Immanuel

[Read Matthew 1:21-23]

I didn’t realize it at the time, but my brother made it through middle school without being beat up because he was my brother. My senior year of high school, our school combined the junior high and high schools. So, we had seventh graders and seniors roaming the halls together. Not a recipe for success. My brother was an eighth grader who probably need to do a better job controlling what came out of his mouth and his actions. He told me about one time when he said something to one of the seniors. The senior didn’t appreciate what he said, grabbed him by the shirt, shoved him up against the lockers, and prepared to pummel him. However, just before the pummeling started, someone walked by and said, “You know that’s Ruis’ brother, right?” To which, the senior responded by putting my brother down and walking away. 

When I first heard this story, I laughed for a long time because I wasn’t a fighter and I definitely didn’t see myself as intimidating. In reality, I probably would have let the senior beat my brother up. However, I did lift weights a lot and was captain of the football team. So, at least in some peoples’ minds, they didn’t want to mess with me…or my brother, which worked out for his benefit. The fact that I was his brother, allowed him to walk the hallways with a level of confidence, courage, and support. 

I think we all long to have someone like this in our lives, don’t we? We find ourselves walking around through the world feeling like seventh graders walking through a hall full of seniors—feeling intimidated, worried about being beaten up and taken advantage of. We want someone to be with us in such a way that we can feel comforted and courageous—so that we can walk through life with a level of confidence, courage, and support. 

We recognize that there are moments in our life when we feel lost and need someone to be with us to provide guidance. At times we feel very weak and helpless and need someone to protect us and give us strength. There are seasons when we feel neglected and need someone to be with us to care for us. There are periods of life when anxiety is taking hold of our life and we need someone to be with us to bring peace into our lives. 

Thankfully, we are in a season where we are celebrating the birth of the Messiah—the one named: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, and Immanuel—God with us. When we are lost and in need of guidance, He is with us as Wonderful Counselor. When we are weak and helpless, he is with us as Mighty God. When we feel neglected, he is with us as Everlasting Father. When we are anxious, he is with us as Prince of Peace. He is a God who is WITH us—not far away and removed—but WITH us through the ups and downs of this life. 

There’s a beautiful passage in Isaiah that says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…” (Isaiah 43:1–3, NIV). Fear not, because He is with us. When we feel like we are treading water and are about to drown, He is with us. When we feel like we are walking through a blazing fire, with trouble all around us, He is with us—right by our side. 

We know that he is near to us because of what we are celebrating tonight—Christmas. Christmas is where we celebrate the fact that the Son of God took on flesh and drew near to his people. He is not some far away, distant God, but a God who left his place in heaven and drew near to us. And he has promised, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20, NIV). He drew near to us and he will always be with us to the very end of the age. 

Yet, there’s something interesting about the passage we read in Matthew. There are two names for this child that was born—the child we are celebrating tonight. In verse twenty-three it says, “They will call him Immanuel—which means, “God with us.”” (Matthew 1:23, NIV). But, two verses earlier it says, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”” (Matthew 1:21, NIV). So, which name is it? Both. He is both Immanuel AND Jesus. He is both God with us and the one who will save us from our sins. In fact, He is God with us in order to save us from our sins. This is WHY he was born into the world—to save us from our sins. 

Sure, he is with us to protect us, to strengthen us, to provide for us, to guide us, to care for us. However, none of that means anything unless He is first with us to provide salvation. We need him to be with us to save us from ourselves—from our sin. That’s truly the most destructive thing in our life. If we are not saved from our sins, there is no salvation from anything else. 

Yet, God hasn’t left us on our own. He sent His Son into the world to save sinners—to save us. Scripture says that Jesus, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6–8, NIV). He humbled himself, took the form of a servant, became like us, and died on a cross SO THAT he could be WITH us. All who look to Him in faith, and trust Him for forgiveness, will be cleansed from their sin and receive salvation from their sins and can have the comfort and strength of knowing that God is WITH them for the rest of eternity. 

That’s really what we’re celebrating tonight as we celebrate Christmas. We are celebrating the God who is with us to save us from our sins and who will never leave us nor forsake us for all eternity…because he is WITH us.