, but it is an Angel that first interpreted the prophecy from 700 years earlier as foretelling the virgin-born Immanuel (God with us) as the one who would save his people from their sins.

When the Angel in Matthew’s gospel said that the virgin shall conceive, and that it was fulfilled in Mary, the Angel interpreted the verse in Isaiah correctly. Mary was in fact a virgin when Jesus was conceived in her by the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. To be clear, God and Mary did not have a sexual relationship. Because Jesus was conceived in Mary without sexual intercourse, the miraculous sign of the virgin birth is so significant. It is a historical fact that is so surprising that it demands our attention. When Jesus was conceived, he was somehow conceived by the Holy Spirit using only biological material from Mary. Jesus was Mary’s son according to her nature, so Jesus is now a physical human. But Jesus was also God the Son according to God’s nature, so Jesus is still Spirit existing for eternity past as one of the three distinct persons of the Triune God. When Jesus was conceived, he was fully God and fully man. Jesus was not created but added human nature to his spirit nature. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary’s sin nature was supernaturally kept from being transferred to Jesus in the process. Jesus was truly the promised “seed of the woman” that had come to crush the head of the serpent. The announcement of God’s sign to house of David in Ahaz’s time was a fitting type and shadow of the birth of a lowly infant in a stable because God had destined Jesus to save the world not using armed forces, but by purposefully being humiliated and dying to deliver his people from their sins. Jesus alone was faithful even when facing the greatest temptations and hardships, he did not sin, even unto his death.

The lesson that this verse in Isaiah teaches us is to ask yourself, “What are you trusting in to deliver you from your great enemies of sin and death?” Or another way to ask the question is, “Whose voice will you listen to when you have problems in your life?” When you experience hardships and crises in your life, who you will listen to reveals who you trust in for salvation. When you are tempted, or when you have relationship problems with your spouse, your family members, or your friends, what will you do? Will you look to the sign that God has given, the virgin born Jesus that shows us that God has provided a deliverance from sin and death? Will you look to the commands of Jesus and His Apostles and continue to repent and obey him by faith? Or will you ignore the sign of the virgin born Jesus, and try to find deliverance in your own way, looking to pop-psychology and the advice of counselors on the Internet to try and solve your sin problems? Will you try to become more independent, or will you grow in your dependance upon Christ and his words? At the end of your life, the biggest trial that you will face is when Jesus comes again to judge the living and the dead. What you rely on now for lesser difficulties in life is related directly to what you will trust in for your salvation when Jesus comes again. When the eternal weight of your sin is stacked against the justice of God, how could you possible be counted as righteous and live in the sacred presence of Jesus for all eternity? After all, because of your sins, you deserve to be exiled from his sacred presence forever and to suffer the justice of God for all eternity. “The righteous will live by faith,” and that faith must be in Jesus Christ and his finished work to bear your sins upon himself and die to atone for your sins, trading your sins for his righteousness, for you to be counted as righteous (Romans 1:17). Jesus alone is Immanuel, God with us, and your only possible Savior.

II. Jesus’s first coming brought promised blessing and inaugurated God’s kingdom of justice and peace (Isaiah 9:2-7)

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

As you continue in the book of Isaiah, chapter 8 goes back to foretelling divine judgment that was going to come against the nation of Judah for their rebellion against God. But between that oracle of judgment and the next oracle of judgment, hope is given. There is an oracle of blessing, a vision of a coming child that will bring blessing to his people. In chapter 9, starting in verse 1, it was foretold that the land of Galilee would experience light from God, so that the people in the land would no longer live in darkness. In verse 3, that coming light would increase the population of the nation, and bring joy and peace. In verse 6, God promised a son who would rule, and he would have the titles of Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. God promised that he would be the Davidic king, and his kingdom and reign of peace and justice and righteousness will be forever.

But what child could possibly fulfill such titles? For King Ahaz and the prophet Isaiah, no immediate historical child could have possibly fulfilled this prophecy. After all, what child could possibly bear the title of Mighty God? Clearly, the only child this could be would be a Divine Messiah that would come to reign over God’s people with justice and righteousness. Furthermore, he had to be able to bear the weight of God’s kingdom and establish peace through his rule and reign. But this could not be accomplished by a man of great pride or the ability to conquer nations by force, which is how rulers usually establish peace. We are told that this King would come as a child. God’s solution to counter the hostility and pride of humanity would not be by sending a warrior-king such as a Caesar. Instead, God would send a child to be with humanity to accomplish these great things. Some people are sinfully tempted to think that since God is transcendent, morally perfect, infinite, and eternal, then he could only be with sinful mortals in some kind of symbolic or metaphorical way, because the gap between holy God and sinful humanity is too great to be reconciled. But if that is what these verses mean, then these verses are pointless. But instead, these verses prepared mankind for the most astounding event in all human history. The Creator himself entered his own creation. The sinless one lived among sinners and bore the weight of our sins. The infinite added a finite nature to himself. The immoral experienced mortality and died. This promise was a promise of God truly with humanity. God became one of us.

When Jesus went to live in Capernaum in the land of Galilee, Matthew says that this promise from Isaiah was fulfilled (Matthew 4:14-16). Jesus is the light of the world, and wherever Jesus went, the light of deliverance was shown upon people that lived in darkness. Jesus came in the power of perfect teaching and of signs and wonders which authenticated his identity as the divine king. Jesus is Son of David, but he is also God the Son, making him the Divine King. Jesus revealed himself first in the synagogue in Galilee, saying that the Spirit of the Lord was on him, not only to be a light shining in a dark place but to recover sight for the blind by releasing prisoners from darkness, in direct fulfillment of Messianic prophecy elsewhere in the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 61). His first miracle changing water into wine was done in Cana of Galilee. And after that, he did many other miracles in Galilee, which marked the beginning of the light of Jesus radiating out into Galilean darkness. Most of his ministry was in Galilee as was promised, but he also went to Jerusalem where he was “enthroned” through the events of his execution on a cross to atone for our sins. By taking upon himself the sins of rebellious humanity, he gave his righteousness to us who have faith in Him, and has made us part of his kingdom which has no end. He has established his permanent rule over us who have faith in Him, and gives the benefits of his obeying the old covenant law to us as the blessings of living in his kingdom, even though we do not deserve those blessings. It should be noted that although Jesus is the fulfillment of this passage regarding kingly rule, that Jesus’s kingdom has only been inaugurated by his death, not consummated. Jesus has established his kingdom, its benefits to its citizens, and his rule and reign. However, his kingdom is still slowly growing around the world as people come to faith in Him. When Jesus comes again to judge the living and the dead, then his kingdom will be consummated and will be physically established on earth. In that way, we understand that the prophecy has been already fulfilled by Jesus, but not yet completely fulfilled by Jesus.

As God’s people who are now united to Jesus by faith, the church should be set apart by the characteristics of Jesus that are mentioned in Isaiah chapter 9. We should be set apart by the fruits of the Holy Spirit, such as justice, mercy, righteousness, wisdom, and peace (Galatians 5:22-25). The King leads the citizens of his kingdom, and he has empowered us to follow him by sending us the Holy Spirit to point us to follow our great king’s commands. So in the way in which we are obey Jesus’s command to be holy, and become more just, merciful, righteous, wise, and peaceful, we should be seeking to glorify Jesus. These things should be done to point others to Christ for his own glory. The church has a distinct kind of character that it offers to the world. It is a character that is bound up in the truth of Christ as revealed in the Scriptures. What we have received from God, we should gladly offer to others (1 John 4:11).

III. Jesus’s second coming will consummate his kingdom and establish eternal security and peace (Micah 5:1-5a)

Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.

The book of Micah is a book of prophecy written to the people of Judah and Israel to warn them of how God does not tolerate sinful humanity, and their need to repent, receive salvation from God, and reform society under God’s rule and reign. It is written in the same style as the book of Isaiah, alternating back and forth between oracles of coming divine judgment and oracles of coming redemption. The book is divided up into three sections, which each start with the command to listen, then the oracle of judgment, which then transitions into an oracle of redemption (1:2; 3:1; 6:1). In chapter, an oracle is given which announces a coming golden age of perfection which is consummated by God himself. Chapter 5 of Micah continues that oracle of redemption, but with an emphasis on the king who will rule God’s kingdom. The prophet Micah sees that the earthly king of Israel will be struck during a siege against Jerusalem. This was most likely referring to the coming humiliation of Hezekiah, who could not prevent the Assyrians from defeating many of the cities in Judah during the invasion which was about to happen. Hezekiah had to pay a large tribute and listen to the Assyrian messenger mock and undermine his rule (2 Kings 18:13-16; Isaiah 36:14-18). But hope is given, that a future ruler doesn’t come from Jerusalem who had been sieged against because of its sins, but from Bethlehem. Bethlehem was significant because it where the Davidic line of kings originated (1 Samuel 16:1). But this king wouldn’t merely be from Bethlehem, but he would be from ancient times. This does not mean that the Davidic king will be from eternity past, but we are taught that idea elsewhere in the Bible (John 1:1,14,18;8:58;17:5, Phil 2; Col 1; Heb 1; Isa 11). Instead, this means that this Davidic King was going to fulfill the covenant promises (2 Samuel 7). After the siege, the promise is that Israel will be kingless because of sin from the time of their exile until the new Davidic king is born. But after the Davidic king is born, God promised to reunite the nation of Israel, and that the Davidic king would shepherd his people in the strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of Yahweh, like King David had done (2 Samuel 5:2). Under his leadership, God’s kingdom will dwell securely, because he will be great unto the ends of the earth, all the nations will be his possession (Psalm 2:8). And the Davidic king will be their peace. The challenge to the people of Israel was that they would face an impending crisis when Assyria invaded, but in the larger scheme of history, there was hope because of the future Davidic King.

700 years later, in the second chapter of Matthew’s gospel, it is demonstrated that Jesus is that promised Davidic king.

The primary lesson that we learn from this today is that God always keeps his promises. Some parts of prophecies are literally true in every detail, such as the coming of the king from Bethlehem. But some other parts of the prophecies are more symbolic. In Micah’s oracle, there were general timeframes given, but the purpose wasn’t really to give a precise timetable of when the events were going to occur. The hope for God’s covenant people is always what God has promised to do in the future, not when exactly it will occur. Today, people are interested in whom this promise applies. Is the promise of blessing through the Davidic King Jesus just for national Israel, or is it also for the church? In the text, the promise is very clearly for the people of Israel. However, because Jesus was the perfectly obedient Israel, he has fulfilled the purpose for Israel, which was to be holy and set apart from the nations, and to be given the covenant blessings of God for obedience. Because of Jesus’s perfect obedience even unto his death on the cross, he has inaugurated the kingdom of God through his death. Today, the recipients of this blessed rule and reign have been expanded to include both ethnic Israelites and Gentiles (whether American, Japanese, Filipino, or any other nationality) who are made part of God’s kingdom through faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, their Davidic King.

In general, we do not know what will happen tomorrow. Of course, we all make plans, but many times those plans fail. Sometimes, catastrophes occur. In the prophet Micah’s era, Jerusalem was sieged by Assyrians and the whole nation was put to great shame as they were exiled as captives. The Apostle James warns us not to predict what we will do because we do not really know what will happen tomorrow. Such boasting about the future is evil. This reminds us that our futures are always subject to the sovereign plan of God, and we must make room in our minds for his plans, although we cannot know the specifics of them in advance. Leaders generally try to plan, whether that’s your government, or manager in your company, your husband, or your parents. However, the prophet Micah reminds us that God is ultimately in control of the future. God will eventually bring us into submission to his sovereign will (Micah 4:12). While catastrophe will inevitably come to each of us, we hope for the second coming of Jesus, in which he will consummate his kingdom and it will be free of sin, war, and trouble. The problems of this world ultimately do not destroy Christian hope, for our hope is in Christ, that Christ will keep God’s promises when he comes again to judge the living and the dead and consummate God’s eternal kingdom, where all the promises of God are physically fulfilled forever. (Romans 5:2-5). Having this blessed hope gives us a reason to continue to live joyfully and to serve willingly in submission to the commands of Jesus, even though they may be hard at times. Our hope is not secure if it is founded only on human plans, human reason, and human experience. Lasting hope is only found in God keeping his promises to humanity in Christ.

Heavenly Father, we stand in awe of the prophetic truths revealed in your Word. This morning, we’ve read about the sign of deliverance in the birth of the Christ child. We thank you that Jesus is God with us. We thank you that he is the Light of the World and has inaugurated the kingdom of justice and peace that you promised. We praise you for your faithfulness to fulfill your covenant promises through Jesus, the ruler from Bethlehem. We eagerly await his second coming when he will establish security and peace forever. Thank you for giving us a steadfast hope in the glorious second coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. As we look forward to being with him without sin forever, shape us more into His image, so that we can reflect his holiness for your glory. Amen.