Immanuel and Yeshua
The question, “Are you ready for Christmas?” comes up every year! You find yourself asking others in the break room at work or in the church parking lot on Sunday mornings; or others ask you the same question at sporting events or holiday parties. It is, essentially, an inescapable inquiry, especially if you find yourself asking it inwardly: “Am I prepared for Christmas?”
Answers may vary as you think through the shopping list in your head — whether the Christmas cards were sent, the presents are wrapped, or if you bought a new string of lights because the old ones mysteriously tangled themselves after sitting untouched all year. Whatever to-do list you’ve created is fine and even enjoyable, but if that list is only filled with busy holiday tasks, then you may not actually be prepared. Christmas Day will come and go, presents will be opened, halls will be decked, and eggs will be nogged; but you might feel like the month disappeared, leaving you stressed from the busyness of the season — wanting nothing more than to hide in a hole until next year.
There is nothing wrong with the physical aspects of the celebration. I look forward to getting my wife a gift, taking my boys to visit different light displays, and gathering with family and friends. But there is a greater need — to be spiritually prepared for the celebration of Christ’s incarnation. The birth of the Messiah absolutely deserves to be celebrated, for it is the incarnation of our Savior and the bodily presence of a holy God: Immanuel (Isa. 7). That is what we celebrate on December 25th — God’s arrival in the flesh, the doctrine of the incarnation.
There is first a reality we must face if we want a solid biblical foundation and a fuller view of Christ’s advent. As we enter this season, let’s truly begin the preparation process.
That chief reality is a question of purpose. Why did the world need the Savior to be born? The birth of Christ is, as John Piper notes in his devotional Good News of Great Joy, an indictment on us. The very necessity of Jesus points to humanity’s failure. So thanks be to God for his Son Jesus, whom we accurately call our Savior — but what did we need to be saved from? Well we came up short according to God’s law; even our best attempts at pleasing Him were a “burden” or “detestable” (Isa. 1:10–15). Both in heart and in deed, there was nothing we could do to save ourselves from sin and its wages — death. We needed a Savior, we needed to be saved from our own nature. And we could not save our selves.
The Hebrew name for Jesus is Yeshua, which means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation.” In Matthew 1, the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, comforting his fears while giving him a command in verse 21: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” It is no coincidence that Matthew’s account of the incarnation includes both His title, Immanuel, and His name, Yeshua. Matthew was intentional in quoting the prophet Isaiah; as Isaiah prophesied this very event and he was shown a very important truth. We needed Jesus to take on human flesh in humility, live the perfect life we could not, and die the death we deserved — paying for sins He never committed. We needed God Himself to intervene; we needed Yahweh to save us from our sins. Which he did.
This is the preparation that truly matters for Christmas — a sober look at why we need Jesus, leading to a joyful celebration of His mercy and grace. When we grasp this, we can delight in the Lord’s provision and providence, celebrating Christmas not merely as a holiday, but as the glorious arrival of the Savior we so desperately need.
Answers may vary as you think through the shopping list in your head — whether the Christmas cards were sent, the presents are wrapped, or if you bought a new string of lights because the old ones mysteriously tangled themselves after sitting untouched all year. Whatever to-do list you’ve created is fine and even enjoyable, but if that list is only filled with busy holiday tasks, then you may not actually be prepared. Christmas Day will come and go, presents will be opened, halls will be decked, and eggs will be nogged; but you might feel like the month disappeared, leaving you stressed from the busyness of the season — wanting nothing more than to hide in a hole until next year.
There is nothing wrong with the physical aspects of the celebration. I look forward to getting my wife a gift, taking my boys to visit different light displays, and gathering with family and friends. But there is a greater need — to be spiritually prepared for the celebration of Christ’s incarnation. The birth of the Messiah absolutely deserves to be celebrated, for it is the incarnation of our Savior and the bodily presence of a holy God: Immanuel (Isa. 7). That is what we celebrate on December 25th — God’s arrival in the flesh, the doctrine of the incarnation.
There is first a reality we must face if we want a solid biblical foundation and a fuller view of Christ’s advent. As we enter this season, let’s truly begin the preparation process.
That chief reality is a question of purpose. Why did the world need the Savior to be born? The birth of Christ is, as John Piper notes in his devotional Good News of Great Joy, an indictment on us. The very necessity of Jesus points to humanity’s failure. So thanks be to God for his Son Jesus, whom we accurately call our Savior — but what did we need to be saved from? Well we came up short according to God’s law; even our best attempts at pleasing Him were a “burden” or “detestable” (Isa. 1:10–15). Both in heart and in deed, there was nothing we could do to save ourselves from sin and its wages — death. We needed a Savior, we needed to be saved from our own nature. And we could not save our selves.
The Hebrew name for Jesus is Yeshua, which means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation.” In Matthew 1, the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, comforting his fears while giving him a command in verse 21: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” It is no coincidence that Matthew’s account of the incarnation includes both His title, Immanuel, and His name, Yeshua. Matthew was intentional in quoting the prophet Isaiah; as Isaiah prophesied this very event and he was shown a very important truth. We needed Jesus to take on human flesh in humility, live the perfect life we could not, and die the death we deserved — paying for sins He never committed. We needed God Himself to intervene; we needed Yahweh to save us from our sins. Which he did.
This is the preparation that truly matters for Christmas — a sober look at why we need Jesus, leading to a joyful celebration of His mercy and grace. When we grasp this, we can delight in the Lord’s provision and providence, celebrating Christmas not merely as a holiday, but as the glorious arrival of the Savior we so desperately need.
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