Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
Those are some very comforting words that God inspired Isaiah to say to King Ahaz. Those are some very comforting words for us as we just heard in the Sunday School Christmas program as the angel’s words to Joseph about Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” At first, Joseph could not believe that the prophecy of a virgin bearing a son would be his future wife. But in time, through the angel of the Lord, he trusted the Lord and did as the Lord commanded him.
Like Joseph, King Ahaz needed comfort. But unlike Joseph, enemies were set to conquer the Kingdom of Judah. Oddly enough these enemies were the alliance of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Syria. Ahaz was seeing the impending doom upon Judah and its capital city of Jerusalem.
Now, Ahaz wasn’t exactly the best worshiper of Yahweh. In fact, he brought in so many forms of idolatry into Judah. He did this because he wanted Judah to be like the rest of the region. He wanted Judah to fit in. So, when it comes to kings of Judah, he was one of those wicked kings. In fact, he moved the altar of the LORD at the Jerusalem Temple to the side as a devotional altar (2 Kings 16:14). In its place, he put in a new altar just like his contemporaries “made with metal images for the Baals” (2 Chronicles 28:2).
And why would Ahaz do this? Well, as I said, he wasn’t the best worshiper of Yahweh. But there is more, Ahaz believed that Yahweh was absent from his chosen people.
Most of us, at some point or another, have wondered whether God is really with us. We face great difficulties, and we wonder if God even cares. We encounter things that we can’t explain or understand, and we wonder if God really exists. We cry out to God on our knees praying to Him, but we hear nothing in response.
Well, you are not alone if you wonder. You are not the first to question God’s presence.
Before the Fall into sin, God’s presence was obvious. But after the Fall, God’s people have often doubted His presence among them. Remember the golden calf? God told Moses to meet Him on top of Mount Sinai so that He could give him His Law. So, what did the people do on the bottom of the mountain? They got antsy. They began to question God’s presence. They forgot about the plagues that God brought upon Egypt to deliver them. They forgot the parting of the Red Sea by which God rescued them. They forgot about how God provided food for them in the wilderness so that they would not starve.
Instead, they thought: “What have you done for me lately?”
King Ahaz doubted that God was still with him. And he had reason to doubt. Foreign armies were mounting against him. He brought idolatry into Judah. He was unrepentant. In fact, he was putting his trust in King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria to save him against Israel and Syria. He was refusing to trust in Yahweh to save him and Judah.
But before Ahaz had taken the step to call in the Assyrian king for help, God sent Isaiah to give a message to Ahaz. His message was simple: God is with you, Ahaz. Despite his unfaithfulness, God would be with him. Despite his wickedness, God would keep His promise. The Son of David will come. God promised and He fulfills His promises. But in case, he has any doubts, Isaiah tells him to simply ask God for a sign, any sign. “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven” (Isaiah 7:11). Essentially, ask God anything!
But Ahaz wouldn’t. He was too pious to ask. At least that was his excuse. He says, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test” (Isaiah 7:12). Well, all the while through false idol worship, Ahaz was putting God to the test, but when he really needs God, he refuses to speak to Him. So, if Ahaz won’t call out to God for a sign, “the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
Isaiah’s response to Ahaz’s lack of faith was to promise a peculiar sign of God’s presence. He promised that a child would be born of a virgin. From the very nature of this case, this virgin would also have to be a good woman. A loose woman giving birth to an illegitimate child could not possibly be a sign, but a miraculous act performed by God would nourish and bolster faith in this child.
And this son shall be called Immanuel. The name Immanuel tells who this child is: God with us. And this child is like us for “He shall eat curds and honey” (Isaiah 7:15).
Immanuel – the Son of God – is also the son of Mary. He would grow up like any other child. He will eat and drink. He will laugh and cry. But Immanuel is more than that. He is the fulfillment of the promise. He is Jesus. This name, like Immanuel, tells us who He is: He is the Savior from our sins (Matthew 1:21).
Jesus came to fulfill the Law for those who could never obey every commandment of God. Jesus came to suffer with us and die for us to the penalty we deserve on the cross for our sins. Jesus came to be our redeemer, so that by faith in Him, those who trust in Him would live forever.
Yes, the kingdoms of Israel and Syria seem strong and powerful, but those kingdoms would come to an end. You see, that’s included in this prophecy too: “For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted” (Isaiah 7:16). The kingdom of Immanuel, however, will never end. Jesus is the promised sign. He is the promised Son of David who will reign on the throne forever as fully God, fully Man. He is the guarantee that God is with us. In just one week, we celebrate the fact that God is with us and He is with us to save us.
We, like Ahaz, question if God is always with us. In this between time of Christ’s first and second advents, God’s presence in Christ is still often hidden from us.
But God gives us another sign. That sign is the Means of Grace. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are signs of God’s grace toward us. You see, the Sacraments are signs and testimonies of God’s will toward us that awaken and confirm faith in us. So, yes, God is with us! Behold, the Lord Himself gives us a sign where He is found and promises to be: in His Word and Sacraments. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
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