Thus far, in this short sermon series called “The Prophecies of Christmas,” we’ve considered “A Miraculous Child” and “A Miraculous Line.”
Today, we’re going to get directly to the point and learn that the prophecies of Christmas teach us that Jesus is not only a miraculous child, He’s not only from a miraculous line, but He is, in fact, a miraculous God.
You see, we’ve read this prophecy a few times already during our series. It’s a prophecy that, if it’s true, is absolutely incredible and miraculous.
The prophecy is Isaiah 7:14, and it says, “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.”
There’s that word; that name, Immanuel.
We learn that Immanuel means “God with us.”
Think about this, church: if God is with us, that is truly miraculous! If God walked among us, that is truly miraculous! If God can relate to our human condition, that is truly miraculous! If Jesus is the one whom Isaiah prophesied, that is truly miraculous!
Today, we will learn about “A Miraculous God.”
Before we go any further, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to speak to us.
(prayer)
As we consider this prophecy from Isaiah 7, let’s see how Matthew connects the dots to help us see that Jesus fulfills this prophecy.
Let’s look at Matthew 1:18–23: “The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”
See, Matthew makes the connection for us. He says at the end of this passage that what the prophet Isaiah spoke was, at least in part, a reference to the birth of Jesus. The Son who was to be born (that is Jesus) is to be God with us.
This prophecy and this fulfillment are absolutely amazing.
So, let us see, from the prophecy, birth, life, and death of Jesus, how God is with us.
First, we experience . . .
I. God with us in presence.
In the life and ministry of Jesus, we see God with us in His presence.
Even before Jesus was born, we see the presence of God when Jesus was being carried in Mary’s womb.
Let’s look at Luke 1:39–44 to remember this moment. The passage says, “In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed! How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me.’”
What’s happening here is that Mary is going to visit her relative, Elizabeth, who is also carrying a baby. We will come to find out that the baby Elizabeth is carrying is John the Baptizer.
As Mary comes into Elizabeth’s presence, Elizabeth’s baby (John) leaps for joy inside her.
Elizabeth says to Mary, “How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
You see, this baby recognized (in the womb, by the way), that the other baby in the womb was not just another baby. This baby (Jesus) was God with us!
Many of us have had a chance to experience the joy of sensing a baby in the womb. You can feel it, sometimes even see it move around. However, I don’t think any of us sense a baby in a different mother’s womb when we were in our own mother’s womb. This was miraculous!
Elizabeth also recognized that this baby in the womb was not just her relative’s baby. This baby was her Lord! This baby was the presence of God with us!
As we find out, Jesus was not only no ordinary baby, He was also no ordinary man. Jesus was Immanuel, God with us!
Do you remember when Jesus was in the boat with His disciples and a storm broke out, then Jesus calmed the storm? Do you remember how His disciples responded?
Matthew 8:27 tells us, “The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him!’”
Again, we reflect upon a time when Jesus cast a demon out of a man. We see the response of the people in Luke 9:43. It says, “And they were all astonished at the greatness of God.”
We see at the crucifixion of Jesus that God’s sorrow and displeasure were present when the sky turned dark.
Matthew 27:45 says, “From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over the whole land.”
All of these occurrences give evidence to the reality that through the coming of Jesus Christ, God was, indeed, with us in His presence.
In the conception, birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we see Immanuel, God with us.
Next, we experience . . .
II. God with us in power.
When Jesus came in the flesh, God was not only with us in His presence; He was also with us in His power.
Do you remember the powerful display of God when the angels appeared to the shepherds after the birth of Jesus?
Luke 2:8–15 says, In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.” Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors! When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
What an awesome and miraculous display of God’s power!
This was not just a miraculous child from a miraculous line; this was a powerful display that the miraculous God had come to dwell with His people.
There was not just one angel, not two angels, there was a host of angels declaring to the shepherds that the Savior had been born.
We not only see the power of God displayed at the birth of Jesus, but also through the life and ministry of Jesus.
Jesus worked miracles. Jesus’ physical body shined with literal brilliance at times. Jesus commanded creation. Jesus taught with authority. Jesus knew the thoughts and intentions of others.
We see Immanuel, God with us, through the power of Jesus.
Of course, the very gospel was made possible by the work of Jesus, and the gospel itself is a beautiful display of the power of God.
The gospel is the story of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, to pay the penalty for sins.
Paul said in Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.”
The power of the gospel is made possible through the power of God, which is made possible to us through the coming of Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.
We also see that this power of God, that came through God with us in Jesus, was also made possible for us.
Jesus said in Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
This power not only came to us, it came for us!
What an amazing reality: when God came to us, when He came with us, He brought power to us and He brought power for us.
God is with us in power through the coming of Jesus Christ!
Finally, in Immanuel, we experience.
III. God with us in person.
Listen to the story of the birth of Jesus, once again from the Gospel of Matthew:
Matthew 2:1–2: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”
What did the wise men come to do? They came to worship Jesus.
Listen, church: there is no one worthy of worship except God alone.
Let’s understand this about God’s view on worship. He declares that He alone is worthy of worship, and no one else should be worshiped.
Exodus 20:3 says, “Do not have other gods besides me.”
Exodus 34:14 says, “Because the Lord is jealous for his reputation, you are never to bow down to another god. He is a jealous God.”
Isaiah 42:8 says, “I am the Lord. That is my name, and I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.”
Jesus Himself said in Luke 4:8 “It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”
Yet, these wise men were worshiping Jesus. Wouldn’t you know it, they were not the only ones who worshiped Jesus.
In John 20:28 the apostle Thomas said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”
In John 12:13, we see people worshiping Jesus. It says, “ . . . they took palm branches and went out to meet him. They kept shouting: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!’”
In Matthew 14:33 we read of His disciples worshiping Him. It says, “Then those in the boat worshiped him and said, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’”
We read of this moment in Matthew 28:9 when some of the women encountered Jesus after His resurrection: “Just then Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ They came up, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.”
We read of this prophecy of the end of all things when Jesus, the Lamb of God, will sit on a throne and receive worship. Revelation 5:12 says, “They said with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
Jesus is God with us, in person. God the Son was born on the earth, lived on the earth, ministered on the earth, was crucified on the earth, rose from the dead on the earth, and ascended from the earth back to heaven, from where He will one day return again in the flesh to once again powerfully manifest Himself as Immanuel, God with us.
It all started when a child was born who would be called Immanuel.
In Immanuel, we experience God with us in person.
Let this bottom line summarize all that we’ve learned today:
Bottom Line: Christmas fulfills the prophecy of the miraculous God.
It’s a miracle that God would walk among us in the flesh. It’s a miracle that Isaiah would prophecy that a child would come who would be Immanuel, God with us. It’s a miracle that Jesus would fulfill that prophecy and change the world forever.
This Christmas, remember the prophecy of the miraculous God.
Challenge yourself this week in this one way:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Reflect upon our miraculous God.
How has the miraculous God changed your life? You might wonder, “How can the miraculous God change my life?”
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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