"Why didn't Mary and Joseph call" Emanuel "to Jesus?"

Approximately 700 years before the birth of the promised Messiah, Isaiah prophesied about a virgin who "will conceive, and bear a son, and call his name Immanuel" (7:14). Years later, the apostle Matthew referred to the prophecy of Isaiah, specifying once again that, "you will call his name Immanuel" (1: 22-23). Many have wondered why this name is never used in the New Testament apart from Matthew's quotation regarding Isaiah 7: 14 — if it was assumed that the promised Son of Mary would be called "Immanuel." Why don't we read that Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, Peter, Paul or others called the Messiah "Emanuel"?

Fortunately, as is often the case with the Word of God, the Bible is its own (and better!) Comment. To better understand what Isaiah meant by the name Immanuel, it is useful to consider what the prophet wrote two chapters later. In prophesying about the Messiah, Isaiah wrote: "His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace" (9: 6). Did Isaiah mean that the proper name of the Messiah would be "Admirable", "Counselor", "Eternal Father" or "Prince of Peace"? The answer is obvious: these names were given to describe the nature of the Messiah; They were not given as literal names. their attributes [of the Messiah-EL] would have such a nature that they would qualify these titles as appropriate descriptions of their power and work. In Hebrew, to be called, and to be, often means the same ... Using a verb in such a way is not unusual in Isaiah. According to the use in Isaiah, "it will be called" is the same as saying that it will properly bear this name, or that it will simply be.

Gabriel's conversation with Mary before his miraculous conception is also useful for properly understanding the name and nature of Jesus. Although Gabriel did not use the term "Immanuel," note how he distinguished Jesus' name from the titles with which he would be known because of His divine nature:

Then the angel said to him: Mary, do not be afraid, because you have found grace before God. And now, you will conceive in your womb, and you will give birth to a son, and you will call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father; and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end. Then Mary said to the angel: How will this be? Well, I don't know a man. Responding to the angel, he said: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow; Therefore also the Holy Being who will be born will be called Son of God (Luke 1: 30-35).

Finally, Matthew also clarified the way God used the "name" Immanuel in the same context in which he quoted Isaiah 7:14. Immediately before and after Matthew presented to his readers the prophecy regarding the Messiah that would be called “Emanuel” (1:23), he indicated that Joseph would call (1:21) and that he called (1:25) the Messiah with the Jesus name. The fact that Matthew wrote of the "name" of the Messiah as "Immanuel" in verse 23, and as "Jesus" in verses 21 and 25, clearly shows that he understood that he gave himself a name (Jesus) literally, while the other (Immanuel) that is similar to the title "Christ" for Jesus, represented His essence.

by Erwin