My Favorite of Jesus’ Many Names

We all know Him as Jesus, of course, but Jesus is One with many names.

Image via Pixabay

Although the literal number of His names is hard to nail down in Scripture (are certain verses giving Him a name, or just a descriptor?) but it has been suggested that the Bible contains between 100-200 different names and titles given to Jesus. Here are but a few well-known ones:

• The Alpha and Omega, The First and the Last, the Beginning and the End (Rev 22.13)
• The Bread of Life (Jn 6.35)
• The Good Shepherd (Jn 10.11)
• The Indescribable Gift (2Cor 9.15)
• The King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev 17.14)
• The Light of the World (Jn 8.12)
• The Rock (1Cor 10.4)
• The Creator Over All (Col 1.16-17)
• The Way, the Truth, the Life (Jn 14.6)

Each name and title is beautiful, and each one gives us a different glimpse of who He is.

Each one offers a new insight or revelation of His nature, His character, or His glory. By sifting through these names, we grow in our understanding of who He is, and hopefully, are spurred on to worship and awe towards our Saviour.

As we are heading into Christmas Eve tomorrow, I have (as I do every year) been reflecting on what continues to be my favourite name of Jesus:

Emmanuel.

In the Gospel of Matthew’s Christmas narrative, as Matthew explains how the birth of Christ came about, he unpacks this name for us, quoting from the prophet Isaiah:

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ^‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).” (Mt 1.22-23)

Honestly, it moves me every. single. time.

My favourite name of Jesus is Emmanuel; that is, “God with us.”

In Christ, God came down with us (Phil 2.1-11). God lived with us, walked with us, spoke with us, did life with us.

God travelled across time and space, broke through from the spiritual into the physical, left Heaven and embraced earth, laid aside glory and took on humility, maintained divinity but enfleshed Himself amongst humanity.

God with us.

And because of God with us, no one can over say that God is far away, far off, distant, unknowable. God has revealed Himself to us in the most accessible way possible (Heb 1.1-3).

Because of God with us, we are not alone.

Because of God with us, we are not forgotten.

Because of God with us, we are not afraid.

Because of God with us, there is freedom, and healing, and deliverance.

Because of God with us, we rest in His peace and His presence.

God is with us, both in earthly time of Christ, and with us still. He did not abandon His creation to sin and death. He came down to us to save us.

As we move into Christmas over the next couple of days, and as we enter into what often becomes a whirlwind of activity and family and presents and food, be sure to pause and rest in the beauty of this name.

Emmanuel. God with us. We celebrate the birth of this great Name.

A heartfelt and worshipful Merry Christmas to you, from Third Way Christians!

May you rest in the peace of Emmanuel this season, and may you love Him and others well during this time of worship and celebration.

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