Christmas Sermon (#2)

Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:22 – 23

Sermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan

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When Pastor Bentley and I were preaching the gospel in Hong Kong, I saw that every year when the Christmas season was drawing near, there would be signs “Immanuel – God with us” or simply “Immanuel” everywhere: at the entrance of buildings, on the streets, at the front doors of houses. We could hear Christmas songs all the way from the central business district to the countryside.

But many people may not know the significance of this phrase “Immanuel – God with us”; what does it mean and where does it come from?

Christmas is the date Christians commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ the Son of God. Around 700 some years before the Lord Jesus was born into the world, Yahweh God had proclaimed through the prophet Isaiah:

^ESV 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. (Isa 7:14 ESV)

Today I will not go into the debate of whether the word “virgin” here refers to a virgin or just a young woman, because that is irrelevant to our topic.

Now we fast forward 700 some years to the New Testament time: the apostle Matthew, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, quoted this verse Isaiah 7:14 to describe the incident of the virgin Mary who conceived and gave birth to a son.

^ESV Matthew 1:22 – 23 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Mat 1:22-23 ESV)

These two passages Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:22 – 23show that Immanuel refers to Jesus Christ, this being his title. And the original Hebrew word of “Immanuel” is עִמָּנוּ אֵל, which means “God with us”.

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