May 9

“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”). — Matt 1:23 BSB

We must never, even in thought, separate the human nature of our Redeemer from His divine nature. Even when His sacred body lay in the grave, temporarily separated from His pure and holy soul by death, there was no division between His human and divine natures. From the moment He was conceived in the Virgin’s womb, His human soul was never parted from His divinity, and even in death, His human soul went to paradise in perfect union with His divine nature. It is a fundamental truth of our faith that the human nature of the Lord Jesus Christ never existed independently from His divine nature.

In the womb, in the manger, in the wilderness, on the mount of transfiguration, in the garden of Gethsemane, at Pilate’s judgment hall, on the cross, and even in the tomb—Jesus was always Immanuel, “God with us.” The human and divine natures of Christ are so closely united that, although their actions are distinct, they cannot be separated from one another. When Jesus broke the seven loaves and fish, it was His human hands that performed the action, but it was God Himself who multiplied the food to feed the multitudes. When Jesus walked on the sea of Galilee, His human feet moved, but it was the Son of God who walked upon the waves. When His lips spoke the words that are “spirit and life” (John 6:63), it was the Son of the living God who spoke. When His hands and feet were nailed to the cross, the blood shed was divine, for all the power and authority of Deity were present in that sacrifice (Acts 20:28).