Called To Be Immanuel
My wife and I are looking forward with great anticipation to becoming grandparents, with the birth of our first grandchild next year. It is an exciting time for our family and we are like many other families who dream in anticipation of a new birth. We wonder what it is that God will do with the life He is bringing into the world. We are blessed whenever God gives us insight into His calling for our lives and the lives of our children. In our lesson this week (Matt.1:18-25), we see the important event that gave Joseph and us, great revelation into the purpose and meaning of the birth of Jesus.
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. (Matt. 1:18-19) Following Jesus' genealogical record, the gospel writer explains the circumstances surrounding Jesus' birth. Given that he only linked Jesus to Mary and not to Joseph, the gospel writer highlighted a problem for Mary and Joseph. They were betrothed (an official status which pledges them into a marriage to one another, but one they've never consummated)...but Mary was found to be pregnant... and not by Joseph! In our day and age, we would call this a "Maury Povich moment". The gospel writer notes that, because Joseph was "faithful to the law", his thoughts turned to divorcing Mary. But out of his love for her he planned to do it quietly. It is sometimes the case that when we don't understand what God is doing in our lives, we take it upon ourselves to act in accordance with our own understanding.
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. 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.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (Matt. 1:20-23) After Joseph had pondered in his own mind what to do, he heard from an angel of the Lord in a dream. God directed Joseph to take Mary as his wife and revealed that this was all part of His eternal plan. Joseph was told the baby's name, purpose, origin and divinity. His name is Jesus, designating His purpose: He will save His people from their sins. He is called Immanuel, signifying His origin and nature is divine: He is God with us. At some point we must come to know that Jesus is our Savior and He is the relational God who is ever with us.
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (Matt. 1:24-25) After hearing from God, Joseph confidently turned away from his plans and acted in obedience to what God revealed to him and told him to do. We are called to cooperate in obedience with the work that the Lord has for us to do.
What an exciting time it must have been for Joseph and Mary as they anticipated the coming of Jesus. We can also share that same excitement, especially during the Advent season, as we too anticipate the Lord's coming again. And we can be especially grateful that not only is the One that we anticipate coming, a God who loves us enough to save us, but He loves us so much that He decided to experience what we experience and to be Immanuel... God with us.
Because He is Immanuel, we can know God personally, we can know that He understands what we are going through and we can know that He cares deeply about us and loves us. And whenever we encounter anyone who feels that they are alone, especially during this season, we have good news that we are called to share with them... His name is Jesus, and He is Immanuel!
