GOD WITH US

Matthew 1:18-25     Key Verse 1:23

“²³ “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”

Immanuel!  “God with us!”  These are perhaps the most comforting words we can ever hear.  Immanuel reveals who God is.  It reveals that God did not abandon His creation who rebelled and disobeyed.  Many of us know the story of Adam and Eve.  God blessed them and gave them everything, including the freewill not to obey God, if that was what they really wanted.  Of course God didn’t want us to and even warned us, but still He gave us the freedom to choose.  When Eve was tempted by Satan, man chose to live in disobedience to God.  When Adam disobeyed God in the Garden man was driven from the presence of our God.  Man was separated from his Creator and we have had to live as restless wanderers; alone and powerless to the powers of sin and death.  But when Jesus, our Immanuel, “God with us” came, we no longer have to feel alone, nor do we have to live any longer under the power of sin and death.  This child Immanuel is a gift from God who tells us that God loves us and desires to be with us.  

But even though man was incapable of returning to God; God did not turn His back on us; instead He came to us and did so in the most amazing of ways.  He came as an infant, a baby in a manger?  He did so because our God is humble and gentle.  We are all like smoldering wicks.  We cannot bear any harshness.  We are weak.  With His Power He made the most gentle Being to be able to serve our needs.  Jesus our Immanuel is that sign of His gentle love to us that we can put our hope in; that we might have a living hope in this dying world.

May God bless us today to open our hearts widely and to accept Jesus our Immanuel newly in our hearts; that we may know that God is with us and has been and will be to the very end; that we may live as His children, holy and pleasing to Him and witnesses of His unfailing love to a dying world.

Part I –God calls a righteous couple to fulfill His eternal purpose (18-20; 24-25)

Look at verses 18-19.  “¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.”

Here we are introduced to Joseph and Mary.  This couple was pledged to be married, but Mary was found to be with child.  When Joseph found out, he had in mind to divorce her quietly, because he did not want to expose her to public disgrace.  Today’s passage says very little about Mary.  In the earlier part of chapter 1, we learn that Joseph was from the line of David.  He was from the kingly line.  He should have been a prince, but he had no power or wealth.  He was a lowly carpenter.

But it says that Joseph was a ‘righteous’ man.  And this was more important than anything else he possessed.  This is the one condition required for all men.  What does it mean to be righteous?  It means to have a right relationship with God.  The Bible says “No one is righteous, not even one.”  This means on our own merit, no one can earn the right to stand before God.  But what is impossible with man, is possible with God.  God provided the way for us to become righteous.   There is one way for sinners to be righteous with God.  The Bible teaches us it is by faith.  When one believes the Word of God, one becomes righteous.

Do you know the man called Abraham in the Bible?  He lived 2000 years before the Christ and he is called, ‘the father of faith” “Father Abraham”.  One time the Lord came to Abraham and told him, “I am your shield, your very great reward”.  But this was more than Abraham could accept because at that time he was very old and yet he had no son and it appeared as though a servant in his household would inherit his estate.  He blamed God for not giving him a son.   Look at Genesis 15:4-6, “⁴ Then the Word of the LORD came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.’ ⁵ He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.’  Then He said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”  ⁶ Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”  Abram believed the LORD.  Nothing outwardly had changed for Abram.  He still had no son.  But he believed the LORD and it was credited to him as righteousness.  Righteous means to believe in God’s Word over our own ideas or common-sense.  When one believes the Word of God one becomes forgiven and become righteous.  Joseph was righteous not because he was sinless.  He was righteous because he believed God and sought to please God rather than himself.

Let us go back to Matthew’s gospel and look at verse 20. “²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”  Joseph did not understand fully what had happened to Mary, but he believed the words of the angel.  So what did he do?  Look at verses 24-25, “²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son.  And he gave Him the name Jesus.”  Joseph believed the Word of God and he took an action based on what he believed.  He took Mary as his wife, even though it means he was the one to be blamed as a fornicator and hypocrite, the father of the child conceived in Mary before their wedding day.  And the same was true with Mary, when she was told that, although she still did not know man, she would be the mother of the Savior, she believed it and accepted it. They trusted in God’s unfailing love.  They became the parents of Jesus, the Savior.  Because of this all people on earth have been blessed.  

May God help us to also believe His Word despite our lowly condition.  May we believe His Word that God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. May we join the company of the righteous and take action based on His Word and be used for His Kingdom purpose; that our lives may be truly blessed and a source of blessing.

Part II – Jesus will save His people from their sins (21)

Look at verse 21. “²¹ 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.”  Jesus means, “the Lord saves.”  Since the fall man has become slaves to and been ruled by the power of sin.  And we are all powerless against it.  Slaves are those who do what the master tells them, whether they want to or not.  And because of sin we are all condemned to eternal separation from God.  But Jesus came to mend the broken relationship between us and God.  He is the one who pays our entire penalty so that we can be set free.  He came as an infant to be with us; when He grew up He died on the cross to save us from our sin and bring us back to our Father in Heaven eternally.  He lived among us to show us the way and died for us to become our way so that we no longer abuse our freedom but be able to live as glorious and righteous children of God.

We thank God that He saves us to overcome our carnal desire and press on the upward way.  Joseph in the passage was nothing but a country carpenter in Nazareth.  But he accepted the grace of Immanuel and lived for Jesus, and most likely died for Jesus.  Joseph had a loftiness and kingly bearing, because he was not ruled by his sinful desire but by the Word of God.  Many young people in America seek wealth and pleasure; this is not only in America, but all over the world.  Many young men are caught up in lustful desires.  But we must live like Joseph.  Even though we look ordinary outwardly we must live as sons and daughters of the Most High King.  And because Jesus saves His people from their sin, we can truly do so.

Part III – He will be called Immanuel (22-23)

Look at verses 22-23. “²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”  

Joseph and Mary were not the first to receive this message, “Immanuel,” “God with us.”  I must introduce one more man to you. There was once a king of Judah named Ahaz.  It was 8 century before the Christ was born to Joseph and Mary.  He was the king at a time when Israel had been torn in two.  There was the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.

When king Ahaz saw the enemies arrayed against him, his heart melted away.  But the Lord came to him and told him, “Do not be afraid!  Do not lose heart!  They want to destroy you, but I won’t let them.  I will shatter them and they will no longer be a people.  So don’t be afraid of them!” And the Lord told king Ahaz, “Ask the Lord your God for a sign.”  Usually, you are not to ask for a sign, but it was a national emergency and God made an exception for the king and told him to ask for a sign.  But king Ahaz wouldn’t do so, because he had in mind his own defensive plans.  So the Lord gave him a sign.  Look at Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.”

King Ahaz was one of the worst kings in Judah’s history.  He brought idol worship to God’s people.  He was the least deserving person to receive God’s promise, yet still God came to him and gave them these words.  He was fearful man and could not accept God’s Word.  What do we fear?  King Ahaz feared that his nation would be squashed by his enemies.  In order to avoid it, he was thinking about making allies with Egypt and Assyria.  

America’s war in Iraq is officially over.  But America is no closer to true security or peace in the world.  Students fear that they won’t be able to register for the classes they need or pay for skyrocketing tuition.   Some are afraid of finding a job in a shrinking job market.  Those who have a job, still fear that they might lose it or that their benefits will be cut.  Some have family members that are gravely ill.  Some are afraid they may never be able to marry.  Others worry about their Bible students, whether they will accept God’s calling on their lives.  And the list goes on and on.

But what should we do?  The Lord said “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”  Jesus is God’s sign to us that He is with us.  We have nothing to fear and we can have great hope on our lives, if we firmly believe.  The Lord told king Ahaz, “If you do not stand by faith, you will not stand at all.”

The writer of this Gospel Matthew was once a greedy, selfish tax collector.  His name used to be Levi, before Jesus came to him.  He was a Jew, but he collected taxes for the Romans.  He became a tax collector, thinking that money would make him happy. His realistic idea made him very selfish. He did not care about his suffering people, if only he could make money. His people hated him because of his selfishness.  There are two kinds of people in the world: those who are lovely and pleasant to be around, whom we are willing to do anything for.  And the other kind are those who no one wants to be around because they are so unlovely.  Levi was the second kind of person, because of his extreme selfishness.  It was not easy for anyone to be around him.  When he walked the streets probably people who saw him coming would cross over to the other side so they wouldn’t have to get too near him; afraid he would ask them for more tax money.  Maybe even dogs, who are man’s best friend, instead of running and jumping on him when he came also turned around and ran away.

So there was Levi all alone in his tax collectors booth.  But while everyone avoided him, Jesus one day came to him while he was sitting there all alone with his money in his tax collectors booth and said to him, “Follow Me!”  It meant, “Be my disciple.”  He was telling Levi, “You must live a new life; no longer seeking wealth and pleasure in this world.  You must follow Me and learn from Me that you may grow into a source of blessing for all people on earth!”  At the moment, Levi could see God in Jesus.  This is the reason he could follow Jesus immediately. Levi was a very difficult person to help because of his blind selfishness. Levi made Jesus sick and tired every day. But Jesus was always with him, until he was healed of his blind selfishness. Jesus was with him until his greatness in God was fully restored, and thus Levi became Matthew. To Matthew, "God with us" was the good news of great joy for all people, especially for himself.  When Jesus came to him and he responded to His calling his life was completely changed.  He became a lover of God and a source of blessing for all people.

Our God is the God who does not abandon us.  It is true that none of us are worthy or merit God’s love.  All men are fatalistic because of the sting of death.  But God came in the flesh and visited us, in order to solve our fundamental sin problem that we may live new lives, no longer under the power of sin or death; but new and glorious lives.  In Jesus there is no death.  He came to man in man’s most needed time.  Jesus’ birth is God’s great sign of His enduring love for us.  

I am the least deserving man to stand on this stage and serve God’s Holy Word.  I am a man of many weaknesses and mistakes.  But because of His grace of Immanuel, I am what I am and I do what I do.  I was called by Him, while I was a student of LBCC.  There are many rabbits who wander aimlessly and fearfully around the campus; fearful especially of cats trying to eat them.  My past life is symbolic of them.  I was wandering aimlessly and fearfully for my future.  Then my spiritual mother, Msn. Monica came to me and invited me to Bible study; just like Jesus came to Levi.  I accepted and my life has not been the same.  I was slowly changed and transformed by God’s gentle love.  I made many mistakes and made my spiritual mother exasperated many times; but He have never abandoned me.  He encourages me daily to take up my cross and follow Him.  Through this passage He reminded me again what He has done for me and who He is.  He is Immanuel.  May each of us deeply accept this great truth and grow to the full measure of His love; being transformed from Levi’s to Matthew’s; living as sources of blessing in this dark and dying world.

One Word: Immanuel, God with us!

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