25 December 2025

25 December 2025 - Christmas

Transcript

Reading:  

Matthew 1: 21, 23

Write:  

She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, 

   Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
         and they shall name him Emmanuel,
 which means “God is with us.”

Reflect:   

There are many people in the Bible who receive new names. The first of them was Abram (which means “exalted father” )whose name was changed to Abraham (which means “father of many nations”). Sarai to Sarah (both names mean “princess”). Then there was Shem (a name meaning “name”) who became Melchizedek (the king of righteousness). Of course, there is Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who became Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, respectively. Some of these names! I mean, really…! Anyway.

Of course, we cannot forget the mother of Jesus whose name was Mary but who the angel called “full of grace - Kātaretoméne.” And this brings me to the two names for the Son of God: Jesus and Emmanuel. We heard what Emmanuel means: “God is with us.” What does Jesus mean? “God saves.”

Apply:   

So: God is with us as our Savior. Not just as a little infant. Not just as a man crucified on a cross. Not just as a miracle worker, or a good man, or an effective preacher, or any of the other silly things people try to reduce him to. No! He is “God is with us as our Savior!”

God has chosen to live among us. He chose to endure all that we endure – except, of course, sin. I wonder: how many colds did he catch in his life? That’s not as silly of a question as it sounds. Did he ever skin his knees? Did he ever hit his thumb with a hammer? We know his love is for all humanity, so I rather doubt he ever had a girlfriend. These are not as silly of random thoughts as they might seem.

God has chosen to live among us. He did not have to do that to accomplish what he did. But he chose all that he chose so that he could choose us. Do you like that? He chose all that he chose so that he could choose us.

God is with us as our Savior. Emmanuel. Jesus. These two names that Jesus has tell us so much about him. God is with us as our Savior. The all-powerful creator of the universe humbled himself because of love. This is why the devil and the demons went into rebellion against God! They could not stand the idea that God would become one of us. It is also true that many people who do not understand try to dismiss Jesus as an irrelevant character of history. But he is the central pivot point of all of time.

The naming of people in the Bible is not trivial. Do you know what your name means? My name means “free man.” My dad’s name, and my middle name, Edward means “prosperous guardian.” My confirmation name, Mark, literally means “hammer,” it can also mean “warrior.” So “Frank Edward Mark” means “free prosperous warrior.” 

It can be fun looking of the meaning of your names!

And Matthew was not saying something irrelevant by naming Jesus as Jesus and Emmanuel.

Because the name Jesus is the predominant name, some people forget to acknowledge his other name that comes from the prophet Isaiah and Matthew. But we would make a big mistake if we ever forget the combination of the two names: God is with us as our Savior. Emmanuel. Jesus.

God is with us as our Savior. It is enough to make the demons tremble.

Merry Christmas.

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