Christmas 2023 Ep. 3 — “Emmanuel, God With Us”
Emmanuel, God With Us.
“Now, all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the LORD by the prophet, saying, ‘Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.’” (Matthew 1:22-23)
In the little 4-word phrase, Emmanuel, God with us, “with” is the most easily overlooked word. “Emmanuel” is big and beautiful and captures our attention instantly. “God” is clearly a key word and gives context and meaning and depth to Emmanuel. “Us” is always an important word to us. “Us” in this sentence personalizes “God” and “Emmanuel.” It notifies us who Emmanuel was for.
But, “with?” “With” can be overlooked in the weight, and grandeur, and meaning of these 3 other grand words. Yet, in spite of this, “with” is just as key as the other 3.
“With” means the God of all creation became a man, no, rather a baby, to enter our world. He was “veiled in flesh” to arrive in a crushed, broken version of His original design. He “made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant,” and was “found in fashion as a man…” (Philippians 2:7-8) God came to be with us.
The weight of that statement settles on me with such depth I could not explain.
The presence of God had always filled the earth. “The whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3) In His day, David had written, “Where can I go to escape your Spirit, where can I flee from your presence?” (Psalms 139:8) and he went on to list the places of furthest extremity where God was inescapable. In another place, the Word tells us, “God is a very present help in time of trouble.” (Psalm 46:1) Even through Old Testament times, the Spirit of God was everywhere, as God is omnipresent. While He was in regards accessible to those who would seek Him, he was largely distant…austere, high and holy, accessible by one priest, once per year, in one most Holy Place. While we do see those in the Old Testament who formed deep relationship with Him, it was a different dispensation, and He was not yet “God with us.”
The angelic proclamation in Matthew 1:23, changed everything, as those words signaled the dawn of a new covenant. No longer would God be over us, He would be with us. God would make an entry into our world in the same way every other human has arrived. His life on earth would begin with the same painful process as those He came to be with. While the song tells us “little LORD Jesus, no crying He makes,” I’m not sure if that’s accurate. The prophet had foretold of Him, “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,” (Isaiah 53:3) and I have a feeling He cried like every other infant as His tiny frame was ushered from Mary’s womb into the cold Bethlehem night. This was God with us to be like us…to know what we know…to feel what we feel. This was God with us in a far humbler and more accurate reality than any would’ve dreamed up. This was God with us in poverty…in lowliness…in anything but what He deserved.
“Emmanuel, God with us” grew in the man of Jesus Christ. He was with his parents…He was with His disciples…He was with publicans and sinners…He was with the crowds that would turn on Him. He was with the blind and the beggars…the deaf and the lame.
At there, at the outset of His brief earthly ministry He quoted Isaiah 61: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me; because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the LORD.” (Luke 4:18-19) We know He came to “seek and save that which was lost…” (Luke 19:10) We know He was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” This was God with us…God in our skin…in our lives with all their feelings and heaviness. This was God experiencing our greatest joys and deepest sorrows. This was God calling little children to Himself and weeping at the news of a friend’s death. This was God incarnate…God with us…God truly in our world.
And while God was with us in the person of Jesus Christ, He told His disciples of His ascension back to heaven. In John 14, He explained to them, “I will pray the Father and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth;…ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:16-18) Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, as a man, was limited to one geographical location, but He promised to come into the lives of His people as the Holy Ghost, the Comforter. This time, not just to be with us, but to be in us.
Matthew 1 includes the introduction of Emmanuel, God with us, and Matthew concludes with a promise in the very last verse: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20)
Hebrews 13:5 assures us, “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
He is with us.
No matter where today finds me. No matter how inexplicable the events are that have unfolded around me. No matter how foreign the scenery. No matter how it feels, the truth is, He is with me. He is with you. He is a God Who comes close…a God Who desires intimacy.
“Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.”
Jesus is with us.
“Emmanuel, God WITH us.”
Thank you for joining me for this journey!
Go grab your Bible and your journal!
I look forward to the power of this habit in your life. This is Unedited.