Emmanuel: A 4-Day Devotional With Chris TomlinSampel

Emmanuel God With Us

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Matthew 1:23 (KJV)

Christmas is truly God’s great surprise to the world. Think about it, if you or I were going to redeem humanity, we would never have written the story the way God did.

He didn’t use a prestigious couple to bring Jesus into the world. He chose a lowly carpenter and a scared teenage girl, who weren’t even married yet, to bear His Son.

A palace would have been more fit for royalty, but instead, God chose the quiet town of Bethlehem and a shabby stable as the birthplace of the King of Kings.

Perhaps it would have made more sense for men of great importance to be the first to visit the baby, but instead, God elected lowly shepherds and, later, three wise men. It wasn’t a red carpet and flashes of fanfare that led the way, but a solitary star and a choir of angels.

Sure, the story unfolded in a strange way, but it ended in the greatest crescendo the world has ever heard — the earth-shattering announcement of Emmanuel…the birth of our Savior…God with us.

Can you imagine what that moment must have felt like? And yet, I’m not sure anyone who played a key role in that first Christmas really understood what they were witnessing. No one was ready for it, and no one expected the long-awaited Messiah to come as quietly and innocently as He did.

I don’t know that the motley cast of characters in the Christmas story could have fully comprehended the epic narrative God was orchestrating in that moment. While they might have believed Jesus was the Messiah, it must have been impossible — looking at that newborn — to realize all His future held.

Holding that baby in their arms, how could Mary and Joseph even fathom that their Son would one day go on to save the entire world? That’s the miracle of Christmas, isn’t it?

It’s not that we could get to God; it’s that God came to us. And every year, the good news of Christmas remains the same. The baby in the manger — the King of Kings — is here. Come close. He is Emmanuel, God with us.