Immanuel – The time when Jesus was born

Isaiah conveys this glorious message with a directness that makes a full impact. He was conveying something of exceptional significance, something that flowed from the Divine will. The Almighty was to interpose in an exceptional fashion in human affairs, an intervention that would bear the endorse­ment of Divine authority and purpose. Immanuel, the Saviour, was to be born, and God was to manifest Himself to men, because Immanuel means “God-with-us”.

The prophet continues with his great message from God in words of sublime and compelling beauty, words that brought new hope to the human race: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

The inspired writer conveys the good news of God’s wish to establish a new relationship between the Creator and the created. God was to provide a new rulership in the earth, a dominion of Divine authority and righteousness. The hierarchy of temporal government was to pass and be supplanted by the Kingdom of God.

The four kingdoms of men that were to occupy the world stage over the centuries would not lead the nations back to God, because of their pagan religious practices. They believed in gods many, and attributed their conquests and ascendancy to the arm of the flesh. These four kingdoms are vividly portrayed in Daniel’s prophecy, which envisaged the limited duration of these carnal kingdoms and their suppression by a kingdom of Divine administration which would endure forever.

Nothing demonstrates the love of God more than the fact that, in spite of man’s universal and historic failure, Cod should manifest Himself in a son who would offer his life in atonement for the sins of the world.

Historically, man had not measured up to the requirements of the Divine will, and his activities were nothing less than a catalogue of rebellion and violence. Man through the centuries had turned away from God and alienated himself from his Maker. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

The promise of a Saviour goes back to Eden, where, at the fall, God pronounced judgment upon the serpent and decreed that the seed of the woman would deal a mortal blow to the seed of the serpent. The birth of the Saviour, thus foreshadowed, became a corner-stone in the message of the holy men of God, who were moved by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the good news in words of hope and power.

Even though sentence of death was passed upon our first parents, yet it pleased God to make provision for a way of escape from eternal death, by redemption through a Saviour who would bear the character to take away the reproach of sin among men. His own sinless life would be acceptable to God as the perfect atonement that alone could rescue the human race from utter condemnation. “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”

The Messiah was to grow into a tender plant, and then into The Branch, a green tree with all the characteristics of flawlessness. His perfect life was to be an ensign to his people, to those who would come to him and accept him as their Saviour. He would manifest his Heavenly Father to those who saw in him the only way of salvation. He was the way, the truth, and the life.

He was to be Nazarene and King. He was to experience the depths of sorrow and loneliness, and to yield up his life of incomparable character, and still to say that his burden was light: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. . . . Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. . . . For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

In the grace of God the Messianic travail was an appointed means to an end, to a time when man would be reconciled to his Creator, and when the saints would sing a new song in a world given to peace and righteousness. A King, an Eternal King, would encompass the whole earth in the wisdom that is from above, to the Glory of God, in His Kingdom.

Moses understood the limitations of the dispensation of which he was a central figure, and by revelation from God he looked forward to someone greater than himself, to be born at the appointed time, and who would deliver humanity from a hopeless and inextricable position. God had spoken, and He would provide a Mediator, one who would have the spiritual rectitude to be a link in the reconciliation between God and man. He, alone, could bridge the chasm of sin. “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.”

It is essential to know something of the background of the time in which Jesus was born. Imperial Rome ruled the Mediterranean world with a military discipline that had never been equalled. The world has never experienced such unrelenting martial law, nor known a code of discipline so designed to keep conquered peoples in complete subjugation. Rome wouldn’t tolerate any movement that did not pay allegiance to the Emperor. Emperor-worship had reached the proportions of idolatry, and any opposition was ruthlessly crushed.

Of the religion of the Roman State, Duncan Armytage in his book, “Christianity in the Roman World”, writes:

“The state religion was simply a department of the social and political system of the day; it was a conglomeration of stories of the old gods of Rome or Greece, anthropomorphic in outlook, sometimes unedifying and having no power to lead men to higher ideals. It made no appeal to heart or conscience. The essence of this religion was the due observance of certain ceremonies at fixed seasons of the year. Its priests were officials of the state, and their duties, prescribed by law, in­volved no more than the punctual liturgically accurate performance of the appointed services. Augury and divination, which formed a large part of their work, became the handmaids of every political intriguer who was rich enough to bribe the augurs.”

The active antagonism of the Roman State to Christianity is better understood when the depravity of their religious worship is so sharply contrasted. In his book, “Roman Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius”, Samuel Dill writes:

“It is well to remind ourselves that old Roman religion, while it consecrated and solemnised the scenes and acts of human life, was essentially a formal religion; the opus operatum was the import­ant thing. Its business was to avert the anger or win the favour of dim unearthly powers; it was not primarily to purify or elevate the soul. Above all, it was interwoven from the beginning with the whole fabric of society and the State.” The writer goes on to say: “The emperors from Augustus found religion a potent ally of sovereignty, and the example of the master of the world was a great force. Yet it may well be doubted whether, in the matter of religious conservatism, the emper­ors were not rather following than leading public opinion. Gods were in those times being created by the score; apotheosis was in the air from the days of Nero to the days of Seven. Petronius, with an exaggeration which has a certain foundation in fact, affirms that in Croton you could more readily light upon a god than on a man.”

The religious scene in Israel was dominated by two main parties, Pharisees and Sadducees, while a lesser third party, the Essenes, were more exclusive and confined themselves for the most part to the country in virtual monastic seclusion.

The Pharisees practised the externals of religion, presenting a narrow, legalistic, form of worship. They ignored the warmth of true religious feeling, and exhibited the coldness of the letter of the law. They also taught certain traditions which were handed down though they were extraneous to the Mosaic law. They taught the immortality of the soul, and the punishment of the wicked in “hell”.

The Sadducees presented a strict observance of the letter of the Mosaic law, but they didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead, neither in angel nor spirit.

It was into these varied and complex circumstances that Jesus was born. The Jewish nation was under the Roman yoke, and Jewish religious worship was a mere ritual which touched only the fringe of true religious feeling. It was also significant that the Saviour was born at a time when four world empires had successively occupied the temporal stage, without being able to effect any spiritual uplift for humanity. The fifth kingdom was to be the Kingdom of God. The birth of the Saviour-King at that particular juncture of history surely represented a sign that the kingdoms of men had failed and stood condemned in the sight of God.

Messiah came according to the promise of God. The Almighty in His compassion reached down with His glorious gift to humanity, and a moment of almost unbelievable joy had come to the world. He was born in Bethlehem in fulfilment of the words of the prophet: “But thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been of old, from everlasting.”

This was indeed the Messiah who should come into the world, and to the shepherds watching their flocks by night the angelic message came with startling directness, and they were “sore afraid”. And then that fear must have turned to joy indescribable at the news sent by God: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” And with sublime joy the heavenly host conveyed God’s love to mankind: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

The Son of God abode in Nazareth in accord with the prophetic utterance. Then followed days of preparation to do the will of his Heavenly Father: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” He became early imbued with an awareness of his calling and of his relationship to God. Jesus felt the urgent need to manifest God to mankind.

The testimony of John the Baptist is wonderful and of exceptional significance: “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. . . . And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.” The Lightbearer knew of a surety that the Messiah had come. His words are awe-inspiring: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” The following day John repeats the great acclamation: “. . . Behold the Lamb of God!” Immanuel had come.

He was the Light of the world, the true Light that shone among men: “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.” His divinity was evidenced by the miracles which he did, and in the authority with which he spoke: “Never man spake like this man.”

The Messiah truly manifested God to mankind, so that he was able to say: he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” He reflected the Divine attributes to men, and sought to redeem those who were lost. He was Immanuel, “God-with-us”.