"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)" (Matt. 1:22-23, ESV).
This promise holds great comfort for the followers of Jesus. He is Immanuel-God with us. Not only is he with us, he is for us. He became one of us, to rescue us from sin and death. It is right that we meditate on the incarnation during this season. As John stated, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Jesus is God in the flesh. He is the God-man--100% God, 100% man, two natures, one person. This is the mystery we celebrate every Christmas.
Thus, we celebrate the coming of the one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ our Lord. He is both high priest and sacrifice. He is King of kings, and yet a servant who yielded his life as a ransom. He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, who is worthy to take the scroll and open it.
It is right that our Christmas celebrations are filled with anticipation, because we await his return. As we rejoice in his first coming to rescue us from the penalty of sin, we wait for his second coming to restore all things. As his coming in the flesh was heralded by the angels, so to his coming in the clouds will be attended by angels. Even as he is in his Father's house preparing a place for us, he is dwelling with us through the Holy Spirit.
Christmas presents us with an opportunity to meditate on the reality of the Word made flesh. We should pause and remember that Jesus is God with us. With us. Hear those words. Roll them around in your mind. Speak them until they take root in your heart. He is always with us, preparing us to be with him. Christmas means God is with us, because he is for us. And it means through Christ, we can be with him.
No comments:
Post a Comment