Expert: Edward Bode - 5/25/2008

Question
When it was announced to Mary that she was to be the MOther of Jesus, I recall that the angel said these words.
"And his name shall be called Emmanuel".  I am aware that the word means "GOd be with us".  Why was Jesus' name not "Emmanuel".  And why was the Christ named Jesus?
Thank you
DOn

Answer
Emmanuel [God with us, which Matthew uses in a quotation from Isaiah] expresses the idea of what Jesus is -- God's presence. It is not the acutal name but an expression of what Jesus is.
The name Jesus in Hebrew [Yehoshuah] means: Yahweh [God] saves and so is, more or less, the same concept -- what God's prseence brings about. The actual name of Jesus comes from the angel's word to Mary in Lk 1:31.
Christ comes from the Greek for Anointed, which is a reference to Jesus as the Messiah [Hebrew: anointed one], which again is the concept of the Savior.
So, Emmanuel and Christ express the idea of what Jesus is.
Hope these thoughts are of some help.
Best wishes, Don.