Christmas Babies: Jesus, Immanuel

Christmas B= abies: Jesus, Immanuel

Isaiah 7:14; Philippians 2:9-11

Any Christmas babies here this morning? By that, I mean people born close = enough to “the day” that your birthday sort of gets lost in the Christ= mas shuffle. I don’t know e= xactly where the cut-off is, but my birthday in December 15^th—and= I think that’s close enough to qualify!

Anyway, if your birthday falls between…December = 10^th and New Year’s Day, raise your hand…. Fellow Christmas babies, one and a= ll, I feel your pain. Happy Birthda= y!

Two Sundays ago, we focused on another Christmas baby&= #8212;remember?--John the Baptist. He was born just= a short time before Jesus was. John’s birth is recorded in Luke 1; then Jesus comes along in = Luke 2. God gave John a head start= since it was his mission to prepare the way for Jesus.

But talk about being over-shadowed—Jesus called = John the “greatest of all the prophets.” Nobody celebrates John’s bir= thday, though. In just a few days, however, people all over the world will celebrate the birth of Jesus.

And listen: John would be the first to tell us that that’s as it should be. Remember what he said when asked about Jesus: “He must increas= e, and I must decrease.” (John 3:30)&nb= sp;

So, today, we focus on the baby for whom Christmas is = named, Jesus, the Christ. Look with = me, please, at two very familiar passages of Scripture as we begin:

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will gi= ve you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Philippians 2:9-11&nb= sp;⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above ev= ery name,
¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the ea= rth,
¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

There’s just something about that name—did you hear it: ‘the name that is ab= ove every name’: Jesus. We = learn in the Gospel of Matthew that an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and t= old him that the child who would be born to Mary was to be called “Jesus.”

1. Tell me—have you ever wonder= ed WHY JESUS? It was not an unusual name in = that day. There were plenty of oth= er people around named Jesus.

Have you noticed that it’s popular in some circles today to create new, one-of-a-kind names= for babies? If you’re a tea= cher, you’ve noticed. YouR= 17;ve looked at your class roll and said, “That’s supposed to be a name? How in the world do you= pronounce it?”

Well, at that first Christmas, God was doing something never-before-done when He sent His only begotten Son into the world. = With all His creative powers, we might have expected God to be a bit more origin= al when it came to naming His Son. Instead, He picked a name that everybody in and around Bethlehem already knew. They called Him Jesus.<= /span>

So again: Why Jesus? Well, it was common among the Hebr= ew people to give their children names that said something about God—or something about their children in relation to God. “Hannah,” for example,= means “God’s favored one.”&nbs= p; The name “David” means “God’s Beloved.”= ;

It was important that= Mary and Joseph give this very special child a name that would communicate the r= ight thing to the culture in which He arrived.&= nbsp; So God sent word through His angel that His name would be “Jesus.”

Why Jesus? Well, if we took the time to look = at Matthew’s version of the Christmas story, we would find that the angel said to Joseph, “Call Him Jesus, for He will save His people from the= ir sins.” (Matthew 1:21) T= his statement points to our answer.

“Jesus” w= as simply the Greek form of a familiar Hebrew name, “Joshua.” To name a child “Joshua̶= 1; was to say something important about God. It means “the Lord saves.”

You recall that in th= e Old Testament, it was a man named Joshua who led God’s people in their co= nquest of the Promised Land. By the time He sent Jesus into the = world, God’s people were looking for another Joshua—someone who would = do to the Romans what Joshua had done to the Canaanites, Hittites, Jebusites, = and all the other “ites”—kick ‘em out!

We can’t blame = them for wanting this, and even expecting it, given their history; but we learn = from the Christmas story that God had a different kind of salvation in mind for = them. It was not as popular as the other kind—yet, it was far more important.=

His name is “Je= sus,” because He saves His people—He saves us--from our sins. This is what His name means: ̶= 0;the Lord saves.”

2. Now, hold that thought while we go= back to the prophet Isaiah. We rea= d just one verse, so let me refresh your memory concerning what it says: “Therefore the Lord himself = will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

It is nothing short of miraculous that hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, God has His prophets telling us so much about this Messiah who is to come. Of all the prophecies, Isaiah̵= 7;s are surely the best known…and loved.= In this one, we learn of the uniqueness of Jesus’ birth, as we= ll as the nature of His mission.

When our children wer= e small, we had an Advent calendar in our home in Roanoke, Virginia. Many of you are familiar with thes= e calendars—they’re wonderful teaching tools for young children. They’re usually composed of a manger scene that also includes several little doors.

Each door has a numbe= r; and behind each one, there’s a Bible verse about the birth of Jesus. The idea is that children will ope= n one of the doors each day, beginning December 1^st, and continue to do so through Christmas Day. Of cou= rse, most children sneak and open the doors ahead of time, but that’s okay= . They’re still learning about= Jesus.

Anyway, I well rememb= er the time when our first child Claire was about six years old, and little brother was four; and the two of them along with Pam and me watched and listened as Claire opened the door on the Advent calendar and read, “The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a virgin whose name was Mary…”

Now, Claire was an inquisitive child. She could = have asked about the angel Gabriel…or God…or Mary. But noooo…evidently there wa= s only one really new word for her in that verse—so you know what she asked, “Daddy, what’s a virgin?”

Well, living where we= were at the time, it was simple enough to explain to her that that’s someo= ne who lives in Virginia. Okay, I didn’t really say that—but I didn’t go into a lot of detail either. But we know w= hat it means—there was miracle behind this birth.

Isaiah predicted the miracle centuries before when he said the child would be born of a virgin&#= 8230;and He would be called “Immanuel.” That’s miracle too!

So…WHY IMMANUEL? Well, this also tells us something = about who Jesus is: “God with us.”&n= bsp; That’s what Immanuel means.

In John’s Gospe= l, the miracle of the Incarnation—God with us--is described like this: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; a= nd we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father.” (John 1:14)

Which is to say that = in Bethlehem’s = stable, Mary gave birth to a baby—a very human thing to do. So this child made his entrance in= to the world in the same way as the rest of us—born of woman. Jesus was fully human: flesh and b= lood, aches and pains, joys and sorrows—like us.

Yet at the same time,= this conceived-of-the-Holy Spirit, virgin-born child was unlike any other. HE was IMMANUEL! He came into the world as no one e= lse has to do a work that no one else could. He was fully human, yet also fully God.

And if you cannot wra= p your brain around that, don’t worry! God’s miracles are not meant to be fully understood. If we could understand them, they = wouldn’t be miraculous. God doesn̵= 7;t ask us to explain it, just not to take it for granted…and not to live= our lives as if it’s no big deal.

Friends, what God set= in motion with the birth of Christ is the biggest big deal of them all. When you think about it, it’= s really the only thing that makes all God’s other big deals make sense.

I know some folks try= to envision a world without Christmas, a world where there is no “God with us;= 221; but in the final analysis, that leaves our lives pretty empty—doesn&#= 8217;t it?

3. So again&#= 8230;Why Jesus? Because He came to= save us from our sin. And Why Immanuel? Because He was God’s Only So= n come to us as God’s unique, loving, saving, life-changing Presence. Now…we are getting to WHY IT MATTERS.=

Why does it matter th= at the Lord came enfleshed in the baby Jesus?&nbs= p; Why did He not just make His entrance onto this world’s scene = as, well…GOD?!? Maybe this = story will help us see why:

Henry Carter directed= a home for emotionally disturbed children.&n= bsp; Christmas was always a difficult time for those children who had to remain at the home. Most of t= hem left for the holidays, but some, like little Tommy had no place to go. He felt sad and lonely as he watch= ed the other children leaving.

The time came for Chr= istmas dinner, but eight-year-old Tommy chose to crawl under his bed and refuse to come out. Mr. Carter tried hi= s best to persuade him to join the others for dinner, but Tommy wouldn’t budge. Hearing about the wond= erful meal, which would be followed by some presents to open, didn’t help.<= o:p>

Mr. Carter decided he= had to do something. He dropped t= o his knees and looked under the bed at Tommy.&n= bsp; It would have been easy enough to reach in and pull him out, but he didn’t. Instead, Henry = Carter slid through the dust until he was right beside little Tommy under the bed.= And then, he waited…

After awhile, little = Tommy reached out and took Mr. Carter’s hand. With that, Mr. Carter broke the si= lence of the moment, and said, “Tommy, it’s kind of cramped under here. Why don’t we slid= e out where there is more room?” Sure enough, Tommy worked his way out from under the bed, and even went and join= ed the others for the Christmas dinner…and the presents.

Well, you might think= of “Immanuel” as God getting under the bed with us--God entering into our space, and into= our hurts and hopes. It was never God’s intention for us to live under the bed, but He had to stoop awf= ully low to get us to come out. Th= is is why what God did at Christmas, = and how He did it, matters.

Is there anything tha= t God could have done to make us feel more loved? Is it any wonder that when people = are asked what their favorite verse of Scripture is, most will say, “For = God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son…?”

This is the gift that breaks down our defenses and makes us feel loved—much the same as having Mr. Carter get under the bed with him m= ade Tommy feel loved—enough for him to be willing to come out and join the Christmas party.

I guess the obvious question is “who would the Lord have US get under the bed with during this Christmas season?” And in this church family, the season extends powerfully right through the New Year’s Day meal…and well beyond that big event if it’s re= al.

But preparing the mea= l and serving it, collecting the coats and giving them out—these are just s= ome of the ways that you and I stoop to get under the bed with the Tommys of th= is world. And by the way, it sho= uld never come as a surprise to us when we discover that Jesus is down there un= der the bed too.

Maybe you recall this= anthem that our choir sings: “Love came down at Christmas--love all lovely, = love divine.” This is what Christmas is about. And it= 217;s our love for God and others that shows that the Christ of Christmas is truly Lord of our lives.

With this in mind, I = would like to share with you a Christmas version of I Corinthians 13, often called = 220;the love chapter.” Several = of you sent this to me last year—thank you.= The author is Sharon Jaynes, and it goes like this:

If I de= corate my house perfectly with lovely plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights, and shiny glass balls, but do not show love to my family – I’m just another decorator.

If I sl= ave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals, and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love= to my family – I’m just another cook.

If I wo= rk at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home, and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family – It profits me nothing.

If I tr= im the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties, and sing in the choir’s cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love st= ops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets a= side the decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is= kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn’t envy another home that has coordinated Christmas china and ta= ble linens.

Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of the way.

Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoic= es in giving to those who can’t.

Love be= ars all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.=

Love ne= ver fails. Video games will break; pearl necklaces will be lost; golf clu= bs will rust. But giving the gift of love will endure.=

So, friends, may we s= eek to give enduring gifts of love to our Lord and to one another this Christmas&#= 8212;as we celebrate the greatest love gift of all: Jesus, our Savior, our Immanuel= !

Let’s pray: O God of all our days, we thank yo= u for how this holy season of Christmas reminds us of how very much You love us. Whatever our circumstances may be = today—whether in joy or in sorrow, in moments of success or failure—may we always experience the blessing of Your Presence, finding in You the grace and stre= ngth to live life fully, and to love You and one another in ways that demonstrate that Christ the Lord is alive in us. For it is in His Dear Name we pray= . Amen.