Isaiah 7:15Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Thus, he reinforces the reality of the incarnation by referencing sustenance: “He shall feed on milk and honey.” Such nourishment is not unique to divinity but to humanity. Therefore, He did not merely inhabit the human body He fashioned, but He was conceived, carried in the womb for nine months, endured birth, and was wrapped in swaddling clothes while receiving nourishment typical of infancy. Through these experiences, He silenced those who would deny the reality of the incarnation. The prophet, foreseeing this, describes not only the miraculous conception and birth but also the ordinary nourishment that Christ received during His infancy, which was indistinguishable from that of any other child. He did not possess everything that distinguishes us, yet not all aspects of our existence were shared with Him. His birth from a woman is a shared human experience, but His birth from a virgin transcends our understanding. Though He consumed food in accordance with natural law, like other men, the fact that His being was free from sin and remained untouched by it is extraordinary and uniquely His. Hence, the prophet acknowledges both aspects. He indicates that it was not post-exposure to evil that He turned away from it, but rather from the very beginning He demonstrated all virtue. Christ Himself asserted, “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” and again, “For the prince of this world comes, and has nothing in Me” (John 8:46; John 14:30). The prophet reiterates, “because He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth” (Is. 53:9). He highlights that before the child could even discern or differentiate between good and evil, from the very moment of His birth, He would exemplify virtue and would not engage with vice in any measure.

This can be likened to stating that light does not wish to become darkness; it cannot help but be what it is. Thus, the everlasting steadfastness of the Divine in goodness is encapsulated by the prophet, who states that He will reject the wicked and choose the righteous. This also applies to Christ Himself. Although He was born into the world through the Holy Virgin, possessing the divine nature as the Word made flesh, He existed in holiness before the ages and was not diminished by His assumption of humanity. Instead, He recognized the human experience to sanctify our very existence. The land that Ahaz doubted and feared shall be abandoned due to the two kings, as if plainly stated: when the virgin conceives and gives birth, and you, O house of David, shall name Him Immanuel, then all who disturb the holy land will leave it, as it will no longer be vulnerable to those who seek to despoil it. Additionally, there lies a spiritual interpretation: with the birth of Immanuel, the truly sacred land and city, which is the Church, began to thrive with hope and overcame all adversaries. Those enemies, recognizing its invincibility, retreated, leaving it preserved by God. For the Lord declares, “I will be to it a wall of fire round about, and in glory I will be in the midst of it.”

If we revisit the account in Genesis regarding the knowledge of good and evil, we find Adam's state before the fall reflects the condition now described, as Adam was not acquainted with evil in any experiential way. Thus, the Lord, in His youthful phase, mirrored the pure and untainted state of Adam, and by rejecting wickedness, He upheld the law’s integrity.

In relation to the Lord, the concept of free will and decision-making cannot be applied in the typical sense. Free choice implies a process of contemplation regarding an unfamiliar matter, followed by a decision taken after weighing options. However, the Lord, who is fundamentally divine and understands all, did not need to deliberate or investigate matters, nor did He require judgment. His natural disposition is toward that which is good and away from that which is evil. As Isaiah states, “Before he knoweth to be a child, he shall choose the good: for before he knoweth to be a child, whether good or evil, he shall put away the evil, and choose the good” (Isaiah 7:15-16). The term “before” signifies that He does not make decisions based on analysis like we do, but rather, as God who is fully realized in the flesh—a unity of divinity and humanity—He possesses goodness innately. Virtue is part of human nature, and while it is found across humanity, not everyone acts in accordance with their natural inclinations due to our fall from grace. Yet the Lord empowers us to rise from this fallen state back to our natural condition.

If He did not comprehend the human will, He could not be considered a perfect Man. Without understanding the human will, He would not heal the initial suffering within us. As Gregory the Theologian expressed, “For that which is not perceived is not healed.” What has been corrupted if not the will? What has sinned if not the will? Thus, it is the fallen will that requires restoration. If you suggest that He did not grasp what has sinned, then He could not comprehend the sin-afflicted nature either. Failing to acknowledge this means He would not perceive humanity, since it is humanity that has sinned. If He cannot understand the human will, how then, before distinguishing between good and evil, does He reject the evil and choose the good (Isaiah 7:16)? The Divine will does not reject, obey, or choose. Therefore, He willingly dismisses evil and selects good, adhering to the Father’s will as a man—election being an act of free will, yet He does not deliberate as we do over opposing choices of virtue and vice; instead, He solely recognizes the good, which aligns with the will of God, thus fulfilling Adam’s debt. Consequently, it is asserted that before He understands good and evil, the Incarnate Word of God neither knew nor conceived of evil, due to the hypostatic union; His consciousness was neither divided nor uncertain. As one Christ, both God and Man, He employed His human characteristics to carry out the will of His Father and God.