“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
—Matthew 1:23
No other name so clearly explains the identity and mission of Jesus as the name Immanuel, which means God with us. Jesus was born so that God might forever dwell among His people. We read in John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” And the Apostle Paul reiterates God’s covenant promise to His people in 2 Corinthians 6:16, “For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, “‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’”
The first thing we must notice in our text is the truth of the virgin birth. Scripture says, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child…” This is important because to deny the miracle of the virgin birth is to deny the Christian faith and salvation from sin. The virgin birth of Christ is a truth that Satan continually attacks and the world ridicules. You remember Satan said to Jesus in Matthew 4, “If you are the Son of God…”, and in John 8:41 the Pharisees said Jesus was born of fornication. You see, if Jesus is not Immanuel, the Son of God incarnate, then He is just another man among men and no Savior of sinners.
The virgin birth is not simply a miracle, but the miracle. The angel Gabriel told Mary that she was going to have a baby boy and He is going to be the Son of the Highest. When Mary asked, “How shall this be seeing I know not a man?” Gabriel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). In other words, Mary did not have sexual relations with Joseph to conceive Jesus. Matthew is clear to say, “Before they came together!” (Matt. 1:18). Therefore, Jesus did not have a human father. He was conceived in Mary’s womb by the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. And all of this was confirmed by the angel Gabriel to Joseph after he found that Mary was pregnant. We read in Matthew 1:20, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”
Praise God for Jesus, our virgin born Savior who came to save His people from their sins. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Tuesday Encouragement: December 22, 2020
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry