Two Unusual Names

Scripture — Matthew 1:18-25 (NRSV)

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Devotion

When I was just getting to know the woman who would one day be my wife, she mentioned a couple of names that made me curious. While talking about her family, Linda casually referred to “Popcorn Grandma” and “Raisin Grandma.” “What did you say?” I asked. “Oh,” Linda laughed, “I should probably explain the names of my grandmothers.”

Both grandmothers were named by their first grandchild, Linda’s older brother, Bob. When he was quite young, he was impressed by the snacks his grandmothers would give him. So, to keep them straight, he named one Popcorn Grandma because she always gave him popcorn. The other became Raisin Grandma for a similar reason. By the time I became associated with Linda’s family, the names “Popcorn Grandma” and “Raisin Grandma” were so familiar that they didn’t seem in the least odd to family members. For outsiders, however, an explanation was needed.

An explanation is also needed for the names of Jesus in Matthew 1:18-25. In verse 21, the angel tells Joseph to name his son “Jesus.” Then, in verse 23, Jesus is to be called “Emmanuel.” We might wonder: Why these two names? What did they mean? What do they mean for us?

Matthew helps us understand the meaning of Emmanuel, adding to verse 23, “which means ‘God is with us.’” In fact, emmanuel (sometimes spelled immanuel) is a Hebrew word that means “with-us-God.” The word Emmanuel wasn’t a proper name in ancient Hebrew. Rather, it signified the role and calling of a special person about whom Isaiah once prophesied: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Matthew applies this name to Jesus, not because Emmanuel was what he would be called, but because Jesus was indeed “God with us.” As it says in John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”

Matthew does not clearly explain why Joseph’s son was to be called Jesus. In Matthew’s gospel, the angel said Joseph, “[Mary] will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (1:21). The connection between the name Jesus and saving his people becomes clearer when we understand that Jesus is a version of the Hebrew name Joshua, by way of the Aramaic name Yeshua. Joshua, in Hebrew, meant “Yahweh is salvation” or “The LORD is salvation.” So, the name Jesus reveals two things about the son of Mary. First, Jesus would be the one who brings God’s salvation to humankind. Second, his name implies that Jesus is not merely a human being, but is also in some sense God, since his name means “The LORD is salvation.”

The two names of Jesus in Matthew 1:18-25 inspire our celebration of Christmas. At Christmastime, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Savior. At Christmastime, we celebrate the birth of Emmanuel, God with us. At Christmastime, we celebrate the God whose grace, mercy, and love make all the difference in the world, not just on Christmas Day, but every day.
Merry Christmas!

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Jesus the Messiah (Matthew 1-2).