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Author: Bruce Yocum, from the Servants of the Word, an international, ecumenical brotherhood of men living single for the Lord.

In Isaiah, it says, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

Hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, his birth from a virgin mother had been prophesied, as the gospel of Matthew tells us. “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).” (Matthew 1:20-23)

But this had been spoken of long before even Isaiah. Immediately after Adam and Eve disobeyed God and brought punishment upon themselves, God spoke to them and promised that He would redeem them through one of their own descendants. God addressed the serpent saying, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

From early on, at least since Justin Martyr (~100 - 160 AD) and Irenaeus (~130 – 180 AD), this verse was considered to be the first announcement of the Gospel. This was a promise that God would send a descendant of Adam and Eve, a “Son of Man” as Jesus called himself in the Gospels, to overcome the harm that Satan had wrought through the sin of our first parents.

God’s compassion was so profound that even in the moment of their disobedience, God announced the Incarnation.

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.