Joseph Prince - Heaven's Answer to Sickness, Old Age and Death (01/26/2026)
Merry Christmas! 700 years before Christ, Isaiah prophesied a child born and son given, bearing titles like Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. This Christmas story centers on Jesus' virgin birth—human to redeem us as one of us, divine Son given by the Father—His sinless blood shed willingly on the cross to reverse the curse and give us everlasting life.
Merry Christmas, everybody. Seven hundred years ago, before Christ was born, the prophet Isaiah prophesied, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.” It was prophesied long before Christ was born, and the same prophet prophesied, “The Lord will give you a sign: a virgin shall be with child.” And this is the Christmas story.
Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. The child cannot be given, and the son cannot be born. As a child—as a man—He was born, just like the rest of us; He became a man. But as a Son, He always preexisted with the Father. So as a Son, He was given by the Father. Amen. To the virgin’s womb. And He was born as a child.
Jesus: Born as Child, Given as Son
So for Jesus to redeem us, He had to become one of us. Amen. Another thing for a Redeemer is that a Redeemer must be wealthy. The poor cannot redeem the poor. So the Lord Jesus—He is wealthy. He came full of grace and truth, with the power to save. Amen. The anointing to heal. How He said it was like this: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to preach good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives.”
So as a child, He was born. As a Son, He was given. And the most important quality for a Redeemer: you can have a relative who is wealthy, but he is not willing to redeem you. But the Lord—how willing is He? He stretched forth His hands on the cross, shed His blood, and redeemed all of us.
For God so loved the world—Jesus said to a Pharisee one time by the name of Nicodemus—“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Amen, amen, amen.
The Christmas Story and Redemption
I want to share with you a little-known story in the Old Testament and the reason why God put that story there, and how it’s tied up with our Christmas story. I believe it is going to bless you. It’s going to minister to you. It’s going to help you see the Christmas story in its entirety. Because many times people have questions about the virgin birth. They have questions about why Jesus had to come in the flesh. Well, friends, it’s all about redemption.
The rightful ruler that God ordained to rule over this earth—when God made Adam, God said, “Have dominion over the earth, over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Man was God’s rightful ruler over this domain called earth. Amen. In this part of the universe, God made man to rule. Amen. To have dominion.
But man committed high treason. Man sinned. Bowed his knees to an outlaw spirit, Satan. And as a result, when man sinned against God, death came in. It was never part of God’s plan for man to die. It is not in His heart for man to grow old, become decrepit, wreck his body with disease, in pain, and finally die. That’s not the Father’s dream.
God's Dream vs. The Fall of Man
The Father God has a dream of a family—full of goodness, full of grace and truth, living in wholeness forever and ever. Forever young. Forever strong. Forever healthy. Amen. Full of love, joy, and peace. And that’s how the Father ordained it. That’s why, you know, when we attend a funeral and all that, we know there is a time to be sorrowful. Something inside us tells us this is not meant to be. We all have that. Whether you believe in God or not, deep down inside you know that sickness and disease is not something we can settle with. Amen.
You were not created for disease. You were not created to grow old. You were not created to die. You were created to live forever. But man sinned against God. And because of that, Adam fell. When Adam fell, the whole earth—the Bible says all creation fell with Adam. Amen.
All the animals in the beginning—they could speak. Amen. The Bible says when they fell, they could no longer speak. And that’s why we have all the different animals and all the language of groaning, the Bible calls it. The whole earth—we talk about global warming. But actually, the Bible says the whole earth is fallen and creation is fallen.
Creation Groaning for Redemption
And what is creation waiting for now? While it is travailing in pain like a woman about to give birth, it is crying out for the manifestation of the sons of God. You know, friend, when Adam fell, God asked the question, “Where are you, Adam?” God knew where Adam was, but God wanted Adam to know where he was. Amen. The very first question of the Old Testament in the Bible is, “Where are you, man?” Adam means man. Where are you, man?
And the first question of the New Testament is, “Where is he born, the King of the Jews?” Amen. Because the solution to man’s fall is in the King of the Jews, our Lord Jesus Christ. Hallelujah.
When man fell, God spoke to the snake who was possessed by Satan. God spoke to Satan—in other words, the very first prophecy of the Bible in Genesis 3:15. This is what God said: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed.” So straight away when you see the word “her seed”—singular—you know it’s referring to Jesus.
The First Prophecy: The Woman's Seed
And God is saying, Yes, you’ve caused man to fall. Yes, all creation has fallen. But I’m sending the woman’s seed. And He will bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. Amen. In other words, the word “bruise” there in Hebrew is the word “crush.” She will crush your head, and you will crush His heel. And that happened at the cross. Jesus was wounded at the cross. But He crushed Satan’s head at the cross. Hallelujah.
And notice: it is not the man’s seed. It is enmity between your seed—the devil’s seed—and the woman’s seed. Now, the woman has no seed. So this is a prophecy of the virgin birth. Amen. That Christ would come through a virgin.
And then many years after that—700 years before Christ was born—Prophet Isaiah said this. In Isaiah 7 he says, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Emmanuel.” The virgin shall conceive and bear a son. It’s a sign.
Why the Virgin Birth Matters
Now, there are people who argue that the Hebrew word “ha-almah” (the virgin) can also be translated “young maid,” which means she’s not a virgin. But friend, if it’s just a young maid, it’s no more a sign. Is it a sign for a young maid to have a baby? All young maids potentially are able to have babies. Right? No, no—it’s a sign. The word there is a virgin. Amen. Ha-almah. The virgin. Specific virgin. Prophesied 700 years before Christ was born. Amen.
Shall conceive and bear a son. And you shall call His name Emmanuel. Emmanuel in Hebrew means God with us. Hallelujah. Amen.
And this is again confirmed. Before Christ was born, Joseph—who was the husband-to-be—they were both betrothed. And before they came together, the Bible says he found out that she was with child. Imagine—your girlfriend coming to you and saying she’s pregnant. Of course, it doesn’t work today. Amen. Don’t believe that. Okay? But this once in history.
Joseph's Dream and the Fulfillment
And she came and told Joseph that she’s with child. And Joseph really thought that she had committed fornication and he wanted to put her away privately—because back in those days, they’d be stoned if they did that. So he loved her enough to want to put her away privately.
But this is what happened. The Bible says, “While he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’”
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel,” which is translated, God with us.
Now, why the necessity for the virgin birth? A virgin means there’s no father here. So Jesus was formed in the womb, and His Father—Heavenly Father—sent Him into the virgin’s womb. He took off all His glory—which king will step down, right?—and become a man. That is really a humiliation. That is a condescension. Amen.
The Sinless Blood of Jesus
For Him to become a man, subject to time and space like the rest of us. And yet He’s divine—because that He cannot deny. Amen. He always is. Amen. But here you have Jesus in the virgin’s womb.
And now we know scientifically that the placenta does not give blood to the baby. At one time we thought the baby received the mother’s blood. But don’t forget that Mary has sinned in her blood. All men have sinned. The Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” So where do you find sin? How is it transferred to the child? Through the blood. Amen.
So the father and mother contribute to the blood of the child. Right? And if Mary—even though she’s a virgin, she does not know a man—men have thought in times past that she would still pass her sinful blood to Jesus. But that’s not true. Because now we know that the placenta only brings food, nourishment, oxygen to the child. And the baby’s excrement and waste are transferred out. But not the blood. The baby through the placenta is protected from the mother’s blood. Amen.
So that the baby will not suffer any infection. God ordained it to be so. But I believe that God planned it to be so for His Son to be born without sin in His blood. He has blood, but it is sinless blood. It is royal blood. It is holy blood. It is divine blood.
Redeemed by Divine Blood
In fact, that term is used in Acts 20 where Apostle Paul says, “Take heed to the church of God… whom God has redeemed with His blood.” So it’s divine blood. There’s no sin in that blood. And don’t forget—that blood, when shed, will cleanse us from all our sins and reverse the curse that has fallen on this earth because of man’s sin. If we can reverse sin, we can reverse the fall. Hallelujah. Amen. Thank you, Lord Jesus.
And as far as we are concerned, everyone that accepts Jesus Christ receives that life more abundant than Jesus promised. And that’s why the importance of the virgin birth is all to preserve the blood of Jesus—because God sent Him to die for our sins, friends. Amen.
And the Bible tells us in Romans 5—here it tells us very clearly—“God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. I love this.
Justified and Made Righteous
Since therefore we have now been justified by His blood. Justified—what is justified? That means you are made righteous in God’s eyes. Justified is a term used in the courts. You are acquitted. Amen. But in God’s eyes, it’s more than that. You are made righteous in God’s eyes. And how are we made righteous? By Jesus’ blood. Hallelujah! By Jesus’ blood.
And that’s why that blood is so important. And that’s why He has to be born of a virgin—because Mary cannot give her blood. And we know the placenta does not carry Mary’s blood to Jesus. And that’s why we have this beautiful Christmas story. It’s all to bring the Redeemer in.
And the devil tried to kill Jesus—through King Herod, you know, he slaughtered the babies of Bethlehem. But God preserved the Christ child. Amen. And God brought Him back and brought Him to a place called Nazareth. Again, the prophets spoke of Nazareth—that He, the Redeemer, will be a Nazarene. Hallelujah!
We are made righteous by His blood. Friend, when God looks at you and you believe in the blood of Jesus, God sees you righteous in His eyes. And all the blessings of the righteous will accrue to you.
For example, the Bible says, in the path of the righteous, in the way of righteousness, there is no death. Amen. Believe it. Receive that. Amen. The prayers of a righteous man avails much. Believe that. Receive that. Amen. The seed—your children—the seed of the righteous will be delivered. Receive that. Amen. Blessings are upon the head of the righteous. Receive that. It’s yours. Amen. You are now righteous in God’s eyes.
Living in God's Love
So here it says very clearly, God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That’s why we must always be living in that realm. Our inheritance is actually the realm where we are conscious of God’s love for us. Amen.
Look at this verse in Jude. It says, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” We are looking for Jesus. He’s going to come back for us anytime. The Bible promises that. Amen. There are numerous prophecies about that. Amen.
And Paul elucidates that very clearly, line upon line, in detail. So we are looking forward for Jesus coming. When He comes, our bodies will transform like His body. Like our Bible used the word—our vile bodies will be like His glorified body. Amen. We’ll be forever young, forever healthy, forever strong. We’ll never, never, ever die ever again. Amen. Not even have a pimple on your face. Amen. That’s going to happen when Jesus comes for us. Amen.
The only part of us that’s not redeemed right now is our bodies. So we are waiting for our bodily redemption. When you see all the bad things happening in the world, Jesus prophesied these things will happen before He comes again. So we’re looking forward for Jesus coming. Amen.
Until then, keep yourselves in the love of God. Keep yourselves in the love of God. What does that mean? You know, it does not say “keep yourself loving God.” It is not you loving God. It is God loving you. Here it says that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God loved you.
And after you are saved, keep yourself. And the word “keep” there is the same word used by Jesus in His high priestly prayer in John 17: “Father, keep those who believe on me through Thy name.” God—preserve. Preserve yourself in the love of God.
Stay Conscious of God's Love
I remember when I was in England one of those first times, and wow, the cold weather was just chilling. I remember walking behind a building—even the sun was shining, it was still winter, but the sun was shining. It was very cold because I was on the shadow side of the building. I was on the dark side.
When I came out in the open—wow, the sun! I was basking in the sunshine and I felt the warmth. And then the Lord spoke to me. This is what it means: Keep yourself in the love of God. Don’t stay in the shadows. Always be conscious of God’s love. Amen. Be conscious of His love. Hallelujah. Amen. Live in that love. It’s not your love for God. It’s God’s love for you. Amen.