Jesus Christ is Immanuel, God with US

Jesus Christ is Immanuel, God with US

Christmas Eve is such a grand festival in which we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the savior of the world. Let’s look at this Hebrew word “Immanuel” in the Bible, relates to the good news—Gospel, for all mankind.

The word “Immanuel” first appeared in the Old Testament (Isaiah 7:14; 8:8), and then it appeared in the New Testament (Matthew 1:23). We will place the two scriptures in parallel, and look at them as follow:

Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Matthew 1:20-23: “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’”

The imminent birth of Jesus Christ was announced by the angels as Immanuel—God with us. So, the “Immanuel” mentioned in the Old Testament is pointing to Jesus Christ. Or, Jesus’ birth fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about 600 years ago.

You see, God created all things and fills all things. He wants to be with us that we can see Him with our own eyes, touch Him with our own hands, and know His presence with us. In order to do so, the most direct way was for Him to become like man, to dwell with the human beings, and to live among them.

The book of John starts with a very powerful tone by combining Jesus and the “Word” and make the two become one. John 1:1-2 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. (John 1:4) The Word became flesh (incarnated) and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John1:14）

As a witness, John saw Jesus Christ and His glory, and heard His instructions, and followed His footsteps. John understood very well that Jesus Christ is the Word and Only Son of God, and He became flesh through the Holy Spirit who overshadowed Mary the virgin. He took the form of man and appeared in one of the historical periods of mankind. That’s why Jesus is called Immanuel-God with us.

2000 years ago, Jesus lived among man with a mission, that is to fulfill a great salvation plan to rescue mankind from their sins. Therefore, Jesus Christ was born, and He preached the Gospel, suffered death to bear penalty of sin for us, and most importantly, He was resurrected from the dead!

During the time of Jesus Christ, people experienced His physical presence with them, and they enjoyed His grace and truth personally. Not only that, “God is with us” is a truth still happens this day, and every Christian can experience it.

After the ascension of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is present with the believers in ways where they are able to sense Him, and this was equally a historical reality.

May every guest, friend and relative who are here tonight receive Jesus as your Savior and your God. You will surely enjoy the blessing and promises of Jesus, who will be with you, for he is Immanuel, God with us.