Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. - Isaiah 7:14 ESV
How wonderful that God has Isaiah say this hundreds of years before Jesus was born! I think this promise was written more for us, than for the people in Isaiah’s day, who would have been confused. To Isaiah’s contemporaries, this would have been an incredibly amazing promise. How in the world can a virgin conceive and give birth? Why would his name be Immanuel, God with us? That would have sounded like blasphemy, to call a human child by this name.
Of course, we have the advantage of having the gospels to help us understand this promise from God. Mary was a virgin and God made her pregnant by His Spirit. Jesus is the Son of God, God with us in human flesh.
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" (which means, God with us). - Matthew 1:22-23 ESV
And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God. - Luke 1:35 ESV
This is why I think this promise is more for us than Isaiah’s original audience. Seeing how God kept His word in His own timing, as only He could, is so encouraging to me. Every fulfilled promise that I read in my Bible reminds me that God is faithful and true (Revelation 19:11).
In this verse, with Jesus’ title Immanuel, I am reminded that, as His disciple, Jesus is always with me (Hebrews 13:5b). No matter how lonely or isolated I might feel, I am not alone. Jesus always with me means that I have comfort and protection and guidance whenever I need it. This gives me hope and peace to keep going and to keep living for my beautiful Savior.
That’s the hope and promise of Christmas for everyone who loves the Lord. I pray that you will truly know that hope this year.
Think About: Do you have the hope of Christmas this year?
P.S. If you aren’t one of Jesus’ disciples but are interested in learning more about what it means to be one, please contact me by commenting on this post or by using the chat feature below (for more privacy). I’m always happy to talk with people about Jesus.
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