God With Us

Matthew 1:18-25

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ 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. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

²³ “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). ²⁴ When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, ²⁵ but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

What a miraculous story!  But it is more than just a story.

This passage informs us, that God had sent his Son in flesh and blood to live among us.

Think about that just for a moment.  The God who had created the heavens and the earth, every living thing and every non-living thing, came to dwell on the earth that He created, to live with the people that He created.  His name was to be called Jesus and “Immanuel” God with us.

Why was it necessary for Him to come?

Jesus had come to the earth in form of human flesh for three reasons:

• He came to be a mediator between man and God.

Whether you realize it or not, you and I were born with a sinful nature.  This sinful nature has been passed down from generation to generation.  It all started with the sins of Adam and Eve.  To prove this, do you have to teach a toddler to do wrong?  No, he/she must be taught to do right.

Because we are born into this sinful nature, our relationship with God has been severed. God is a Holy God, which means there is no sin in Him and that sin cannot even stand in His presence. 

That is why we are separated. Not only are we separated from God, but our punishment for sin is death. Because of Adam and Eve’s sin they surely died a physical death, but in that moment, they also died a spiritual death.

Before we come to Christ we too are considered dead in our sins.  The punishment for our sins is death.  Yes, we will eventually all die a physical death.  But what is worse is to die a spiritual death meaning to be forever separated from God and anything good.

Now you see why Jesus came to be a mediator between God and man.

• He came to be a sacrifice for the sins of mankind.

In addition to being a mediator, he became a pure and spotless sacrifice. In the old testament they would sacrifice animals for the atonement of sins.  It was the shedding of pure, spotless, innocent blood that would be required for atonement of sins.  Only a priest, a member of the tribe of Levi could offer up sacrifices and sprinkle the blood upon the altar. 

Jesus came to the earth not only to be our high priest but also to be that pure and spotless sacrifice.  He walked this earth in flesh and blood yet he did not sin.  Because He was a spotless sacrifice, His blood was sufficient to appease the wrath of God.

So that when God now sees us He no longer sees our past sins.  If we have confessed our sins before Him and have also confessed him as Lord of our lives, then God sees the blood of Jesus which coves all of our sins.

In laying his life down for us we could find forgiveness of our sins once and for all.  No other sacrifice would ever be needed for the forgiveness of our sins.

• He came to be a light in the midst of darkness.

John 1: 4-5

⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

When Jesus showed up on the scene everyone took notice.  He had come to be a light. In other words, He had come to set the ultimate example.  He showed us how to live, how to love, how to pray, how to have a relationship with our heavenly father, and how to be obedient to the will of our heavenly father.  He came demonstrating great works and teaching about the kingdom of God. . 

But ultimately, He showed us how to lay our lives down. Jesus had completely surrendered to the will of our Heavenly Father. 

John 8:38

³⁸ I speak of what I have seen with my Father…

He showed us how to live, and by his example we know what is expected of us.

Jesus came for You!  He came to be your mediator between God.

He came to be the sacrifice for your sins so that you can be forgiven.

He came to show you how to live this life as a Christian.

“Immanuel” He is God with us. Today He is still living on the inside of millions of believers around this world through His promised gift of the Holy Spirit.