The many names of Jesus reflect His many different roles. He is both the sacrificial lamb of God and the Good Shepherd who leads us. He is both Son of God, God with us, God in all His fulness (‘I am’ reflects the name of God given to Moses at the burning bush) and Son of Man, fully man. His names reflect His ability to feed us: He is the bread of life, for example:
The many prophecies about Jesus’s birth (Is 7:14, Is 9:6, for example) indicate something of the varied nature of His role, being the prince of peace, wonderful counsellor, a man born of a virgin and so on. The New Testament expands on our understanding of His role as Great High Priest (Heb 4:14) and proclaims Jesus to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the author and finisher of our faith. All of these names help us to see Jesus in different lights and highlight different aspects of His unique identity.
Ultimately, we celebrate Christmas because ‘today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.’ (Luke 2:11) Jesus, whose very name means ‘the Lord is salvation’, came to bridge the gap between humanity and God caused by sin, and by His sacrificial death brought reconciliation (peace) to us. We celebrate with joy and thanksgiving primarily because of who Jesus is and what He has done for us, knowing that ‘at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil 2:10-11)
