“She will give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God with us”.
“You are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” — Matthew 1
What’s the oldest question — the one that’s traveled the globe, time and culture?
“Is God there?”
Before we can worship God, we wonder. And sometimes, even while we worship, we wonder: Is God there?
Well, God begins his revelation through Jesus Christ by answering our deepest question, and his answer isn’t long or wordy.
In fact, he answers our question simply with a name. How elegant and concise. We answer questions in sentences and books. He does it with a name.
Immanuel. God with us.
When he unrolls the birth certificate, it’s as if he’s saying:
Let’s get your big question out of the way. Yes, I’m with you. You want proof? Look at what my Son will be called. God with you.
He knows it’s the most important question, because the other questions matter less when we know the answer to the question of whether God is with us.
There’s a little more.
Immanuel is an authoritative “yes,” but anything bluntly authoritative run the risks of sounding stern.
There is, however, a kindness and empathy at work that makes “Immanuel” much more than a “Yes, I’m here.”
God answers the question our hearts want answered. It’s not just functional, it’s not just the answer we need to hear. It’s the one we want to hear.
In short, he knows us.
He’s not just here, absent-minded or indifferent. He’s truly here. He’s truly here the way a parent is truly there because they know their child’s deepest wishes without having to poke or prod.
God’s heard our cries in the dark, and because he knows that is our deepest, most enduring question, that’s his first gift.
God is giving his Son a name based on our longings and not his own. He knows he’s with us. Now we do too.
Now there’s one more thing about the “Is God with Us?” question.
Our question is rarely set in academic terms.
Yes, we might sometimes toss it around as an object of reserved interest, but you and I ask it, more often, from a place of doubt or despair.
Even Job and David, who knew God was there, asked if he was there.
They asked – not because they doubted God’s presence – but because they doubted his goodness. It wasn’t a crisis of faith. It was a crisis of faith in God’s goodness.
And so, when it was time for christening, God gives his Son one more name to address those doubts about God’s goodness.
“Jesus.”
And Jesus means “Deliverer,” and it makes the first name wonderful.
If the Son of God were simply named, “God with us,” who knows whether that’s a good or bad thing?
“Immanuel” itself is an answer to a question, but there’s a question mark that remains – what is Immanuel like?
Well, God clears up any lingering questions about the first name by telling us he’ll be called “Jesus.” Our deliverer.
Immanuel and Jesus. The first says God is here. The second says that God is here for us.
In a way, the names of Jesus give you all you need to know for salvation and life.
In fact, the next time you pray, try this.
Pray “Immanuel” and you’re acknowledging God’s presence in your life, and then “Jesus” to remind yourself he’s for your life in a way that no one else could ever be.
Those two names take you as far as you could imagine, because names can mean so much more than we think.
In college, I traded emails with a girl I liked from class, and while of course I read everything she wrote, I always found myself lingering on her digital signature.
She lived in the letters of her name.
I felt everything beautiful about her simply by seeing her name on a computer screen. And I knew that in the moment she signed her name, she was telling me, “This is from me to you.”
And when you’re hungry for anything from the one you love, “This is from me to you,” means the world.
Well, this is God’s “from me to you” moment.
It is his signature, and it is marked with celebration.
It is purely for us, alone, and for us, forever.
Immanuel and Jesus.
Merry Christmas!
[Photo: In the Wild North, Shishkin]
