Emmanuel the impossible God with us!

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14).

God became man and dwelt among us. This is the most amazing event in the history of man. This event is the stuff of legends, of ancient mythology. But in fact, it is the center piece of all Christianity and if true all mankind needs to investigate it. Examine the how, the where, the why and the when of this great event. Look at the ancient writings written thousands of years ago which describe in detail and in advance this great event. Look at the writings of eyewitness accounts which describe the fulfillment of these ancient prophesies.

The most famous ancient writing or prophecy that describes the coming of our Lord is recorded by a prophet named Isaiah. Isaiah records a conversation between the LORD and a doubting king named Ahaz. The Lord speaks to this king of doubt Ahaz and says, “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven” (Isaiah 7:11).

I love this, God says, “make your request for a sign as deep as Hell or as high as the heaven.” Now the bible describes hell as the bottomless pit, so there is nothing deeper than Sheol because nothing is deeper than a bottomless pit. And at the same time God says, or ask for a sign as high as heaven. We know there is no place higher than the place where God resides. So this king of doubt is told by God, “Ask for the greatest of all signs a sign as deep as anything imaginable, or a sign as high as anything imaginable."

God tells this king of doubt Ahaz, “Ask for an impossible sign?” Ahaz being no dummy says, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!” (Isaiah 7:12). I can hear God saying these words, “It’s too late to apologize! It’s too late!” (One Republic – Apologize). God says to Ahaz, 'You have tried the patience of men, Now try the patience of God' (paraphrase of Isaiah 7:13).

Then the most famous of all signs of the coming of our God and our King is given. It is a sign as high as the heavens and as deep as hell. The greatest and most famous of signs; “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Matthew tells us that the name Emmanuel literally means and translates as “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

This sign given by the Lord Himself. The virgin was with child, a manchild. And she did bear a Son, the Son of God. Divinity and humanity fussed together in the womb of the virgin Mary.

This one prophecy by itself being fulfilled should be enough for the whole world to shout, “Hallelujah!” But God did not just give one sign. He gave hundreds of foretold signs and miracles all fulfilled in one person. But this one was surely the greatest sign.

I have never heard of any other person than Jesus of Nazareth who was born miraculously of a virgin. I’m not talking about a virgin who man implanted an embryo by in vitro-fertilization. I am talking an untouched virgin, who herself could not believe it. The angel who told this virgin the news had to remind her that “Nothing is impossible for God” (Luke 1:37).

The impossible sign fulfilled by God Himself, for nothing is too high for God or too low for God, nothing is impossible for God!