Three kings were plotting to attack Israel, and King Ahaz was frightened. The prophet Isaiah said to ask for a sign that God was with him. The stubborn king refused, but Isaiah gave him a sign anyway—a young woman would give birth to a son. Before the boy reached bar mitzvah age—age 13), the plotting kingdoms would lose their power (and they did). Matthew said Mary’s son completed Isaiah’s prophecy by being God’s presence for all people. (For a more detailed study, see Pastor Hamilton’s book Making Sense of the Bible, pp. 56-60.)

• Matthew 18:20 quoted Jesus as saying, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them.” And the gospel’s final verse, Matthew 28:20, carried the promise that “I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” What settings or practices help to make God’s presence real to you? What makes God’s presence as important for you (and each one of us) as it was for King Ahaz?
• Scholar William Barclay summed up Matthew’s message: “Jesus is the one person who can tell us what God is like, and what God means us to be. In him alone we see what God is and what man ought to be.” In what ways have you been able to make Jesus central to your understanding of what God is like? Has that helped you to avoid some of the negative, frightening images of God some people have? If so, how?