Immanuel: God With Us
Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:18-23
On Christmas Day, a baby was born. His name was Jesus, which means God saves us. The baby also was given a title, Christ. Christ meaning the anointed one, the promised one, or the one who is our king. Another name he was given was Immanuel, God with us. Im= with manu = with us el= God.
People may think “God with us” equates to ‘don’t worry about your life’ because God is protecting us. Immanuel gives us comfort when we think God is with us. However, there is a deeper meaning of the word.
When the prophet Isaiah was given this word, 2,750 years ago in the kingdom of Judah, Ahaz, a terrible king, ruled Judah. He did despicable things in the eyes of God and worshiped idols, even sacrificing his son for those idols. He led the people in his kingdom to do those bad things as well. Ahaz wanted Assyria to be allies for protection to defeat the 3 kingdoms surrounding Judah. Isaiah was sent by God and advised him to not ask the king of Assyria to be allies as he would be betrayed by them. He was told to ask for a sign from God instead. Isaiah was given the sign, the story of a virgin birth of the savior.
Immanuel Jesus is not for just christians, but for everyone. Christians celebrate Christmas, but Immanuel Jesus was born, not only for Christians. The one who received the promise, Ahaz, was the worst king. But, God gave him the promise Immanuel, God with us. Ahaz didn’t deserve this promise, he wasn’t worthy of the promise, but was still given the promise of Jesus.
Immanuel Jesus is God’s answer to our problems, and God’s grace. When 120,000 people were killed in a single day, people probably cried out to God, angry with god for being silent. But Immanuel Jesus gives us assurance that God listens, and sees us. If someone does wrong, smells bad, is dirty, behaves in a weird way, your instinct is to stay away from them. Ahaz could be put in the category of someone we may want to stay away from, some who didn’t deserve God. Are you a good person, doing the right things in the eyes of God? Is your heart pure? When Peter found out Jesus was the son of God, Peter begged Jesus to leave him because he was not pure. Although we don’t deserve God’s grace, He has given it to us. In the same way, we need to give others our grace. That is how we can experience Immanuel, God is with us.
Immanuel Jesus is God’s invitation to rely on him. God asked Ahaz not to rely on the king of Assyria. He looked like a good man, but he was a thief. Instead, God said ‘rely on me’. However King Ahaz refused. Eventually Assyria came to help, but then conquered Israel and Judah. They seized the palace of Judah. Another empire eventually conquered this land, and from this they had to live a life without their own land for 700, and an additional 1,950 years. Not only did they, but their descendants, had to live a life without their land for that long. Immanuel Jesus is not only comforting words, as a surface understanding, but this is an invitation to from God to ‘rely on me. Don’t rely on others. Return to me.’ God’s invitation to king Ahaz, and to people who don’t know God.
Jesus’ intention was not to start the religion Christianity. Jesus came to restore the relationship with him. How can we restore our relationship with Jesus? What is he asking to do? He is asking us to come back to him. Stop going back to sinful ways. Rely on him instead.
Reflection Questions:
Have you ever had a “King Ahaz moment”? In what ways do you find yourself relying on yourself instead of God?
What steps can you put in action to rely on God more?
