Immanuel

 

Text: Luke 2:41-52

Focus: Advent5

Function: to help people see the divinity of Jesus.

⁴¹Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. ⁴²And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. ⁴³When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. ⁴⁴Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. ⁴⁶After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” ⁴⁹He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” ⁵⁰But they did not understand what he said to them. ⁵¹Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

⁵²And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

Throughout the accounts of Jesus’ infancy and childhood, we read the phrase, “And Mary treasured these things in her heart.”

This is the last accounting we have of Jesus before His ministry started when He was baptized by John and the Holy Spirit fell on Him.

And the story, along with the virgin birth of Jesus, the appearance of the angels, the shepherds coming to the nativity, the eventual coming of the wise men, and all the other miracles associated with Jesus’ birth were treasures in the heart of Mary.

And although the ministry of Jesus didn’t officially begin until He was baptized in the Holy Spirit, He exhibits these signs of divinity, even in His childhood.

We worship Jesus as a babe born in these humble conditions with miracle after miracle surrounding His birth. And since we worship Him, we believe that He is God in the flesh, the Immanuel sent to save us.

All of this was promised by God in prophecy by Isaiah over 400 years before. Isaiah said: ¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

The Jewish people understood the translation for young woman meant that she was still a virgin, hence the adjective “young” added to her description.

And God said that this would be the sign that God was coming to dwell in human form. The virgin birth.

What does it mean for us that He is God in our presence?

Well, for one, it means, as the second verse of O Holy Night says, “To our weaknesses, He is no stranger.”

The Bible tells us that Jesus was tested in every way that we are and He was without sin. He passed all the tests that God allowed Him to go through.

I don’t know about you, but I am glad to be reminded often that Jesus understands in an human way the pain and heartaches that our trials and tribulations bring us.

Like I said, my favorite verse from the Bible is “Jesus wept.” To our weaknesses, Jesus is no stranger. Praise God.

Immanuel, God with us. What a joy to celebrate that this Christmas season. It also means that He came to show us what is important to God.

John describes Jesus as the Word of God in the flesh. So, Immanuel is “The Word of God.” John speaks mystically with mysterious phrases. I believe that he means that Jesus is the picture of God that humanity can understand. In other words, God wanted us to really know and understand what was important to God about the way we lived and interacted with other people. So, God came down here and showed us exactly what was of importance.

And God promised to become Immanuel, so, Jesus becoming the Word of God for to us is God fulfilling God’s own word to redeem us.

Jesus spoke of it when they were questioning Jesus’ origins and Jesus tells them that He preceded Abraham. Jesus identifies Himself at this point as the Eternal God and they ripped their clothes because they accused Him of blasphemy.

Jesus claims to be God. Not to show off. But to inform them that God was indeed fulfilling God’s own promise to them to become one of them.

And then we read of the terrible purpose of Jesus Christ. Terrible for Him, but glorious for us.

There was another prophecy in Isaiah, the 53^rd chapter this time, that tells us of the Messiah being a suffering servant who takes on our sins. And then John goes on to tell us that this sacrifice covered the sins of the whole world.

So, for three years of official ministry, and before that as the child of Mary and the Holy Spirit Jesus showed us how to live.

We need to take account of the lifestyle and deathstyle of the Immanuel, if we are to truly appreciate His life, death and resurrection for us.

The lifestyle of Jesus was contrary to the culture and showed a generosity of love and faith in God that no one has ever matched. It shows us the divinity of Jesus Christ as He kept on His focus even though it cost Him the terrible pain and agony of the cross. But He willingly did it for us. We understand, then, the power of sacrifice and live lives that also show the love of Jesus for others.

So for three years the Immanuel showed us how to live. And then, as we have noted, for three days, Jesus became the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

I know it is Christmas, a time of joy and celebration of Love, But that love would not have happened if God had not given up God’s place in heaven, lowered God’s own self to the place of a servant and then became the sacrifice for our sins. Praise God!

So today we celebrate the coming of Jesus, Immanuel. God with us. Praise God!