Our friends invited us over for dinner during the month of December. As I entered their home, my heart was filled with joy. Right there in the middle of their living room was the most beautiful Christmas tree I had ever seen. It wasn’t fancy or overly sparkly, but it told a story. All over the tree were gold ornaments with the names of our Savior:
Jesus
Yahweh
Prince of Peace
Messiah
Redeemer
Emmanuel
Almighty God
Names Tell a Story
Names tell a story. You can hear a name and immediately think of someone you know and how they behave. The name we bear signifies our identity and defines us to the world. Perhaps you were given the name of a beloved grandmother in hopes that you would carry on her legacy of loving well. Familes pass on their beloved names from generation to generation. To truly “know” someone, you must first know their name.
The gospel of Matthew tells us the story of how our Savior received His name. A nameless angel visited Joseph in a dream and revealed to him the most important name in human history:
“….You will name Him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.”
– Matthew 1:21
In the original Greek, the name Jesus means, “Yahweh is salvation.”
To the world, Jesus may have appeared to be a helpless baby born in humble surroundings to two people with limited means, but his name identifies Him as so much more. Jesus is God in the flesh. He was the fulfillment of the promised Messiah announced by the Prophet Isaiah 700 years earlier:
“For this reason the Lord himself will give you a confirming sign. Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel.”
– Isaiah 7:14
God with Us
The name Immanuel means “God with us.” Jesus is God with us. Almighty God took on flesh and came down to earth to save us from sin.
The Spirit of God had revealed the name of Jesus to Isaiah hundreds of years before Mary and Joseph existed. The life conceived in Mary’s womb was a supernatural act of the Spirit to fulfill God’s promise of deliverance.
Through the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God’s children could turn from their sins and receive eternal life by grace through faith.
Jesus is the name above every name. We can either bow to Him as Savior here on earth, or one day we will bow to Him in humiliation and regret. The end of our own story will be determined by how we respond to His name.
God is with us. Salvation was born in Bethlehem, and we can choose to offer Him our all and humbly acknowledge we need Him. When we cry out the name “Jesus” and make Him Lord of our life, we gain a new identity that supersedes any label this world tries to attach to us. We then bear His name, and the world can see we are a Christian.
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Join us as we study God’s Word using The Promised Messiah study!
Grab your journal today and dive in!
