God with us

Abundant Life

Abundant Life Episode 28 In this episode Saso and Ben discuss a name given to Jesus, Immanuel. Key Verse Matthew 1:23 - Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” This was the angel speaking to Mary, giving her insight to God’s plan to save His people from their sin. I can’t imagine what was going through Mary’s mind. Was she thinking, why me? Who am I to have this happen? How can this be? I bet there were a million questions racing through her mind, yet she likely didn’t even see the big picture. If we look back to the old testament, we see a prophecy that was given during the rain of Ahaz, king of Judah, an evil King. This prophecy was given as a sign to Ahaz, but it was actually a prophecy of the coming Messiah that we see fulfilled in Matthew chapter 1 which would be about 700 years later. Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel - is a masculine Hebrew name meaning “God with us” or “God is with us.” What about the name Jesus vs. Immanuel? The name Jesus, given to Joseph in Matthew 1:21 and Mary in Luke 1:31, means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation.” In the Hebrew and Aramaic, the name is Yeshua. This name is a combination of Ya, an abbreviation for Yahweh, the name of Israel’s God; and the verb yasha, meaning “rescue,” “deliver,” or “save.” Matthew 1:20-21 Luke 1:30-31 Evidence for God “with us” in the flesh We see evidence of this truth in the book of 1 Timothy that Jesus was God in the flesh. This is a very gospel rich verse as well. 1 Timothy 1:16 John also gives testimony of Jesus, God in the flesh, dwelling among us. John 1:14 Colossians 2:9 He dwelt among us and experienced life as a human being Philippians 2:6-11 Jesus lowered Himself to become man yet He did not lay aside His deity. He was 100% man and 100% God. It is truly amazing and also comforting that the God of the universe was tempted just like we are, experienced loss, and pain and sadness just like us and He did not sin as a result. We fail on a daily basis, and it’s just more plain to see that we need Jesus and can’t live a righteous life without him. Just like it talks about in John 15, we can do nothing unless we abide in the vine, which was our last podcast episode. Hebrews 4:15 Why did Jesus come to be with us? It’s quite simple. We are sinners on our way to eternity apart from God. Out of great love for a people who unlovely, Jesus stepped in to save us from eternal damnation. In Matthew we see the angel speaking to Joseph stating the purpose for Jesus. Matthew 1:21 In the book of Luke Jesus testifies of Himself and His mission. Luke 19:10 This is what makes the name it claim it movement false. Jesus didn’t come to make your dreams come true. He came to rescue you from yourself. He came to give you new life, eternal life which is worth more than new cars, big houses, jewelry, and money. Why did Jesus come in the flesh? Couldn’t Jesus just speak forgiveness and forgive all humanity? Perhaps, but God is a God of order, and integrity and truth. He can’t go against His nature. We read in Hebrews that the only way sins can be forgiven is by the shedding of blood or a blood sacrifice. Hebrews 9:22 Not just any sacrifice, the sacrifice must be without spot or blemish just as the lamb sacrifices in the old testament. Hebrews 9:14 Jesus was the perfect sacrifice that fulfilled all the old testament sacrifices and covered any future sacrifice that would be necessary, literally the perfect sacrifice. Hebrews 9:24-28 Why did God send Jesus, His only Son? Psalm 50:10 In other words, God owns everything. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are poor in comparison because God owns all. But what could God give that would actually cost Him something? His Son is the only thing of value or worth, everything on this Earth including the Earth could be spoken into existence by God, but sending His Son was ultimately a sacrifice and He did it because He loves us.