Revelation 13
“‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they will call Him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).” Matthew 1:23
O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
When we sing the above hymn during Christmas, do we know what we are really asking when we sing, “O come, O come, Immanuel”? In the Christmas story, Mary received a visit from the angel Gabriel who told her that she would conceive and give birth to a Son. The angel also appeared to Joseph and told him, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).
All of this happened to fulfill the Old Testament in Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: the
virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and will call Him Immanuel.” This prophecy is repeated in Matthew’s gospel, but in case his readers did not know what “Immanuel” meant, he added in parentheses, “(which means ‘God with us’)” (Matthew 1:23). The name “Immanuel” or “Emmanuel” is not the most common name we use for Jesus, but it is one of the most important. Why? Because the purpose of Jesus’s birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension was to make it possible for the presence of God to be restored into human experience. Christmas is not just an event in history, but can be repeated in our experience as Jesus Christ is born in us as our Lord and Master. Being born once, two thousand years ago, Jesus can be “born again” into our life.
Being a Christian is not just about trying to follow Christ, it is about receiving Him into our life to save us from ourselves, to live His life within us and accomplish His purposes through us. If we have never received Jesus as the Lord and Saviour of our lives, may we pray, “Dear God I am so grateful that You sent Your Son into the world, as the bringer of Good News that I can be reconciled to You though His death, resurrection and the gift of His Holy Spirit to live within me. I open myself to You and I invite You to come in and live in me. Thank You. In Jesus’s name, amen.”
Dear Immanuel, thank You for coming into this world, living, dying, resurrecting and ascending to the Father. Because of Your finished work, I can have the presence of God in my life. Praise You!