His name is Jesus
Reading Luke 1:26 – 33
Intro.
I was talking with Dot and George during the week, and bless them, they reminded me that Christmas was just over 5 weeks away. It was a shock to me, to hear that, which doesn’t really make sense since Christmas is a regular event and it is always on the same date. Weird or what! I have even assisted Anne in buying some Christmas presents and still the imminent arrival of Christmas hasn’t impinged itself properly on my consciousness.
This really made me think more about it, and it came to me that there is so much that we know about Christmas and yet allow all but the minimum of what we know to slip away in the sea of forgetfulness.
A bit like the filing cabinet in my study at home, filled with letters and information, most of which are important, and forgotten. O I know they’re there but detail is lost to me.
Over the next few weeks as we travel to Christmas day I will be looking at some of the details brushing off the cobwebs of our minds and opening them up to the light of our understanding once more.
I want to start this short series using the Luke 1:31-33
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
I want to begin by looking at Jesus – after all He is the one it’s all about..
Who is this Jesus that we preach about?
It’s a question that no doubt passes through the minds of many people all over the world.
Who is He in the midst of so many others who claim divinity or to be the prophet of some God or other – who is He?
What is so different about him that we should single Him out of mass of others.
What indeed, Lets think about His name. it’s a name revealed to us to give us hope.
Look How He came by it.
The angel Gabriel appears to Mary, and tells this young lady that she to have a son, even though she is not married, and has not “known” a man – and that she is to call this Son, when he’s born, Jesus – or as it is in Hebrew “Joshua”.
What is so significant about this, Joshua was a popular name, and even today many baby boys are called Joshua. I’ll grant you that the naming of Jesus was different from every other boy who has been named Joshua, they wouldn’t have had the guidance of an angel in their choosing of a name for their child.
But having an angel tell you what to call your child wasn’t unique to Mary and Joseph – look at Luke 1:11-13 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
John the Baptist had his name given to him by an angel as well, This naming does tell us that these two men are significant to God and His plan of salvation – worth watching, a name to watch out for!. But not much that impacts on us personally.
There are differences between the conception of John and the conception of Jesus, Both were supernatural.
John was conceived because God enabled Elizabeth to be able to become pregnant, who was unable to conceive, she was “barren” – Luke 1:7 Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. She was the mother of John the Baptist and Zacharias, her husband, was John the Baptist’s father. By the supernatural intervention of God, John was conceived like every other child.
Jesus, however, had no earthly father! Mary had never “known” a man.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
The conception of Jesus is beyond human understanding! God, the very god of creation, has stepped into the affairs of men in a way never known before, and never to be done again.
The conception of Jesus is infinitely more significant that that of John the Baptist!
And this fact is emphasized by God in the naming of the one to be born – What name does the omniscient God gave to this child? Jesus
God gave His only begotten Son to the world, and God gave the world the name that they were to know His only begotten Son by.
This tells us that here is someone who important and here is a name that is important. When you hear it pay attention!
Hear what this Name says to you.
What does its say? – here is the salvation of God.
Jesus; Jehovah is help or salvation: Not explained to Mary (to Joseph later, Matt.1:21 you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.
Jehoshua = Jehovah is salvation; the shortened version from which we derive Jesus puts the stress on the verb = He will certainly save. Such is the emphasis in Matthew 1:21 – he will save his people from their sins. Note it is not said he will save everybody, who then? His people!
God gives this name to him. God declares of him that he is the bringer of the promised Salvation.
This is what makes this name and this person relevant to each of us personally – He will save His people from their sins – there is ultimately nothing more personal than this – this sin from which Jesus is to save us, is not the sin of our nation, our leaders, our neighbours, our children, our husbands, our wives, but ours. Our own very personal debt to God.
Now of course if you don’t believe in God you will be unaffected by this, or if you couldn’t care less about God then you will have no interest in this – but if you do believe, if you do have an interest in Him, then this is His revelation to you of where you may be made right with Him – in Jesus, and only in Jesus.
Over the years people have said to me that they couldn’t believe that all the other good people in the world, Muslims, Buddhists, etc., were going to hell – you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.
Understand this, I’m not the one who telling you that if you don’t believe in Jesus you will go to Hell – these are God’s words not mine, your argument is not with but with the God who made you and the God you will answer to for your disobedience and rejection of His word.
God gave Jesus the name that declares who His is the and work He will do . No other man has been given – Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Understand that God is telling you that the only way of being right, being acceptable to Him, is if you believe in the one He has sent to bring you to Him, Jesus.
And not just any Jesus, but the Jesus that He sent and named, the one declared in His revealed word – the bible
Look at His History
It seems strange to speak of a person’s history before they are born, before they are even conceived in the womb – but here we can, for this child yet to be has a history – Go back some 800 years and you read of Him.
Is.7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
Is.9:6-7 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isa 9:7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this..
Mic.5:2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting..
But His history is old even then – go back before the world was made and you find him there
Rev.13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Here is a history that predates history – how can it be?
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made
Yet to be born and yet Creator of all things – yet to be conceived yet from everlasting to everlasting – how suited id the name Jesus to him – Jehovah is Salvation. Immanuel- God with us!
This name, this Jesus, who will save his people from their sins – is God – God become flesh – no other who bore this name was worthy of it as he – Here is salvation to be found.
Look at His future
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.. 32-33
He shall be great – mega, that’s the Greek word here – here the word moves from the divine aspect of Jesus, to the human – he shall be great.
We speak of great men of history – Churchill, Wilberforce, etc., there have been many great men, but Jesus will be the greatest of all.
Look back to Luke 1:15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord,– so it was foretold about John the Baptist – i.e. in the judgement of God.
But of Jesus – He shall be great – nothing is added as it was for John – Jesus will great in absolute sense. None will compare with him – how that is so – no man can match his life, example, sacrifice – none.
The greatest of men – who is He – The Son of God.
God called Him His Son, The very demons recognised him Mark 5:1-7 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. 2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
Mar 5:6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. 7 And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”.
And into his hands will God the Father give the throne of his father David – the gift is made to his human nature. Christ is the head of the church – the Spiritual King over the descendants of Jacob – all the elect of God Roms.9:6-8 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “IN ISAAC YOUR SEED SHALL BE CALLED.” 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
This will be no passing sovereignty as of earthly kings (mention how people would flee kingdom in times of persecution and return when king died – Mary and Joseph with Herod) – this is everlasting. His rule will never end. (Hymn; when we’ve there 1000 years – )
The ultimate manifestation will be the new heaven and the new earth and all the blessings that go with this gloriously renewed universe.
Look At Him Today
Eph.5:23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Saviour of the body.
Jesus is King now, ruling over his Kingdom – the Kingdom is where he exercises his grace and power – in the hearts of his people. It is not the people that make the Kingdom, but the King. The human understanding of Kingdom is geographical location, physical borders, hence the countries of the world, each with own governments and borders – the Kingdom of Christ has no physical borders, it is a spiritual Kingdom, it encompasses both heaven and earth, where ever there is a faithful heart, the Kingdom is there – there may be no physical border – colour, gender, health, disability etc., does not bar, but there is a border – faith in the King – all who believe are welcome, all who do not cannot enter. Every subject in this Kingdom is a king and Christ is the King of Kings. (See John 18:36-37)
Conclusion.
There is no more precious name for us than this – for here and here alone is forgiveness to be found – this is not because some man has decided it is so, not because of some bigoted outlook – but because God has so decreed it to be – you shall call his name Jesus for he shall save His people from their sins.
Jesus – Jehovah saves – the name is a beckon to you, it is the light that promises safety to all who follow it. All else is the reef of destruction.