Immanuel: When God Became Flesh
I wish to start by telling you a story. No, it’s not a story from the Bible, though as you will see, it has those themes within it. It’s a story that could easily have been pulled from the headlines of today’s newspaper. I found it in a book that tells the tale of young man’s journey to God. The book is called
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller and the story goes something like this:
A team of Navy SEALs was sent on a convert mission to free hostages from a building in hostile territory. The team flew in by helicopter, made their way to the compound and stormed into the room where the hostages had been imprisoned for months. The room was filthy and dark. The hostages were curled up in the corner, terrified. When the SEALs entered the room, they heard the gasps of the hostages. They stood at the door and called to the prisoners, telling them they were Americans. The SEALs asked the hostages to follow them, but the hostages wouldn’t budge. They just sat there on the floor and hid their eyes in fear. They were not of healthy mind and couldn’t believe these men who had stormed into the room were really there to rescue them, never mind whether they were Americans or not.
The SEALs stood there, not knowing what to do. They couldn’t possibly carry everybody out. Suddenly, one of the soldiers had an idea. He put down his weapon, took off his helmet, removed his body armor, and curled up tightly next to one of the other hostages, getting so close his body was touching some of theirs. He softened the look on his face and put his arms around them. He was trying to show them he was one of them. None of the prison guards would have done this. He stayed there for a little while until some of the hostages started to look at him, finally meeting his eyes. The Navy SEAL then whispered that they were Americans and were here to rescue them. “Will you follow us?” the soldier asked. Then the hero stood to his feet and one of the hostages did the same, then another, until all of them were willing to go.
That story, my friends, is not unlike our own. For you see, we were once like those hostages. Caught in the grasp of this sinful world, we could not hear God calling out to us. We were like the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. God sent them judges, prophets and kings, all with news of God’s goodness and saving grace. Yet all His Words through them fell on deaf ears. They, like us, were too stuck in their own ways. The ways this world says are true and right. So, into our midst God sent His only Son. Not as a God, that we might marvel at His strength and power, but as a babe so we might learn from His humility. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, chapter 2, starting in verse 4:
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped,
but made Himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled himself
And became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:5-11).
Yes, Jesus humbled Himself and came to live among us. He took on our flesh as His own and bore our pain in His heart. And the flesh He had was no different from our own, for thus it had to be. For as the author of Hebrew wrote in chapter 4, verse 15:
“For we do not have a high priest Who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One Who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.”
Now, you may say, “Like us in flesh, but did not sin, such cannot be!” Yet that is truth, as you can plainly see. For Jesus did experience temptation in the same way as we, yet as it says, He never sinned. And it that sense He felt it even to a deeper intensity than we can ever imagine. For we often give in right at the end, but Jesus held on, experiencing temptation to its fullest extent. Truly, it is like the author of Hebrew wrote later on,
“In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”
There in the Garden of Gethsemane, He realized such a temptation for as Luke’s Gospel records in chapter 22, starting in verse 39,
“Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation.’ He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.’ An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him. And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Lk. 22:39-44).
So, “what was it,” you might ask, “that Jesus was struggling so hard to overcome?” What was the cup that He asked His Father to take from Him? Was it not the cup of our sin? Did not taking on the burden of our sin frighten Him so? Yes, but it was also much deeper than that. For you see there was more to fear that night than the burden of our collective sin. It was a deeper fear still that Christ felt within. For He well knew that God, His Father could not stand the sight of sin and in it’s presence He could not be in. As His prophet Isaiah said in chapter 59, verse 2,
“But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden His face from you,
so that He will not hear.”
Jesus knew that on that cross He would be utterly separated from God, His Father, for the first time in His entire existence. Remember He said, as John wrote in his Gospel, chapter 5, verse 19, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” Indeed, it was that total abandonment that drove Him to cry out from that cross, as He lay there, beaten, nailed, pierced and dying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mt. 27:46, Mk. 15:34). Jesus not only bore our sins that horrible day some two thousand years ago, He bore the pain of being apart from God, His Father, so that we would never have to. That’s right, because of Christ’s sacrifice, we are not only freed from our sin, we are redeemed from ever having to be alone again.
For that is what that name means after all, Immanuel. It means God is with us. The same God Who confused and thwarted every army Israel fought against. The same God Who David had in mind when he wrote every one of his Psalms. The same God of Whom Solomon wrote all those Proverbs. The same God all the prophets spoke of. Yes, even the same God that took on our flesh in Jesus Christ. That same God is with us.
Not only that, this same God beckons us to be with Him! For He says, as John records in Revelations, chapter 3, verse 20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” Notice that He says this not to those who do not already know Him, but to those who do, that they might know Him even deeper and more intimately.
For so does God desire to know each of us. He desires us to know His heart just as He already knows ours. God desires to wipe away our every tear and turn away all our fear. The question is will we let Him in? Will we give to Him all of our sin? Will we let His cleansing flow breach the deepest and darkest recesses of our soul? Will we believe that in Him alone we can be made whole? Will we let His light shine within us?
For it is not just Jesus Christ, Who is Immanuel, we are as well. As John says in his first letter to the church, chapter 4, verse 12: “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” It is in our love for each other that Christ lives on, in and through our lives.
He designed each one of us to be unique. There is, has never been and will never be another person like you or I. That’s what Paul was talking about when he wrote in his letter the Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 10: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” That’s you and me. God had a specific person in mind when He created each of us. And He created that specific person with a unique ministry in mind that cannot be done by anyone else in the way He designed it to be done in and through you and I.
Every single person must do his or her part. It is only in working together that we can accomplish the purposes God created each of us for. Why do you think Paul talks so much about the church acting as a body? In his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 12, verses 12, he writes: “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.” He talks even more about it throughout that chapter, his letters to the Romans, Ephesians, Colossians and his first letter to his disciple Timothy. Some of us are eyes, some are hands, some are fingers and toes, yet each is as important as the other. There is not one we can do without.
So, if we are to stay together, then what will keep us as such? It is in our love for each other that holds us to one another. God made His love for us manifest in Jesus Christ Who gave His life for each and all of us. That same love He pours into each of us so that we can in turn share it with each other and ultimately the world. And it all begins with receiving God’s love for you into your own heart. Yes, you heard right. It all starts with you. Just as Jesus was called to be God’s Immanuel to the world, so He calls you and I to follow His Example and be His hands, feet, and body to this world.
Now I know that some of you may be wondering, “Where can I fit into this whole thing?” “Is God really calling me?” or maybe, “How can this be after all I’ve done?” And yet, it is. Believe me, I know it’s hard to take it all in. So, let me just close with a poem and a song.
I wrote this poem after hearing God’s voice speaking to me during a time when I, myself, was struggling with my own unworthiness. The first part is what God whispered in the depths of my heart. The second was my response and I hope it may be your as well.
Forgiven
The Father:
I have already forgiven your failings.
Why do you bring them before Me again?
I have already washed you clean.
Why do you insist on playing in the dirt?
Accept My forgiveness.
Receive My cleansing.
Why do you cling to that which I have already released you from?
Why do you remain in the dungeon?
The chains have already been broken and the key thrown away.
The gates of iron have been flung wide open
And yet still you cower in the cage of your own making
The light has been shown forth
Yet you prefer the darkness
What more can I do for you, My child?
How else can I bid you come?
The table has already been set and the dinner bell is ringing
Is it possible you have not heard Me calling?
Answer Me and I will give you the desires of your heart.
I am your Father and have always been faithful.
Is this not the truth?
Listen to your heart, My child.
You know Who I am.
You have always known.
His Child:
Come unto me, O Desire of my heart!
Beckon me unto Your Feast, O Satisfier of my deepest hunger!
Dance with Me, O Romancer of my soul!
Set me beside the still waters, O Author of my peace!
Run with me, O my Ever True Companion
Guide my steps. O Victorious Winner of the race set before me!
You Who began this good work in me,
You are my Faithful Father
And You will finish what You have started!
Yes, You will finish what you have started!
Some of you may need to hear God whispering in your own heart this day. I invite you to quiet yourselves inside and listen in as I play this song, it echoes the heart of one who is attuned to the heart of God. Listen now,
The Passion of Your Heart
Oh the passion of Your heart, Your abandoned pursuit of me
Oh the risks that You took to love someone like me, That risk has set my soul free,
Your desire for me is overwhelming, it consumes your every thought,
Oh the joy that You feel when our hearts touch, the joy when we touch,
You desire to draw me so close to You, You desire to have me all to Yourself,
You tenderly call out my name, beckoning me to come nearer,
You romance me with the purity and sweet wine poured into a cup of communion,
We dance and spin all around the universe,
Your rage is aroused at my enemies, You defend me with arms full of strength,
Your gentleness towards me is ever present, Your care for me ever living,
You’re so eager to disclose all the secrets of Your heart,
To show Yourself unrestrained fully given to me,
Your goodness is a placid stream, a blanket wrapped all around me,
Your faithfulness is the sure song of sunrise,
Your promises are structures already formed,
Ever deepening is the vastness of Your great love,
You allure me with soft array,
Ever present is the pulse of Your affections,
Your smile is gleaming with excitement, to show me even more . . .
-Steven Roach, Enter the Worship Circle: The Third Circle
