J is for...Jesus

You can't have a Christmas A-Z of Christmas without making sure Jesus has a starring role as after all he is the reason for the season. Unlike today when we can browse the bumper book of baby names (or see what catches your eye in the pages of the Daily Telegraph like I did) Jesus' mother, Mary, had the Angel Gabriel visit her. It should be noted that Gabriel was an angel messenger from God and not an Archangel. In Luke 1:31 Gabriel informs Mary what is going to happen, “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.” This is also recalled in Matthew 1:21 when Joseph has a dream after having doubts about taking Mary as his wife, “she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

There are many different given meanings of the name Jesus. The most widely accepted in terms of biblical accuracy is it is said to be the the Greek form of Joshua. This means 'Lord saves' or the Lord is salvation'. Jesus is still a popular name today in many countries. This is particularly the case in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries such as Chile, Mexico, Brazil and Spain. Whereas in other countries the name Jesus is avoided out of respect and Joshua is favoured instead.