Advent Week 4

There is a difference in urgency when going after your own vs being hired to care for someone. 

Israel was waiting for someone they thought who was sent by God to help them. They didn’t realize they were waiting for God himself. 

Jesus was a common name at the time, but Emmanuel was not. Isaiah prophesied that God would provide deliverance through a child not yet born named Emmanuel. Emmanuel means “God with us.”

It was never used because it had the potential to slip into blasphemy more than any other name. It could be claiming that the child with that name was sent from God. 

The angel says to Joseph this kid will be called Emmanuel. He IS God with us. 

You can’t keep Christ in Christmas by being hostile. You can only keep Christ in Christmas by acting like Christ during Christmas. 

The baby is the whole point. 

When it came time for God to save his people he didn’t send someone else. He sent himself.