December 7th, 2025 -- More Than a Manger, Part 2

Devotional

Day 1: Emmanuel fulfills prophecy: God with us arrives.

Matthew points out that this moment in history is a fulfillment of prophecy: a child would be born and be known as Emmanuel, God with us. This underscores that Jesus’ coming was not an isolated event but the culmination of God's announced plan to bring himself near to his people. The name Emmanuel reframes expectation—God is present with his people rather than judging them from afar. [06:56]

Matthew 1:22–23 (ESV)
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Reflection: In a moment this week when you expect God’s judgment rather than his nearness, what is one specific way you will invite Emmanuel’s presence—through confession, a short prayer, or by reading these verses—and when will you do it?

Day 2: Isaiah's sign points forward to God-with-us.

Isaiah’s oracle, preserved and cited by Matthew, gives the original context for the name Emmanuel and signals both an immediate sign in Isaiah’s day and a larger messianic fulfillment. The Septuagint’s reading helped the early church see a future, greater fulfillment in the coming Messiah who would embody God’s presence among people. Recognizing that layered prophetic purpose helps believers trust God’s long work to bring himself to humanity. [04:17]

Isaiah 7:14 (ESV)
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Reflection: What ordinary place or routine in your life feels the least likely to host God’s presence, and what one practical step will you take this week to look for Emmanuel there (pause, pray, journal, or invite someone to pray with you)?

Day 3: Seeing Jesus is seeing the Father.

Jesus tells Philip that seeing him is the same as seeing the Father, making the transcendent God knowable in a new way through the incarnation. Because God took on flesh, people now have access to God’s character, heart, and compassion in the person of Jesus. This makes relationship with God radically personal: Jesus models how God relates to joy, temptation, grief, and the ordinary rhythms of life. [11:49]

John 14:9 (ESV)
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

Reflection: When doubts about knowing God arise, which concrete practice will you choose this week to behold Jesus (for example, reading a Gospel passage each morning, naming one attribute of Christ each hour, or praying through a Psalm)? Specify the practice and when you’ll do it.

Day 4: The Spirit continues Emmanuel's presence within.

Jesus promised that though he would ascend, he would send the Helper—the Holy Spirit—so that his presence would continue and even dwell within believers. The Spirit’s indwelling means Emmanuel is not confined to one place or time but is at work inside God’s people, guiding, comforting, and empowering mission. This ongoing presence is a reason to pray, consult God daily, and rely on the Spirit for wisdom and counsel in everyday decisions. [35:37]

John 16:7 (ESV)
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Reflection: Name one upcoming choice or pressure this week where you will intentionally pause and ask the Holy Spirit’s guidance before acting; when exactly will you pause, and what short prayer will you use?

Day 5: Access to God is a gift, not works.

Because sin created a barrier between God and humanity, only Christ’s life, death, and resurrection could remove that obstacle and open access to God for believers. Salvation and the resulting access to God are gifts of grace received by faith, not achievements earned by human effort. This truth reshapes how one approaches God—moving from striving to resting, from proving to receiving—so that daily access becomes returning to a gift. [28:46]

Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV)
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Reflection: Identify one area where you default to self-reliance instead of grace; what concrete, simple action (memorizing Ephesians 2:8–9, a daily confession, or asking a friend to pray with you) will you take this week to remind yourself that access to God is a gift?

Sermon Summary

We continued asking why Jesus came by focusing on the name Emmanuel—God with us. Isaiah’s promise, carried forward by Matthew, isn’t just a poetic title; it is the concrete answer to how God brings Himself near. Emmanuel means that the transcendent God voluntarily “lost His distance.” The God who once felt inaccessible now lets Himself be known—not in abstract propositions alone, but in a person we can see, hear, and imitate. The incarnation radically changed the kind of knowledge possible; in Jesus, if you’ve seen Him, you’ve seen the Father. That also means access. Before Christ, most people related to God through mediators—prophets, priests, and sacrifices. In Jesus, God came out to meet us at the locked door we could not open.

Mercy also redefines what we’d expect. Because of our sin, we might assume Emmanuel should mean “God judges us.” Astonishingly, it means “God with us.” Matthew even notes, “they shall call His name Emmanuel”—not just Joseph, but the people who learn, by experience, that in Christ God is not only holy but near.

Emmanuel also means the Maker became one of us. Like a true “undercover boss,” He entered our condition without ever ceasing to be God. He knows hunger, fatigue, loneliness, joy, pressure, temptation—yet without sin. That empathy is not sentimental; it is priestly. Because He lived the life we could not live, His death could atone where ours never could. If He had not become Emmanuel, we would have remained apart from God. Salvation comes by grace through faith because He removed the barrier we could not.

Finally, Emmanuel means He never really left. He ascended, yes, but He promised, “I am with you always.” The paradox is resolved in the Trinity. The Spirit makes Jesus’ presence not merely local but indwelling—God with us, and God in us. Even at the Table, we refuse both absence and superstition: He is not physically in the elements, yet He is truly present by His Spirit as we remember and receive Him. So, if God is with us, we should talk to Him, consult Him, and live on mission with Him. Why did Jesus come? To bring God to us.

Key Takeaways

1. God made Himself knowable and accessible. Knowing God is no longer confined to distant symbols or mediators. In Christ, we see God’s character, priorities, and compassion embodied, which means relationship is personal, not theoretical. Neglecting prayer and Scripture now is not a scheduling problem; it is an access problem of the heart. Emmanuel means we can, and must, come near. [13:54]
2. Mercy reframes our expectation of judgment. Given our sin, we would expect God to arrive as Judge first and Companion second. Yet Emmanuel signals that God draws near to reconcile before He returns to judge. This nearness does not deny holiness; it displays a mercy that absorbs our penalty rather than leaving it with us. Such mercy calls for repentance, not presumption. [17:20]
3. The Maker became one of us. God’s empathy is not imagined; it is incarnate. Jesus knows the weight of temptation to its fullest because He never yielded, and thus He can strengthen those who are tempted. Approach Him honestly; He understands both your limits and your longings. Worship Him reverently; becoming human did not diminish His majesty. [22:17]
4. He left so He could stay. Christ’s ascension is not absence but an upgrade of presence; by the Spirit, His nearness is now universal and internal, not merely local and external. This is why Jesus said His departure is to our advantage. The Spirit makes the promise “I am with you always” concretely true in daily guidance, comfort, and power for mission. [35:16]
5. Salvation removes the ultimate barrier. Access to God is not automatic; sin separates, and no pedigree or performance can bridge that gap. Emmanuel lived our obedience and died our death, removing the wall we could never climb. By grace through faith, we receive restored fellowship and lasting peace. Don’t just admire the open door—walk through it. [27:30]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[02:31] - Why did Jesus come?
[03:01] - Meaning and weight of Emmanuel
[05:49] - Prophecy’s near and final fulfillment
[08:58] - God “lost His distance”
[13:54] - From mediators to direct access
[18:21] - They shall call Him Emmanuel
[20:51] - The Maker became one of us
[23:27] - A High Priest who understands
[26:58] - Christ removes every barrier
[32:02] - Promise: With you to the end
[35:16] - Advantage of the Holy Spirit
[36:58] - Presence at the Table
[41:52] - He came to bring God to us

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading (ESV)
Matthew 1:18–25
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was

Sermon Clips

``So, I mean, when we think about God with us, we think about the sin that separated us. We think of how, why accessibility even was an issue to begin with. If we would expect the definition of Emmanuel not to mean that God with us. We would expect it to be God judges us. God condemns us. That's what we would expect that word to mean. Because of the sin problem that we had. But what is the glory of God? And what is the mercy and the grace of God? Is it Emmanuel doesn't mean God judges me. It means God is with me. [00:16:57] (34 seconds) #EmmanuelMeansGodWithUs

And so, we expect God to deal with our sin in a certain way because of our, him being holy and us being sinful. But what an act of mercy on God's part to say, here's how he's going to relate to the people. They're going to see him as God with us, not God judging us. Now, for sure, God is a judge, and I'm not minimizing that. God is holy, and that sin has to be accounted for. I'm not minimizing that at all, but what I'm saying is this. I'm trying to celebrate the point that we don't have to bear the penalty for our sins because of what Christ did. [00:19:04] (39 seconds) #MercyThroughChrist

Secondly, as we work through this together this morning here, what does this mean? What does this name mean? It means that the God who made us became one of us. The God who made us became one of us. This is the ultimate episode of Undercover Boss. Okay? You ever seen that show? You ever seen that show where the CEO or, you know, some high-ranking person in the business puts on a disguise and then goes in and does some of the day-to-day work for these companies? And then they realize, you know, and there's always, you know, it's drama and theater for ratings, of course. [00:20:51] (45 seconds) #GodBecameOneOfUs

That Jesus, he wasn't someone who was just aloof and distant with all the people that he was around. He was someone who was celebrating with them. And he was interacting with them. And he was going to the customs of the day and things like that. And so he was interacting with us. And so he understands what it's like to balance all of these things that we're trying to balance. He understands the challenges of life. Jesus understands what it's like to be tempted with sin. But the difference is that he didn't give in to it. [00:22:48] (32 seconds) #JesusEmbracedHumanLife

And so he understands what it's like to be a human. He knows the limitations, the weaknesses, the frailties. And so what this means is that when we talk to Jesus, we talk to God, we're talking to God as someone who gets it. I don't know if you've ever, like, tried to explain something you're walking through or explained a situation or something with someone. And it was clear that they just did not understand. Maybe they were trying, but they just did not understand it at all or the point you were trying to make. At some point, you just kind of give up. [00:23:32] (32 seconds) #JesusGetsYou

You're like, hmm, you don't get it. But you don't say that. You're just like, yeah, that's discouraging. Yeah, yeah, that's bad, you know. Okay, you know, hope you get your money back. I'm not getting my friend back, but I hope you get your money back, you know. Because they don't get it in that situation, right? We don't have a God like that. Jesus is never like that. Jesus understands exactly. [00:25:17] (27 seconds) #HonorHisDivinity

Our greatest obstacle, which keeps us separated from God, is our sin, right? It's our sin. And the punishment for sin is death, which is eternal separation from God, right? And so Jesus coming to earth to live the life that we could not live, made his death on the cross effectual for salvation. So put another way, had Jesus not become Emmanuel, which is God with us, we would have always stayed apart from God. So if Jesus isn't Emmanuel, if Jesus isn't God with us, then we have no access to him and we are always apart from him. [00:27:01] (36 seconds) #JesusBridgesTheGap

And so in order for us to have access to him, he alone could overcome that problem and overcome the obstacles. And Jesus did that on the cross. Jesus did that by living a life of perfect obedience. Jesus did that through living the life that Adam couldn't live, that you couldn't live, that I couldn't live. And then now, if we believe in him and we put our hope in him and follow him, then we have access to God. [00:27:38] (23 seconds) #JesusMadeAccessPossible

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