Jesus or Immanuel

I was reading in Matthew this morning. In Chapter 1 verses 21 and 23 we see that Jesus was intended to have two different names.

Joseph was told to call Him Jesus (Save His people from their sin) - Matthew 1:21.

Isaiah said He would be called Immanuel (God with us) - Matthew 1:23 & Isaiah 7:14.

For the first time in my reading of this passage I wondered, "why the two different names? And, why have I never wondered why there are two different names before? And, why has no one ever gone out of there way to explain why there are two different names given? Should I be concerned that no one seems to be concerned about the fact that there are two different names here???"

For those of you who are now wondering along side me here's what I discovered.

Jesus is both! When Isaiah prophesied about Him in Isaiah 7:14 He was Immanuel. In a season of great turmoil in the history of Israel it was important the Jesus was Immanuel (God with us).

In Matthew, He had already come down to earth...He was actually "with us". That freed Him up to reveal Himself in another way as the God who saves!

Brilliant! God seems to have things under control. My job as chief inspector of God infinite wisdom has, yet again, been put in check...

If you didn't follow my thoughts check it out yourself in Matthew.

The Scripture is VERY rich and there is a lot to learn, even from passages you have read dozens and dozens of times before.