Sometimes a truth in Scripture I’ve known since childhood will hit me with a fresh splash of awe like I’m hearing it for the 1st time. Today it was the fact that Jesus is with us.
Like right now. WITH US. I think “with” is one of the best of all words in the sacred vocabulary.

At the close of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus didn’t say, “And remember, I am HERE always to the end of the age.” He said, “And remember, I am WITH YOU always to the end of the age.” When it comes to the divine presence & people, there’s a wide gulf of difference between HERE & WITH.

We all know the difference. We know what it’s like to live under the same roof or to be in the same family or social circle where someone’s “here” but he or she is not remotely with us. Maybe you’ve been places with your spouse or a date & no one would’ve known you were together.

Because there’s a huge difference between here & with. “With” conveys connection. It assumes interaction. Partnership even. Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet but Jesus told him that, if he didn’t, “you will have no part WITH me.” Peter responds, “Oh! Then wash all of me!”

The enormity of divine with-ness can be seen throughout the canon. After the golden calf, God told Moses He would keep His promise & get the Israelites to Canaan. He’d give them victory, an accompanying angel & a land with milk & honey but He wasn’t going. Moses: “Then no deal.”

“If You’re not going with us, don’t bother to even send us. They can have the milk and honey. You can keep Your angel. It’s You I want. It’s You. You’re all that makes us different.”

“My presence will go with you and I will give you rest.”

God with man. Not just near. WITH.

Matthew’s Gospel stands upright, the spine of the book strong and sturdy, held tall by 2 deliberate bookends. By no mere coincidence does Matthew end with Christ’s promise to his followers, “And remember, I am with you always.” It opemed with the very same concept.

“See, the virgin will become pregnant & give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated ‘God is with us.’”

Fellow believer, Jesus is not just nearby. He is WITH you. Nothing you can see or touch is a greater, more consequential reality to you than that.

PS. “Opemed” is Greek for “opened.” Some of you are not biblical scholars so you would not have recognized that.