Christmas message 2025

Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22–23

In this two-minute Christmas message, I briefly reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ.

In some parts of Asia, even in places such as Hong Kong where Christians are a minority, I would sometimes see the word “Immanuel” put on public display in the weeks leading up to Christmas. If you pay close attention, you will probably encounter the word “Immanuel” at shopping malls, office buildings, and storefront windows, though this has ironically disappeared from the so-called Christian countries of the western world. There would also be public broadcasts of Christmas hymns, usually the music without the words, though this too has largely disappeared from the so-called Christian countries. Yet the spirit of Christmas can still be seen in department stores, as in the photo above which I took a few hours ago in Montreal.

What does Immanuel mean, and where does it come from? Some 700 years before the Lord Jesus was born into the world, Yahweh God had proclaimed through the prophet Isaiah:

There is some debate over the meaning of the Hebrew word “almah” translated here as “virgin,” as to whether it means a virgin or a young woman, but we won’t discuss it here. As for Immanuel, the original Hebrew word is עִמָּנוּ אֵל which means “God with us”.

Centuries later, Matthew, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ, quoted this verse in regard to the virgin birth of Jesus Christ:

I will only bring out one question: How many people, even long-time Christians, experience this aspect of the Christian life, that with the arrival of Jesus Christ, God is with us? May this become a living reality for you at Christmas and all through 2026.

Here is a beautiful song composed by Pastor Rosablanca Suen of our church: