Immanuel Has Come

Sermon on Matthew 1:18-25

Text: This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 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. 21 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.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us.”
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

One of the oldest hymns in our hymnal is “Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel.” We do not know whom the author of this hymn was. Its origins are hard to find. Some claim that it can be traced back to the eighth century, while others say it was written in the twelfth century. While we may not be able to find its beginnings, its message is one that Christians have held near and dear to their hearts. It speaks of the longing that we have for Jesus to come. It speaks of his first coming to the earth at Christmas. As we sing it, we pray that Jesus would continue to come and cheer our hearts. We also pray that Jesus would come back and take us to be with him in our heavenly home. This hymn was based on the words of our Old Testament Lesson, Isaiah 7, and finds its fulfillment in our text for this morning. We see that IMMANUEL HAS COME 1. Miraculously, 2. Purposefully, and 3. Prophetically.

Most of us are familiar with the Christmas story as it is recorded in Luke 2. Every year we hear the children sharing this account with us on Christmas Eve. We are probably less familiar with the events of Matthew 1 and the part that Joseph played in the Christmas story. Our text begins with this information, “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.” Joseph and Mary were betrothed, or we might say, engaged. The way that engagement was looked upon at this time is much different from it is today. Now, often, it is just looked upon as the next stage that you go through after you have been going steady with someone. At that time, the engaged couple promised their lives to each other as husband and wife. In God’s eyes, that was the beginning of their marriage. According to their custom, they would not live together as husband and wife, until a certain time period had passed. There were no sexual relations that took place until this time period passed. How different from today! We also note that, already at this time, Joseph is called her husband and, due to the circumstances, had in mind to divorce Mary.

The circumstances that caused Joseph to consider this are that “before they came together, she was found to be with child.” Mary was pregnant, and Joseph knew that he was not the father. Humanly speaking, it appeared as though Mary had been unfaithful to him and their vows. If Joseph had wanted, he could have exposed Mary to public disgrace. He could have brought her before the proper authorities and demanded that the law take its due course. According to Deuteronomy 22, the penalty for an unfaithful wife was that she was to be stoned to death. Mary’s life, and, ultimately, Jesus’ life, would have been in jeopardy, if Joseph had decided to press the issue. We see the care that Joseph had for Mary, because, while he knew what the law of God said about an unfaithful wife, he was also concerned about her welfare. It was for this reason that he was considering quietly divorcing her.

While he was considering this, the Lord sent an angel to Joseph in a dream. The angel told Joseph, “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.” The angel corrected the thoughts that Joseph had about Mary. The angel told Joseph that what had been conceived in the womb of Mary was not the result of unfaithfulness. Instead, the life that was in her womb had been placed there through the working of the Holy Spirit. Rather than divorcing her, Joseph was to take Mary home as his wife. It was necessary that he and Mary remain together as husband and wife for the sake of the child that would be born.

Can you imagine the faith that was required on the part of Joseph? He was to believe this to be true because an angel appeared to him in a dream. Yet, he did exactly that. It says, “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” He did not doubt. He did not question. He took the Lord at his word and did exactly what was asked of him. In addition, we read, “He had no union with her until she gave birth to a son.” Because Joseph had no sexual relations with Mary during her pregnancy, there would be nothing to suggest that Jesus was the offspring of Joseph and Mary. Jesus’ birth was miraculous because he was, as we confess in the Apostles Creed, “conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary.”

What difference does this make, whether or not Mary was a virgin or Joseph was the biological father? It makes all the difference in the world. Joseph was told that he was to name the child, “Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” This was the purpose that Jesus came to the earth. This is even what his name meant. He came to be our Savior. In order to be the Savior that we needed, he had to be both God and human. He had to be conceived by the Holy Spirit, or he would have had the stain of original sin. He would have been a sinner, just like every other human being that has ever been born. He had to be a human being so that he would be subject to the commands of God, just as we are. However, he had to be God so that he could keep them perfectly. He kept them perfectly for us, who cannot even begin to keep his law. We sin against our God with our words, with our actions, with our thoughts, and even our attitudes. It comes naturally for us to be selfish and to only look out for ourselves. God says that we are to be as concerned for others as we are ourselves. This is just one instance of the sins that we commit. Jesus, although subject to the same laws that we are, did not sin, not even once. He had to be both true God and true man, so that he could live for us. He also had to be both true God and man so that he could pay for our sins. The due penalty for sin is death. God tells us this in his Word. Jesus had to be a human being so that he could suffer and die. Yet, he also had to be true God so that his death would count for all people. If Jesus were merely a human being, the only person he could have saved would have been himself, because he was perfect. If he had only been God, the due penalty for our sins could not have been paid. God cannot die, and the wages of sin is death. He had to be both true God and true man, so that he could be our Savior. We cannot begin to understand the mystery of the incarnation of Jesus. We cannot begin to fathom the fact that Jesus was both true God and true man. Rather than trying to understand the incarnation of Jesus, we accept what the Scriptures say and marvel at God’s power in bringing about this birth. We praise God for his love in sending us exactly the Savior that we needed. Immanuel has come with the sole purpose of saving us so that we will be with him for all eternity.

We also want to take note of the parenthetical remark that Matthew, inspired by the Holy Spirit makes. He wrote, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ – which means, ‘God with us.’” First of all, we note the phrase, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet.” As you read the Gospel of Matthew, you will find that phrase again and again. With this, we are reminded that Jesus is indeed the fulfillment of all of those Old Testament prophecies. We do not have to wonder if Jesus is indeed the Savior who was to come or should we expect someone else. Jesus fulfilled every single one of those prophecies. He is the Savior that was promised to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He is the one whom Isaiah prophesied to King Ahaz would come. He is the fulfillment of the hopes of ages past.

He is the fulfillment of our hopes today. In recalling the prophecy, Matthew wrote, “They will call him Immanuel’ – which means, ‘God with us.’” This is a reminder of whom Jesus is. He is not just another human being, whose birth we will soon celebrate. He is also true God. For that reason, we know that we can trust him when he says, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” We will never run into a situation in our lives that will be something that we have to face alone. Whether it is rejoicing in the blessings that God gives us or suffering through the misfortunes that God allows to enter our lives, we always have Jesus right there beside us. Through all of the twists and turns that are a part of this earthly life, Jesus is there. He does not leave us or forsake us. He is God with us. He is Immanuel.

This is also true when we face the end of our days. King David spoke of the assurance that was his in the words of Psalm 23. He confidently wrote, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” ‘You, Lord, are with me.’ Again, that is the meaning of this name of Jesus: Immanuel – God with us. There he truly will lead and guide us into the eternal dwellings that he has prepared for those who trust in him as their only hope of salvation. We will be with him for all eternity. As we are reminded in the book of Revelation, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” (21:3) He will continue to be “God with us” for all eternity.

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas in a few days, may God help us to remember exactly who that is in the manger. This is Immanuel. This is “God with us.” As we observe this event, may we praise our God for the miraculous way that the conception and the birth took place. We thank Jesus that he came to save his people from their sins. We bless our God for giving us every evidence that Jesus is the fulfillment of all of those Old Testament prophecies. We rest in the confidence that he continues to be with us each step of the way. For many centuries God’s people prayed that Immanuel would come. We thank God that he has come. We pray that he would continue to come into our lives and draw us ever closer to him. We anticipate that time when Immanuel will come and take us to be with him for all eternity. Because of this confidence, we join in the refrain of that well-known hymn, “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel!” Amen.