By Pastor Travis Lauterbach
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
Long, long, long ago Isaiah prophesied, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
Long, long ago an angel told Joseph, “She [Mary] will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Mathew 1:21)
After recording this, Matthew explained the significance. “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).” (Matthew 1:22-23)
The birth of Jesus is no ordinary birth. When Jesus was conceived and born, God was with us in a way that had never occurred until that moment. Christ’s birth is the birth of God into this world as a man. He was with us as one of us, fully God and fully man.
In Jesus’ birth, God is with us to share in humanity with us, to hunger and thirst with us, to tire with us, to feel pain, sorrow, and suffering with us, and to experience everything we experience in this world, even temptation. Yet, He did so without sin.
This means that Jesus was also the perfect sacrifice to die with us and, most importantly, die for us. He was holy and without blemish. Thus, in the birth of Jesus, God was with us to give His life for sinners and to rise again from the dead on the third day, so that they too may rise from death into eternal life.
This is all summed up in the final stanza of a Christmas hymn titled “O Sing of Christ”:
“Lord Jesus Christ, You deigned to dwell Among us here on earth As God with us, Emmanuel, To bring this holy birth. Though rich, You willingly became One with our poverty, That we might share Your wealth and name For all eternity!”
