Sermon text: Matthew 1:18–25
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
Today is the Fourth Sunday in Advent. Advent is the season of the church year when we prepare for the coming of our Lord. We prepare for His coming at Christmas — His birth in the manger at Bethlehem. We prepare for His coming in His word and sacraments — where He comes to us even now. And we prepare for His coming again on the Last Day, when He will come in glory to judge the living and the dead.
Our gospel text this morning is Matthew chapter 1, verses 18 through 25 — the account of the birth of Jesus Christ, as told from Joseph’s perspective. “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.”
Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Names matter. In the ancient world, names were not just labels; they carried meaning. They revealed something about the person. And the name given to the child of Mary reveals everything: “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, or Yeshua, which means “the LORD saves” or “the LORD is salvation.” Nomen est omen — the name is a sign. The name tells us what He does. He saves. He saves His people from their sins.
And who are His people? We are. You are. All who believe in Him. He came to save sinners — which is you, and me, and all people. He came to do what we could not do for ourselves: to live the perfect life we could not live, to die the death we deserved to die, and to rise again, conquering sin, death, and the devil.
The text also gives Him another name: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” — which means, God with us. Jesus is Immanuel. God is with us. Not far away. Not distant. Not uninvolved. With us. In our flesh. In our world. In our suffering. In our death.
This is the great comfort of Advent and Christmas. God is not far from us. He has come near. He has taken on our flesh. He has been born of the Virgin Mary. He has lived among us. And He has promised never to leave us or forsake us.
So as we prepare for Christmas, let us remember the name: Jesus. For He will save His people from their sins. And let us remember the other name: Immanuel. God with us.
May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.