Friday, December 25th
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”
(which means “God with us”). – Matthew 1:23 (NIV)
God is with us indeed! This passage comes just after we see Joseph struggling with the
idea of his wife having been with another man. Think about that! There was no precedent for such a thing… aside from an old prophesy in the writings of Isaiah… who has heard of a virgin conceiving without what would have been the ultimate betrayal to Joseph in his betrothal to Mary.
So here we see an angel come to comfort and reassure Joseph, explaining that Mary was indeed being used by God to give birth to Immanuel, the Son of God, God with us. God… With… Us… and with the coming of the Holy Spirit and the covering of Jesus blood, that is indeed what every person that believes in the name of Jesus has been given! We celebrate Christmas today because God is with us. We rejoice in the fact that God’s plans to redeem are being fulfilled through Christ. How frightened Mary and Joseph must have been! Yet, in just 33 years, Jesus would be dying on the cross, rising from the grave, and conquering death. Sin would no longer have power over each and every one of us. The beginning of the end for sin starts here with the birth of Christ. It is time to celebrate!
Author Ian Jeffries and Thomas Hartung
