Matthew 1:22-25
This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled:
“Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will name him Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.”
When Joseph awoke from sleep he did what the angel of the Lord told him.
He took his wife, but did not have marital relations with her until she gave birth to a son, whom he named Jesus.
The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
COMMENT & QUESTIONS
This is the first time that Matthew quotes from the Old Testament. He will go on to quote it a total of 96 times!
Why does Matthew think that the Old Testament is important for the identity of Jesus?
Matthew sees the story of Jesus as part of a larger story. The story of Jesus is not a stand alone story, but rather it is to be understood as part of the story of the Jews.
What did the name Emmanuel mean? Why was it significant? What comfort would it have given the Jews?
It means 'God with us'. The Jews must have felt at many points in their history that God had forgotten them. At the time of Jesus, they were oppressed by the Romans and they hadn't had any prophets come for many centuries.
PRAYERS
Thanks for Mary and Joseph and the role they played in bringing Jesus into the world Thanks that God wants to be with us