Listen to Sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, December 22, 2019
2 Kings (16) and 2 Chronicles (28) give us the context for the promise of Immanuel. Ahaz, a twenty year-old, becomes king of Israel and reigns for 16 years. He does not walk in the way of the Lord but does what is evil in the sight of God. Scripture gives several examples of just how wicked he was. He made idols out of metal. He worshiped foreign gods of the mountains and trees. He offered his own sons as sacrifices by fire to false gods. He betrayed those closest to him—his own children—for political gain. As a result of his hunger and thirst for power, many of his own people died, lost their homes, and their livelihood because.
But at one point the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before a storm. They were overcome with fear because they realized two foreign powers made a pact against them to destroy them. It seems that Ahaz had no one else to turn to except God for help. It is God’s idea to send Isaiah to Ahaz to meet him in his fear. Isaiah brings a message of hope to Ahaz even though he clearly is not a person or leader who deserves the goodness and kindness of God. Isaiah gives Ahaz God’s message: “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” In other words, “King Ahaz, there is no limit to the sign God will give you if you ask humbly and prayerfully. Your request can be as grounded as the deep places of the earth or as transcendent as the reality beyond the stars. Just ask.”
King Ahaz’s response is, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” In other words, “Thanks, but no thanks, God.” His religious piety is a farce. God is offering him an undeserved gift and he wants to refuse it as if God has ulterior motives—as if God is going to betray him like Ahaz betrays everyone else. Isaiah is greatly annoyed. He scolds Ahaz: “Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also?” In other words, “Is it not enough, Ahaz, for you to exasperate other people that you would also try to exasperate God?”
There is a lesson for us today in this ancient story of Ahaz’s 16-year quest for power. He turns toward false gods in pride and abuse of power. He refuses to accept God’s gracious gift—even though he clearly does not deserve God’s gift. The promise of Immanuel comes at a time of global conflict and corrupt leadership. The promise of Immanuel comes again hundreds of years later to Joseph at a time of global conflict and corrupt leadership. Like Ahaz, Joseph is overcome by fear at the news of his fiancé’s pregnancy. Unlike Ahaz, however, Joseph is a man of integrity and truly loves Mary, his fiancé. God wants to give Joseph, Mary, and the whole world a gift—an undeserved gift—Immanuel—the God who is with us.
And so the promise of Immanuel extends to us. No matter where you or I are on the political spectrum, I think we can agree that we also live at a time of global conflict and many corrupt world leaders. There is nothing new under the sun. Whether we look to one news network or another—whether we we vote for one party or another—whether we are citizens of one nation or another, God’s gift comes to us underserved. We have not earned or merited his goodness as fallen humanity. Clearly none of us deserve or could have earned such a priceless and divine gift. The gift of Immanuel always comes to those who could not have imagined or even asked for such a gift.
God’s gift is a death-blow to our arrogance, narcissism, and idolatry. Immanuel reveals our self-centeredness and preoccupation with worldly power and prestige. He takes the mask off of our false gods to reveal our destructive demons. God calls us to look away from earthly saviors. He wants us to learn the wisdom of Psalm 146: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.” Our hope and future does not rest in the next election or the next royalty in line. As the hymn “O Little Town of Bethlehem” says of the promise of Immanuel, “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.”
Here is the beautiful irony of today’s Scripture. Like Ahaz, we mortals fear other mortals. We humans often look to humanity for hope, power, and a better future. God wants us to look to him for salvation and blessing. And so he sends his Son to take on humanity. The Word becomes flesh. Now we can look to someone born of woman. But this one is not born as we are. His mother is a virgin. He is not merely human. He is divine. He is Immanuel: God with us.
God is with us in human flesh. We can now look to the King of kings and Lord of lords. God is with us in the person and work of Jesus Christ. God is with us in our suffering because he himself suffered. God is with us in our death because on our behalf he died. God is with us through death because he rose from the dead. God is with us in the life of the world to come because he will make all things new. God is with us in spite of ourselves. His name carries the full joy of who he is for us, Immanuel, the God who is with us.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
And so we pray, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
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