“Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!”
With the dawning of Christmas Eve/Day there are few carols that ring more clearly the message of the season then this one. This popular carol is played in the local Wal-Mart, coffee shops, and sung in Churches all across the United States as little children “wait for Saint Nick” and as families come together, even though they may not always agree with each other. The music itself is dissonant and haunting with the eight stanza of the carol adding image after image of Biblical truth. Yet what is so important about Emmanuel? Who is Emmanuel and why is he coming? Why Israel and what is the exile? These questions are important, not just to the carol but to the New Testament passage where Emmanuel is found, Matthew 1:18-25. An examination of the Biblical text is in order.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 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).
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
In the context of Matthew, the author is just now beginning the narrative. Matthew opens his Gospel with the royal genealogy, linking the Messiah back to the King David and the patriarch Abraham. Then with the repetition of 14 generations from Abraham to David, David to the Exile, then from the Exile to the Messiah, Matthew is rooting the Messiah in the story of Israel. This Messiah is functioning within the framework of Israel, this is Israel’s story. The Exile is the background to the preceding paragraph or we could say this is the historical framework that Matthew is writing about the Messiah coming.
Now Exile wasn’t a glorious thing by any stretch of the imagination. Israel found themselves in and out of Exile throughout their history. Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and this list could go on. YHWH had allowed His chosen to become slaves. Israel chose to rebel and now they were suffering for it. Yet this time it wasn’t Babylonian Exile but Rome Captivity. This meant Caesar was Lord. He was god and savior. He brought in “peace and safety”. Thus Israel longed for YHWH to return and deliver them from their oppressors. Their hopes for a Messiah ran from the prophets, through the intertestamental period into the first century. They wanted to be delivered from oppression. N.T. Wright states: "Until the Gentiles are put in their place and Israel, and the Temple, fully restored, the exile is not really over, and the blessings promised by the prophets are still to take place".1
These things hadn’t yet taken place yet in the mind of the Jew. Yet keep in mind, it was because of their own sin that landed them into bondage in the first place. They were “slaves in the land” (Nehemiah 9:36-38). So Israel did what they could do. Religious leaders built fences up around the Torah. Another group wanted to revolt against the authorities. Others withdraw themselves from society. Each group looking for a way to cope with their present state.
But in the midst of this loss of hope, a young girl, probably not even out of her teen years, was found with Child. This young girl Mary, had been engaged to her husband Joseph, yet they had not consummated their marriage. As the text reads, they had not known each other! This pregnancy was unlike natural conception, you see this Child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. But Joseph was a little skittish about this giving the fact he didn’t know all the details. All he knew was that he hadn’t touched his wife! Legally an honorable man would divorce his wife who had committed adultery. Yet an angel of the Lord appeared and revealed the truth about his wife and this Child.
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
The angel’s announcement was profound!
Could this be?
Is He here?
End of Exile?
Yet Matthew just to clarify this proclamation sees Isaiah 7:14 as the background. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel” (which means, God with us). Yet what does this mean? Given the Old Testament context, Isaiah says that Ahaz would receive a sign. Thus in verse 14 the sign is given. This is probably speaking about Isaiah’s son in chapter 8. Yet Matthew seems to see this passage as applying to the Child. That isn’t a far stretch for him given the angels revelation to Joseph.
1.) The virgin shall conceive and bear a son (she will bear a son)
2.) They shall call his name Emmanuel (you shall call his name Jesus)
Then Matthew interprets Emmanuel for his audience, which means God with us. But what was the final clause of the angels proclamation? Lo and behold it is “He will save his people from their sins”! In short Matthew sees this Child fit Isaiah and draws the conclusion that this Child is Emmanuel! Grant Osborne says that “Emmanuel isn’t the literal name of the Child but is metaphorically describing his messianic work...”2 namely God with us is salvation! Now, “God with us” as many have seen it could be a reference to the Childs divinity, His equality with God Himself. This is indeed true given the rest of the New Testament. But as M. J. Harris pointed out “In Jesus God is present to bring salvation to his people”3, thus this Emmanuel proclamation over this Child has another important implication; the dwelling presence of God, or to say the saving activity of God. No longer is the dwelling presence of God in the Temple but it is in this Child. God’s saving activity is taking place with this Child. God is magnifying Himself in and through the Child. Salvation has dawn upon Israel and thus the whole world. Salvation from their sin and from Exile is about to take place with the birth of the Child. This only happens because of this Emmanuel. This is the same conclusion that John draws in his prologue: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the Only Son from the Father full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising” - Isaiah 60:1-3
God with us is one of Matthew’s themes that he carries throughout his gospel. Listen to the final words of the Messiah: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Thus for Israel and the world the announcement of the present saving activity of God is indeed Good News. The saving activity of God or to say the Kingdom of God has come but not in the way Israel expected. Seyoon Kim mentions that:
Jesus’ redemptive work did not consist in altering the political, economic, and social structures of the day to bring Israel political freedom, economic prosperity, and social justice. It consisted rather in exorcism and healing, forgiveness of sins and restoration of sinners, and bringing relief for the poor through formation of a new commonwealth.4
Israel received salvation not by military power or radical revolutionary activity but simply by humility. The blessed Mary giving birth to the King of the World who walked in humility proclaiming the Kingdom. Thus the world can taste the saving power of Emmanuel. From beginning to end, God is with us. From the humble birth through his glorious reign to the consummation of His Kingdom, God is with us. Salvation has come and Exile is coming to an end!
In conclusion, Grant Osborne gives 4 stages that God’s presence is manifested:5
1.) God is present through his “Shekinah” in the pillar of fire and cloud also through the Temple in the Old Testament
2.) Through the Son as a walking “Most Holy Place”
3.) Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
4.) In the Final Consummation (Rev 21:3)
From Matthew the implication can be drawn: Salvation is already and not yet. All of history points to the event of the Messiah. Therefore the birth of the blessed Messiah into the world grants an opportunity for salvation to all who believe. The Kingdom of God has dawn to make all things right. A call to be the True Israel of God is announced, Jew and Gentile alike. Eternal Life is extended to the sheep who hear. The Holy Spirit has been deposited as a guarantee of the inheritance to a new world near. The Christmas season is a reminder that God’s activity has not stopped in the world. Yes it is a time to enjoy family, put lights on your house, and cut down a Christmas tree (which is something I’ve done this season actually and I enjoyed every minute of it). But most importantly Christmas is a call to all the world that God is the God of salvation. He has sent His Son into the world to bring His saving rule. The Kingdom of God is here but not yet fully consummated. Life, peace, hope, and joy has come. The God of Israel has acted and all the world has been given a call to turn and pledge their allegiance to the True Lord.
So to echo the words of the famous carol:
“Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Oh, bid our sad divisions cease,
And be yourself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!”
Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas. From my Family to yours, may God bless you with his presence and the grace of His Son be given to you.
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.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore. - Isaiah 9:6-7
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1.) N.T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God (Minneapolis, Augsburg Fortress, 2004), pg 270
2.)Grant Osborne, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Matthew (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2010), pg 79
3.) Murray J. Harris, Jesus as God: The New Testament Use of Theos in Reference to Jesus (Grand Rapids, Baker, 1992), pg 258
4.)Seyoon Kim, Christ and Caesar: The Gospel and the Roman Empire in the Writings of Paul and Luke, pg. 147
5.) Grant Osborne, Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament: Matthew, pg 82
