Advent Meditation #2
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
(Isaiah 7:10-14)
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, 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. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 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). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
(Matthew 1:18-25)
In pride and self-reliance, the king of Judah refused to ask for a sign from God (Is. 7:10-11). Despite Ahaz’s refusal, “the Lord himself” gave a sign to his people (Is. 7:14). This sign from God declared that a virgin would give birth to a son named, “Immanuel,” which means, ‘God with us’. On the surface, these words seem strange. How could a virgin give birth? How could the uncreated God be born? How could the holy, holy, holy Lord come to dwell with unholy people like us?
For seven centuries such questions hung in the minds of God’s people as they waited with anticipation. At last, on that first Christmas morning, “Immanuel” was born. In a humble manger of Bethlehem the virgin Mary gave birth to a son; God came and dwelt with us. What a mystery is enveloped in the incarnation! The Almighty God became a lowly man without ceasing to be God. The infinite Spirit was clothed with fleshly limitation without ceasing to be infinite. The eternal Lord became subject to time without ceasing to be eternal.
As high and glorious as the mystery of the incarnation is, there is one aspect which is most amazing of all. It can be grasped by asking a simple question: Why did God take on flesh and dwell among us? Why did God condescend to leave his heavenly throne and enter into a life of humiliation, suffering, and death? The answer is this: God did all this in order to “save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Such a priceless gift is without equal. No greater love could ever be shown.This Christmas season, let us praise God for the salvation that is ours in Christ.