Jesus: Our Immanuel

The name Immanuel means “God is with us.” Is there any single more comforting word in all of Scripture? The birth of Jesus marked an unprecedented moment in human history. God himself, the eternal I AM, came to dwell with his people in a physical form that was familiar to us. No longer was he guiding the people of Israel with a pillar of cloud or fire that moved ahead of them. No longer was he a disembodied voice who spoke from a burning bush or a storm-lashed mountaintop. In the person of Jesus, God came to live with us, just as the Old Testament prophet Isaiah had foretold.

The above article was adapted from JESUS which my team created for Time Inc. It appears in the winter of 2014-2015 as a special edition magazine within the USA.

The Promised Ruler

Anna was a widowed prophet who ministered in the temple in Jerusalem. Day and night she worshiped in the house of God, praying for his promised Messiah. Anna recognized the answer to her prayers the moment Mary and Joseph entered the temple with their young son. She praised God for allowing her to live long enough to see the Savior. Then she embarked on a one-woman crusade to help others in the temple recognize the truth she’d been given. Anna wanted everyone to know that the child Jesus was God’s promised King—the One who would deliver Israel.

Two years later Magi arrived from the east. The fact that these wise men referred to Jesus as the “king of the Jews” suggests they were Gentiles. The book of Matthew doesn’t tell us how these God fearing non-Jews knew about the world-changing birth that had occurred; Matthew only reveals that they followed a star.

When they got to Jerusalem, they asked  everyone they saw where they could find the young ruler. They must have been stunned to discover that no one knew who they were referring to. How could the  Jewish people be unaware that their King had been born?

Jesus’ birth may have been largely  disregarded, but someday every  person who has ever lived will fully acknowledge Jesus as the powerful King that he is (Romans 14:11). In today’s world, wealthy or influential people are often viewed as the wielders of power. Industry magazines and websites love to publish lists of the “most powerful people” in a given business universe. These lists are wildly subjective, of course. Quantifying a  person’s power and influence is hard enough. Ranking people’s relative power is nearly impossible without resorting to bias or guesswork.

What’s indisputable, as the apostle  Paul asserted, is that absolute power is found only in Jesus. Any comparative analysis between Jesus and those who top the “world’s most powerful” lists will be decidedly one-sided. The most powerful ruler or most influential person in all  human history will pale next to Jesus. 

More to the point, every powerful or  influential figure who ever lived will one day kneel before Jesus in absolute submission.

See also: Matthew 2:2; Luke 2:38; Colossians 2:10

The above article was adapted from JESUS which my team created for Time Inc. It appears in the winter of 2014-2015 as a special edition magazine within the USA.

Jesus

Some 800 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah described what  the coming Messiah would be like. 

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
(Isaiah 9:6, KJV)

WONDERFUL COUNSELOR

“Wonderful,” in this instance, suggests something beyond human comprehension—a description that fit Jesus perfectly. Everything about him, from his teachings to his healing power, was extraordinary. “Counselor” refers to a king who offers wise guidance to his people. No one in  history offered more wise advice than Jesus did. His words changed the world. More importantly, they continue to change the lives of anyone who takes them to heart. Jesus’ wonderful counsel  is still available to all.

MIGHTY GOD

The child, whose coming Isaiah predicted, would not only be sent by God but he would also be God—the Almighty Creator of the universe.

The phrase “Mighty God” suggests a warrior mentality, a fact that likely excited the Jewish people of Isaiah’s day—and especially those of Jesus’ day. The Jewish people were waiting for a righteous warrior-king to lead them. In the first century, they were looking for such a leader to free them from Roman control. With “Mighty God” on their side, they reasoned, how could they lose? They could not wrap their heads around the fact that “Mighty God” had bigger plans—far beyond mere political skirmishes.

PRINCE OF PEACE

The prospect of a royal hero who would restore  peace to Israel surely sounded good to the people of Isaiah’s day, who faced constant threats of invasion and exile at the hands of the mighty Assyrian army. Isaiah, however, was talking about a peace much more profound and meaningful than a détente between two warring nations. Isaiah predicted the coming of One who would restore spiritual peace between God and humankind. 

Jesus, the Prince of Peace, makes it possible for us to  have a relationship with our heavenly Father through  his sacrifice. Our peace comes through his death and  resurrection. 

The above article was adapted from JESUS which my team created for Time Inc. It appears in the winter of 2014-2015 as a special edition magazine within the USA.