December 1: Immanuel
““…She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God with us.’””
The very first title of Jesus we will consider together is the altogether stunning and immeasurably precious – Immanuel. The name Immanuel goes straight to the heart of what it is we are celebrating together at Christmas time: “God with Us”. Not God above us or God in our general vicinity, but God with us.
Immanuel brings to the fore everything wonderful about the incarnation of Christ. God will not settle (and indeed, has not settled!) for a far off and distant relationship with you – his very special and beloved creation. In the heart of God is the desire to dwell with us. Dwell with you.
One thing that is striking is that this name is first given through prophecy in Isaiah 7:14, some seven hundred years before that fateful night in the manger. Who reading Isaiah before that night could possibly have imagined that this name truly meant all it did? Who could have imagined the creator descending in flesh? Who could have imagined the birth of the God-Man Jesus Christ? Who could have imagined the King of Kings experiencing the gritty reality of hunger, rejection, betrayal, and even death? The truth of Immanuel is far greater than all our wildest dreams and expectations. No one could even have dared to hope for such a glorious reality.
And right now, because God so saw fit to enter into human history, we, John 1:12 tells us, have the right to become children of God through faith. This Advent season, lift up your eyes and behold your God. He came for you. And He came because He wants to be with you, and you with Him. Don’t forget it. Jesus truly is Immanuel: God with us.