Text: Matthew 1:18-25; Romans 1:1-7
Theme: “In the name”
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Intr – Do you know who chose your name?
Maybe it was your parents, maybe a person in the family had a say. I’ve watched expectant parents having a hard time over this decision—pulling out baby name books, checking meanings, choosing from ancestors’ names.
Modern life has added new concerns too. For example, the email-address problem. I once saw a man online complaining about his name, Steven Tink. His company used first initial plus last name for email addresses… well, you can imagine the issue. (And yes, I changed the name and details—because the original version definitely cannot be used in a sermon.)
Choosing a name matters because it is something a person, in most cases, carries for the rest of their life and, humanly speaking, your name is your biggest asset.
Now, names also carry meaning. Perhaps, even expectations. Talk about people named Junior or II, III, IV… Names can carry both hopes and desires, and sometimes even difficulties, like for those who have a non-conventional name or don’t like their name at all. Maybe it’s hard to spell. Hard to pronounce. Maybe you’ve spent your whole life correcting people. Instead of a gift, a name may became a burden.
Thinking about meaning, I started to wonder: what if we had to live up to the expectation of what our name means?
- Sophie—wisdom Irene—peace Felix — happy
Something struck me this week as I prepared this sermon. I’ve been “Lucas” my whole life, but until now, I had never actually looked up what my name means. I always thought of Luke—the evangelist, the beloved physician Paul mentions. But the meaning of the name itself is “the bright one,” or “bearer of light.” That’s a pretty tall order. And if that was my mom and dad’s expectations for my life, well… sorry, mom I only found it 50 years later!
If we had to live up to the expectations of our own names, or the expectations of those who named us, we would have to be honest: it is impossible. We frequently fall short of them.
Well, after all of this reflection about our name, in the end, someone could say, “I know, a name is important, but in the end, it’s just a name. Your personal trajectory is not tied to its meaning, or lack thereof.” As the saying goes, “A name does not make the person; the person makes the name.”
That’s not the case in Scripture though. In the Bible, the name and the person belong together when it comes to the name of God and the promised Messiah.
Look to today’s Gospel and the name mentioned there. The angel announces to Joseph how should he name his child. And it is a name that sounds comforting. “They shall call His name Immanuel,” which means, God with us. However, here is the truth: God with us would be trouble—unless His name were Jesus.
Joseph is caught in fear and confusion. Mary is pregnant before marriage. His world is collapsing. And now the baby still needs a name. This was no ordinary child. If they had been free to choose, perhaps they would have chosen a name that reflected their situation: Tzaddik—“Righteous”—because Joseph was a righteous man. Or Matityahu—“Gift of God”—in awe of the miracle. They were expecting a King, a Consoler, a Deliverer.
And into that moment, an angel speaks—not with a suggestion, but with a command: “You shall call His name Jesus.” Phew! Less work for Joseph and Mary, they don’t need to choose the child’s name. Heaven does.
And the angel explains why: “For He will save His people from their sins.” The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew Yeshua—“The LORD saves.”
This name is not a personality description. It is not symbolic. It is not poetic. It is not a hope or a sentiment. The name is the person. One and the same.
In Scripture, when God gives a name, He is not merely describing—He is revealing Himself. The name doesn’t only describe a person, the name IS the person.
Yahweh is God, “I am who I am”
Jesus is the “Redeemer, Saviour”
Immanuel is God in person with us. In Person,
When God reveals His name, He gives Himself. And when the angel says, “You shall call His name Jesus,” this means: Savior is not just what He does. Savior is who He is.
The Fear in Immanuel
Now, we often hear God with us and immediately think comfort. Warmth. Reassurance. But Scripture teaches something important here. A holy God coming near sinful people is not automatically good news. We know ourselves well enough to know that. Our hands are not clean. Our hearts are weak. Our lives do not match God’s holiness.
And when I say “sinful” I don’t mean ‘a specific kind of bad people”. I find it useful to clarify it here especially if you are visiting our are new to our Church and are getting to know our the teaching. When we talk about sinners, sinful people, we mean people. People like us—imperfect, inconsistent, unable to live up even to our own standards.
If God comes to be near us as Judge, He will expose, measure and demand perfection. In that case, God with us is not comfort at all. It is fear.
I wonder if that could bear some connection, directly or indirectly, with the problem with Christmas outside of Christian faith. Outside of the Christian faith, Immanuel is not good, but terrible news. God with us would be a terrible announcement— unless His name were Jesus. Therefore, Jesus can slide to the background while good tidings and nostalgia take centre stage.
Even though this is true – God with us is not good news for sinners – we don’t stop here. We go to where Matthew takes us and learn about Jesus, his name and His mission. Why in faith Immanuel doesn’t spell trouble and condemnation, but salvation and peace.
Immanuel becomes good news because God who is with us is the God who saves us from our sins. The name does not point away from the person. The name is the person given to us. Immanuel. God with us.
As I said earlier, in our case, we are not our own names. Our names may describe what someone hoped that we would be. When it comes to Jesus though, His name does what it promises! It redeems, saves, strengthens.
It is the name you say in our morning and evening prayer. It is the name you bear in your heart everywhere you go. It is the name who praise here at Church and you will receive in Holy Communion. It is the name that always makes sense when you life seems to be falling apart. It is the name that is the person Himself – Jesus.
Living in His Name
This is the promise of Christmas. The promise is not that we finally live up to our names. The promise is that we are invited to live in His name. Living in His name does not mean becoming worthy of it. It means being carried by it. That reflects into our daily lives:
When you pray in the name of Jesus, you are not borrowing spiritual authority from a set of letters. You are calling on the Savior Himself.
When you are baptized into His name, you are not receiving a symbol. You are being joined to the living Christ, brought into His family of faith.
When you gather in His name, He is present among you—not to measure your worthiness, but to give forgiveness, life, and salvation.
When you act in His name, you bear witness to that name—serving your neighbor, showing mercy, living the essence of Christmas in daily life.
Paul says it this way in Romans 1: Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God in power… through the resurrection from the dead.” His name is backed by God’s action. His name is sealed by the cross. His name is confirmed by the empty tomb. His name is Jesus Himself, present in your heart and guiding your life.
There’s the saying that goes around saying like this “there are no atheists inside an airplane that is in trouble”. Whether that is always true or not, here’s the deeper point. Why is it that many start praying – calling upon the name of God? I would say that it is because at that time they don’t need an idea, a concept, a motivational word or a word to think about. In crisis, people don’t reach for abstract ideas. They reach for a person to call upon. And when call upon the name of God in Christ, we are calling on the One who, throughout the centuries, has saved, comforted, and led His people— whether in life or in death. We belong to his name.
And because we belong to His name we belong to Him.
Conclusion: Immanuel. Jesus. Christ. To speak the name of Jesus is to receive the Savior Himself. A name above every name. A name that saves. When you say the name, you don’t just say a name. You receive the Savior and His promises delivered to your heart. Say the name. Trust the Name!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Post-sermon Q&A
Q1: “Are you saying God is scary?”
Answer: Yes—if God comes as Judge. That’s why Christians don’t find comfort in a vague idea of God. Our comfort is in Jesus, who shows us what God is like for sinners.
Q2: “This sounds exclusive. What about other beliefs?”
Answer: Christianity doesn’t claim that everyone already believes the same thing. It makes a specific claim: that God comes near in Jesus to save. You’re free to disagree—but clarity is more honest than pretending differences don’t exist.
Q3: “Why talk about sin? Isn’t that outdated?”
Answer: Sin isn’t about being worse than others. It’s about being divided—wanting the good but failing to live it out. Most people recognize that experience, even if they use a different word.
Q4: “Are you saying I have to earn God’s presence?”
Answer: No—the opposite. The whole sermon is about why we can’t earn it. That’s why the name Jesus matters. He brings God’s presence to us as gift, not reward.
Q5: “So what am I supposed to do with this?”
Answer: You don’t start by doing. You start by hearing the name—Jesus—and considering what it means if it’s true. Christian faith begins with receiving, not achieving.
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- The Name Brings Charity (Grace)
A name we choose carries our hopes.
A name God chooses carries His plan.
The angel tells Joseph that this child’s future is to be the giver of grace—to save His people from what they cannot escape on their own: their sin.
Jesus takes the impossible burden of living up to God’s standard off our shoulders and places it on Himself. He lives the righteousness we cannot. He bears the judgment we deserve.
This is charity. This is unearned, undeserved, extravagant grace.
- The Name Brings Comfort — Immanuel
But Matthew gives us a second name:
“They shall call His name Immanuel—which means, God with us.”
That should make us pause—because being near a holy God is not automatically comforting. We know our hands are dirty. Our hearts are divided. Our fear is often well-founded.
But here is the key:
The name Jesus explains why Immanuel is good news.
The God who is with us is not coming to condemn us.
The God who is with us is the one who saves us from our sins.
We do not need to fear His presence.
We do not need to hide our brokenness.
We do not need to clean ourselves up first.
This is the comfort the name brings.
III. A Name That Defines a Life
Mary and Joseph did not choose Jesus’ name based on dreams or circumstances. Heaven chose it. And Jesus lived fully into that name.
He became what His name promised.
And Paul echoes this in Romans when he calls Jesus:
“Declared to be the Son of God in power… through the resurrection from the dead.”
What is in that name?
- Promise Fulfilled – God keeps what He says.
- Love Demonstrated – God sends a Son whose very name is Salvation.
- Life Granted – By saving us from sin, He grants us a new and nobler life.
This Advent, remember: the King who comes does not wait for you to be worthy of His presence. He makes you worthy by His presence.
