God With Us

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25 ESV).

The Hebrew name Immanuel occurs twice in the Old Testament, both times in Isaiah, both in prophecies concerning the Messiah. In Isaiah 7:14, the prophet writes, "Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel". In 8:8 he writes, "...and the spread of [the Euphrates', see v. 7] wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel". Seven centuries later, Joseph finds Mary, his wife to be, with child and is understandably befuddled and anxious. But an angel from God visits him in a dream and quotes Isaiah, saying that Joseph's little family is the target of a famous, seven hundred year old prophecy. The Child will be called Immanuel (Εμμανουηλ, Emmanouel) eventually, but for now he should be named Jesus, as we see fulfilled in our reading today. “God With Us” is the best translation. It is so easy to race past the meaning of the name. After all, God is everywhere, so it stands to reason that it is a small thing for him to be with us. Yet, so many feel alone much of the time, especially around the holidays. Some feel it in a crowd; and others feel it when they are by themselves. Sociologists say that never before in history have so many people lived so close together and felt so far apart. Loneliness is an experience of modern man. There’s no doubt that singles bars are filled with people battling loneliness. I recently spoke with a young divorced person, tired of one-night stands, who confessed with great regret that “Sex is readily available in the American singles scenes, but friendship is not.” The message of Immanuel is that one can still be alone, but not lonely. At the root of all loneliness is alienation from God. Years ago, a man named Augustine espoused that God has made us for Himself. Our soul is restless until we find rest in Him. We may seek to fill the void with activities, crowds, and noise, but a nagging loneliness will always be there until we have a personal relationship with God. Go to Him today!