Immanuel, Jesus - Matthew 1:21-23

Today we want to 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 that New Testament reference in Matthew 1:23, a quotation from Isaiah 7:14. "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

The background for this prediction takes us 700 years before the birth of the Lord Jesus. Ahaz was the king of Judah. He was not a very godly man, but he was threatened by Syria and Israel. Those two nations were going to attack him. Isaiah the prophet encouraged King Ahaz to trust in the Lord. And Ahaz outwardly said he would trust in the Lord, but secretly, Ahaz allied himself with the enemy of his nation, Assyria. In other words, he was a hypocrite. Outwardly he said, "Yes, we'll trust the Lord," but behind everybody's back, he was lining up some military support.

Well, Isaiah encouraged him by telling him Emmanuel, God is with us. And he said, "God's going to give a sign." And that sign was not just to Ahaz the king; that sign was to all of the people of Israel and Judah. Namely, that the virgin would conceive and would bring forth a son, and this would be God with us. That was fulfilled in the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The context of Matthew 1 is the concern of Joseph. Joseph, being a just man, was about to divorce the girl to whom he was engaged. And as you know, in the Jewish context, engagement was really the next thing to marriage, and if you're going to break an engagement, it was technically a divorce. Because he discovered Mary had a child. Well, the angel spoke to Joseph and said, "Now Joseph, you don't put her away, because that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son, and this is going to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14: they shall call his name Emmanuel." 

Emmanuel means God with us. Now Jesus never used this name. We don't find anyone in the four Gospels ever calling Him this name. Really, it is a title, a description of who He is. And there are two very wonderful truths that are wrapped up in this name Emmanuel, and I'd like us to consider these two truths today.

First of all, Jesus is God. "They shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Now there are those who tell us that Jesus is not God, He simply was a godly man, He simply was a very godly teacher. And yet from the very beginning of the New Testament, Jesus Christ is identified as God. Now Jesus Christ claimed to be God. In fact, He did so at the risk of His own life. In John 10:30, for example, beginning at verse 30, Jesus said this: "I and my Father are one." Now that statement is the next thing to saying "I am God." Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, "Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of these works do you stone me?" The Jews answered him saying, "For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." They understood this statement; when He said, "I and my Father are one," He was claiming to be God. 

In John 14:9, the Lord Jesus Christ was asked by Philip, "Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." In verse 9, Jesus says, "Have I been so long time with you, Philip, and yet hast thou not known me? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." So Jesus is claiming to be God. This is why they crucified Him. In John 19:7, the Jews answered Pilate saying, "We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God." So the Jewish people had no problem understanding what He was talking about. Jesus claimed to be God.

More than that, Jesus received worship as God. In Matthew 2:11, the Magi came and worshipped Him. In Matthew 14:33, at the end of that storm when Jesus brought the great calm, the disciples bowed down and worshipped Him. In John 9:38, the blind man whom Jesus healed worshipped Him. And Jesus accepted this worship. This means He knew He was God. 

So He claimed to be God, and He received worship as God, and a number of times in the New Testament He is specifically called God. Now you may want to get a pencil and a piece of paper and write down these references, because someday someone at your front door is going to say, "Oh no, Jesus Christ is not God. He's never called God in the New Testament." Well, John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Now that Word is Jesus Christ because in verse 14 it says, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." In Romans 9:5, where the apostle Paul is giving praise to God, we read this: "Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Romans 9:5." The reference in Titus 2:13, I think, is rather clear: "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ." There's only one article in the Greek: "The great God and our Savior." It's the same person. Titus 2:13. Two titles to the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 John 5:20 to me is a real clincher: "And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life." And so our Lord Jesus Christ is God.

There's a second truth that comes from this name Emmanuel. Not only is He God, but He is God with us. He's not a God who is far away, distant and unconcerned. He is with us. When Jesus Christ was born of the virgin and came into this world as a little baby, He identified with humanity. He is the God-man. He is God, and He is God with us. 

So often in the Bible you'll find that wonderful promise, "I am with you." God gave that promise to Moses. Then He gave it to Joshua. He said, "As I was with Moses, so will I be with you." He's given that same promise to us. God with us is the way Matthew begins, and God with us is the way Matthew ends. For in Matthew 28:20 we read, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age." The Lord Jesus Christ is God with us in every area of life. He's with us in salvation. Now He's a holy God and He ought to be against us because we are unholy people, but He is with us in salvation. Revelation 3:20: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." He's with us in salvation if you just simply open your heart's door; He comes in and He is with you. He forgives you; He fellowships with you.

He's with us in the trials of life. How many times I have turned to Isaiah 43:2 and I've read for my own benefit this promise: "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." Verse 5: "Fear not: for I am with thee." You see, my friend, no matter what circumstances we go through, Jesus Christ is with us. Not only is He walking with us, but He is working with us. I know that there are times when we get weary in the Lord's work. We do not get weary of the Lord's work because it's exciting and we're thrilled with the privileges we have to serve Him, but sometimes we get weary in the Lord's work. It's good to know that the Lord is working with us. I like Psalm 23:4: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me." And so He's with us in the sorrows of life, and He's going to be with us throughout all eternity. Emmanuel, God with us.

"And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS."  A sociologist once made a study of names. In fact, he studied 15,000 juvenile delinquents. He discovered an interesting thing: that those young people who had strange or embarrassing names had four times the trouble in life as the others. This man concluded that there were about 5,000 safe names that you could give to a child. Well, the name you give to a child may not determine its destiny, but that name that was given to our Lord was something very special. "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins."

I suppose there are two names that no one would use today. One is Judas; that name is too terrible. And the other is Jesus, although in some parts of the world this is a very popular name. But we would probably not want to call our son Jesus because that name is just too wonderful for us to use. What kind of a name is the name Jesus? It's sometimes used in blasphemy; sometimes it's sung or spoken rather carelessly, casually. And yet it is a very, very special name. What kind of a name is the name of Jesus? Let me share four facts with you that help us better to understand the wonder of the name of Jesus.

Fact number one: the name of Jesus was a name given from heaven. First, the angel gave the name to the mother, Mary. We read that in Luke 1:31: "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus." It's always good to give the name of the baby to the mother first. Then it was given to Joseph. In Matthew 1, when Joseph was considering putting Mary away because he thought she had sinned, and God said, "Joseph, don't be afraid, because Mary is doing the will of God. That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins." It was a name given from heaven. Now this is logical because the Lord Jesus Christ came from heaven. Over and over in the Gospel of John, He talks about coming down from heaven, having come from the Father. The Holy Spirit conceived Jesus in the womb of Mary, and so He came into this world having an earthly mother but not an earthly father. He came from heaven. Every baby that is born into this world is a person who has never existed before. But when Jesus came into this world, He had existed from all eternity. And so you see His birth had to be different. He came from heaven, therefore His name was given from heaven. And He came to do a work that only heaven could do: salvation. Salvation is of the Lord, because no man can save himself. And His name was given from heaven because one day He's going to take His people to heaven. "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." The name of Jesus was a name given from heaven.

Fact number two: the name of Jesus is a name great in history. Now you must remember that this name Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua or Jehoshua, which means Jehovah is salvation. There are two great men in the Old Testament who had this name. One was Joshua the conqueror. You'll remember that Joshua was the man who assisted Moses and then he replaced Moses. It was Joshua who led the people into the promised land where they claimed their inheritance. In Numbers 13:8, we have his name given to us: Oshea or Hoshea, which means salvation. But Moses changed his name from Hoshea to Jehoshua, which means Jehovah is salvation. Numbers 13:16. And we have that as Joshua: Jehovah is salvation. Well, Joshua is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Hebrews 4:8. Joshua followed Moses; Moses represents the law. But Joshua represented the victory that comes by grace. It was Joshua who conquered the enemy, who led the people into their inheritance. Now the law cannot give you any inheritance. Joshua, not Moses, led the people into their rest. And it's Jesus who gives us rest. He is our Joshua. He has conquered all of our enemies. The last enemy, death, has been conquered by the Lord Jesus. And my friend, when you know Jesus as your Savior, you have entered into your inheritance. And so Jesus is our Joshua, Jehoshua, Jehovah is salvation.

The second person in the Old Testament who had this name is Joshua the high priest. You'll find him in Zechariah 3:1. Joshua the high priest, and the Lord Jesus Christ, of course, is a high priest. He's a high priest after the order of Melchizedek according to the book of Hebrews 6 and throughout the chapters of the book of Hebrews. Melchizedek was that interesting fellow back in Genesis. There's no record of his ancestry; he comes and then he—there he is. He meets Abraham after Abraham won that great battle. He's a picture of Jesus Christ, our King-Priest. A name given from heaven, a name great in history.

Fact number three: a name glorious in honor. It's rather interesting that even though Joshua or Jesus was a common name among the Jews, they stopped using it after about the second century. It seems that the Lord Jesus Christ had taken that name and done something to it as far as they were concerned. Jesus was known as Jesus of Nazareth to distinguish Him from all the other people who were named Jesus or Joshua in that day. Or He was called Jesus the Christ. But He took that name and lifted it to the highest heavens. Philippians 2:9-10: "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." That name which is above every name. It's a name glorious in honor. Do you know why? Well, Jesus Christ meets our greatest need. What is your greatest need? Salvation from sin. Victory over sin, and He meets that need. And to do this, He paid the greatest price. He died on the cross, arose again, went back to heaven. And He secures for us the greatest blessings. Whatever blessings you need, you can find in Jesus Christ; blessings that are going to last forever. Yes, the name of Jesus is a name given from heaven, a name great in history, a name glorious in honor. 

Fact number four: a name gracious in help. Whenever people heard the name Jesus, they knew what it meant: Jehovah is salvation. The Lord Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. In Mark 10:46-52, blind Bartimaeus is sitting by the roadside. He hears a crowd going by and his ears tell him there's something different about that crowd. And he says, "What's happening? Who's going by?" "Oh," they say, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." Salvation is passing by. Jehovah is salvation is passing by. And you recall that Bartimaeus cried out and said, "Jesus, have mercy upon me!" and the Lord Jesus cured him and saved him. That thief on the cross saw a sign above the head of Jesus: "This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Jesus, Savior. You see, the Lord Jesus is gracious in His help. And it's through the name of Jesus that we have our salvation. It's through the name of Jesus that we pray. It's in the name of Jesus Christ that we are able to conquer the evil one. Salvation from the Lord. Jesus: Jehovah is salvation. 

What do you need today? Jesus Christ can provide it in the will of God if you'll call on the name of Jesus. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And that name which is above every name is the name of Jesus.