Reflection: Immanuel: Immanuel is a Hebrew name which appears in the Book of Isaiah as a sign that God will protect the House of David. The Gospel of Matthew interprets this as a prophecy of the birth of the Messiah and the fulfilment of Scripture in the person of Jesus. The title Immanuel literally means “God with us.” Both Isaiah and Matthew affirm that the Christ who would be born in Bethlehem would be God Himself who came to earth in the form of a man to live among His people. (Isaiah 7:10-14), so we can have confidence in God’s goodness in Christ that we have all we need. To know Christ is to know God. We can take great encouragement and comfort in living this side of the cross. The faithful people of God in the Old Testament looked forward to the Son of God, and we have seen the fulfilment of God in Christ – who lived a perfect life and went to the cross to save us. What a wonderful blessing to know the Son of God in such a way.

For further reading see Matthew 1:18-23

Prayer: God our Father, you reveal yourself to us in so many ways, but ultimately in the form of your Son. We thank you for the encouragement of Jesus as our ‘Immanuel’, as sign that you are with us at all times, and that we can trust in you in everything. Amen.