NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES
Isaiah 7:10-16 12/19/04
What’s in a name?
If you’re in business, lots of cash. Maybe even billions.
A name like “Nike” is thought to be worth about $7 billion and “Coca Cola” 10 times that much.
How much is your name worth? Are there any of you who have a special story to tell about your name? Do you know what your name means? My name is from the Hebrew root name, “Deborah.” It means “bee,” like the kind that make honey. Or the kind that fly from place to place making a lot of noise. Or the kind that stings…
There are many names given to Jesus in the Bible– each one gives us a fuller and clearer picture of who He is and What He means for us...And so, as we are unpacking the various names of Jesus we are asking ourselves “Who IS this man that we have put our hope in?” The very name, “Jesus,” means “God saves!” He is God’s promise to deliver us! He is Messiah, the Christ... “the anointed one.”
How about some others? Lamb of God, Lion of Judah, Rose of Sharon ... the Bible is full of names for him. And the ones noted by the prophet, Isaiah: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. When it comes to Jesus, the namespace is pretty broad! This morning, I want us to look at another name of Jesus found in today’s Scripture, that Julie read a minute ago: Immanuel.
Any time is a great time to look at the person of Jesus, but it seems especially appropriate this time of year as millions around the world pause to think about the Christ. And yet, I wonder amidst all the pomp & circumstance of the season .. how many truly understand the importance of the story. We sing those carols, “O Holy Night” and “Away in a Manger” and our mind’s eye is filled with the image of the baby Jesus nestled in that manger in that stable in Bethlehem.
The shepherds are there adoring the newborn king...”no crying he makes.” But do we really grasp the significance of that event? Julie reminded us that in Matthew 1:23: “All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Immanuel’-- which means, ‘God is with us.’”
Do we understand the significance of that? ...that Jesus is “God with us.” He is God-in-the-flesh!
A couple of years ago there was a popular song out by Joan Osborne that is the theme song for the television show, “Joan of Arcadia.” One of the lyrics poses this question: “What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us? Just a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home…”
God did become ONE OF US! In the person of Jesus Christ, God left the throne of Heaven, wrapped himself up in human flesh and came crashing down to the earth! And God did that in the most unflattering of circumstances... by being born as a completely dependent itty bitty baby to a young woman who was engaged to marry a common carpenter (certainly no royalty). And on that first night, GOD was placed in an animal’s feeding trough because there was no room for them in the local motel. How much more of humble circumstances could God have entered into? But that’s what he did, and that’s what is implicit in the name: Immanuel!
To understand the significance of that name, let’s look at today’s text from Isaiah. Here in chapter 7, verse 14 is the very first time the name, Immanuel is recorded in the Bible. In fact, Isaiah is the only person who uses the name, Immanuel. It is used two or three times in his writings (depending on your translation) and once in the Book of Matthew, where Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14. And Isaiah received this peek into the future Savior of the world 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
So here we have Isaiah the prophet instructing King Ahaz of Judah to ask God for a sign to strengthen his faith about what to do because Judah was about to be attacked by an alliance of Israel and Syria. Ahaz was running scared because it looked like he was about to lose his crown and title as king, not to mention the deaths of his people. But he refuses to ask God what to do, saying he “will not ask and will not put the Lord to the test.” That made Ahaz look righteous, see. God had told him to ask anything, but King Ahaz didn’t really want to know what God would say. (How often do we use the same excuses, saying we don’t want to bother God with the little things?).
But Isaiah tells Ahaz that God will give him a sign anyway (7:14), “Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” Now fast-forward 700 years to Bethlehem. The birth of Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to always be with his people, the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy... that Mary is the virgin who will be with child; and that the child himself is “God with us.” That was the promise given in Isaiah’s words to King Ahaz and it has been His promise to His people ALL throughout the Scriptures!
Let’s look at God’s promise to Moses (Exodus 3:12). In many ways Moses was an unlikely candidate for ‘Deliverer of God’s people.’ Even though he had grown up in the household of Pharaoh, he had been banished from the kingdom after he had murdered an Egyptian slave master. Since that time, he had worked as a shepherd for his father-in-law. It’s not until the age of eighty that God calls on Moses to: “Go back to Egypt and free my people!”
But Moses doesn’t want to go! In fact he argues with God, offering up excuses why he can’t go for 23 verses in the book of Exodus, two pages worth of excuses! Moses said, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, "I will be with you.” Moses says, “What if they ask me your name? What if they don’t believe me? What if they don’t listen to me? I have never been eloquent, I stutter!” After each excuse, God reassures Moses of his presence, right alongside Moses. Even after God told him, “I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak,” Moses said to God, “O my Lord, please send someone else!” (Exodus 3-4) …..I will be with you.
And God was with Moses as Moses faced the new Pharaoh. God enabled him to perform a number of miracles... and when Pharaoh refused, God brought upon a series of plagues... and when Pharaoh finally relented and the people found themselves free, but wandering around the desert, God was still with them... leading them with a pillar of clouds of by day and of fire by night... sustaining them with manna from Heaven. I will be with you.
Do you remember Jesus’ promise to ... His Disciples? (Matt. 28:16-20) What a roller-coaster ride they had been through! They had seen their Lord crucified.. they had seen his body placed on the slab in that tomb... they had wept for him... some had scattered... some had denied him... one who had turned on him subsequently took his own life. But then they had witnessed the most remarkable thing any of them would EVER see... Jesus had risen! Jesus appeared to them... not just once or twice but on a number of occasions over a period of several days. There was no doubt!
Then, on that last occasion just before Jesus is taken up into Heaven, He gives them a set of last instructions .... “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, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” And one last promise, the last sentence in the book of Matthew: “And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age.”
The Disciples would become the Apostles... they would face constant persecution as the teachings about Christ were indeed spread all over the world... and they would ultimately face death just like their teacher had... but the reassuring promise that each of them carried to their graves... “I will be with you always!”
And THAT’S the promise of Immanuel to us…He is WITH us. He is no longer with us in the flesh... as he had been ‘with’ his disciples But, he promised he would be with us always, forever and ever. And Jesus is, in a most wonderful, miraculous way—through his Spirit. He promised his followers—2000 years ago and even today, saying to us, “…I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth…he abides with you and he will be in you.” (John 14: 16-18)
Immanuel, Wonderful Counselor…a piece of God himself with us, living in our mortal, human, out-of-shape bodies. A fulfillment of God’s promise.
Immanuel is God’s promise to always be with YOU...In the tough times & trials of life. I know that these are tough times for many. From job losses & financial difficulties to family turmoil & marriage problems... we live in a harsh world and the reality is that tough times hit us all! Immanuel—Baby Jesus--is God’s promise that you are safe because He is always with you.
When everyone around us seems to have gone, God is with us. I know the holidays will be tough for some this year. Some of you are celebrating the holidays for the first time without a loved one. You know the pain of separation... be it from death, or distance or irreconcilable differences. God is with you in those moments. He is there, ready and welcoming your need to feel His presence, to lean on Him.
God is with us, too, in the ordinary moments of life. The fact that we especially feel His presence at certain times doesn’t mean that He isn’t with us at other times! No, God is with us ALWAYS! When you’re driving to work in the mornings... he is there. When you’re dropping the kids off, he is there. When you’re vegging in front of the TV, he is there. When you and your spouse are in the middle of an argument ... he is there. God is with us in the ordinary moments of life, because he is with us and within us! So we never have to face anything in life without him!
Even when we have failed to be “with him,” even when we have ignored His presence in our lives. None of us are perfect. We all know that we have failed him and the Bible confirms it. Romans 3:23 says “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…” That’s why he came to earth from his glorious life in heaven in the first place! If we had been able to get perfect and get to Heaven on our own, there would have been no reason for God to become Immanuel!
The story of Joseph, Mary, Bethlehem and the baby Jesus is the story of God choosing to come and live with us, be with us, experience what life on this planet is all about. Eugene Peterson in his paraphrase of John 1:14 put it this way. “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” While that might be quite an understatement, THAT’S what God did! He chose to move in next door, into our run-down, beat-up, world weary neighborhood. The gospel is the story of God, loving us so much, that he became one of us... that he came to live among us so that we might one day live with Him!
Do YOU know that hope this morning? Does God live within you? So many in our time celebrate Christmas, but have no idea of the hope and assurance that Immanuel offers!
Do you need to make a commitment to Christ this morning? Do you need him to come live within you?
Come up here right now and we’ll pray together. There’s no better place than in this worship setting among other sinners. Come forward and make a fresh commitment to Christ!
Benediction
Christmas is coming quickly now. In this week to come, take a moment to stop, to listen, to hear beyond the carols, beyond the commercials, beyond your mind saying, “I must hurry now, there is much to do.” And may your souls be filled with the Light of Life, the Sparkle of Christ, and the joy of love that surrounds you. Amen.
(Resource: Shelly, Rubel "The Names of Jesus" West Monroe, LA: Howard Publishing, 1999.)
