It’s Christmas time again. It can be easy to forget to think about the reason for the season, so today we’ll talk about Jesus—reflecting on five of His names that we hear especially this time of year.

Isn’t this time of year lovely?

The season has gifts for each sense: soft sweaters, prickly pine boughs, and warm mugs; smells of cinnamon, peppermint, and cedar; jingle bells, carols, and the voices of friends and family gathered around; cookies, pies, and savory side dishes; and everywhere you look there are lights.

Beautiful, twinkly, sparkly lights.

I love this time of year. Don’t you?

Christmas is a time of abundance in so many ways that it can be difficult to think about the reason for the entire season, but we don’t have to feel bad for being busy or appreciating the many blessings of this time. Jesus is right there with us in the chaos.

Besides, God is a generous God. He lavishes gifts upon us year-round. He chose to make the world around us not only functional but also beautiful.

But then we can use all the reminders we can get, right? And what better reminder is there than the name of Jesus?

After all, it’s in so many songs we hear this time of year.

What’s in a name?

But did you know that Jesus had more names than this one?

Unlike most of ours today, biblical names held deeper meaning. Many times, God changed a person’s name—like when He renamed Sarai, Abram, Jacob, Hoshea, and Paul. Their new names reflected their roles, but they also reflected God’s work in their lives.

As many people who received new names in the Bible, God and Jesus have so many more. Each one gives us a glimpse into the character and nature of God.

Biblical names are fascinating.

The Names of Jesus

So in honor of the season, I’d like to take a look at some of the names of Jesus we hear especially this special time of year and reflect on each one.

#1 – Jesus

Have you ever thought about what Jesus means? In English, we don’t think about the meaning of this name especially, yet it’s the most common name we hear.

Simply put, the name Jesus isn’t English, or at least it didn’t originate in the English language. It’s Greek for the Aramaic name Jeshua and means “savior.”

Wow. So in those moments of life when I don’t know what to pray or the moment is so fast, even whispering the name of Jesus also means calling out, “Savior, help me.”

#2 – Christ

This name of Jesus has always fascinated me. Sometimes we see it alone, but many times it is accompanied with Jesus—as in Jesus Christ.

It comes from the Greek word Christos, which means “anointed one” or “chosen one.” In Aramaic, the equivalent name is Mashiach, which means “messiah.”

So when we say Jesus Christ—even by just saying His name—we are calling Jesus the Messiah. Isn’t that cool?

#3 – Lamb of God

There is a lot of imagery that goes along with this name. Some of it is hard and some of it is good, but it comes together to paint a beautiful picture of our Savior.

This is also one of the names that really requires reading the Old Testament to grasp its meaning. In order to atone for sins, the people of Israel were required to present sacrifices periodically. These sacrifices could be several different animals like goats, lambs, and doves, but the animal was supposed to be as perfect as possible. No spots. No blemishes. As perfect as possible. Perhaps this is why the lamb—one of the purest looking animals—is the imagery Jesus chose to reveal Himself to us and to remind us of what His sacrifice meant.

Jesus was without sin. And like the lambs in Old Testament times, Jesus’s death on the cross atones for our sins. But unlike those before us, we don’t have to present our sacrifice over and over each year because the perfect, spotless Lamb of God has done that for us once for all. What an indescribably good gift.

#4 – Emmanuel

If you’ve heard the Christmas story, then you’ve probably heard this one. It means “God with us.” But sometimes we don’t think about what even that means.

Life can seem hard sometimes. It can seem like more than we can handle. It can be easy to question God’s intentions in creating a world that would go so astray. Yet God did create this world and each of us, but He didn’t leave us alone in it. He stepped into it with us. He walked this dusty Earth with His own human feet, and through Christ, we have the hope to walk the streets of heaven with Him—free of pain, guilt, shame, and fear. What a day that will be.

#5 – Word

This one may be the easiest name to pass over. We don’t think much of it.

The first verse of the gospel of John says, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” The Bible was given to us in order to reveal God’s nature and love for us. He has actually spoken to us through the Bible. And then His own Son became flesh and lived among us—perfectly personifying the love of our Father.

God has gone to a lot of trouble to close the distance between us.

It’s human to gloss over things we hear often and not think about the deeper meaning—especially with names in the western culture. We just don’t always think about the meaning of names.

I love how God uses even the tiniest details to demonstrate His love and care for us. And I love how the different names overlap many times, which is also a method God uses to reinforce truths that our hard heads and hearts have trouble remembering and appreciating.

There are so many more names of God and Jesus, but I’ve enjoyed reflecting on these Christmas-y names. May we remember all Jesus represents this season.

And if you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior or don’t know what that means, please check out this page.

What’s your favorite name of Jesus? Let me know in the comments below.

More reading…

• What Does the Name “Jesus” Mean? by J. C. Ryle at Christianity.com
• What Does Christ Mean? from Bibleinfo.com
• My {Non-Traditional} Reason-for-the-Season Christmas Playlist from HISsparrowBlog
• Free Christmas Bundle to Remind Us of the Reason for the Season from HISsparrowBlog
• 60+ Names and Attributes of GOD & JESUS from HISsparrowBlog
• 20ish MORE Names & Attributes of God from HISsparrowBlog

I frequently link up with the following: Grace & Truth with Embracing the Unexpected, Tell His Story with Jeanne Takenaka, and Let’s Have Coffee with Joanne Viola.