Emmanuel, the Key to Our Hope

We live in a time of great confusion: meaning and fact, history and truth have become separated. As the poet W.B. Yeats wrote of the world in the time between the two world wars, “Things fall apart, the center does not hold.”

The people of Jerusalem went through even more difficult times in the years of Isaiah’s ministry. Between 740 BC and 681 BC, the judgments of God came in waves to the people of the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. My friend Ryan Maike spoke of these people saying:

The words of the prophet Isaiah rang in their ears, words of promise and hope, but the imagery and the details don’t line up. Puzzle pieces that all seem to connect to a piece which is not yet on the table. So, they wait.

If the judgments come in waves, so do the words of consolation and hope. For each judgment, a corresponding hopeful image is given. But these images don’t come into perfect focus until Jesus comes to perfectly fulfill them.

We are familiar with the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts:

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, ”How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter

and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.

In his humiliation justice was denied him.

Who can describe his generation?

For his life is taken away from the earth.”

And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. (Acts 8:26–35)

Jesus was that missing piece who showed the eunuch his hope and a future. We can take Philip’s method of interpretation as a guide through the oracles of judgment and hope in Isaiah — they all point to Jesus.

Outside of the image of the suffering servant in Isaiah 52–53, perhaps the best-known image of Jesus in Isaiah is that of Emmanuel, God with us, prophesied some 700 years before Jesus was born.

1. Emmanuel

Jerusalem is surrounded by Syria and Judah’s now fratricidal brother Israel who seek to pressure it into a war with the only superpower reigning then in the Ancient Near East — Assyria. The sign of Emmanuel is given to reassure Jerusalem’s King, Ahaz, and his people, that God is with them:

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 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 7:10–14)

The sign of Emmanuel in Isaiah 7 — the virgin birth — is taken up by Matthew in his first chapter as he applies it to Jesus’ birth from the Virgin Mary. And this prophecy and its fulfillment becomes the basis of the best-known Advent hymn: “O come, O come, Emmanuel”:

O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

2. Cornerstone

The people in their sin have left their covenant with the living God and instead entered into a covenant with death. The Lord assures them of a better foundation coming — even Jesus.

Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers,

who rule this people in Jerusalem!

Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,

and with Sheol we have an agreement,

when the overwhelming whip passes through

it will not come to us,

for we have made lies our refuge,

and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;

therefore thus says the Lord God,
“Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion,

a stone, a tested stone,

a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:

‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’

And I will make justice the line,

and righteousness the plumb line;

and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,

and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”

Then your covenant with death will be annulled,

and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;

when the overwhelming scourge passes through,

you will be beaten down by it. (Isaiah 28:14-18a)

The coming of the Son of God is the foundation for new life — without him we live in lies and comfort ourselves with falsehood. This is our legacy after the Fall as we participate in the disobedience of Adam and Eve. We experience the pain of death: the “overwhelming scourge” which beats us down. But Jesus is God in the flesh, the second Adam. His incarnation is the ripping up of the false foundation and the building of us on an unshakeable rock. Everything not built on him and his word will be swept away as a house built on sand, so that only that which cannot be shaken will remain. He who is the precious cornerstone, the lamb slain before the foundation of the world, the foundation of Zion. He builds us into the temple of his Spirit. And this prophecy and fulfilment, like that of the sign of the virgin, can inspire us to new song:

O come thou cornerstone approved, and build us on thy perfect truth
Annul our covenant with death, and fill thy temple with thy breath.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

3. Light

Sin has compromised the leaders of Jerusalem so deeply that their prophets and seers can no longer hear a word from God nor see a vision. The Lord comforts them through Isaiah with a vision of the coming light:

Astonish yourselves and be astonished;

blind yourselves and be blind!

Be drunk, but not with wine;

stagger, but not with strong drink!

For the Lord has poured out upon you

a spirit of deep sleep,

and has closed your eyes (the prophets),

and covered your heads (the seers).

And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”

And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth

and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,

and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
therefore, behold, I will again

do wonderful things with this people,
with wonder upon wonder;

and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,

and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel,

whose deeds are in the dark,
and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”

You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,

“He did not make me”;

or the thing formed say of him who formed it,

“He has no understanding”?

Is it not yet a very little while

until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?

In that day the deaf shall hear

the words of a book,

and out of their gloom and darkness

the eyes of the blind shall see. (Isaiah 29:9-18)

In the New Testament, Jesus said of himself, “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but have the light of life” (John 8:12).

O come, thou Light from heaven, come! Anoint our eyes; disperse the gloom,
That clouds our hearts with fear and cold, Come Light and Word and make us bold!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

4. Shepherd

The nature of human life is to be transitory — we fade like flowers and wither like grass. Isaiah speaks of a caring figure to come into this vale of sorrow — a shepherd who is the Lord himself:

A voice says, “Cry!”

And I said, “What shall I cry?”

All flesh is grass,

and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades

when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God will stand forever.

Go on up to a high mountain,

O Zion, herald of good news;

lift up your voice with strength,

O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not;

say to the cities of Judah,

“Behold your God!”

Behold, the Lord God comes with might,

and his arm rules for him;

behold, his reward is with him,

and his recompense before him.

He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs in his arms;

he will carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40:6–11)

In the New Testament, Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

O come thou shepherd prophesied, who for your sheep lay down your life
That we in verdant fields may feed, and follow where your voice us leads.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

5. Branch

God’s judgment on Assyria which is a tool, an ax, in the hand of the Lord to humble God’s wayward people. Some of them, a remnant only, will be saved and will return as God “will lop the boughs with terrifying power” (Isaiah 10:33).

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:1-2)

Here is another ancient verse for this image:

O come thou branch of Jesse’s stem, unto thine own and rescue them
From depths of hell thy people save, and give them vict’ry o’er the grave!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

6. Herald

The people of Judah are humbled by the waves of bad news and loss. Their system of public justice has broken down:

Justice is turned back,

and righteousness stands far away;

…
The Lord saw it, and it displeased him

that there was no justice.

He saw that there was no man,

and wondered that there was no one to intercede,

then his own arm brought him salvation… (Is 59:14–16)

Who is the arm of the Lord but the God the Son?

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor;

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,

and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;

to grant to those who mourn in Zion—

to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;

that they may be called oaks of righteousness,

the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

They shall build up the ancient ruins;

they shall raise up the former devastations;

they shall repair the ruined cities,

the devastations of many generations. (Isaiah 61:1­–4)

In the New Testament, we hear these words from the mouth of Jesus, as he chooses this text for his first sermon, saying “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21).

He is the one announcing, proclaiming, the good news of the gospel fulfilled in his ministry. This ministry as Emmanuel, Cornerstone, Light, Shepherd, and Branch is perhaps most poignantly seen in his atoning sacrifice as the lamb which is both God’s vengeance on sin and the proclamation of God’s favor to us as sinners.

Incarnate Herald, God the Son, proclaim to us news from the throne
Bind up the brokenhearted poor, for captives caught, fling wide the door!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

7. Bridegroom

The whole book of Isaiah shows a land which has been unfaithful to its God and husband — a land which rejected the Lord in its sin — and yet is still loved by him. After disciplining Israel, God promises to take her back to himself and so make true his earlier word, “destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness” (Isaiah 10:22).

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,

and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,

until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,

and her salvation as a burning torch.

The nations shall see your righteousness,

and all the kings your glory,

and you shall be called by a new name

that the mouth of the Lord will give.

You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,

and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

You shall no more be termed Forsaken,

and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,

but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,

and your land Married;

for the Lord delights in you,

and your land shall be married.

For as a young man marries a young woman,

so shall your sons marry you,

and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,

so shall your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:1–5)

In the New Testament, we say that Jesus is the groom whom John the Baptist helps (John 3), the one whose marriage to the church is the foundation for all human marriage (Ephesians 5), and the one who will in fact marry his people in a mystical union at the consummation of this present age and the beginning of a radically new one where “the dwelling place of God is with man” (Revelation 21:3).

O come thou Bridegroom to thy bride, that we with thee might e’er abide,
not desolate but in thy hand, a brightly glorious married land.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Christ is the center who does hold — he pulls all things together — He is the Father’s gracious provision in all of his judgments and all of God’s promises for restoration find their yes and Amen in him.

May our Heavenly Father, whose delight is to give good gifts to his children, so fill us with the Spirit of Jesus that we might say, “Yes” and “Amen” to all his plans for us. And may his Kingdom be more readily established in us, through Jesus Christ our Lord who is the “Yes” and “Amen” to all his good promises.

O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come thou cornerstone approved, and build us on thy perfect truth
Annul our covenant with death, and fill thy temple with thy breath.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou Light from heaven, come! Anoint our eyes; disperse the gloom,
That clouds our hearts with fear and cold, Come Light and Word and make us bold!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come thou shepherd prophesied, who for your sheep lay down your life
That we in verdant fields may feed, and follow where your voice us leads.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come thou branch of Jesse’s stem unto thine own and rescue them
From depths of hell thy people save, and give them vict’ry o’er the grave!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Incarnate Herald, God the Son, proclaim to us news from the throne
Bind up the brokenhearted poor, for captives caught, fling wide the door!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come thou Bridegroom to thy bride, that we with thee might e’er abide,
not desolate but in thy hand, a brightly glorious married land.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Allen Kannapell is the pastor of His Church Anglican in Livonia, Michigan. His aim is to help people see Jesus in the Scriptures, a desire which motivated his current focus on Isaiah as a particular revelation of Christ. He and his wife Lisa are proud parents of three grown children. When he’s not occupied with family and ministry responsibilities, one of his favorite things to do is write music.

Copyright ©2020, Allen Kannapell

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