Immanuel

It is already clear that Jesus is a Greek name, transliterated from the original Hebrew name, Yehoshuah or Yeshua. There are, however, a couple of other verses about His name that are problematical for some:

21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS (original Hebrew: Yeshua), for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,
25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS (Yeshua).

Matthew 1:21-25 (New King James Version)

Verse 22 is referring to Isaiah’s prophecy:

13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?

14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

Isaiah 7:13-14 (New King James Version)

The prophecy said, “They shall call His name Immanuel,” yet they were commanded to call His name Yeshua, and that’s what they did. Some say that this means Yeshua does not fulfill the prophecy, yet Matthew states that it was done for that purpose—to fulfill the prophecy. It seems to be a contradiction.

If the text said He would be called Immanuel, it would be easy to explain that God With Us was descriptive, and since Yeshua was truly God With Us, there is no problem with the additional name. The text, however, says His name shall be called Immanuel, an apparent inconsistency, since He was named Yeshua in accordance with the Angel's command. Yeshua was called Immanuel because God With Us was one of His attributes, but he was not named Immanuel.

We have several ways to look at the Yeshua/Immanuel dilemma. One is that God was known by many different names, many of them being descriptive—in the same way that Yeshua (Salvation) and Immanuel (God With Us) describe two very important attributes. The familiar words, “Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace,” all come to mind, and there are many others. None of these, however, are His NAME, in the sense that we usually think of a name. We sign our legal names to a check, not our nicknames. Arnold Schwartzenegger could write Terminator on a check; everyone would know who he was, but no bank would take it. What name would God sign to His checks? That’s a study for another time.

A second way to answer the Immanuel question is that Yeshua’s name isn’t merely a name, His name is Who He Is. It isn’t just that His name is Salvation (Yeshua), He IS Salvation. It wasn’t just that His name was to be called Immanuel, God With Us—when He came, God WAS With Us. You can see this thread all through the Bible, where God asks His people to honor His name, to build a temple for His name, and call on His name. I will write more on this in a subsequent post.

A third answer lies in looking at the entire time frame of Yeshua’s involving Himself in our Salvation. His first coming was not His last—He will come again. We can see that future in the book of Luke, where Mary is told what to name her Son:

30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.

32. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.

Luke 1:30-32 (New King James Version)

Verse 32 speaks of Yeshua being given the throne of David, yet Yeshua did not take a throne at His first coming. The words referring to David’s throne are a looking forward into the future, to His second coming. In the same way, Isaiah and Matthew were adding future to present, looking forward to the time when Yeshua, having come to save His people, returns to earth and takes the throne of David and reigns here. At that time He will truly be known as Immanuel, God With Us.

John is named in surprising circumstances

John was born about six months before his cousin, Yeshua. John’s father, Zacharias, was serving as priest when an angel came to him. Not only was Zacharias surprised, he was frightened:

12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

                    Luke 1:12-14 (New King James Version)

Zacharias had doubts about the promise of a child, because he and his wife were far past the time when a child could be born to them. Because he doubted, the Angel gave him a sign so that he would know the word came from God; he made Zacharias mute, and told him he would remain so until the baby, John, was born.

57 Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 

58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. 

59 So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 

60 His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”

61 But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.”

62 So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.

63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. 

64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 

65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 

66 And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

                    Luke 1:57-66 (New King James Version)

Why would it be so important that the “one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord” be called John (Ioannes, in Hebrew)? We know that John’s name means “Jehovah is a gracious giver.” The name is a good one, reminding us that truly our God is a gracious giver, especially in that He was in the act of providing for us Yeshua, our Salvation. But there is more.

The meaning of John's name does not appear to be of primary importance in this story. The focus is on how important it was that John be called by the name announced by the Angel. If Zacharias had not lost his speech during that time, if it had not been such a marvel to the entire countryside, we might have lost sight of the reminder that God is interested in NAME, in particular in the name of One soon to be born, of whom the Angel had said, “Thou shalt call his name Yeshua (Salvation!), for He shall save His people from their sins.”

Names you may not know

Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi

Somehow these names don’t pop to the forefront of our “familiar Bible characters” list, probably because we don’t have any particular stories about them to keep them in our memory. I wondered why God would choose to name these three, apparently insignificant characters, but then I realized that these names and their meanings are an important part of the parallel God makes between the story of Hosea and the story of Israel as a nation.

Hosea 1 (New King James Version)

 1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

 2 When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea:

      “Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry

      And children of harlotry,

      For the land has committed great harlotry

      By departing from the LORD.”

 3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 Then the LORD said to him:

      “Call his name Jezreel,

      For in a little while

      I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu,

      And bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.

       5 It shall come to pass in that day

      That I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

6 And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him:

      “Call her name Lo-Ruhamah,

      For I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel,

      But I will utterly take them away.

       7 Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah,

      Will save them by the LORD their God,

      And will not save them by bow,

      Nor by sword or battle,

      By horses or horsemen.”

8 Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. 9 Then God said:

      “Call his name Lo-Ammi,

      For you are not My people,

      And I will not be your God.

    10 “Yet the number of the children of Israel

      Shall be as the sand of the sea,

      Which cannot be measured or numbered.

      And it shall come to pass

      In the place where it was said to them,

      ‘You are not My people,’

      There it shall be said to them,

      ‘You are sons of the living God.’

       11 Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel

      Shall be gathered together,

      And appoint for themselves one head;

      And they shall come up out of the land,

      For great will be the day of Jezreel!

          Hosea 1 (New King James Version)

Jezreel means "God sows," and is also the name of a couple of cities, one in Issachar, and one in Judah. Lo-Ruhamah means "no mercy," and Lo-Ammi means "not my people." The meanings of these names are significant, the last two making a turn around, when God's people return to Him. See the change between the name meanings, "No mercy" and "not my people" to the opposite affirmations by God - and His people - in the verse below:

23  Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth,
      And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy;
      Then I will say to those who were not My people,
      ‘You are My people!’
      And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’”

  Hosea 2:23 (New King James Version)

God used the names Jezreel, LoRuhamah, and LoAmmi, to show His people how He would draw them back to himself, in spite of their rejection of Him. He uses names to teach us, to show us He has a plan for us. His plan for us is Salvation, and He made sure we would never forget, by giving the name Yeshua to His Only Begotten Son. Yeshua, "Salvation."