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Isaiah 7:14 in the Book of Matthew

We are faced with a perplexing problem when reading the words Matthew because the author quotes Isaiah 7:14 in connection with the birth of Jesus. The words of Isaiah quoted in Matthew are placed in a new context unrelated to that of Isaiah. Beginning with verse 18 the author of Matthew describes the conception and birth of Jesus. Verse 22 establishes the immediate context for Isaiah's words:

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying

Theologians attempt to explain away clear conflict between what Isaiah's word meant to him and their unrelated doctrines that they attempt to prove by linking his verse to them. Some have even gone so far as to create a new theological weapon -- dual prophecy. They claim that Isaiah’s words had two different applications. They must concede that the first application of Isaiah’s prophecy was Ahaz and his immediate crisis. Then they claim the second leg of this dual prophecy applied to Jesus’ birth. This method, obviously, opens up every word of the Bible to claims of dual prophecy. Of course, someone else might create a theological tool to support triple prophecy.

A number of Early Church Fathers found themselves in need to support and justify many of their claims, especially when it came to Jesus. One of the ways they adopted to deal with this problem was to search for verses in the Old Testament that they interpreted to support their claims. The entire Book of Matthew appears to be built around this type of structure. This can be seen by the use of the phrase -- "Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled . . . ?" -- Matthew 1:22; 2:15; 2:17; 2:23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:14; 13:35; 21:4; 26:54; 26:56; 27:9; and 27:35.

Staying in the contextual box will solve many of the theological conflicts that have been created over the centuries. Always determine the context of the original Source's words first, then you will be able to see if some other Source is attempting to put a new spin on them.

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END OF LESSON SIX

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