Immanuel - The Plan

TEXT: Matthew 1:22-23
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

In the Name of Immanuel. Amen.

Righteous Joseph wanted a divorce. Mary, his fiancée, was going to have a baby…. And Joseph knew that he wasn’t the daddy. Surely Mary had tried to explain to him that an angel had appeared to her and told her, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” But how could that be? Joseph was a just man… a righteous guy, but he wasn’t buying Mary’s story. He would divorce her quietly… not make a big deal about…. He wouldn’t try to ruin her reputation…. or turn her friends against her…. or sue her for all she was worth. “I’ll do this quietly and honorably,” he thought. That was Joseph’s plan.

But God knew the thoughts of Joseph. Joseph’s game plan didn’t mesh with God’s game plan. God’s plan had been established even before the creation of all things. Joseph was confused and hurt…. Mary’s story about the angel just didn’t seem to make any sense…. so the angel would bring a message from God to Joseph saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Don’t you see it Joseph? The angel, Mary, and the Baby…. All of it…. part of the plan to bring the Messiah into the world so that God would be with you. So that God would be your Immanuel (God with us). God’s not flying by the seat of his pants here or changing up the Divine plan. Don’t you remember what your Bible says, Joseph… in the Book of Isaiah when the Lord had spoken to King Ahaz saying…. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel…. Which means, God with us!” Joseph, you’re doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. Mary’s telling the truth. Take her to be your wife and be an earthly father to the Son of God!

Jesus was not an illegitimate child. This miracle was a holy miracle. The virgin conceiving and bearing a son can only happen if the holy Father, Maker of heaven and earth, intervenes into His creation and interrupts the normal process for conceiving - which He developed – so that Mary is able to have a child.

But why? Why does God go to all the trouble?

Why? For you and your salvation that’s why. Adam and Eve had sinned in the Garden. Death was the result of that sin. God could not stand for that. God is love. God’s desire is to be with His creation, with mankind….. God’s desire to be with you is so great that He must save you from your sin or He’ll never ever know you. If you stay in your sin, God cannot and will not be with you…. He cannot be your Immanuel. He is a holy God. Because He is holy it is impossible for Him to be with unholy people. God knew the fall in the garden would happen, so He devised a plan to restore His people even before he created them. The Plan was in place before the Problem actually occurred. And the Plan included the virgin conceiving and bearing a son and calling His Name Immanuel, which means, “God with us.”

As a rule, most people like company. No teenager really likes to sit by himself in the school lunch room while everyone else is visiting with friends. Those who spend long days and nights in nursing homes crave a visitor. Christmas and other holy days involve traditions that always include spending time with someone else. God has made us social beings… Our God is the “God with us” God…. we are made in His image and so we are like Him.

Our Immanuel is also called, Jesus. God became one of us so that He might be with us by saving us. And to save us, Immanuel would have to die upon a cross. That was God’s plan, too. Christmas can never stand alone. It must join Good Friday and Easter too. For the so-called “Christmas and Easter” Christians, you’ll always get all of it at Christmas…. Christmas…. Good Friday…. Easter…. Ascension. It’s all really one complete story. You can’t tell part of the story and not finish the book.

The baby Jesus has grown, He’s died, He’s risen from the dead, and He’s ascended in to Heaven only to return again. Today, He remains your Immanuel…. God with you. His desire to be with is so strong that it’s eternal. He’s with those who celebrate and those who mourn. Those who gather with family this Christmas and those who are missing loved ones who have gone to heaven. Those whose sins have so burdened them that they are forlorn and depressed and those who by faith are fully aware of Christ’s forgiveness.

AND where is God with you? So often I hear people say, “Jesus is in my heart.” But there’s a better answer than that for us who know our Bibles. Where is God with you? God is with you where He has promised to be FOR YOU…. in the Word and Sacraments. God is with you when His Word is rightly preached. God is with you when water is splashed upon you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is with you when you receive His body and blood shed for you. This Christmas Day, Immanuel is with you.

Merry Christmas!

In the name of Immanuel. Amen.