Immanuel
Immanuel
Let’s consider a title of our Lord Jesus Christ that is used only once in the New Testament and twice in the Old Testament. You’ll find the New Testament reference in Matthew 1:23, a quotation from Isaiah 7:14: “‘Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’” “Immanuel” is also found in Isaiah 8:8.
This prediction takes us back to seven hundred years before the birth of Christ when Ahaz was king of the southern kingdom of Judah (Isa. 7–9). He wasn’t a godly man, and at that time he was threatened by a strong coalition of Syria and Israel (the northern kingdom). If Ahaz refused to join with them in opposing Assyria, Rezin and Pekah threatened to attack Judah, depose Ahaz, and put a king of their own choosing on the throne.
But Isaiah the prophet encouraged King Ahaz to trust in the Lord for deliverance and not worry about conspiracies. Ahaz outwardly said that he would, but secretly he had allied himself with Assyria, the enemy Syria and Israel were trying to defeat (2 Kings 16:5–9). It was a cowardly and hypocritical thing to do.
Isaiah encouraged him to trust God because the Lord planned to defeat Israel and Syria (Isa. 7:7–9). Then the prophet encouraged the king to ask God for a sign that would strengthen his faith. In his hypocritical way, Ahaz refused, not because his faith was strong, but because his heart was wicked. The king’s confidence wasn’t in the Lord; it was in Assyria. If the Lord gave a sign, then Ahaz would have no excuse for his compromising alliance with Assyria.
But God gave a sign anyway, not to Ahaz alone, but to “the house of David” (Isa. 7:13), that is, to the Davidic kings and all the people who were under their authority. The sign was that a woman (who at that time was a virgin) would marry, conceive, and give birth to a son. Before that boy was old enough to discern right from wrong,[1] Syria and Israel would be off the scene. History records that Assyria defeated Syria in 734, and in 722 Assyria conquered Israel and the kingdom came to an end. So much for the enemies of Judah.
Who was this virgin in Isaiah’s day that married and gave birth to this “sign son” named Immanuel? We don’t know, but some think that Isaiah’s first wife had died and he was writing about his second wife. However, this is speculation.[2] But the main thrust in this prophecy is messianic; Isaiah foretold the miraculous conception and virgin birth of Jesus Christ, as recorded in Matthew 1:18–24 and Luke 1:26–38.
Joseph, a just man, was about to divorce Mary to whom he was engaged, because he discovered she was with child. In Jewish society at that time, engagement involved a very strong commitment and was considered as irrevocable as marriage itself. In order to break an engagement, technically you had to go through a divorce. Thinking that Mary had been unfaithful to him, Joseph decided to break their engagement. But an angel spoke to Joseph and told him that Mary wasn’t unfaithful but was carrying a child that had been conceived by the Holy Spirit. She would “bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.” “Immanuel” is a Hebrew word that means “God with us.”
Jesus never used this name, nor do we find anyone in the four Gospels calling him by this name. “Immanuel” is really a title, a description of who he is. There are two very wonderful truths that are wrapped up in this title.
Jesus Is God
“‘They shall call his name Immanuel,’ which being interpreted is, ‘God with us’” (Matt. 1:23). There are false teachers who tell us that Jesus Christ is not God, that he was simply a good man or a very godly teacher. Yet from the very beginning of the New Testament, Jesus Christ is called “God.” If I called myself “Immanuel” and told you that I was God, you would think I was crazy and rightly so! But Matthew applied to Jesus Christ the title “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.”
Jesus Claimed to Be God
Jesus Christ claimed to be God, and he did so at the risk of his own life. Jesus said to the Jewish religious leaders, “I and My Father are one.” That statement is the next thing to saying, “I am God.” What was the result? “Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.” They told him why they intended to stone him: “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God” (John 10:31, 33). They understood by his statement “I and My Father are one” that Jesus was claiming to be God, and they were right!
In the upper room, Philip asked Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus replied to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:8–9). Once again Jesus claimed to be God. To see Jesus is to see God.
The Jews told Pilate, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God” (John 19:7). The Jewish religious leaders had no problem understanding what Jesus was talking about. They knew that Jesus was claiming to be God, and to them that was the height of blasphemy.
Jesus Received Worship As God
More than claiming to be God, Jesus received worship as God. To worship any creature is idolatry because it’s commanded: “You shalt worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve” (Matt. 4:10, quoted from Deut. 6:13). When Jesus was but a little child, the Magi came and worshiped him (Matt. 2:11). When Jesus walked on the water and then calmed the great storm, the disciples in the ship worshiped him (Matt. 14:22–33). The man born blind whom Jesus healed worshiped him (John 9:38).
Jesus accepted worship! This means that he was God and he knew he was God. This worship was perfectly proper and he received it. Either Jesus is what he claimed to be and therefore deserves our worship, or he is a deceiver or perhaps a madman; but all the evidence points to the fact that Jesus Christ is Immanuel, “God with us.”
Jesus Is Called God
A number of times in the New Testament, Jesus is specifically called God. Let’s note some of these references.
John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The title “Word” refers to Jesus Christ, because John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” a reference to the incarnation of our Lord.
In John 1:18, Jesus Christ is called God. The King James Version says, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [unfolded, explained] him.” The only way Jesus could do this was to be God himself. The New International Version translates this verse, “God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” The New American Standard Bible translates it, “The only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” The combined thrust of these translations is that Jesus is God.
In Romans 9:5, the apostle Paul describes the blessings God gave to the nation of Israel, and he writes: “Of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.” Titus 2:13 is very clear: “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Our Savior is God! In Hebrews 1:8 we read that God the Father said to God the Son, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.”
Second Peter 1:1 reads: “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of God and Savior Jesus Christ.” One Person, two titles: “God and our Savior Jesus Christ.”
First John 5:20 clinches the argument: “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” The Lord Jesus Christ is God!
Jesus Is God with Us
There is a second truth that comes from the name “Immanuel.” Not only is Jesus Christ eternal God, but he is God with us. He isn’t a God who is far away, distant, and unconcerned; he’s with us where we are, sharing the experiences of our lives. When Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary and came into this world as a little baby, he identified with all aspects of humanity. He is the God-man; he is God, and he is God with us.
Frequently in Scripture you find the wonderful promise, “I am with you.” God gave that promise to Moses (Exod. 33:14) and he gave it to Joshua, Moses’ successor. He said, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you” (Josh. 1:5; see Deut. 31:6–8). The Lord has given that same promise to us. Matthew began his Gospel by introducing “God with us” (1:23), and he ended his book on the same note: “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). The Lord Jesus Christ is “God with us” in every area of life.
In Salvation
He is with us in salvation. He is a holy God, and he ought to be against us and far from us because we’re an unholy people. But he is with us in salvation. If you will open your heart to him, he will come in, and he will be with you forever. He will forgive you; he will fellowship with you; he will guide you and fulfill his purposes in your life.
In Our Trials
Jesus is with us in the trials of life. How many times I have turned to Isaiah 43:2, and I have read this promise for my own benefit and for the encouragement of others: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.” Isaiah 43:5 says, “Fear not: for I am with you. . . .”
In Isaiah 41:10, we read: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” No matter what the circumstances Jesus Christ is with us to guard us and help us succeed.
These promises in Isaiah remind me of the experience of Daniel’s three friends who defied the orders of King Nebuchadnezzar and refused to bow before his golden image (Dan. 3). The king had the three men thrown bound into the fiery furnace; but when he investigated, he was astonished at what he saw. Not only were the three Jewish men free from their bonds and walking unhurt in the furnace, but there was a fourth man with them! “The form of the fourth,” said the king, “is like the Son of God!” (Dan. 3:25). When these men of faith went through the fire, Jesus was there with them. He is Immanuel, “God with us.”
In Our Service
Jesus Christ is with us in our service, as we seek to please him and do his will. “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them. . . .” (Mark 16:20). Not only is he walking with us, but he is also working with us. We shouldn’t get weary of the Lord’s work because serving God is exciting, and we are thrilled with the privilege he gives us to serve him. It is good to know that the Lord is working with us and we aren’t alone.
When Paul was seeking to found a church in Corinth (Acts 18), he was confronted with severe opposition, as is often the case when we invade the enemy’s territory. Then the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you. . . .” (Acts 18:9).
The Lord stood with Paul to the very end of his ministry, even though many of his friends forsook him. When a prisoner in Rome, Paul wrote, “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. . . .” (2 Tim. 4:16–17). Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us.”
In Our Sorrows
Christ is with us in the sorrows of life, as we go through bereavement and the painful separation that accompanies the death of somebody we love. The promise is in Psalm 23:4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You art with me. . . .” Jesus is with us in the sorrows of life and gives us the strength and comfort we need.
Death is an enemy because it robs us of those we love and leaves us with hearts that are empty and lonely. Some people try to heal their broken hearts by turning to drink or narcotics or a busy schedule of entertainment and travel, but this approach only distracts us temporarily from reality and postpones the pain. When Jesus comes to us in the valley, he helps us to accept the facts of life and death, face them honestly, and deal with them believingly. Charles Wesley wrote in his hymn “Jesus, Lover of My Soul”:
Other refuge have I none;
Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone,
Still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed,
All my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head
With the shadow of Thy wing.
But even in our own death, Jesus will be with us. In my pastoral ministry, many times I’ve helped families lay their loved ones to rest. Often a family member will grieve excessively because the loved one died alone. No child of God ever dies alone! According to 1 Thessalonians 4:14, our Christian dead “sleep in Jesus,” which literally means “are put to sleep through Jesus.” In his Expanded Translation of the New Testament, the Greek scholar Dr. Kenneth Wuest translates this verse “God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through the intermediate agency of Jesus.” Jesus is there at the hour of death to put to sleep the bodies of his beloved and to take their spirits to heaven. No child of God ever dies alone.
With Us Forever!
Jesus will be with us throughout all eternity! When the apostle John saw that Holy City coming down from heaven, he heard a great voice saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God” (Rev. 21:3). “They shall see His face. . .and there shall be no night there” (Rev. 22:4–5). Even in heaven, Jesus will be “Immanuel. . .God with us.”
But those who reject Jesus Christ won’t spend eternity in his glorious and loving presence. “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power” (2 Thess. 1:9 NIV). Instead of enjoying “God with us,” the unsaved will experience “God apart from us” as they spend eternity separated from God.
Not only for this life, but even more for the life hereafter, it’s wise to trust Jesus Christ and walk with him. He is Immanuel, “God with us”; he will be with you in every circumstance of life. Will you trust him?
Jesus Christ is God; trust him, worship him, give your very best to him. And Jesus Christ is God with us. Wherever we are, in the difficulties and demands of life, Jesus Christ is right there.
“Immanuel. . .God with us.” Are you trusting him today? Have you surrendered your all to him? This is what he wants us to do, for he is God with us.