“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” – Isaiah 7:14
Jesus has so many names in Scripture. It can be confusing – especially for a kid. I remember as one still struggling with whether there was a Santa Claus or a Jesus, wondering about all the different names for this God who died for us.
Not having really been told the story, I wondered why His name was alternatively Jesus and Immanuel.
In the span of 18 verses in Luke 1, we read:
- (31) “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.“
- (32) “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:”
- (35) “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.“
- (49) “For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.“
It was easy for a kid trying to understand why the prophet Isaiah instructed that Jesus should be called Immanuel, yet the angel Gabriel told Mary He should be called Jesus.
I attended many years of church and Sunday school classes, hoping someone would point out why. I was too shy to ask, fearing I might be deemed a heretic at the age of 8, God forbid.
And then there were many more names to come – in Bible verses and Christmas carols.
I really loved the sound of one of the latter – “O come, O come, Emmanuel.” “But wait a minute,” I remember thinking. “In Isaiah 7:14 He’s called Immanuel and in Matthew 1:23 He’s called Emmanuel. Can’t the editors of this book get their spelling straight?”
At last Matthew explains that the name “Emmanuel” actually means something: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
Read the lyrics to the Christmas carol for the introduction of even more names added to the mix! MORE
Silly me, you think we should tell Barack about this?
Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel!
Love this post, Mary!
Thank You!
Peace..
I spent the evening downloading beautiful Christmas music, piano and orchestral and chamber music — and now I read this post …
I think i’m getting in the Christmas spirit!!
God bless us all, everyone!
10 yr old autistic girl sings Hallelujah
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmx–WjeN7o
Such a beautiful young lady, song, and emotion.
@.45-70: Damn you!
I always get teary eyed when the Star Spangled Banner, Amazing Grace, And that song get’s done right. You broke me.
Different descriptions for different characteristics of an individual. Seems straightforward, yet people find a way to make it complicated and mysterious.
Meerkat –
I can’t watch that without leaking.
God, our Father, works in mysterious ways.
Jesus is the real reason for the season this time of year. It sure as heck isn’t Santa Claus and American commercialism. The greatest gift ever given to mankind ever was God’s gift of Jesus as our salvation, nothing else compares.
Jesus (“yeshua”) is many things to many people just as God (“Y-H-W-H”) is many things to others as well.
While it is heretical sometimes to describe God in some ways it’s hard for we mere humans to describe Him without talking about His attributes.
So we use (or can use) many names for Him in praise and Honor.
Praise to the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit!
I am more confused with the flying Cherubs? It’s just a little disturbing in an innocent way. Are they buzzing all over Heaven?
What about diapers? Do they have Cherub day care? Can they walk yet or do they just fly? How mature is their brain? Do they talk baby talk?
Who started that?
(no disrespect meant)
I like calling Him my Savior!!!
Angels are messengers, they are not cherubs…..more like holy warriors. Thanks for this post. Jesus is the one and only Savior and he is the King of Kings!! Hallelujah!!!!
Looking forward to kneeling before Him and hearing “Very well my good and faithful servant”.
And then the great big huge bear hug He’s going to give me.
And then the feast, let’s not forget about the feast.
Carmenzoid,
Why do angles appear as little flying babies then? A cherub is depicted as a chubby, healthy-looking child with wings, isn’t it?