December 25, 2025
Good News from Matthew’s Gospel! What Child is this? Well, He is the Virgin Mary’s child. The angel tells Joseph: “She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).
Remember what the name “Jesus” means? It means “God saves.” Saves in what way? From sin and all that the sinner hellaciously deserves because of his/her sin! Sinners and their sin have earned a paycheque. A payday. A salary. Death! “The wages of sin is death,” (Rom. 6:23). A forever death! In other words, because of their sin, sinners deserve damnation. That’s hell. Forever damned in hell. Everlastingly apart from God. Sin – our sin – puts us in hellish peril. But this Child named Jesus saves you from that! He can do it because He is God! He is God who comes to save you, the sinner, from eternal condemnation in hell because of your sin.
How does Jesus do this? Save you? I’m glad you asked. He takes all your sin in His body and gets damned with it on the cross, in your place. And in exchange, He gives you, who believe in Him, His holiness, His perfection, His righteousness. His sinlessness! In other words, He forgives you. He doesn’t hold your sin against you because it was all held against Him!
What Child is this? He’s Jesus. “God saves.” Yes, only God saves. And that Child Jesus is the God who saves. Pushing it for all that it’s worth, Matthew shows that the Old Testament promises through Isaiah the prophet: “Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (1:23).
Did you catch that? Another name for the Child? He is Immanuel! And what does “Immanuel” mean? It means “God with us.”
Yes, the Child Jesus is Immanuel: GOD WITH US! Jesus is GOD WITH US in order to be GOD FOR US! For us, in what way? The salvation way! The Good Friday saving sinners from their sins way!
I can’t tell you how wonderful this is. You can’t save yourself from the damnation of hell. Only Jesus can. AND DOES! He does the salvation job as Immanuel – God with us – when He suffers and dies on the cross.
As He hangs on the Good Friday cross, Jesus answers for all your sins. The world’s sin. I’ll say it again. He doesn’t count your sin against you. It all got counted against Him. And for you who believe in Him, you are forgiven. You are saved. No hell. Only heaven. Everlasting life.
What Child is this? He is Jesus/Immanuel! God with us in order to save you His people from their sins. Jesus/Immanuel is the free gift of eternal life. What joy for this Christmas and for your life!