In the title, you see it spelled two different ways.
"Immanuel" is what you see in English when referring to the word in the Old Testament. It is spelled that way because the Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew although some of the latter writings were written in Aramaic. We spell the Hebrew version of the the word in English with an I, and do so because in Hebrew, the first vowel used in the word sounds like a short I in english.
Emmanuel is what you see in English when referring to the word in the New Testament because the New Testament was written in Greek. We spell the Greek version of the word in English with an E, and do so because in Greek, the first vowel used in the word sounds like a short E.
This may seem odd but it is done in such a way to keep the Bible accurate. If we were to look at the word "Immanuel" when an Old Testament verse is quoted in the New Testament, it would appear an error was made if we showed it as "Emmanuel" because you will not find it spelled that way in the Old Testament. If we compared the same verse in the Old Testament to the same verse quoted in the New Testament, they need to be the same.
Again, we see the Christmas story before us. However, this time we see it in the Old Testament in the book of Isaiah in chapter 7. In verse 14 (NASB), we read, "Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign; Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel."
700 years before Christ, the Prophet Isaiah foretold of Jesus' birth and called Him Immanuel. Immanuel actually means, "God with us."
Jesus, Immanuel, means "God with us" in the Old Testament and Jesus, Emmanuel, means "God with us" in the New Testament.
God has always watched over His Creation and mankind from above. Look at Matthew 10:28-31 (NASB). Jesus is speaking to the twelve disciples:
"And do not fear those who kill the body, but fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. Therefore, do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows."
He was telling them to not be afraid of man but know what God can do and respect and fear Him. God knows when something as small as a sparrow falls and He even knows when you loose a hair. Go is and always has been among us.
Yet, as time has passed, man has retreated farther and farther from God. We need God with us for without Him we are doomed. Mankind needed God with us because of the state mankind was in. So God sent the second person of the Trinity to become a man and live among us.
BUT WHY? Dr. Richard P. Bucher has provided a very well written answer to this question:
"That is why we need "God with us," Jesus Christ, our Immanuel. Because only He can undo what we have done. Only the One who created us in the first place can restore us again. Only our Creator can break down the wall of sin that separates His creatures from Him. Only He can give their lives the meaning and completeness they were supposed to have. Only "God with us" can rescue us from the oblivion that we are heading toward.
And that is what the eternal Word of God decided to do. For He saw the dire predicament the human race was in. He saw the ugliness, the brutality, and the violence that sin bred in man. He saw the emptiness and the restlessness of creatures in rebellion against their Creator. He saw that death reigned like a cold-hearted tyrant over His creation. Most of all He saw (with tears in His eyes) that His creation which had once been so beautiful, was now marred and vandalized almost beyond repair by corruption and sin; and that everything was heading for everlasting condemnation.
And so God the Son, sent by the Father, sprang into action. He knew that according to the Law He had laid down, that man must die because of their sin. He also was well aware that man could not be restored to His Creator until the Law was kept perfectly and sin was done away with. But such was His love for His creation that He did not want them to die. But to be true to His Law and not be found a liar someone had to die. Someone whose death would cancel the penalty of sin, stop corruption, and make all things new again. So the eternal Word decided to die for His creation. But to do this He must become human. And thus 2000 years ago, He came, "born of a woman, born under the Law" (Galatians 4:4). The Word became flesh and became Jesus Christ.
So great was His love for His fallen creation, for you and for me, that He left His glory to come here. And through His perfect life and death on the cross He broke down the wall of separation that our sin had built and reconciled us to Himself; as it is written "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them." (2 Co. 5:19). Through Jesus Christ, Immanuel, our sins are forgiven and we have fellowship with our Creator again.
Immanuel. In this one name, everything humankind needs and the entire plan of God's salvation is subsumed. How blessed we are that Jesus Christ became Immanuel, God with us."
I chose to write of these names for Christ that are so often used at Christmas hoping in some small way they would hold more significance and meaning for all of us. Hopefully, when we sing songs this year that have the words chosen for these three weeks, we will connect in a new way with the different ways our Lord Jesus Christ has come for us. Thank you Lord Jesus!