“Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. The fulfillment formula — all this took place to fulfill — is one of Matthew's most distinctive literary features, appearing ten times in the gospel at key moments. The formula communicates that what is happening is not new but completing: the story of Jesus is the story Israel's scriptures were always moving toward, the resolution of a plotline set in motion centuries before. The prophet's words were not merely predictions but promissory notes, and the birth of Jesus is the moment God makes good on the promise. Matthew is not claiming that Isaiah intended to predict a virgin birth; he is claiming that Isaiah's promise of divine rescue through a Spirit-conceived child is being enacted in ways that exceed what anyone expected.
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