Behold A Virgin – Rev. Dr. Frank Balgeman #Jesus #love #god

When Scripture Means Two Things at Once
Picture dedicating your life to mastering sacred texts, only to have fishermen and tax collectors insist those scriptures mean something your tradition never imagined. This tension explodes around Isaiah 7:14, where Matthew claims a prophecy about Jesus that Hebrew scholars say belongs entirely to ancient history.
The traditional case is formidable. King Ahaz faced immediate crisis—two enemy kings marching on Jerusalem. God offered a sign: a young woman would bear a son named Immanuel, and before that child could distinguish good from evil, both threatening kings would fall. History confirms it happened within three years. The Hebrew word “almah” means “young woman,” not virgin. And the objection cuts deep: what good is a sign fulfilled seven centuries later to a terrified king who needs reassurance today? That’s not comfort—that’s mockery.
The apostolic response doesn’t dispute any of this. Yes, Isaiah spoke to Ahaz. Yes, a child was born. Yes, the enemies fell on schedule. But did that fulfillment exhaust the meaning of “God with us”?
Consider the word “context” itself—from “contextus”, meaning “woven together.” When asking about context, we’re really asking: who holds all the threads? Who sees the complete pattern? Only One exists outside time while speaking into it. The true context of every scripture isn’t a historical moment—it’s a Person.
The child choosing between good and evil points ultimately to another child who would hang on the true tree of the knowledge of good and evil: Calvary’s cross. After his three-year ministry and that decisive moment, all enemies are defeated.
The traditional reading answered Ahaz’s question. The apostolic reading answers every question. God speaks in echoes, each fulfillment louder than the last, until the final Word becomes flesh. Both interpretations are true—and that’s precisely the point.