Shouldn’t We Be Calling Jesus Immanuel?

…for God is truly with us—here, now, always. 🙏

Father God,

Open our eyes to see that You are not a silent watcher from afar, but a living presence dwelling within—Immanuel, God with us.

Reveal to our hearts that You are not distant, but near. Let us feel You not only around us but within us—in our very breath, in the silence between thoughts, in the stillness that anchors our lives.

May we come to recognize Your nearness not just in sacred texts or holy places, but in the hidden sanctuary of our own souls.
Help us awaken from the old belief in a faraway God, and instead know the truth:
You live within us.
You guide our steps.
You bring peace into every moment.

For it is written:
“The kingdom of God is within you.” — Luke 17:21

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“Immanuel” is a Hebrew name meaning God with us. It first appears in the book of the prophet Isaiah:

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The young woman will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” — Isaiah 7:14

In Hebrew, the word for “young woman” is almah—not specifically “virgin,” but a young woman of marriageable age. Later, when the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek, almah became parthenos, meaning virgin. This Greek rendering shaped how the Gospel of Matthew understood Isaiah’s words—not only as a message for the people of Isaiah’s time, but as a sacred promise fulfilled in the birth of the Messiah.

“She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” — Matthew 1:21

“All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Immanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.’” — Matthew 1:22–23

These verses give us two sacred names, each rich in meaning and revelation.

Jesus is the English rendering of the Greek Iēsous, which is the translation of the Hebrew Yeshua—a shortened form of Yehoshua, meaning God saves or God is salvation. Through centuries and languages, the name became Jesus, but the heart of it remains unchanged: God saves.

So to call him Jesus (Yeshua) is to speak a name filled with compassion and mercy—a name that reaches toward healing, restoration, and hope.
To call him Immanuel is to affirm that this saving God is not far, but with us—within us.

Both names are true.
Jesus—our Savior.
Immanuel—our Companion.

Many Christians hold that Jesus is the one and only Son of God, born of a virgin by divine mystery. This is a sacred and central truth of the Christian tradition, which has been passed down to us through the ages—a truth that continues to shape the hearts and hopes of millions.

And yet, in the quiet space of shared contemplation, we may also recognize that Immanuel—God with us—is not bound to one person or one moment in history. The Spirit of God moves beyond boundaries and dwells wherever love awakens, wherever compassion flows.

God continues to be born into this world—in unexpected places, through unlikely people, and in every heart that says yes to love.

“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
— John 3:3

Through these words, Jesus (Yeshua) invites us not only to believe in his birth, but to share in it—to awaken, to be renewed, to be born of the Spirit. In this light, Immanuel is not a one-time event, but an ever-deepening reality. God’s nearness is not locked in the past—it is happening now, within us, again and again.

So yes, let us call him Jesus, the one whose name means God saves.
And let us also call him Immanuel, for God is truly with us—here, now, always.

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A Quiet Benediction

The name that saves, the name that stays—
Yeshua speaks through every age.
Immanuel whispers in the soul—
“I am with you. You are whole.”

🙏🕊🙏