Luke 1:26-33
Just Like Us

Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. Having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!"

But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be. The angel said to her, "Don't be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and will call his name 'Jesus.' He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom."

World English Bible

        "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
        Sweetest name I know,
        Fills my every longing,
        Keeps me singing as I go!"

For us, the name "Jesus" is Grace, Peace, Joy, and Love. We know that Jesus is the Messiah, the Emmanuel, the God With Us that sustains us and gives us hope. We know that Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise of Son of God and King of Kings, and of the prophesy of Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. But we only hold that name in such esteem and with such reverence today because we know our Savior was named Jesus.

When Mary heard those words from Gabriel, she was hearing that her child was to be given the most common name in Israel. It is as if an archangel came from heaven this week so that our Lord would be named "Bill", or "Joe", or "John". The name that we consider so special and holy now could not have been more ordinary.

And when we ponder that ordinary name, we can see that we are blessed with a greater measure of hope! Isaiah 52 tells us that "He has no form nor comeliness; and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised, and rejected by men." We don't know for certain, but it appears that God chose for Jesus to be average height, not particularly handsome, with an ordinary name, growing up in a common laborer's family, and living without any advantages. Even when Jesus described Himself, He didn't use the title Gabriel proclaimed as "Son of the Most High", but "Son of Man." Jesus was just like us.

That is how God intended it to be, so that we could see our hope in this ordinary baby born in unfair circumstances. God loved us enough to take all the insults we face, to deal with all the same frustrations, and to experience all the same hurts we feel when the privileged and advantaged ones leave the rest of us behind. God wanted to experience every pain in our lives, so that when we crawl up on His lap in prayer, Jesus can hold us and tell us, "I know just how you feel."

This is why Jesus was born in a stable in a small Judean town--to be one of us, to live with us, and experience all the rough spots in life just as we experience them. Jesus put aside all of Heaven's Glory to come and stand right beside us, guide us through those difficult times, and lead us Home.