text\u00a0 English Standard Version <\/strong>Copyright \u00a9\u00a02001 by Crossway Bibles<\/a> \u00a0(or other version)<\/p>\n 18\u00a0Now the birth of\u00a0Jesus Christ[<\/sup><\/strong>a<\/sup><\/strong><\/a>]\u00a0took place in this way.\u00a0When his mother Mary had been betrothed[<\/sup><\/strong>b<\/sup><\/strong><\/a>]\u00a0to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child\u00a0from the Holy Spirit.\u00a019\u00a0And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling\u00a0to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.\u00a020\u00a0But as he considered these things, behold,\u00a0an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, \u201cJoseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.\u00a021\u00a0She will bear a son, and\u00a0you shall call his name Jesus,\u00a0for he will save his people from their sins.\u201d\u00a022\u00a0All this took place\u00a0to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n 23\u00a0\u201cBehold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, (which means, God\u00a0with us).\u00a024\u00a0When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,\u00a025\u00a0but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And\u00a0he called his name Jesus.<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n WHAT\u2019S IN A NAME?<\/strong><\/p>\n Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.<\/p>\n Pastor, If the virgin was told by God to call her son Emmanuel, why was Mary\u2019s son named Jesus?<\/p>\n What a great question!<\/p>\n There are all kinds of biblical weeds we can get into, but let\u2019s begin with a \u2013perhaps over-simplification. When you roast a turkey, and you put a bread mixture inside it, what do you call that mixture? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Not everyone uses the same word \u2013 some call it filling, some call it stuffing, some call it dressing \u2013 I call it yummy. But all those different words are referring to the same thing.<\/p>\n When it comes to names in the Bible, it was understood that a name conveyed not only a label for a person, but the very essence and being of a person. To the Hebrew hearers of Isaiah\u2019s prophecy, \u201cImmanuel\u201d, meaning \u201cGod is with us\u201d signified that the bearer of that name would be<\/em> the presence of God, particularly to deliver his people in battle.<\/p>\n But Immanuel is not the only name that signifies the presence of God.<\/p>\n When Moses sinned and could not complete the journey to lead God\u2019s people into the promised land, God chose Joshua \u2013 Yeshua in Hebrew, Yesus in Greek, Jesus in English \u2013 to lead the people across the Jordan river and take possession of the land.<\/p>\n In the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament, the book of Sirach says this:<\/p>\n Joshua \u2026was mighty in war, This was a familiar scripture in the time of John the Baptizer, Mary, and Joseph and it was understood not only as a piece of historical data, but as a description of God\u2019s promised Messiah, or Christ. Thus, it was not surprising that the angel told Joseph to give Mary\u2019s son the name Jesus meaning \u201cGod saves\u201d. But more than that, the name Jesus implies God with us, Emmanuel.<\/p>\n So, to say that the child born to Mary is the Savior, Jesus, is already to say he is Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus is a name that both Jewish believers and Gentile or non-Jewish believers use to call upon God. to worship the Son of God who accomplished their salvation and deliverance from sin and death. It is the name all believers use to recognize the Savior who leads us into the Promised Land of eternal life, peace, justice, and healing.<\/p>\n Jesus is God with humanity, born of the Virgin Mary as the fulfillment of the Old Testament and raised from the dead in the power of the Holy Spirit to give new life to all who trust him.<\/p>\n Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity; Jesus is Son of the Father with the authority over all creation. Jesus is God\u2019s salvation of humanity. <\/strong><\/p>\n Now, getting back to that turkey dinner–\u00a0 if you like that seasoned bread mixture as much as I do –regardless of whether you call it filling, stuffing, or dressing \u2013 it makes no sense not to eat it.<\/p>\n The same is true of Jesus.<\/p>\n It makes no sense simply to know his name, but not to call out to him when we are in need.<\/p>\n It makes no sense not to trust him to forgive our sins, lead us away from temptation, and deliver us from evil.<\/p>\n It makes no sense that we do not eat and drink the feast of life that Jesus invites all the baptized to share, his own body and blood.<\/p>\n It makes no sense to pray in Jesus\u2019 name and not confidently trust that our prayers are heard, even when we do not see results or understand God\u2019s answer.<\/p>\n This is why St. Paul wrote as he did to the Romans: that his mission as apostle was to proclaim the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ, \u201c\u2026 to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name<\/strong>,6<\/sup>including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.\u201d Romans 1:5ff. emphasis mine<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n For the sake of his name \u2013 because of who Jesus is as the Savior of the nations. <\/strong><\/p>\n For the name Jesus is not simply a label, it is who he is and what he does. The name Jesus is the powerful presence of God at work in our lives.<\/p>\n Perhaps some of you remember this ancient hymn:<\/p>\n Jesus, Name all names above; Jesus best and dearest;<\/p>\n Jesus fount of perfect love, holiest, tenderest, nearest;<\/p>\n Thou the source of grace completest, Thou the purest, thou the sweetest.<\/p>\n Thou the well of power divine. Make me, keep me, seal me thine.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 –Theoktistus ho Stoudites (AD 749-826) tr. John Mason Neale<\/p>\n When we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus, we celebrate not just a story, not just a sentiment, not just a call to love and welcome others, but we celebrate the coming into our lives of God\u2019s very self; <\/strong>We celebrate the presence of God at work saving us; We celebrate the reality of our being delivered from the power of sin and death by God\u2019s chosen Redeemer, Jesus, Emmanuel.<\/p>\n This is what we are preparing for in this Advent season. We are preparing to receive into our lives and into our hearts and into our decisions and relationships the God with us who forgives and sacrifices and heals and loves in order that we might trust in him.<\/p>\n Jesus\u00a0 — \u00a0God saves.<\/p>\n Jesus — \u00a0God saves you<\/p>\n Jesus — God saves me.<\/p>\n Jesus — God saves all who believe.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>But to all who received him, who believed in his name,[ Jesus] gave power to become children of God\u2026 John 1:12<\/em><\/p>\n I invite us to do two things this week:<\/p>\n In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n \u00a9Beth A. Schlegel<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 pastorschlegel@live.com<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 St. Peter\u2019s Lutheran Church, York PA, USA<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 Christ Lutheran Church, Manchester, PA, USA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Fourth Sunday of Advent, 21 December 2025 | A Sermon on Matthew 1:18-25 | by The Rev. Beth A. Schlegel, STS text\u00a0 English Standard Version Copyright \u00a9\u00a02001 by Crossway Bibles \u00a0(or other version) 18\u00a0Now the birth of\u00a0Jesus Christ[a]\u00a0took place in this way.\u00a0When his mother Mary had been betrothed[b]\u00a0to Joseph, before they came together she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25705,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,501,157,334,853,108,110,487,349,3,109],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-25704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-matthaeus","category-4-advent","category-beitragende","category-beth-a-schlegel","category-bibel","category-current","category-engl","category-kapitel-01-chapter-01-matthaeus","category-kasus","category-nt","category-predigten"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25704"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25706,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25704\/revisions\/25706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25704"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=25704"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=25704"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=25704"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=25704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nand they shall call his name\u00a0Immanuel\u201d<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nand was the successor of Moses in the prophetic office.
\nHe became, as his name implies,
\na great savior of God\u2019s\u00a0elect,
\nto take vengeance on the enemies that rose against them,
\nso that he might give Israel its inheritance.\u00a0 Sirach 46:1<\/em><\/p>\n\n