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.”

Truthfully there are a lot of different ways we could dissect this verse. We could focus on the prophetic significance of the passage being a very clear allusion to Jesus Christ. But instead, I wanted to focus on the name, Immanuel, and its significance.

First off, it’s important to remember that the usage of Immanuel in the Isaiah passage is a direct reference to God. Well, to be specific, it’s being used to reference to Jesus.

As we discover throughout scripture God is so immense–so BIG–that the people of Israel used multiple names for God to describe His many facets; as well as to set Him apart from other lesser gods that were being worshiped at the time. All of that to remember that Jesus is Immanuel. In fact, Jesus was to have several names. Isaiah 9:6 says, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The importance of calling Jesus Immanuel is that it means Jesus is very personal. He is Wonderful, Mighty, Everlasting and a Prince, but he is also Immanuel. “Im” in Hebrew means with, beside, or among. This is more specific than just “with” in the sense of coffee “with” cream & sugar. It’s “with” in a relational sense. It’s “God with us.”

That’s why Jesus having the name Immanuel is so important. It means that God is with us in a way that is close, intimate, relational.

It’s a beautiful reminder that when we have Christ in our lives, in our hearts, that we are never alone. God is with us.

Think about it …