“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14. NKJV). “Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’ “ (Matthew 1:22-23. NKJV).
Christmas Day! The birthday of a King! “Immanuel – God with us!” This was the name of the son born to the virgin prophesied by Isaiah and fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ to the virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judea. In the Old Testament the term is used twice, in Isaiah 7:14 and again in 8:8. The sign of God was communicated through the birth of a son, born of a virgin—a miracle within itself. The name given to the child, both in Isaiah and Matthew, indicates the mission of the One born: In Him God dwells with us.
When Adam and Eve were created and placed in the Garden of Eden, they had communication with God—He was with them—until by wrong choice sin entered man’s domain. The relationship with Immanuel (God with us) changed in a twinkling of an eye. Man’s sin, or his fall from grace, was responsible for the break in fellowship. From then until the coming of Jesus into the world, God was available for fellowship by man, and we have many accounts of those who sought God and knew His presence. But because of man’s continuing wrong choices and rebellion (a shorter term is sin), mankind could not have the relationship with God that was intended. God’s “sign” and His plan was a holy child born of a virgin—Immanuel. In Jesus’ sinless life, His God-inspired teachings, His immaculate life and example, and His atoning death and victorious resurrection, Jesus demonstrated God-with-us, Immanuel. Through the promise and coming of the Holy Spirit, Immanuel is still continuing His work—God with us. The plaintive plainsong, translated from the Latin by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin and set to the tune “Veni Emmanuel” is often sung at Christmas.
“O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!
But we don’t have to wait any longer. “Joy to the world, The Lord is come! “And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn…And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:7, 14. NKJV). We have only to believe and invite Jesus into our heart. Immanuel is here!
c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Saturday, December 25, 2010
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