God is with us
(Read Matthew 1)
With less than two weeks remaining until Christmas, most of us are scurrying around in attempt to get everything done on time. Shopping, wrapping, baking, planning, worrying, etc… It surrounds us every Christmas. The big question is if we’re prepared for Christmas.
Continuing with the mood of hope that Christmas brings, we’re going to study Matthew 1 this week. The Gospel of Matthew has been attributed to have been written by the Apostle Matthew, the tax collector. It was first composed in Greek with direct references to Isaiah’s prophesy of the coming Messiah.
“But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:20-21
Joseph had a lot to lose in supporting Mary after the announcement of her pregnancy. He was fearful of Mary’s reputation, of his own reputation, and of possible retributions from his community. But Joseph was a faithful man. He trusted in the comforting words from his angelic dream. He prepared for whatever would come next.
I asked a few close friends how they prepare for the gift of Christmas. “Each year I make a concerted effort to simplify and be quiet,” one told me. “I retreat so I can reflect and appreciate the birth of my Savior.” Joseph and Mary didn’t have the distraction of colorful lights, Kohl’s cash, and Amazon sales. Their marriage was probably arranged by an older generation and this pregnancy would cast shadows on society’s plans for them. Rather than rejecting, making excuses, or denying the upcoming birth, they withdrew, simplified, and relied on prayer. The only deadline they were focused on was the birth of Jesus.
“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 his name Immanuel’
(which means, God with us).”
Matthew 1:22-23
Seriously, what can give us more hope than God being with us? When Isaiah prophesied that Immanuel (the Messiah) would be with them, people of the Old Testament were thinking he meant God would deliver the Jewish people. It would be a collective redemption, a national one. Matthew tells us a more complete story.
“Immanuel” is a Hebrew word, עִמָּנוּאֵל and literally means “God with us.” Matthew clearly understood that the Messiah was really God with us. His divinity is united with mankind.
My one friend continued, “The birth of Christ gives me hope for new beginnings and renewal. Christmas is the beginning of Christ’s continual effort to reach toward me and give me a picture of my own spiritual birth.” Jesus’ birth was more than the birth of a perfect being. He was the word that was made flesh who would dwell among us. (John 1:14).
God is with us, through every aspect of our life. He is with us, to comfort, encourage, protect, and defend us in our times of temptation and trial. Another friend’s take on “God is with us” is that, “He is readily available to anybody. He is my Savior. He will always be forgiving of my sins, and helps me keep a peace of mind that if something spirals out of control, there will always be a solution if I stay humble to him and believe.”
“When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.”
Matthew 1:24-25
Mary and Joseph are perfect examples of submission to God. Their original plans did not include the birth of a savior, but their reaction glorified him. “So be it,” was their response.
God is perfect and we’re not. Only one thing can connect the two. Immanuel. (1 Timothy 2:5). Whenever we speak of hopes of our Messiah, we must first look at the baby Immanuel. My friend added that hope of Christ’s birth, “is a beautiful reflection of what Jesus allows me to experience as I lay down my sin and allow redemption to happen.”
2020 has been an incredibly challenging year. For many, hope is hard to find. Strip down your Christmas expectations to the important things. We have already discovered that this year is not what we expected in January, so let’s put our hope on things we can attain, on things that are and have always been available to us. Our hopes are clustered on Immanuel. He was born to deliver us because we can’t. My friend concluded, “since he declares me worthy…therefore I am worthy. I do have to speak that truth to myself fairly often.”
With less than two weeks until Christmas, are you ready?
“Till God in human flesh I see,
My thoughts no comfort find,
The holy, just, and sacred Three
Are terror to my mind.
But if Immanuel’s face appears,
My hope, my joy, begins.
His grace removes my slavish fears.
His blood removes my sins.”
Isaac Watts
Key Applications from my friends:
- Read Matthew 1. Try to focus your Christmas hopes on Jesus Christ. Give him, not your traditions, the ultimate meaning.
- Look for an advent devotional. Look for inspirational music to draw your focus inward. Read Handel’s Messiah and pour over the words. Pray on them. Each devotion you partake in reaches a different part of you if you allow yourself to be still.
- Attend or watch a Christmas Eve service. Get ahold of an advent calendar to have a countdown to the day that Christ was born. Pray and think about Christ’s birth each day. Show how thankful you are. Make Christmas more about Christ than the presents.
Where else in your life can you live out the teachings of Christ? Look for next week’s Devotion.