[Originally given in Dec. 2011 ]
This month is Christmas, so it was a simple matter to decide where to go for our study! I wanted us to focus on the Christmas message. Did you know that the title “Immanuel” appears only three times in the Scriptures, spelled twice with a capital “I” in the Old Testament, and once with a capital “E” in the New Testament?
- Call His Name Immanuel
Our first reference tonight is in Isaiah 7:14 – “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
The Christmas story is unique in this one event “a virgin shall conceive.” If we rush through the Christmas season, we miss the point entirely, don’t we? Look around you in the room here. You will notice without much trouble that I have surrounded myself with not just one, but many, many Nativity scenes. I do this every year, and over the years I have (with the help of family and friends) collected a multitude of variations of Nativity sets. I love them. Why? Because I don’t want to forget for a minute what Christmas is all about. I even have one set up on my bedroom dresser so the first thing in the morning as I get dressed I remember what we’re celebrating.
Think back with me to the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve had sinned and the Lord came asking who did what, He told the serpent in Genesis 3:15 – “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Here you have the first subtle hint that the Savior would be born, not from man, but from a woman. In Jeremiah 31:22 God says, “How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.” That is, this was not an ordinary conception between a man and a woman, this was a NEW thing! So, we come back to our verse here in Isaiah 7:14 – “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Turn with me, please, to the book of Luke, Chapter One, beginning at Verse 26:
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
This is the unique Christmas story; this one event “a virgin shall conceive.” Don’t rush through the Christmas season. Take time to ponder what it means, that God Himself became God in the flesh. There is a beautiful song that we don’t get to hear very often that was written by one of the grandsons of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army. I want to share the words with you because they’re so very powerful. It’s very aptly titled:
Immanuel’s Incarnation
Down from His glory, Ever living story,
My God and Saviour came, And Jesus was His name,
Born in a manger, To His own a stranger,
A Man of sorrows, tears and agonys.
What condescension, Bringing us redemption,
That in the dead of night, Not one faint hope in sight,
God, gracious, tender, Laid aside His splendor,
Stooping to woo, to win, to save my soul.
Without reluctance, Flesh and blood his substance,
He took the form of man, Revealed the hidden plan.
O glorious mystery, Sacrifice of Calvary,
And now I know Thou wert the great “I Am!”
O how I love Him! How I adore Him!
My breath, my sunshine, my all in all!
The great Creator became my Saviour,
And all God’s fullness dwelleth in Him.
-----William E. Booth-Clibborn
- O Immanuel
Isaiah 8:8 – “And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.”
This particular reference is just basically saying this is God’s land. But, it’s so close to Isaiah, Chapter 9, I thought we’d just scoot over there and remind ourselves again, of the richness of the Christmas story in the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 9:6 & 7 – “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
- Emmanuel, God With Us
Finally, we look to the New Testament Emmanuel.
Matthew 1:23 – “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmauel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
So let’s look at the first chapter of Matthew beginning in verse 18:
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a 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. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
And here we are given the meaning of Emmanuel – “God with us!” This is what the songwriter wrote for us as well, “Down from His glory, My God and Saviour came!” What a tremendous thought! God in Heaven, in all His great and glorious majesty, put off His deity to become flesh in order to provide a way of redemption for you and me!
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