When Matthew tells the story of the birth of Jesus, he includes a passage from Isaiah 7:14 to connect the birth to that which was predicted in 734 BC: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means God with us),” Matthew 1:22-23 (ESV).
In this prophecy, and in Matthew’s story, we already begin to see the character of the One that God sends to rescue humanity from itself. While the Jewish people were looking for a conquering hero, Isaiah and Matthew point out that this Messiah would come as a child. God’s answer to our sin problem is not what our world thinks of as powerful solution. God enters the world in the form of a helpless baby. God’s rule will not be established by tyranny and violence. This child brings a completely different kind of kingdom into existence. Isaiah goes on to describe this event:
“For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (9:6, ESV).
Through Jesus, God is not only with us, but He is for us. What would it take to turn the government of your life over to Jesus? Only then can you know the joy of God with us, Immanuel.
More light than we can learn,
More wealth than we can treasure,
More love than we can earn,
More peace than we can measure,
Because one Child is born.
—Unknown