Jesus Saves; Emmanuel Draws Us Near
Daily Scripture
Matthew 1:20-23
20 As he was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child she carries was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 Now all of this took place so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled:
23 Look! A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son,
And they will call him, Emmanuel [Isaiah 7:14].
(Emmanuel means “God with us.”)
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Don’t Forget: Resurrection offers candlelight Christmas Eve services at 8 locations plus online and on TV. Click here for detailed schedule information at all locations, and plan to join us for a light-filled service honoring Jesus’ birth.
Matthew packed these verses with meaning. First, he said the angel told Joseph to name Mary’s child “Jesus.” “The name Jesus comes from the Hebrew Yeshua, which means “deliverance” or “salvation.” * Matthew also stressed a symbolic name from Isaiah 7:14. “This was a remarkable connection Matthew made with the words of Isaiah, and an essential insight about the meaning of Christmas and the significance of Jesus. No other New Testament author cited these words of Isaiah.” **
- “Strictly speaking, the term savior (Greek sōtēr) appears only twenty-four times in the New Testament…. statistics do not reveal the entire pattern, for we find the words salvation (sōtēria) and save (sōzō) used many more times in the NT, often with Jesus as the subject…. This image is encoded in the Hebrew name Jesus, Yēšûa’ (shortened to Yēšû), meaning ‘Yahweh saves,’ or ‘May Yahweh save.’” * From what has Jesus’ sweeping salvation most delivered you?
- Why is Immanuel spelled with an I in Isaiah and Emmanuel with an E in Matthew? “That is because of a difference in how the word is spelled in Hebrew and Greek.” **** In either language, it meant “God with us.” Matthew was the only New Testament writer to use the name with its deep meaning. Jesus was not a mere human “savior”—he was God, present and visible in God’s world. In what situations do you most need to trust in Jesus as “Emmanuel,” God with you?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you didn’t stay safely away from this world’s brokenness. You were born to be with us, and to save us. Thank you for the hope and comfort your presence can give me. Amen.
GPS Insights
Valerie Nagel
Valerie Nagel serves as a Connection and Care Pastor at Resurrection Leawood. A Californian by birth, her Master of Divinity degree is from Duke Divinity School. She served as an associate pastor in the Rio Texas Conference from 2011 in the Austin area and San Antonio. From congregational care and welcoming guests to leading in worship, Valerie loves the local church's ministry. She juggles ministry with being a mom to Caleb (born 2012) and Jacob (born 2015), friend, avid reader, lover of the outdoors, beginner in CrossFit, and foodie.
We all need shelter, food, and water, of course. But our deepest need is to be seen and loved. We want to feel safe with others, to be understood by them, and valued for who we are. We want to belong and to bring meaning to a community because of who we are. This is why loneliness, bullying, and ostracism are so painful. They hurt our heart, mind, and body. We feel deeply whenever someone doesn’t like us or we’ve made a mistake. Those tender places in our hearts and memories are especially significant this time of year. Whether we’re grieving the loss of a loved one, a job, a friendship, declining physical ability, or some other pain or we are experiencing joy this time of year or both, today’s Scripture reminds us that we are never alone.
Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. Our lives matter so much that God became one of us. God was not content to simply know us from a distance. God took on flesh and became fully human and fully God. It’s a mystery how it’s possible. Seminary and years of ministry have not given me a tidy explanation nor answered all the questions we may have about the Trinity–God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But what seminary, my life, and years of serving as a pastor have taught me is that it matters that God became one of us and that our questions and doubts are welcome. I believe that we are not alone in the losses we grieve. We are not alone in the heartache we feel. We are not alone in the pain we endure. We are not alone when we look around and wonder how long until things get better. We are not alone. God is with us. We are God’s beloved. God sees us and God knows us and God loves us. And God helps us to see and love each other.
In yesterday’s sermon Pastor Wendy shared some clips from The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. What I loved about the sneak peek she shared is that you can see how the story of Jesus had the potential to change everyone. Each person in the movie, like us, had the potential to become more than who they were at the start of the film. We may not know how the pageant or our lives will turn out and things might go awry. But with love and hope the best things are possible. As you prepare for Christmas and to welcome baby Jesus once again, it’s my prayer that you could feel how great God’s love is for you and that you would be inspired to share that love with others.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Eugene Eung-Chun Park and Joel B. Green, study note on Matthew 1:21 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 6 NT.
** Adam Hamilton, Incarnation: Rediscovering the Significance of Christmas (Kindle Locations 766-768). Abingdon. Kindle Edition.
*** Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, general editors: Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, Tremper Longman III. InterVarsity Press, 1998, p. 441.
**** Adam Hamilton, Incarnation: Rediscovering the Significance of Christmas (Kindle Locations 965-967). Abingdon. Kindle Edition.
