Page 9 - Christology - Student Textbook

The lineage of blessing is confirmed by Matthew and Luke in Jesus Christ’s genealogies (Matt 1:2-16;
Luke 3:23-38).

John F. Walvoord stated, “The story of the lineage of the coming Saviour is on the one hand a
demonstration of the sovereign purpose and certainty of God’s will. On the other. . .the corrupting
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work of Satan is everywhere present throughout the history of the lineage of Christ.” We can draw
from here that Jesus was, is still, and will continue to be man as revealed from the Scriptures. His
coming on the earth is historically true as it is confirmed by both Testaments (Old and New).

Prophecies of the Birth of Christ (Isaiah 7:14-17)

Isaiah 7 opens with God’s conversation with one of the evil kings of Judah,
Ahaz (2 Kings 16:3; 2 Chr. 28:3). God told Ahaz that he would receive
judgment from both the king of Israel and that of the Syrians. Ahaz was
trusting in the king of the Assyrians, Tiglathpileser, for protection as he
was already paying tributes to him (2 Kings 16:7-8; 2 Chr. 28:16). Isaiah
informed Ahaz that as a sign of God’s faithfulness, a virgin was going to
conceive and give birth to a son who would be Emmanuel - God with us.
(Matt 1:20; Luke 1:34-35). The meaning of the word virgin in Hebrew
language can have a wide range of meanings. John Walton, the former
professor at Moody Bible Institute, adds to the definition of the word virgin that, “There is no
defensible logic for suggesting the meaning ‘virgin’ for the Hebrew ‘alma’. Exegetical methods lead
us to the meaning of ‘youth’ or ‘adolescent.’” Based on the Hebrew term for virgin, it could mean
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someone who is of marriageable age and has not slept with anyone.

Accordance to the gospel according to Matthew, this is the interpretation. Theologically, that is
significant for the preservation of Christ’s purity. We now know that Adam is the representative of
all humanity and through his seed, all men inherit a sin nature. Since the Holy Spirit was the father
of Jesus, a nature to sin was not passed on to Jesus who was born without sin.

Isaiah did not promise Ahaz freedom from his enemies because God was going to raise the Assyrians
to inflict God’s punishment on him. However, God through Isaiah wanted Ahaz and all Judah to
focus on a coming child because if they trusted in that child, complete freedom from all their
enemies and the presence of sin was their reward.

Prophecies Concerning the Person of Christ

From Genesis 3:15, we know that God promised to send the seed of a woman to crush the head of
Satan. That means that this seed will be a human being. Micah 5:2 suggests that the Messiah would
be born in Bethlehem from the tribe of Judah. Other passages that reveal the humanity of Jesus
Christ include Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7. Walvoord notes that “The combined testimony of these passages
as well as many others leave no doubt that the Messiah when He came was to be both God and Man
in one person.”
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12 Walvoord, Jesus Christ our Lord, 83.

13 D. A. Carson, ed., NIV Zondervan Study Bible: Built on the Truth of Scripture and Centered on the
Gospel Message (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015), Isaiah 7:14, 1332-33.

14 Walvoord, Jesus Christ our Lord, 88.

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