‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Mat 1:23).

Why is the name Jesus a fulfilment of the name Immanuel? The first refers to God’s saving work while the other denotes God’s presence with us. The two names represent two necessary identities and functions of our Lord’s earthly mission. In order to save us, Yahweh had to be with us. He couldn’t save us from a distance. He couldn’t stand aloof and order us to put our act together! He had to personally intervene and get His hands dirty. Bless His holy name! But so must we. We can only help people when we are with them. We can only be relevant when we are close enough. Like Christ, our closeness doesn’t spell compromise.

Pastor Josh