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THE INCARNATION & VIRGIN BIRTH:
TRUTH OR HERESY
The chasm between
Judaism and Christianity
goes beyond the
unfortunate and sometimes
bloody history between the
two faiths. There are some deep
theological divides as well.
For example, Jewish people
traditionally find it very difficult
to understand the idea of the
Incarnation—that Jesus is both
fully man and fully God. So how
can a Jewish person possibly
come to believe that Jesus is
God in the flesh when their
community and heritage is so
opposed to this belief?
Jewish people affirm that God
is one; He is singular and
not three. One of the core
prayers of Judaism, referred
to as the Shema, is based on
Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O
Israel! The Lord is our God,
the Lord is one!” This is often
viewed as a religious rallying cry
within the Jewish community
and recited almost every time
Jewish people gather for prayer.
The idea that God is three-inone
is viewed as non-Jewish and
heretical by almost every Jewish
person in the world, apart from
Jewish believers in Messiah!
Jewish people also do not
believe God can become a man
and are taught that worshiping
God in any form—be it flesh,
wood, or stone—is idolatry.
Therefore, to believe that God
became a man and to then
worship this individual would
be viewed as antithetical to the
Jewish faith. Resistance to the
idea that God became a man is
woven into the Jewish soul.
It is only when a sincere
Jewish seeker studies the Old
Testament—and sees that the
possibility of what has been
taught for ages might not sync
with what was revealed in the
Hebrew Scriptures—that he or
she can consider the essential
truth of the Incarnation. The
Bible presents the Incarnation
as a finishing touch on the
promise God made to Abram
in Genesis 12:1–3. In this
fundamental passage, God
promises to bless Abram and
transform his descendants
into a great nation and to
bless the nations of the world.
The blessing of the world was
accomplished through the
writing and preservation of the
Bible and in the first coming of
the Messiah.
Christmas—the celebration
of His Incarnation—and
Hanukkah point us to the One
who was faithful in the past and
will be faithful in the future.
His promise to the Jewish
people did not hit a dead end
at the cross. The Bible teaches
us that there is so much more
to come when He returns. His
chosen people have a vital and
continuing role to play. Jesus,
our resurrected King and
Messiah, was born of a Jewish
virgin, lived among the Jewish
people, died and rose in Israel,
and will shelter the Jewish
people until the day He comes
to reign over His kingdom.
WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT THAT
GOD CAME IN THE FLESH?
One of the most well-known passages indicating
the marvelous truth of the Incarnation is found in
Isaiah 9:6–7:
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
and the government will rest on His shoulders; and
His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no
end to the increase of His government or of peace, on
the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish
it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from
then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will accomplish this.
In this passage, Isaiah uses four different names for the coming
Messiah, two of which indicate that this future son of
David would be God in the flesh. The son predicted earlier in
Isaiah 7:14 would be God with us (Immanuel) as well as the
“Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father.” The other two Hebrew
terms in 9:6–7 indicate that He will be royalty since He will be
both a “Wonderful Counselor” (a wise King) and the “Prince of
Peace,” promoting peace throughout the regions of His reign.
This Messianic King who suffered and died will one day
reign on the throne of His forefather David and rule over the
promised earthly kingdom. This is confirmed in verse 7 when
the Messiah will sit on the throne of David His forefather
forever! In that day, injustice, unrighteousness, and all the
marks of sinful earthly kingdoms will be removed and
transformed by the Son of David who will bring in a new and
holy order of earthly government. It will be a kingdom no
longer tainted by sin.
A second passage that also speaks of the divine character of
Messiah was penned by a contemporary of Isaiah, the prophet
Micah. In Micah 5:2, the prophet describes the coming Messiah,
the ruler in Israel, as follows: “But as for you, Bethlehem
Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you
One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth
are from long ago, from the days of eternity.”
The ruler in Israel would be born in Bethlehem, which is further
defined by the word Ephrathah as referring to the Bethlehem
located a few miles from Jerusalem. This was the ancestral home
of David and the birthplace of Jesus the Messiah. This ruler is
described as again being eternal in nature. We understand the
passage in this way because the two Hebrew phrases translated
“from long ago” and “from the days of eternity” when used elsewhere
in the Old Testament most often refer to God.
All of these passages indicate that the promised Messiah,
who would reign on David’s throne forever, would be God
The Chosen People | DECEMBER 2019
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