Rejoice:
The Immanuel has Come
Isaiah 7:1-16 / Matthew 1:21-23
In Matthew 1:21-23, The Lord speaking to Joseph tells us that Mary,
“will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).”
A God that would come dwell among lost His people and show them they way home.
Who is Jesus?
Add a note
Today, we are going to focus in on one particular Messianic title and get to know Jesus as our Immanuel.
To do so we are going to take a journey through scripture from Isaiah to Matthew to look at where this title of our Messiah comes from, and what it means for us today.
To understand this title, we need to understand the original context from where it comes. We first hear of this name in Isaiah 7, so that is where we will be spending the majority of our time this morning.
- What did that mean for Isaiah to share the prophecy of the Immanuel in his own day?
- What does it mean for Matthew to recognize it as a claim about the Messiah?
- How should this new found understanding motivate our mission?
These are the questions I hope we can gain answers to this morning.
Add a note
Isaiah 7:1-16:
1 In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it.
2 When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.
3 And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field.
4 And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying,
6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,”
7 thus says the Lord God:“‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass.
8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.
9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’”
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.”
13 And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?
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.
15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.
16 For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.
Add a note
To understand the meaning and significance of Immanuel we must understand the context from which it comes. When Matthew calls Jesus the Immanuel in his gospel, he is referencing this story and by doing so he recognizes Isaiah 7 to be a Messianic claim about the virgin born Son of Mary.
Matthew 1:21-23:
“will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).”
עִמָּנוּאֵל
ʿimmānû’ēl
(God with us)
Add a note
As we look into the context of Isaiah 7 we see that Judah is fearful, they are witnessing what they believe could be the end of their nation. Multiple nations have marched against them. Naturally, questions arise: Has God abandoned them? Have they sinned too much? Have they strayed too far?
They have certainly ignored the warnings of God’s prophets in the past; is now then the time of judgement? Is it too late to repent? Is it possible that they angered the Almighty God enough for Him to ignore His promises? This is what is at stake for King Ahaz and Judah.
Isaiah 7:1-2:
1 In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it.
2 When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.
Judah’s Sins: Isaiah 1–5
An indictment against Judah’s sins, and there are many: murder, idolatry, theft, bribery, greed, slander, adultery, rebellion, corruption, etc…
There are no hero’s here.
The fear producing circumstance:
2 When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.
The Lord’s mercy in the form of a promise:
7 thus says the Lord God:“‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass.
The proper response:
Do not be afraid.
Add a note
The LORD is Sovereign
Daniel 2:21
“He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding”
Proverbs 21:1
“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”
Verses 7-9:
7 thus says the Lord God:“‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass.
8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.
9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’”
God is calling Ahaz to trust in His promises.
Proverbs 16:18:
Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
In his arrogance, Ahaz focused on his ability to control his kingdom through his own means and forgot that God keeps His promises.
Add a note
The LORD is Merciful
This is not a sermon meant to focus Ahaz’s choices; for Ahaz is a wicked king, doing what is right in his own eyes. This is a sermon about God’s choices.
God chose to remember His promise to Abraham and to David. God chose to fulfill His side of the covenant He made with Ahaz’s ancestors, whether or not His people are currently holding up their end. Time and time again, the Lord behaves mercifully to his people. In that we see a profound characteristic of God. He is a God full of mercy.
Exodus 34:6-7:
“The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,”
Deuteronomy 7:9:
“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,”
Psalm 145: 8-9:
“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”
It is this mercy and faithfulness to His promises, that will save Judah this day, and will save all of us when the future ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy comes to pass.
Isaiah 7:11-16:
Mercy …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.
Pride …15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.
Faith-fulness …16 For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.
Add a note
God is ALWAYS Faithful
Here we see another fundamental characteristic about God. God is faithful when we are not. God keeps His promises.
the Lord says, I will therefore give you a sign so that when it comes to pass you will know that I am God, and that I am the true King of your people, and that I always keep my promises.
The sign of God’s faithfulness is the Immanuel.
・Prophecy Delivered: 734 BC
・Syrian King Rezin dies by 732 BC
・Israeli King Pekah dies by 732 BC
・Assyria invades Syria in 732 BC
・Assyria Invades Israel in 722 BC
・Prophecy Fulfilled? Yes
Add a note
The Davidic Covenant
2 Samuel 7:12-13 tells us this promise:
“When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
Add a note
The Immanuel – 2nd Fulfillment
Isaiah 9:6-7:
“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, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
Jesus our Immanuel – 2nd Fulfillment
Philippians 2:6-8:
6“Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Wonderful Counselor
Mighty God
Everlasting Father
Prince of Peace
Add a note
The LORD keeps His Promises
Genesis 3:15 (To Adam)
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Genesis 12:2 (To Abraham)
“And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”
Genesis 49:10 (To Judah)
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”
2 Samuel 7:12-13 (To David)
“When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
John 3:16 (To Us)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Rejoice, oh church, our Immanuel is here!
Sing praise to His name!
Thank Him for his deeds!
Proclaim His hope and salvation to the nations!
Go tell the wonderful news that our God is not out of reach. He is not distant. He has not rejected us in our time of need. Instead He is here! He came down from Heaven to walk with us, to restore us to our original design: to know and be known by our Creator.
The Immanuel matters because in it we see God’s heart for His people: to dwell among them. To be with them.
Add a note
Jesus our Immanuel – 2nd Fulfillment
The Immanuel should motivate our mission, both in our giving and going, because the greatest motivation for your giving and going is God’s giving and going.
Romans 5:8:
“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Isaiah 6:8:
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Matthew 28:20:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Add a note
Missions at Koza
There are many ways to be involved in missions and outreach here at Koza.
・International Missions Board (IMB)
・King of Kings - India
・Rebecca’s Home - India
・International Church of Manila – PI
・Gentle Hands Orphanage - PI
・Harvest International – Tokyo
・YWAM – Taiwan
・Okinawa - Japan
Add a note
Sins of Ahaz
As we close today, the truth is that we can all be a lot more like king Ahaz than we may care to realize:
- Self-reliant
- Self-centered
- Proud
- More interested in the easiest path to gain what he wanted over the right path
- Exploited others to gain what we desire
- Choosing pragmatism over holiness
- Choose to trust in himself over trusting in the Lord
- Abandoning principles in order to appease someone who offers what he wants
Where is the hope then?
Add a note
The Immanuel – Hope Incarnate
The hope is found where God gives it:
the Immanuel, both the Immanuel of Isaiah’s day that declares God is still with Judah and the Immanuel for the world that declares, God is with you now O’ sinner. God will not abandoned His promises. God will not abandoned you.
God spared a remnant of Judah to fulfill His promise to David that a Savior would be born from his family line.
Therefore Rejoice
Place your hope in Jesus
Add a note
Isaiah’s Song – 12
“Behold God is my salvation; I will trust in the Lord and not be afraid; for the LORD God is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.”
“Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, make His deeds known among the peoples, proclaim His name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for He has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitants of Zion, for great in your midsts is the Holy One of Israel.”
Add a note
