Immanuel

"Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name, 'Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

To my mind, there is one word that sums up the entire Bible.
Immanuel.
God with us.

If it is suddenly so significant that God is with us, then that implies that there was a time when God and humanity were separated, and then there was a reunion. This is the essence of the Bible message.

The Bible teaches that in the beginning God and humanity were in union and communion, but that the creature rebelled, and a terrible chasm appeared in the spiritual and moral universe. A chasm that man was neither capable nor fit to bridge. God was seen as distant and angry. And so God could have let the matter stand. However, God, had other ideas. He decided to do what man could not - He bridged the gap Himself. Rather than waiting for humanity to maybe someday become good enough or capable enough to come to Him, He came to humanity.

Not contented to merely come to us, He became one of us, experiencing the whole of the human experience. No on can thrust an accusing finger in the face of God, and proclaim, "You don't know what I'm going through!" He's been there, done that, and bought the T-shirt with His sweat, blood, and tears.

See Him as a Baby lying in a manger. See Him as a Man without a bed or a roof over His head. "Foxes have holes," said Jesus, "and the birds of the air of have nests, but the Son of Man has no where to lay His head." That's God with us enduring poverty.

See Him leaning in fatigue against the well of Sychar. See Him retreating into the wilderness for a break. That's God with us experiencing weariness and weakness.

Listen as they mock Him for a mad man, listen as they criticize Him for healing on the Sabbath Day, and hear Him referred to with sneers and knowing smirks. That's God with us bearing scorn and ridicule.

See Him growing up in a Jewish ghetto, and called a Nazarene, which was little more than a racial slur. That's God with us suffering the bitterness of racism and the injustice of the class system.

See Him weeping at Lazarus' grave. Divinty weeps at the grave of humanity! Oh, behold, the Man of Sorrows! That's God with us grieving and mourning.

See Him at the wedding of Cana, feasting with friends (and enemies, too!), and holding little children on His knee. That's God with us, partaking of our joys as well as our pain.

See Him in Gethsemane. Sweat and blood flow mingled down. That's God with us facing the terror of the unknown and the fear of death.

See Him sold for thirty pieces of silver, betrayed by a kiss, forsaken by His disciples, and denied by His best friend, Peter. That's God with us suffering abandonment, rejection, and betrayal.

See Him before Caiphas and Pilate. See Him mocked, beaten, lashed, spit upon, and His beard plucked out. Watch as He staggers beneath His cross. Hear the ring of the hammer and the groans of agony. That's God with us insulted, abused, bearing unimaginable pain, and utterly helpless.

See as He breathes His last, and His head falls to His chest. That's God with us dying.

Such a panorama is breath-taking, and it should be more than enough. But God is a generous and extravagant God. The job of Immanuel was not done until humanity could get to God.

He came to be Immanuel so He could take destroy, once and for all, the thing that had separated humanity and God in the first place: sin. When sin is removed, God and humanity can once again join in union and communion. When sin is removed, God by His Holy Spirit comes to live with us - then we can truly call Him Immanuel, God with us. He is no longer distant and angry; instead He is with us through every action of our life to protect, defend, enlighten, and comfort us. Through every moment of every day, He is with us. No wonder they call Him Immanuel!

And when our life comes to a close, and we stand before the judgement bar of a thrice holy God, Immanuel is there acting as our lawyer. Because our sins have been forgiven for His dear sake, we shall be acquitted. Then we shall really know the full meaning of His name. For when the Book of Life is closed, He will be with us and in us, and we with Him and in Him forever.
Immanuel, our precious Immanuel.

Merry Christmas, everybody!
Pastor Chelle