We all know that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and give birth to a son and she would call him “Jesus” (Luke 1:31).
We also know that an angel of the LORD appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that the child would be a son and that he should call him “Jesus” (Matt 1:21).
So why does Matthew include a prophecy from Isaiah that clearly says that the name of the virgin’s child will be “Immanuel”? (Matt 1:23)
Matthew tells us that Mary conceiving as a virgin is proof that this child is the fulfilment of the prophecy given c.600yrs earlier. Fine.
Except the prophecy is explicit that the child would have a very specific name and that name is “Immanuel”, not “Jesus”. And Matthew is trying to persuade us that this child being called “Jesus” is the same child referred to as “Immanuel” by Isaiah.
So what is Matthew up to?
Is he clutching at straws or is he doing something incredibly clever?
I think he’s doing something incredibly clever… AND subversive.
Matthew makes it clear to us that Immanuel means “God with us”. This is added by Matthew for our benefit as in Isaiah it just says “Immanuel”.
So on the one hand Matthew is saying that this child, whose birth from a virgin was prophesied by Isaiah, is none other than GOD WITH US.
This is massive. To the mainly Jewish audience of Matthew’s gospel the significance of this cannot be overstated. But with it comes certain immediate expectations and associations of what ‘God with us’ means.
Front of mind would be all the times where God made an appearance to their forefathers in the scriptures.
Abraham’s deep sleep and the thick darkness.
The burning bush, the quaking mountain and fire and the passing presence as He showed His back (not face) to Moses.
The thin silence that followed the wind, earthquake and fire with Elijah.
And so on…
To Matthew’s original audience ‘God with us’ evokes something very unlike a vulnerable baby born into poverty in some back-quarter of the Roman Empire.
Which is why on the other hand Matthew emphasises that this child would be called “Jesus”. “Jesus” comes from the Greek “Iesous” (pronounced Yaysoos). Being born into a Hebraic/Aramaic family his name was actually “Yeshua”, which to us would be “Joshua”.
Yeshua was a common name in Jesus’ (or Yeshua’s) day, as it is today. The reason it was popular was probably because of its associations with the Yeshua (Joshua) who succeeded Moses. Joshua was the indomitable military leader of the people of Israel who led them into the promised land. He was a man of faith, courage, valour who set out his stall in the famous words, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Josh 24:15)
And so Matthew starts his gospel by bringing two bits of great news in one announcement.
This child is ‘God with us’ AND this child is a ‘Joshua’. To a people under the yolk of the Roman Empire this is amazing news! For 600 years God had been silent and ‘messiahs’ had come and gone, and Rome was a cruel master if you stepped out of line.
To hear that the promised Messiah has arrived AND is God with us AND is a Joshua would mean an end to Roman rule and an unstoppable military saviour.
Matthew sets up his gospel this way because it’s absolutely true that Jesus is God with us, and it’s absolutely true that He is the saviour. But Matthew also shows how God subverts our expectations and refuses to be a put in a box.
In 3 short words, tagged on the end of the sentence, Matthew subverts the idea that Jesus will be a military saviour from the Romans. The 3 words are “from their sins”.
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21 ESV)
Matthew starts his gospel with this vital distinction. He reveals to us that our enslavement is not to an external military power or empire, but to our sins. And so it’s not that we need a saviour from ‘those out there’, but from what is in our own hearts. We lack the power to be free from sin unless God comes to be with us and saves us from our sin.
And the good news is that he has come, and God is with us, and he will save us.
This advent may you know that God is with you and that He has come to save you from your sins.
May He subvert your expectations and challenge you to address the root problem.
May you know that “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”. (John 8:36)