Advent- December 19

Listen: Good Christian Men, Rejoice!

In the Bible, names were very important. People’s names usually meant something about that person. They stood for who the person was and what they would do.

Before Jesus was born, God sent His angel Gabriel to Joseph and told him what the baby should be named. Jesus means “The Lord Saves”. Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.

Do you know what your name means?

Adults:

A Closer Look at Joseph

Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 glimpse what Joseph did as a living- he was a carpenter. The word carpenter in Hebrew is “tekton” which is not just in reference to one who works with wood. It also refers to a master craftsman, artisan, builder, stonemason, and chief overseer.

When Jesus was a young child, the Galilean city of Sepphoris, also known as the “Jewel of Galilee,” had burned to the ground. Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, immediately set to rebuilding it and eventually turned it into the capital and his retreat. Just four miles from Nazareth, carpenters from the area would have been needed for the rebuilding; thus, Jesus would have learned the trade from his Father, a skilled craftsman. Nazareth, a small farming community, would not have much need for carpentry; a capital city being built for the elite would greatly need skilled artisans.

Matthew 13:55 would have been better translated, “Is not this (Jesus) the master artisan’s son?”

Jesus is called the chief cornerstone, the perfector of our faith, the chief overseer of the church; we are his masterpieces created to live out what He planned for us.

Everything Jesus did displayed the Father; even his handiwork. His name displayed his nature.