FAQ
Immanuel and Jesus? Do these names mean the same thing?
The Question
In Isaiah 7:14 It states: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.
But in the New Testament in Luke 1, It says: God sent Gabriel to Nazareth and the angel told Mary that she would have a son and to name him Jesus.
Immanuel and Jesus? Do the names mean the same thing?
The Answer
Concerning this question about the names Immanuel and Jesus and are they same ...and why
the two names and etc.... well....let's begin by looking at each of these names individually to see what they mean and then we will better understand why Jesus had more than one name.
IMMANUEL (sometimes spelled Emmanuel) in Isaiah 7:14, means "With us is God" or
"God with us." This name given as a prophecy concerning Jesus Christ, because the name, Immanuel, describes that Jesus would be 'God united with man' and showed that 'God would be dwelling with man.'
JESUS means "Savior" and was a description of what Immanuel would do and be while
He was 'God with us.' JESUS is the greek form of the Hebrew name, JOSHUA (also spelled JESHUA or YESHUA) and is actually a shortened form of Jehoshua which means "Help of Jehovah" or "Savior".
And, while we are on the subject of names.... Jesus also was known by several other names including the name, CHRIST, which means "anointed". Since Jesus was both a priest and a King and since, among the Jews, priests were anointed as part of their inauguration to their office of priest, then the name, Christ, would indicate to Jews that he was anointed. In the New Testament, the name, CHRIST, is the same as the Hebrew , MESSIAH, (which also means "anointed").
So, when Mary was told to name Him, Jesus, this was to be his 'proper' name and to signify that He would be the Savior. But, He was also going to be the Messiah / Christ (anointed)
and Immanuel (God with us). And He also is referred to by other names such as Lord, a King, King of Israel, Son of David, Chosen of God, etc.
So there is no real problem with the different names being used.at different places in the Bible, because they were just signifying different aspects of Who He was and what He would be and do.
I hope this clears up any confusion you might have had on this matter.
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