Various names of Jesus Christ before his birth

Pr. Kungsong Wanbe *

Christmas celebration at Khongnangpokpi Village, Saikhul on 27 Dec 2014 :: Pix - Shankar Khangembam

In the Old Testament, prophets foretold a variety of names of Jesus Christ and the condition of his birth 700 (seven hundred) years before his birth.

The name Jesus is referred to by a variety of names in the Bible that explain the nature and character of God. The following are the names of Jesus.

Let us look at them briefly one by one:

1. Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14; (The meaning of Immanuel is God with us). Matthew 1: 23.

2. Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6.

3. Messiah. John 4: 25, 26.

4. The Alpha and the Omega: The Beginning and the End. Revelation 22:13.

5. Chief Shepherd. 1Peter 5:4.

6. Lamb of God. John 1:29.

7. King of kings and Lord of lords. 1Timothy 6:15.

8. Faithful and True. Revelation 19:11.

As prophet Isaiah called him Immanuel, "God with us"; so he is God with us. That Jesus did not move from us. Since we cannot go to him in heaven, he came to earth as a baby.

Hundreds of years after Isaiah's prophecy, we hear it repeated in Matthew 1:23, which says, "Behold the virgin shall be with child and bear a son and they call his name Immanuel, which is translated God with us." Matthew 1:23.

The condition of Jesus birth is like this. The mother of Jesus was Mary. The following is the condition of how the birth of Jesus happened.

Mary was engaged to marry Joseph. But before they got married, Mary learnt that she was pregnant with a child. Mary was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The husband of Mary, Joseph, was a good man. He did not want to bring shame on Mary before the people. So he planned to divorce her secretly. When Joseph thought about this, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream.

The angel said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to accept Mary to be your wife. The baby that is in her womb is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son. You will name the son, Jesus. Give him that name because he will save his people from their sin. Jesus means to save his people from sin. Matthew 1: 18-21.

All this happened to make clear the full meaning of the things the Lord said through the prophet that the virgin would be pregnant and would give birth to a son. They will name him Immanuel.

Immanuel means God with us. When Joseph woke up, he did the thing that the angel of God told him to do. Joseph married Mary. But Joseph had no sexual union with Mary until she gave birth.

Joseph named the son, Jesus. Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, the city of David. His birth was sometime in the year of 4(four) BC.

The Bible does not mention the month and the day of Jesus birth. Therefore, what we celebrate on Christmas, the birth day of Jesus is commemoration of his birth on earth.

Let us remember the one who made a long journey from the vastness of heaven to the little town of Bethlehem and what this remarkable journey means to us personally.

It is the full meaning of Immanuel "God with us". In remembering all that are mentioned above, let us celebrate Christmas, 2017.

May God bless all Kangleicha/Manipuris.