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

God with us! I wonder if Isaiah had any inkling of the impact these three words would have on mankind. Did he, could he, conceive the importance of this one statement? We know that he was well acquainted with hearing from God as he fulfilled the ministry of Prophet, but did he understand the implications of “God with us”?

It is to questions such as this that Peter speaks in his first Epistle, verse 10 and following, “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully … things which angels desire to look into.”

It seems that Isaiah did not have full understanding of the prophecy. A better question that we might ask ourselves is, do we, do I understand “Immanuel”? As Peter said, it was revealed to them, for us. We should have the same desire that the prophets and the angels had to know all that we can about Him and His plan for us. Should we not be diligent to search the Scriptures for all that they say about our Lord? Should we not be just as curious as the angels?

I fear that too many of us take Him for granted and do little to learn Who He is, and who He expects us to be. We serve a God Who is present with us, He is in our midst. We can know Him, we can communicate with Him, and we can be in personal relationship with Him. He is Immanuel, God with us.

Think on it, mull it over, and contemplate the enormity of what that means. God is here, with us, we should be overjoyed and celebratory over the mere thought of such a grand plan. God loves us so much that He has provided us the opportunity to be with Him in this life. We don’t have to wait for death to usher us into His presence, He is with us now! Is that not a grand circumstance in which we believers find ourselves?

The physical birth of Jesus is past, as is our recent celebration of Christmas; the promise of Isaiah still stands; Jesus is Immanuel, ever present with us through the Holy Spirit. A fact worthy of continual celebration.

Rev. Bobby Thornhill is a retired pastor.