TEXT: Matthew 1:23

SUBJECT: Immanuel Translated

In II Corinthians, Chapter 3, Paul compares the Old Covenant with the New Covenant. To the former he attributes a true glory. To the latter, a surpassing glory. So great is the glory of the Gospel--he tells us--that it has wholly eclipsed the glory of the Law. "For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels". The glory of the Old Covenant shines brightly in the prophecy of Isaiah. The glory of the New Covenant shines more brightly in the translation given to it. Let us look therefore, at "the glory" and "the glory that excels".

"Immanuel" is a Hebrew name meaning "God with us". But it was more than a name; it was a prophecy. Immanuel's arrival guaranteed a victory over the Syrians and Samarians who were then threatening Jerusalem. Isaiah leaves no doubt: "...before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and to choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings". Immanuel would save His people from their northern enemies.

Hebrew scholars, however, understood Immanuel as being more than an ordinary savior, of which Israel had many. Hadn't Shamgar saved them from the Philistines? Barak from the Canaanites? Gideon from the Midianites? Ehud from the Moabites? And so on. But Immanuel--the Rabbis thought--would be a unique Savior. He would save God's people--not from the Syrians alone--but from their every foe. "The government would be upon His shoulders (and) "of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end". Immanuel would be the Final Savior, to whom the others saviors but pointed.

Were they right? They were. Their thinking about Immanuel was fully accepted by the learned and godly men of the First Century. Zacharias was such a man. At the birth of his son, who must "go before (the LORD) in the spirit and power of Elijah", the old man burst into song! Not about his son as such--but about what his son indicated--the coming of Immanuel.

"Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,

For He has visited and redeemed His

people,

And has raised up a horn of salvation

for us

In the house of His servant David,

As He spoke by the mouth of His holy

prophets,

Who have been since the world began,

That we should be saved from our

enemies

And from the hand of all who hate us,

To perform the mercy promised to our

fathers

And to remember His Holy Covenant,

The oath which He swore to our father

Abraham:

To grant us that we,

Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

Might serve Him without fear,

In holiness and righteousness before

Him all the days of our life".

What a happy promise this is: Immanuel! "God with us" insures every blessing. When He comes

"They shall beat their swords

into plowshares,

And their spears into pruninghooks;

Nation shall not lift up against

nation,

Neither shall they learn war anymore".

"Immanuel". Israel's "hope, joy, and crown of rejoicing".

There is a serious problem with "Immanuel". The word is in Hebrew. And very few people understood it. Gentiles, of course, did not know the language; many Jews didn't either. Greek was the Empire's preferred tongue.

Consequently, had Matthew stopped with "...you shall call His name Immanuel", he would have excluded most people from the salvation Christ came to bring. But he doesn't. He goes on "...which is translated, `God with us'". The Holy Spirit puts the "Good News" into the common language of the time. This means that Christ is no local Savior (as most thought He would be), but a universal Savior.

Is this true? It is. The Samaritans said so. "We have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world". Forty years later, John wrote the same. "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world".

His work on earth was always open, open to all. To the Jews He came, but not to those you'd expect. He came to the outcasts of Israel, to publicans and prostitutes, to lepers and demoniacs. They found He came, "not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance". He came to the Samaritans too. "The Jews have no dealings with Samaritans". Most Jews, that is. But He did. He befriended a Samaritan adultress--and by her testimony, reached the whole city of Sychar. A Syrophonecian woman found His sympathy as did a Roman soldier. What does this tell us about Christ? That He is a universal Savior.

His work in heaven is no less open to all. At Pentecost, He began "pouring out His Spirit on all flesh". They were all Jews--but from more than a dozen nations. Next came the Samaritans en masse'. Then an Ethiopian. Then the "Italian Band". Then the people of Asia Minor. Then the Greeks, the Macedonians, the Romans. Within 30 years, Paul could write, "Have they not all heard? Yes, their sound went into all the world and their words to the end of the earth".

In time, He will gather "a great mutlitude which cannot be numbered of all nations, kindreds, peoples, and tongues". Yes He will. Why? Because "Immanuel" is translated "God with us". Not with the Jews only. Not with the people of Antiquity alone. But with all of us. In Jesus Christ, God joined the human race. But more than "joined" it, He suffered for it; He died for it; He rose from the dead for it.

You know this! How? Because "Immanuel" is not left in the original, but translated for all to read and to hear and to understand! Christ is no provincial Savior; He is "the Savior of the world". "Neither is there any other, for there is no other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved". No other name is given because no other name is needed. "...they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, `God with us'".

"Immanuel" was translated into the universal language because He would be the universal Savior.

If He is, it is your duty to come to Him. God hasn't appointed a pot pourri' of Saviors, but only one, "Immanuel". Therefore, it is a universal duty to believe in Him, to love Him, and to serve Him with thanksgiving. Have you? Are you? Will you?

If He is, you have hope. If He were a Jewish Savior, Gentiles would be hopelessly lost--"without God and without hope in the world". But He's not a local Savior, but the Savior of every kind of person. Including you.

If He is, it is our privilege to bring the Gospel to everyone. By personal evangelism; by supporting missionaries; by praying for the progress of His kingdom. And we can do these things with confidence. For He is a universal Savior. And He will "do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think".