He Called His Name Jesus

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25 ESV). We have looked at the name “Immanuel” in an earlier devotional. Today we see the name “Jesus.” As I said earlier, Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, meaning “The Lord (Yahweh) saves.” Jesus is the Savior. That is why he came, not just to be an example, or to teach; not to show God’s love in merely a general way, but to save. Jesus is the only Savior. In the ancient world most people believed that the heavens were populated by a whole host of spirits that barred the way to salvation. The only way to get past them was to acquire the secret knowledge of their names, and the passwords that could open the countless gates those spiritual forces guarded. Imagine how it must have felt to hear the news that there was only one name you needed to know in order to be saved (Acts 4:12). That really was gospel, or “good news.” Today the challenge is a bit different. Most people don’t believe there are many roadblocks on the way to heaven. They tend to think there aren’t any at all. People assume that everybody will be saved by calling on any name they choose, or even without calling at all. However, there is only one name, under heaven or in the earth that has the power to save. That name is Jesus. We may even go a bit further and say that it is not the name at all that saves. It is the work of the One who bears that name. When Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose from the dead he completed the work necessary for our entrance into eternal life and the presence of God. He secured heaven because of his sacrifice on our behalf. I find it interesting that we seem to concentrate so much of our time and energy at Christmas on the “stuff” of the holiday. There’s certainly nothing wrong with the festivity of this holiday. I enjoy the decorations, family, friends, gift giving (and receiving), all of it; however, most of all, I am awestruck with the wonder of the gift of God through his only begotten Son, Jesus!