Jesus: What's In A Name?

I. There are many innovated names being given to babies today.

A. Gillian Anderson girl - Piper Maru

1. Courtney Cox Arquette girl - Coco

2. Christie Brinkley girl - Sailor Lee

3. Richard Gere boy - Homer James Jigme

4. Sylvester Stallone boy - Sage Moonblood

B. Names have meanings.

1. ROBERT Means "bright fame", derived from the Germanic elements

2. STEPHEN From the Greek name meaning "crown".

3. SHIRLEY From a surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "bright clearing" in Old English...

4. LAURA feminine form of the Late Latin name Laurus, which meant "laurel"... [more]

C. In ancient times, names were not only given at birth but also added to as the child grew.

1. The later names reflected the character of the child.

2. Imagine Joseph giving this babe a name.

a. This son was not even his, biologically.

b. And yet God, tells you to name him.

3. Little do we know what we are saying when we call the babe who was born in Bethlehem, Jesus.

D. If we truly understood what the name means, we would not only be saying something about Him but also us.

II. JESUS - English form of Ιησους (lesous), which was the Greek form of the Aramaic name עשוהי (Yeshu'a). Yeshu'a is itself a contracted form of Yehoshu'a (see JOSHUA).

A. Joshua means “the LORD is salvation,”

1. Yeshua ben Yoseph, better known as Jesus Christ,

B. When we utter the name Jesus and mean it, we are saying we need Him.

1. We are saying we need Jesus, the Savior.

a. How can you need a Savior unless you need saved.

b. And then comes the question, what do I need saved from.

c. The answer may surprise you.

2. We all need saved from ourselves.

C. You see we are all sinners.

1. We commit acts of transgression against God’s holiness.

2. Every transgression needs to be paid for with

III. The word sin is QìáñôÜíù ham-ar-tan '-o which means “to miss the mark”

A. It goes back to an ancient word which archers used.

1. What was the archer trying to do with his bow and arrow?

2. He was trying to get the arrow to hit the bulls eye, the perfect mark.

3. When he failed he sinned “he missed the mark.”

B. God created you and me with a divine purpose and to live with Him forever.

1. But sin is our big problem.

2. We do not even live up to our own standards let alone God’s perfect standard.

3. We not only commit acts of sin, but there is something drastically wrong with us.

C. We are, as the archers would say, a bend arrow.

1. We in our very nature “miss the mark.”

2. We all sin in the sense that we miss God’s perfect mark.

3. We guilty and lost.

4. When we call for Jesus, the Savior, we are saying we need to be saved from our sin. We need His death upon the cross to take away our sin.

5. 2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (NIV)

21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."(NIV)

Praise the Lord! If there is reason to celebrate this Christmas, Jesus is it. There is no greater gift! There is no greater love! Can you see Jesus?!

As we take up our place in Luke, we find that Elizabeth is six months pregnant with John the Baptist. During this time the angel Gabriel is sent by God to Mary to tell her the news of the child to whom she would give birth.

I can imagine that all of heaven is bursting with anticipation of this moment, that long awaiting appointment that God made with Adam and Eve, that appointment that He promised over and over to the prophets, assuring them that one blessed day a Savior would come!

The angel Gabriel has been given this wonderful task and must be filled with excitement as he breaks through the heavenly realm into ours. The time has finally come! What is this news Gabriel has concerning the Son of God?

He would be called JESUS.

In Matthew’s account, the angel of the Lord told Joseph, "thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

The name means, "Jehovah is salvation, Savior, or Yahweh saves."

Jesus, the Son of God, is the only One in whom we have salvation. Men have looked far and wide for the way to eternal life. They have sacrificed their cows, their goats, their children, their wives, and some even themselves. They have given all they own, have tortured their bodies, and beat themselves into subjection. But Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me."