He is Immanuel / Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25

The Power of “With Us”

Church, it is good to be with you today. I have a lot of energy this week. My name is Jared Rumley, and I’m one of the pastors here at The Well. I have all this energy because I took a staycation last week. Have you ever done one of those? Brad called it a “fake-cation” because he says, “You’re really not on vacation. You’re just home. It’s an extended weekend.”

Well, my family and I chose to stay home and simply be a family together. We got to enjoy a lot of consecutive days together, which doesn’t normally happen. Typically, Monday through Thursday and on Sunday, Daddy works. But for my boys, last week was all about Dad being with them. They’d finish breakfast and look at me like, “You’re not leaving? It’s after breakfast and you’re still here?”

We had so many great moments. One of my favorite memories from the whole week was spending an entire morning with a big tub of action figures we pulled out from under my oldest son’s bed. We created worlds, told stories, staged epic battles, and just had a blast. They were just lifeless little plastic action figures, but the boys had the time of their lives because their dad was with them.

We also made memories on the Fourth of July. For me, the Fourth brings back some of the few memories I have with my own dad. My dad passed away when I was seventeen, and I remember fireworks were always a huge deal to him. He was one of those guys who was always shouting, yelling, and getting into it. Sitting there watching fireworks with my own son, remembering my dad, was really special. My boys experienced what it meant to have their dad with them.

You understand that concept of having someone with you. You know that it is no fun to be alone. In fact, one of the worst things to do in life is to eat alone, right? We avoid that whenever possible. We are wired for community. We need community. We love it when people are with us.

That brings us to the core question of our series: what does it mean for God to be with us? In our series, He Is, today we are looking at the truth that He is Immanuel. The word Immanuel means “God with us.” But what does that really mean?

The Promise of Immanuel

Let’s look at the Scriptures. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter seven. Isaiah is a prophetic book in your Old Testament, written around 735 BC. King Ahaz is ruling Judah and dealing with massive geopolitical threats. Isaiah the prophet—who serves as a mouthpiece, a megaphone for God—speaks God’s words to the king.

Isaiah 7:14 (NASB)

’Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

Now, some of you might be thinking, Wait a second, I thought that was from Matthew. I thought that was from the Gospels and the Christmas story. You’re right, but where do you think Matthew got his material? In Matthew 1:23, Matthew cites these exact same words to explain the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 1:23 (NASB)

‘BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,’ which translated means, ‘GOD WITH US.’

Here in Isaiah, you have a prophetic word given more than seven hundred years before Jesus was born. Jewish people held onto that prophecy, hoping for the one born of a virgin who would be called Immanuel—God with us, a ruler who would physically dwell with His people.

I wonder what kind of expectations that created in them. Did they really believe that the God they worshiped in the tabernacle and temple would one day stand before them in bodily form? Or did they view it merely as a metaphor, an ideological concept? They probably wrestled with the exact same questions you and I have today: Is He really with us, or is this just an abstract idea?

There is an old hymn we sing around Christmas that includes the line: “Low within a manger lies, He who built the starry skies.” Just picture that for a second. A baby lying in a feeding trough, looking up at the night sky, knowing deep in His divine consciousness, I made that. It is a staggering reality.

We understand that Jesus is 100% God, but why did He come as 100% man? Why did God choose to be with us in physical flesh? Was it just to show off His power? Absolutely not. Jesus ate, wept, grieved, walked, and physically touched people. He possessed a real human body. But why? What was God thinking?

The Mind of Christ

To understand the “why” behind Immanuel, we need to turn to the New Testament. Turn with me to Philippians chapter two. Paul is writing to the church in Philippi about Jesus—about Immanuel. We know Jesus is fully God, but here Paul zeroes in on His humanity and His humble posture.

Before Paul describes what Jesus did, he gives the context of how we, as followers of Christ, are called to live.

Philippians 2:3-4 (NASB)

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not [merely] look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

That instruction is completely contrary to our human nature and our culture. Paul says to do nothing from selfish ambition—that attitude that says, I’m going to get what I want, when I want it, because life is all about me. And do nothing from conceit or empty glory. In our world, people constantly chase fame and accolades. We obsess over the latest and greatest athletes until fifteen or twenty years later when the next star comes along, and suddenly everyone is arguing over stats and championships.

Our world tells you: Look out for number one. Fight for your rights. You’re entitled to get yours. Christianity says the exact opposite. In humility, we are called to consider others as more significant than ourselves.

That is hard. Day in and day out, that is not easy. It isn’t easy in marriage, is it? I confess that it is hard for me to wake up every morning, look at Jen, and think, You are more important than I am today, and I am going to live entirely to serve you. My default flesh thinks, I’m hungry, I want to eat, and I’m tired, so I want to sleep. But Paul calls us to look beyond our own interests and actively care for the interests of others.

We live in a culture driven by performance. Get the 4.6 GPA, get the scholarship, land the internship, climb the corporate ladder, schmooze the right people, and win every competition. We celebrate the gold medal; nobody brags about winning bronze. Yet the Kingdom of God turns that upside down. In God’s Kingdom, the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.

Then Paul gives the central command of this passage.

Philippians 2:5 (NASB)

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

Warren Wiersbe once said that the secret to Christian joy is found in how we think and the attitudes we maintain. Paul is telling the whole church—not just a select group of “varsity” Christians—to adopt the very mindset of Jesus Christ.

Emptied Into Humanity

Paul then explains how Jesus modeled this humble mindset for us.

Philippians 2:6-7 (NASB)

who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, [and] being made in the likeness of men.

Jesus was in the very form of God. In the original language, “form” doesn’t just mean an external outline like a cookie cutter; it refers to the outward expression of an inward reality. When a sports team is playing hard, executing the fundamentals, and working together, coaches say, “They were in great form today.” Jesus, possessing the very nature of God as the second person of the Trinity, did not cling to His divine equality. Unlike Satan, who pridefully proclaimed, I will make myself like the Most High, Jesus willingly took the posture of a servant.

He emptied Himself and made Himself nothing. We often ask, What did Jesus get rid of when He emptied Himself? But what if the better question is: What did the Creator empty Himself into? He poured Himself into humanity. He took on human flesh and stepped right into our broken world.

Philippians 2:8 (NASB)

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis uses the illustration of a toy tin soldier. He asks if you ever wished as a child that you could make your toys come to life. Because of our sin in the garden, humanity became spiritually dead—like lifeless tin soldiers trapped in spiritual decay. God looked upon His finest creation with immense love and chose not to leave us in our deadness. Instead of shouting instructions from afar, the Creator stepped into creation. He put on flesh to show us what a truly God-honoring, Spirit-filled life looks like.

Jesus didn’t rely on His divine privileges to coast through earthly life. In places like the Gospels and Acts, we read that Jesus was led by the Spirit and anointed with the Holy Spirit. He set aside the independent use of His divine attributes to live as an example for us. While we can never be sinless like Him, through His Spirit we can wake up each morning, humble ourselves, and walk in obedience to God.

I once heard a story about a farmer watching a flock of birds in a tree during a severe storm. A tornado was approaching, and the farmer knew the birds were in grave danger. He wanted to warn them to take shelter, but every time he approached, they flew away in fear. He thought to himself, If only I could become a bird, I could speak their language and lead them to safety.

That illustration is simple, but it captures the heart of the Incarnation. God did not remain distant. He stepped down into His creation, put on flesh, and walked among us as Immanuel. And He took His obedience all the way to the cross, laying down His life as a sacrifice for our sins.

Drawing Near with Confidence

If you have ever felt distant from God, or if you have ever wondered whether God truly understands your struggles, look at what the author of Hebrews tells us.

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NASB)

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as [we are, yet] without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Jesus is our great High Priest. He knows what it is like to be tempted, yet He never sinned. He was tempted in every way common to man. Think about when the religious leaders dragged the woman caught in adultery right in front of Him, challenging Him to condemn her. Jesus didn’t give in to anger, lust, or self-righteousness. He stooped down, wrote in the dirt, and extended mercy. He faced every trial and temptation without sin so that He could fully sympathize with our weaknesses.

Because Jesus is Immanuel—God with us—we don’t have to hide in shame. We can approach the throne of grace with boldness and confidence to find mercy and grace in our time of need.

God stepped into human history to give us hope and new life. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you become a new creation. The old has gone; the new has come.

And now, God calls us to go into our city, into our neighborhoods, and into our workplaces to reflect His presence. When we live in humble submission to God, filled with His Spirit and putting others ahead of ourselves, people around us get a tangible taste of the love of Jesus.

You can have complete confidence in the God who drew near to you. Do you have that hope today? Do you understand the incredible lengths God went to be with you?

Let’s pray together.

Father, these truths are bigger than our minds can fully comprehend. Thank You for revealing Your heart through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You that He did not stay far off, but came down, put on flesh, lived among us, and went to the cross for our redemption.

Father, help us to reflect Your love to the world around us. We never replace Jesus; we simply follow behind Him and proclaim what He has done. Give us confidence and hope as we go this week. May we rest in the joy and safety of knowing that our Father is truly with us. We pray all these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ. Amen.