Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).
Immanuel, 'God With Us'
The book of Isaiah talks about how a child was born in the time of King Ahaz who was named Immanuel, which means, “God with us.” Immanuel was given as a sign to the king that Judah would find relief from the enemy attacks. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14). The name Immanuel spoke to the fact that God would provide His guidance and protection for His people. It was a sign of God’s presence. This sign was but a tiny shadow of what was to come; the ultimate guidance and protection. Isaiah’s prophecy about a child named Immanuel pointed to the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, who would come to live among us and save us from our sins.
Seven hundred years after King Ahaz, a virgin named Mary was visited by an angel with a divine message. She was to conceive a baby by the Holy Spirit who was to be the Son of God in human flesh, and she was to name Him Jesus. The prophecy in the book of Isaiah was fulfilled, and Matthew writes, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call him Immanuel’ (which means, ‘God with us’)” (Matthew 1:22-23).
The Word Became Flesh & Dwelt Among Us
Jesus Christ came and fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy, for Jesus was “God with us” in the most literal sense. He was born into this world as both fully God and fully human, and He came to live among His people, just as Isaiah foretold. The tiny baby Jesus, born to the virgin Mary in a lowly manger became the Word incarnate, the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature (Hebrews 1:3), the living expression of the Incarnation of the Son of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth...No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:14-18).
Jesus came to be the Light of the world and to reveal God to us in human flesh, so that we might repent and trust in Him for eternal life. Jesus was not just a mere sign of ‘God with us,’ like the child who was born in the time of Ahaz. Jesus was God Himself, who walked and talked among us as a living human being. Furthermore, Jesus was not just a partial revelation of who God was. He was fully God. Throughout His life and ministry, and ultimately through His death and resurrection, Jesus proved Himself to be God in all the fullness of His divine nature. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority (Colossians 2:9-10).
God is With Us & God is For Us
Jesus humbled Himself by setting aside His heavenly dwelling place and supreme divine status and took on the form of a suffering servant and dwelt among us, identifying with our daily human struggles and sufferings. Jesus was tempted in every way we are, yet He was without sin. He became the perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus paid it all. Through Jesus’ sinless life, His death and resurrection, we can be reconciled to God by grace through faith. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). When we are born again into His living hope, Christ comes to live in our hearts, and He will be with us forever. He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Not only is Jesus with us, but He is for us. And when God is for us, who could ever be against us? (Romans 8:31). When we trust in Jesus, we have nothing to fear - past, present, or future. We are loved eternally by God. And nothing can ever separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:39).
Dear Lord Jesus,
Christmas is about You, the miraculous birth of the Savior of the world. It is a joyful time celebrating our blessed hope and supreme joy that is in Christ Jesus, our great God and Savior.
I pray for the souls who do not yet know You. Lord, have mercy on the lost, draw them to Your Word, open their eyes by Your grace, grant them the gift of repentance, and gift them with the greatest gift they'll ever receive - faith to believe in Jesus. I pray that You help everyone look to You Jesus, the Light of the world. Lord, I ask that You give me the grace to meet people where they're at with the Truth, and help me boldly, gently, and faithfully share the gospel message in my community and beyond.
May the light of Jesus shine into hearts this Christmas season and give new life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Merry Christmas to all!
All glory belongs to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In Jesus' Name, I pray, Amen.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11