Day 5: And He shall be called…

Jewish parents chose names with meaning for their children. They didn’t just look in a baby name book or pick a popular name. The Christ child was to receive a special name. We see in Isaiah 7 that it was predicted that Immanuel would be His name because the name means ‘God with us.” God knew the people He loved needed drastic help. They were dying and without hope unless He intervened. God didn’t send a representative. He didn’t dispatch an angel to go down and work something out. God’s son stepped up and said I will go. I’ll leave heaven and go live among the people I love. I’ll lay down my life as a sacrifice. I’ll take on their sin and the death penalty that rightfully belongs on them.

Most other religions see God as a distant figure. Certainly not one who you approach. Not a God that permits a personal relationship. The name promised to Isaiah in the prophecy and repeated to Mary by the angel signifies a personal God. A God who would come and live with us, experience life as we know it, and who would voluntarily do for us what we could never have done for ourselves.

Read Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23

Q. God wanted His son to be named Immanuel. At a time when names were chosen because of what they meant; what message was God trying to give to His people through the name of His son?

Q. Do you think Jesus still wants to be known as Immanuel today? When you pray do you think it would be appropriate to call him Immanuel?

Q: Do you feel like God is with you? Why or why not? What can help you experience intimacy with God?

Q: Do you recognize the presence of Immanuel this Christmas season? What is one step that you can take to be more fully aware that God is with you this Christmas?