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What’s in a Name?-Matthew 1:18-25

By Charlie Vensel | June 13, 2008

What’s in a name? Naming a new baby is a challenging process. It’s hard to please everybody with a name. Dad wants a name with alliteration in it, something that would sound good on a sports report–Sammy Sousa or Johnny Justice. Mom selects a fashionable name and insists on no nicknames, something like Catherine or Benjamin or Cynthia. Grandpa wants to use a hallowed family name from the past, preferably with “The III” or “The IV”. It’s a miracle of diplomacy that a name is ever chosen.

However, Mary and Joseph did not face the hassle of finding a name for their baby boy. God decided that important matter for them, and an angel delivered the message. In the village of Nazareth just about six months before the birth of Jesus, Joseph, a young carpenter, is deeply troubled. His fiancé, Mary, is pregnant, and he knows that he is not responsible.

We don’t know a lot about Joseph other than he was a carpenter from the small town of Nazareth. At first view there was nothing striking about this man. His simple, well-worn clothes revealed him to be a man of small means. He was a person of few words, much more apt to show his feelings by arriving at your door with his tool chest to fix that stool, table, or door latch. This man was a doer, not a talker; he was an unassuming person, who stood patiently in lines, waiting his turn. What we do know about Joseph is that he was a good man, a solid citizen any community large or small would be proud to call its own. And although we might not think of Joseph as a man of great faith, he really was. 




The custom of the day was for families to arrange the marriages of their children. Often this involved negotiations with the parents, while the children had no say whatsoever in whom they would marry. Joseph’s family and Mary’s family had arranged for the two of them to be married. Since their town was small, they no doubt had known each other or seen each other. With the blessing of their families, the marriage had been arranged. They were formally engaged, or betrothed, to each other. There was a legal bond between them even though they did not live together. If for some reason either one wanted to break off the engagement, a legal divorce was required.

Traditionally the couple would be engaged for one year, and then they would be married. The whole town would celebrate the marriage of two of its own. The wedding celebration and feast could last anywhere from a few days to a week. 

Mary and Joseph were excited about getting married we would think. It would not be too much speculation to presume that Joseph longed for the day when he could take Mary home as his wife, and Mary longed for the wedding day.

We can imagine Joseph inventing carpentry errands that took him by Mary’s house. We can picture Mary making a wide detour with her water jar on the way to the well and walking ever so slowly past Joseph’s shop. Joseph must have been the happiest man in all of Nazareth. Mary would soon become his wife. 




Then one day everything changed. Mary wanted to speak with Joseph. She told him about an angel visiting her who told her that she would have a child who will “be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” (Luke 1:32 NIV)

Matthew tells us that Joseph was a “righteous man” but he was having a hard time believing Mary’s story. The news that Mary was with child hit Joseph like a ton of bricks. Quiet Joseph must have grown dark with hurt and anger, turned from her, clenched his fists, and skinned his knuckles as he pounded his bench. Such feelings would be normal at the thought of infidelity. No doubt Mary dissolved into tears, running from his shop. As she left, she blurted out that she had hoped that at least he would understand. And she was gone.

Joseph was left alone to agonize over how he should handle this problem. As he saw it he had two choices, he could set the date of the wedding sooner and hope his family and neighbors had lost track of the months, or he could divorce her. Mary was in danger. If anyone found out that she was pregnant, she could be stoned to death. Joseph really loved Mary and didn’t want to see any harm done to her, but he didn’t think it was right to marry her either. All day long in his carpenter shop he must have wrestled with his dilemma, while sanding boards down to nothing. He must have spent many sleepless nights tossing and turning, pondering Mary’s strange news, thinking how to best solve his problem. 




Finally, he made a decision. He would quietly divorce her in the presence of two witnesses so no harm would come to her. We don’t know whether or not Joseph had told Mary of his decision. He felt this was the sensible thing to do because he had such a hard time believing Mary’s story. His heart is breaking because he loves her.

Immersed in these sad thoughts, Joseph falls into a troubled sleep. He has a dream. In it, an angel informs him that Mary is telling the truth. He is ordered to skip the balance of their one-year engagement, to go ahead and marry Mary right away. In other words, “let the gossips talk!”

The angel revealed something else very important, the name of the baby and his title. “You shall name him Jesus,” said the angel. And his title shall be one predicted by the prophet Israel some 800 years earlier, “Immanuel.” The name and the title really reveal the breath-taking essence of Christmas, do they not?

First, in verse 21, we read, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21 NIV) “Jesus” is the Greek form of a familiar Jewish name “Joshua.” It means literally “Jehovah is salvation.”

 Jesus’ very name highlights the most important mission of his life, to save us from sin and reconcile us to a holy and just God. The angel listed only one task at the top of Jesus’ job description, “to save his people from their sins.” Jesus was the only baby in history born for the purpose of dying. Across his manger fell the shadow of the cross.

Recently I heard a report on the AIDS epidemic. The disease is more widespread than we thought, and here is the really frightening factor - 90 percent of the people who are infected with HIV, which leads to AIDS, are not aware of their infection. There is only one virus that is worse. It is the sin virus and it infects 100 percent of humanity. Here is the really frightening part - 90 percent of people do not know they are infected with an eternally lethal virus.

The symptoms of the virus are everywhere: divorce, addictions, child neglect and abuse, lying, stealing, racism, family friction, oppression of our neighbors, and money worship. Unless the sin virus is cured, it will increasingly wreck our lives in this world and separate us from God forever. The good news is that a cure has been found for the sin virus. God sent it through a baby, His Son, born into a Bethlehem manger.

How do you appropriate the cure? Repent of your sin. Declare your need of a Savior and his perfect righteousness. Claim this Jesus, by faith, as your Savior and Lord. The devil is not happy at all because the cure is so free and available. So, in order to mislead us, he suggests that we don’t need to be saved and changed by God. The devil reminds us of our good deeds, we give to the Salvation Army and we haven’t broken any law, except speeding, in a long time. Most do not believe they need to be saved? “Saved from what,” they ask. The short answer is, saved from the wrath of a holy and just God who must punish sin. The wages of sin is death, say the Scriptures. We stand before this holy and just God, dead in our trespasses and sin, with a guilty verdict declared over us as we come out of the womb. We are in dire need of a righteousness other than our own. Jesus, the Righteous One, born without sin, stepped into our place and paid the wages of sin for us, those who would believe on him as Lord and Savior by faith.

The Scriptures declare that Jesus was a propitiation for our sin, that is, he paid the price for our sins. But, Jesus did not just pay the wages of sin for us, death, but the Scriptures declare that Jesus was also an expiation for our sins, God’s wrath is turned from us. God does not just peer out the door of heaven, make sure no one is looking, and sneak us in. No, justice has been done and God is able to look favorably upon those who believe, and we enter by Christ’s innocence and perfect obedience. Christ’s righteousness becomes our righteousness, and Christ’s favor becomes our favor.

So, who needs to be saved? Some preachers help the devil because they prefer to proclaim a Christ who came to compliment our best rather than to redeem our worst. I recently read a story about a college student named Elizabeth who came home for Christmas after having been enlightened by a religion course. She said to her pastor, “I am not interested in a God who saves me; I am more attracted to a God who identifies with me.” The wise pastor said, “Elizabeth, let me ask you a question. Imagine yourself on the 8th floor of a hotel in Nashville, and the building catches on fire. The stairs are blocked by fire. Let’s suppose that firemen at great risk to themselves manage to climb extended ladders to your window. At that point, do you want those firemen to save you, or just identify with you?” Thanks be to God that the first task of the Bethlehem baby was to save his people from their sins.

There is a second name, or title, that God gave us for his holy child, “’Immanuel’, which means ‘God with us.’” This is the only place in the New Testament where we find the word “Immanuel.” But isn’t it interesting that the last words of Matthew’s gospel constitute the definition of Immanuel, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20 NIV)

“Immanuel” tells us that Jesus was authentically human, really one of us. He was not a divine superman disguised as a human. He had no x-ray eyes or knowledge of computer technology. He was as human as you or I. He experienced loneliness, illness, anger, and all that a fallen world had to offer. He laughed, played, swam, caught fish, built tables, and attended parties. He was tempted. He wept and felt despair. Why is that important? If Jesus really experienced our humanness, then he can understand us thoroughly.

I recall a story about a boy of about ten years old, named Earl. The boy had an intense desire to have a record player. One day he found a second-hand model in a downtown store for only $5.00. Of course, those were Depression days when $5.00 was a significant amount of money. Earl rushed home to tell his Dad, thinking all the while that because money was so scarce, his chances were somewhere between slim and none. To his amazement, his Dad liked the proposal. They worked out a series of chores around the house by which Earl could earn the money. Then the father and son went downtown and bought the record player. Earl was thrilled beyond description.

Some years later, when Earl and his parents were visiting grandparents at Christmas, his father said, “Son, do you remember the record player that I helped you buy years ago?” “0f course I do,” said Earl. His father said, “Come with me. I want to show you something.” They walked out to an old barn, filled with ancient kegs and boxes. There his father uncovered an old, dust covered object. It was one of the earliest Victor record players, with a huge megaphone-type speaker and the trademark of a dog on top. The father fondled the old machine lovingly and said, “Son, when I was a boy I worked three months in the fields to repay my father for buying me this thing. I wanted it badly. So, you see, when you came to me asking for a record player, I understood immediately. I had been there.”



That homely illustration has a message in it. Because Jesus was an authentic human being like us, he understands us. Jesus has walked the paths we walk. He is truly Immanuel, God with us. As the author of Hebrews declares, “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
(Hebrews 2:18 NIV)

I recall the story of the 7-year-old boy who exclaimed to his teacher, “My mother brought my brand new baby brother home from the hospital today. Please come over this afternoon and see him.” The teacher said, “Oh Johnny, I’d love to, but I better not come over so soon after your mother got home.” Johnny said, “But you don’t have to worry. It isn’t contagious.”



About this time each year, people will ask one another, “Have you caught the Christmas spirit yet?” It is contagious and church is a wonderful place to catch it. My prayer is that you will catch the authentic Christmas spirit, which is a lot more than some seasonal jolliness and charity. The real Christmas spirit is based on two important convictions. This Jesus, born in Bethlehem, is our friend who understands our every need, hurt, frustration and joy. He is Immanuel, God with us. The second conviction is this; this Jesus, born in Bethlehem, is the Son of God who sacrificed his perfect life so that we could be saved. If these two truths cause your heart to beat faster and a tear to occasionally moisten the eye, then you have the real Christmas spirit.

Over 100 years ago Father Damien deVeuster, a Belgian priest, began working with lepers on a small Hawaiian island. Father Damien found a source of fresh water in the mountains and developed a system to bring it down to the colony. He built the first sanitation system and clinic. He and the lepers constructed a chapel for worship. Each Sunday Father Damien would begin his sermon with these words, “You lepers know that God loves you.” This went on for years. Finally, one Sunday Father Damien began his sermon this way, “We lepers know that God loves us.” Father Damien had contracted leprosy. Yet he went on loving and serving until his death in 1898. Even as Father Damien cast his lot with the lepers, Jesus, Immanuel, invested himself totally with us sinners, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5 NIV)

All that Jesus came to do is summarized in these names, Jesus . . . Immanuel. If you know that, then you’re ready for Christmas. Only then, have you truly caught the Christmas spirit. Amen.

Topics: Matthew |

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