It is, I believe Christian doctrine that Jesus was born of a virgin. But in Matthew the biblical text maintains not merely that Jesus was born of a virgin, but was prophesied to be so born.
Matthew 1: 22-23, NIV
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[g] (which means “God with us”).
This is, of course, a quote from Isaiah 7: 14. There is some controversy as to whether the Hebrew word in the prophecy really means "virgin" or "young woman." But that is not my worry about the use of this. But that is not my concern. My concern is that it looks as is Matthew has ripped the Isaiah prophecy out of its context. The context is this: Pekah the King of Israel, and Rezin the king of Syria are threatening to attack Ahaz king of Judah. Ahaz is scared, and wants to go get protection from the Assyrians. Isaiah is telling Ahaz to trust God, not Nineveh, for protection against Pekah and Rezin, and tells him to look for a sign from God. The sign is supposed to be that a virgin or young woman (however you translate it) will conceive and bear a son, showing Ahaz that God is with us (and that he doesn't have to go do business with the stinking Assyrians (not nice people, by the way) to maintain the security of Judah.
But if that's the sign Isaiah is talking about, then the birth of Jesus, which takes place several centuries after Ahaz is dead, doesn't do the job. Ahaz needs a sign NOW that God is with us. So how is the Isaiah verse a prophecy of Jesus?
2 comments:
It wasn't a prophecy of Jesus. But Jewish interpretation in the Second Temple period allowed passages to be reinterpreted, and that is what Matthew has done. Read Richard Longenecker ‘Biblical Exegesis in the Apostolic Period‘ for an explanation. Or read the short version here.
The Bible is replete with persons prophesying unknowingly. Two famous NT examples are Caiaphas declaring that it is "better for one man to die and to save the people" and the passersby at Christ's Crucifixion mocking Jesus, saying "He saved others; Himself He cannot save!"
Using the rule of the Church Fathers that the Old Testament needs to be read in light of the New, there are literally hundreds of passages where the writer has no idea he is "prophesying" Christ, but is doing so anyway. Just a few examples:
- Isaac carrying the wood of the mountain for his own sacrifice (Christ carrying the Cross)
- Isaiah Chapter 53, the "Suffering Servant"
- All the Davidic prophesies concerning a future king of Israel who will rule from one end of the Earth to the other, with perfect justice
- Jonah emerging from the whale's mouth after 3 days in its belly.
- Etc., etc., etc.
So the uncontested fact that the prophesy in Isaiah about a virgin giving birth originally had nothing to do with Jesus (or about a virgin, for that matter) should not trouble anyone.
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