The Christmas Code - December 15, 2022
THE MESSAGE OF CHRISTMAS IS IN A NAME -- IMMANUEL
And they shall call his name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us.”
Matthew 1:23
The name Immanuel is a translation of two Hebrew words expressing “God is with us.” God with us. Not some prophet or teacher or holy man. But God Himself clothed in human flesh-- with us! He came to where we are so we could go eternally to where He is. God... always with us.
God--that is majesty. With us-- that is mercy. God-- that is glory. With us-- that is grace. He came to be with us, to give us what we never deserved and to not give us what we did deserve.
He could not be Jesus without being Immanuel. That is, in order to save us, He first had to come and be with us, taking on human flesh. At Bethlehem we see God with us. At Calvary we see God for us. At Pentecost we see God in us.
CODE WORD: WITH
It is one thing to be for someone but for another to thing to be with someone, to stand by his or her side in good times as well as bad, times of sorrow as well as times of joy. This is our Lord's name: Immanuel. He is with you right now. And when He left this earth, He did so with these final words: “Lo, I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20).
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Lord, nowhere I go today will I be without you. You are with me always.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.