A teenage girl getting pregnant usually is bad news. Even in First Century Galilee. But this time it was news. This time it was GOOD News. And the cool thing was that it was Good News almost 700 years before it happened.
Here in his Gospel, Matthew makes the connection between what's happening to Mary and her carpenter/fiance Joe and the promise God made through Isaiah the prophet seven centuries before. "'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel' (which means, God with us)" (v23).
Immanuel Explained
Matt directly quotes the prophets words almost exactly. "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Is 7:14). He simply adds his own divinely inspired study notes when he explains the meaning of the name: "which means, God with us" (v23). For those of us who don't have a huge knowledge of the Torah, we need to know that this name Immanuel is a REALLY big deal. It's the promise that God is not some far off deity who doesn't really care what's going on. He's "God with us" (v23).
Teenage Pregnancy
First of all, Matt confirms what Isaiah said about the girl who give birth to Immanuel. She is a "virgin" (Gr. παρθενος/parthenos). This is not just a young unmarried girl, but someone who has never had sex. When we look at the Hebrew term used by Isaiah in his book, this is confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt.
We find the same word describing a virgin throughout the OT (Gen 24:43; Prov 30:19; SoS 1:3; 6:8). The LXX, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, makes it VERY clear that Mary wasn't just a young girl who got herself preggers. She had pledged to keep herself pure until marriage and never had sex. Clearly, God had other plans.
It's a Boy!
Both Isaiah and Matt make it clear that this young girl will be pregnant without having intercourse. God tells the engaged couple that they are going to be the proud parents of "a son" (v23). But He doesn't stop there. This Boy has a unique and divine title. "They shall call His name Immanuel" (v23).
This is the Greek word ‘Εμμανουελ/Emmanouel. It's prophetic title of the promised Messiah which means "God with us." This name comes from a compound Hebrew word: with, among, between, in spite of ('im) and mighty, powerful God ('el). This mighty and powerful God has come to be with us. He's come to walk between us, in the midst of us. He's come IN SPITE OF US! Talk about grace!!!
Jesus is 100% God
Jesus was and is God. Fully God (Col 2:9; Jn 1:1). He was right there with God the Father from the start (Jn 1:1). If we want to know what God looks like, look at Jesus (Col 1:15). Jesus said when we see Him, we see His Dad (Jn 14:9). And as Immanuel, Jesus would ultimately fulfill the first promise by God of One who would come and bust Satan in the head (Gen 3:15).
As Immanuel, this wasn't some random, one time, limited engagement in first century Palestine. Jesus is STILL with us! He may have risen bodily back home to His heavenly Dad, but He's still with us thanks to His Spirit (2Cor 2:16-17; 6:19). And Jesus personally promised that when the Spirit unpacks His bags and moves into each believer, He and His Father are there too (Jn 14:23). God is STILL with us. "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27).
God's right here. He's STILL with us!
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