What's In A Name?

What’s In A Name
Matthew 1:18-25
     Being a parent is always a challenge but one of the first challenges that parents face is choosing a name for their child.  There is a lot to think about.  What will sound good with the last name?  What are some family traditions that need to be considered?  You don’t want to be too old fashioned or too trendy.  What does the name mean?  When Jesus was born, that was something that Mary and Joseph did not have face.  The name for the child had already been chosen by God.  Mary and Joseph both had messages from God that the name of the child was to be Jesus.  Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel.  In our Gospel lesson for today, Joseph was told in a dream that the child would be given the name Jesus.  As we think about the names that are included in that Gospel reading, may we grow in our understanding of their meaning and may we grow in our appreciation of the importance of the coming of our Savior not only for our lives now but also for the time when He will come again.
     As you read Matthew’s Gospel, it becomes clear that he was writing the story of Jesus for a Gentile audience.  That is why he makes it a point to explain Jewish words and traditions.  That can be seen in the reading for today.  There are two names that are mentioned.  The first is the name Jesus.  It was to be the name that people would call Him.  The other is Immanuel.  That was more descriptive of who He would be.  It was taken from the prophet Isaiah as we heard in the Old Testament lesson for today.  Both are important in helping us to understand just who this baby is and what He would do for us.
      The name Jesus, as we say it today, is actually an English version of the Greek form of the name.  It really doesn’t sound much like the name that Mary and Joseph and His friends would use when they called Him by name.  They would call Him Yeshua.  That was the Aramaic form of the Hebrew name Joshua.  That is actually a shortened form of an older Hebrew name Yehoshua which literally means, “The Lord saves.”  That is why Matthew adds the explanation for us non-Jews that tells us that He would be called Jesus because He will save his people from their sins.
     If you need to be saved, that means that you are in some kind of dangerous situation.  The dangerous situation is that you are sinful and as a consequence of that sin, you deserve God’s punishment which is eternal separation from God in the never-ending fire of hell.  The truth of the matter is that there is nothing that you can do on your own that can rescue you from this terrible fate.  God expects perfect obedience and since the time of Adam and Eve and their first sin, human beings have inherited that sinfulness of their first parents.  There is nothing that you can do to make up for your sin and get back on God’s good side.  Sin has separated you from God and only He can bring about some kind of reconciliation.
     The word “save” tells us that something was going to done to help God’s people out of their terrible situation.  God’s love for His special creation caused Him to act on your behalf.  That action involved the same kind of action that God established for His people of old.  One life had to be given in exchange for another.  For the people of the Old Covenant it meant the sacrifice of animals at the altar of God.  The sins of the people were placed on the animals and the blood of the animal was shed as a sin offering.  The Old Covenant pointed ahead to the New Covenant that would rescue all people from the punishment for their sins through another sacrifice.  This would not be an animal.  It would be God’s only Son who left His throne in heaven and came down to earth to take on human form and be our substitute.  Through His perfect life and His suffering and death on the cross, you were rescued from that punishment.  John the Baptist called Him the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
     That gives us a clue then to the meaning of the second name that is found in Matthew’s Gospel.  Quoting from Isaiah’s prophecy, Matthew tells us that the angel told Joseph that the child would be Immanuel, which means, “God with us.”  This name is right from the Hebrew.  He would be God with us in a remarkable way.  It was more of description of who He was rather than a name by which He would be known. He was, in fact, God with us.  God came down to earth.  He took human form.  He was born of a human mother.  He is therefore true man and true God.  He came not as the Almighty God but rather came as a servant.  That is sometimes hard for people to understand.  His service to you and all mankind included giving His life for you, the ultimate sacrifice.  Through His life and His teaching, He was a model of the kind of servant life to which we have all been called as His disciples.  He was Immanuel, God with us, to be our servant as well as to be our Teacher and Lord.
     He is still Immanuel, God with us, today.  Before He ascended into heaven, He assured His disciples that He would be with them always to the very end of the age.  That promise still applies to you to today.  He is with you as you carry out His work of making disciples.  He is with you on your job.  He is with you in your family.  He is with us in our school.  He is with us in our church.  He is with you when you are lonely.  He is with you when you are sick.  He is with you when you are dying.  He is with you when you mourn.  He is with you to guide you and protect you.  If you ever are tempted to doubt that, He has given you the Means of Grace to strengthen your faith and remind you that He is with you.  Through the Word and the Sacraments, you are assured that He is with you.  He is with you with His love and forgiveness and the strength you need to live your life as His servant.
     What a blessing it is to know your Lord Jesus Christ and to know that He is with you!  He is the Almighty God yet He is your friend.  He knows your weaknesses and hurts.  He lived on this earth and experienced what human life is like.  He understands.  He is Immanuel, God with us.
     He will also be Immanuel, God with us, when He comes again one day to take us home.  Scripture tells us that all will see Him in His glory and He will take His faithful people home to the heavenly home that He has prepared where He will be Immanuel, God with us, for all eternity.  It is that second coming that is our Advent hope even as we prepare to celebrate His first coming this week. 
     As the Advent season draws to a close for this church year, may you continue to have your eyes fixed on the sky as you wait for that time when the final promise will be fulfilled.  May you wait eagerly, yet patiently, knowing that the time that God continues to give you is time for you to grow in faith and time for you also to share the
Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ with those in your life who do not yet understand the grace of God.  You have the wonderful privilege of introducing people to Immanuel, God with us.  You can tell them of the greatest gift that was ever given, the gift of eternal life through the sacrifice of our Immanuel who came to be with us and give His life as the sacrifice for our sins.
     That Good News is a Christmas gift that you can give to someone and still have it for yourself.  It is a gift that can be given to the world.  As more people hear the Good News, the Holy Spirit will work in their hearts to cause them to believe it and also then to receive the great blessing that Jesus, our Savior, our Immanuel, came to bring.  Amen.
  
Rev. Gerald D. Matzke
Zion Lutheran Church
Paineville, Ohio
December 22, 2013