What’s In A Name?
There is one thing in our lives over which we have little control--our names. We were given names by our parents before we even knew who we were. Some of us were named for our parents as in the case of a boy who is named for his father and must go through life carrying the ascription Junior behind his name. This can create all kinds of psychological problems for the boy in his attempt to live up to the name of his father or in some sad cases to live down the name. Some of us were named for a Bible character, or a movie or television personality.
What does your name mean? What’s in your name? I dare say that most of us don’t even know what our names mean. You might want to do some research to discover what your name really means. But the Hebrews of the Bible always named their children for a particular purpose or meaning. The Jews were very careful in choosing a name for a baby. They gave it much thought. They chose a name for a baby usually for its meaning in God--to acknowledge his gift or to express some hope or aspiration in Him. The name always meant something, and they were aware of its significance for each particular child.
But in today’s text in the first chapter of Matthew we find the story of how God himself named a child. God could not leave the naming of this child to the whims of human understanding. This child was so unique, his mission so compelling, his birth so unusual, his gifts so amazing, and his wisdom so profound, that God himself had to name the child. For His name would have special meaning and significance for generations yet unborn. So God dispatched an angel in a dream to a man named Joseph to explain to him certain marvelous truths. Joseph was betrothed to a young girl named Mary.
So the angel appeared and had a little talk with Joseph. “Don’t be afraid to take Mary for your wife because it is not as it appears to be. This baby in her womb has been conceived by the Holy spirit. Mary has not been unfaithful to you. But God has blessed her exceedingly abundantly above all she could ever ask or think. God has blessed the fruit of her womb. She will give birth to a son. But this is no ordinary child. This child is something special. He will have to be given a special name. When Mary gives birth to this Son, God wants you to call him Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.”
In a mysterious and unique way God had decided to come and be with his people for a while. God had chosen to reveal himself to humankind in a way undreamed of by saints and sages of all the ages. In fact, God had to give himself a name for his coming in human flesh. God had always had this habit of revealing Himself to His people in the midst of their cry for deliverance and liberation.
When God spoke to Moses at the burning bush, He told him to tell the people that He had heard their cry for deliverance from the heels of the Egyptian oppressors. Moses said, “But what shall I tell them?. What shall I tell them if they ask me what your name is?” God said, “Tell them I am who I am. Tell them that I am God almighty forever and forever. I am who I am, I am Yahweh, the God of heaven and earth.”
Back in the book of Isaiah in our Old Testament text, King Ahaz, the king of Judah was troubled with enemies surrounding his country. Isaiah told him not to worry, but to depend on God. God would be with him, and as a sign of this, a young woman would bear a son and call his name Immanuel, meaning God with us. Before that child had been weaned, God would deliver Ahaz from his enemies. God would be with him.
The angel uses this story saying that this is now being fulfilled in a new and marvelous way. The child that Mary shall bear is the sign that God has come to tabernacle with humankind. God is with us in a way that had never been experienced before. It wasn’t anything new for God to reveal himself to His people. Every now and then God would stop by in a strange and mysterious way to show his people that he was still with them, to show them that he would fight their battles, to show them that he was still on their side, to show them that he was still a way maker and burden bearer.
He showed up in the wilderness as he led the people as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He showed himself to Joshua before the battle of Jericho as a man with a sword drawn in his hand. He showed up in the fiery furnace with the three Hebrew boys. He showed up with Daniel in the lion’s den.
But God was up to something new this time. Even the angels never dreamed that God would do something like this. Who would have thought that God would leave heaven and come to earth in the form of a man?. Who would have thought that God himself would take on human flesh?. Who would have thought that God would decide to be born in human flesh?.
Some would have thought that if God did decide to come that he would come in great power. If God came to earth we would expect the thunder to roll and the lightning to flash. If God came to earth we would expect the wind to blow and the earth to shake.
But who would expect God to come to earth like a little helpless baby. Even the angels had to shake their heads in disbelief and rub their eyes to see if they were seeing right. This was a special birth. God was coming to earth in human flesh. This baby couldn’t be named just anything. This baby had to have a special name. This baby had to have an unique name. This baby had to have a very meaningful name. God was with man in a very special way. The baby’s name had to be Jesus which means God saves, or Saviour.
Indeed that’s why he came, to save His people from their sins. God reveals himself when he hears the cries of his people. God had seen the condition of humankind for thousands of years. God had heard the cries of countless people struggling under the burdens of sin, degraded by the yokes of oppression, and striving to keep a law that could not satisfy the demands of righteousness. The situation was so serious that drastic measures had to be taken. God had sent prophets, priest, and kings. God had sent his Moses and his Joshua. He had sent his Elijah, his Isaiah, and his Jeremiah. He had sent his David and Solomon. But none of these had the power to save the people from their sins.
But now God springs into action. God himself comes in the form of a man. God used this mysterious and amazing means to achieve deliverance for his people. The name of Jesus means God saves. There is no other name in heaven or on earth whereby we can be saved.
What’s in a name? What’s in the name of Jesus? There is first of all SALVATION in the name of Jesus for He came to save people from sin. Sin is the root cause of all the trouble, strife, confusion, in the world. The trouble in the world can be boiled down to one cause--sin. We don’t like to call sin “sin” nowadays. But whatever name you call it, sin is still sin. Sin separates and alienates people from God, themselves, and from each other. Sin is willful disobedience of God. Sin occurs when humans decide to live independently of God. That’s what sin really is.
It’s the desire to live by our own rules and regulations. If you see a person you like, just start living together. Why bother with a marriage license? If you are married but see someone else who looks better to you, just start having an affair. Sin is the desire to make our own decisions.. It’s the desire to make it on our own. It’s the desire to lean unto our own understanding. It’s the desire to ignore God, even to deny his very existence and go on our merry way without God. This causes alienation from God.
Yet we ignore God time and time again. We live lives as it we thought God did not exist. We pay lip service to him. We live as if he did not exist. If the brutal fact were known, many of us are closet atheists. We ignore God. We don’t worship God. We don’t unite with the church which God has left here for us on earth. We don’t come out to worship God in his house where He said if two or three were gathered in his name he would be there. Sin has separated humankind from God.
But sin has separated us from others, even in the church. Take the way we get along with each other. It’s sin when we come into the house of God and hold a grudge against some brother or sister. It’s sin when we say things to people that hurt their feelings and cut them to the quick. If we can’t say a kind word to folks, let us keep silent. If we can’t build somebody up, don’t tear them down. It’s sin when you are too busy to reach out a helping hand to some unfortunate brother or sister. It’s sin when you know someone is sick in the hospital and fail to visit and comfort them. This world is reeling and rocking from the effects of sin.
But sin has alienated us from ourselves. It’s sin when we abuse these bodies God has given us. It’s sin when we use drugs and abuse alcohol. It’s sin when we overeat, fail to exercise, and let ourselves go to pot, so to speak. It’s sin when the Surgeon General has warned us about the effects of smoking, when the cigarettes themselves warn of the danger, and we continue to smoke. God has give us these bodies as a trust from him. We belong to God. Our temples of these bodies are the dwelling place of God. Sin causes us to be alienated from ourselves, to do things to harm ourselves. Sin causes us to be plagued with all sorts of psychological problems. Sin even causes us to become physically ill sometimes. Sin causes worry, depression, despondency.
Almost all the problems of this world, individually and collectively, can be laid at the feet of sin. But Jesus came to save us from our sins. But the world doesn’t want to be saved from sin. The world seeks all other remedies for the ills of humankind. The world fails to take the tonic of medicine that God provides through the name of Jesus. Humankind would rather enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season than to bow at the feet of Jesus for eternity.
What’s in a name? There is salvation in the name of Jesus. All you have to do is to call upon the name of Jesus and you shall be saved. All you have to do is to believe on that name which is above all names and you will be saved. There is salvation in the name of Jesus. It’s still true that Jesus does save. That’s why we sing that song which says,
“ To the utmost Jesus saves. To the utmost Jesus saves. He will pick you up and turn you round. Hallelujah Jesus saves.” There is salvation in the name of Jesus.
What’s in a name. There is PRESERVATION in that name. Jesus doesn’t save you and leave you to fend for yourself. He is with you to keep you from falling. He is present to sustain you in the trials and tribulations of life. We Presbyterians talk a lot about the perseverance of the saints. To me that means that God has his hand upon us and is able to keep us from falling. He is able to keep our souls from day to day.
There used to be an old fellow who testified on a radio program. They called him Scotty. Every time Scotty testified he would start out by saying “ I thank God for his saving and his keeping power.” That’s what we are talking about. We are kept by Jesus. We are kept by His power divine. He can keep us from the power and stain of sin. No need to be plagued by the same problems and shortcomings time and time again. If Jesus can save us, he can keep us. He is able to keep us. There is preservation in that name. He will keep you day by day. He will let you live for him every day and every hour.
In your weakness, He is your strength. In your trials, He is your all. He will be near you all the day. He will hear your every call. He will not leave you to walk alone. He will keep youR heart. He will keep your hand. He will keep your tongue to praise His name. He will keep your soul. He will keep you all the way. What’s in a name? There is preservation in that name.
There is not only salvation and preservation in that name, but there is GLORIFICATION in the name of Jesus. We know that our lives are incomplete here on earth. We know that we suffer from imperfections of mind, body, and spirit. We know that we are frail and as fragile as dust. We know we are like the grass of the field which will soon pass away from the ground of this earth. We know we are like the mist of dawn that will disappear and be seen no more. We know we are like a puff of smoke that will soon evaporate into the ozone of eternity. But because of the name of Jesus we have something better in store for us.
I hear Paul say that eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, neither has it entered into the hearts of men what God has in store for them that love Him. Our salvation is incomplete; our preservation lacks finality. Something is missing. But Jesus saves us that we may enjoy a better future. Jesus was born. Jesus died. Jesus was buried. But Jesus rose that we might inherit eternal life. Because He arose we too shall rise. We shall share in his resurrection. We shall have resurrected bodies like unto his own. We shall be glorified with Him. We are children of God and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is.
There is glorification in that name. When famous people die we hear a lot at the funeral about what they have done, about their accomplishments in life. But the most important question is where are they going. Are they going to those mansions in the sky that Jesus is preparing for us? Are they going to see Jesus face to face?
What’s in a name? There is salvation in the name of Jesus. You have a past in that name. There is preservation in the name of Jesus. You have a present in that name. There is glorification in the name of Jesus. You have a future in that name.
What’s in a name? I don’t know what your name means to you. I don’t know what the name of Jesus means to you. But to me there is just something in the name of Jesus that is mighty sweet. Jesus is the sweetest name I know.
I love the name of Jesus. He was Moses’ bush a burning. But I just call him Jesus. He was Solomon’s Rose of Sharon, but I just call him Jesus. He was Jeremiah’s mighty battle ax. But I just call him Jesus. He was Daniel’s stone a rolling but I just call him Jesus. He was Ezekiel’s wheel a turning. But I just call Him Jesus. He’s a friend to the friendless. But I just call Him Jesus. He’s a father to the fatherless. But I just call him Jesus. He’s a mother to the motherless. But I just call him Jesus.
He’s my joy in sorrow. He’s my hope for tomorrow. He’s my great burden bearer. He’s my way out of no way. He’s my rock in a weary land. He’s my shelter in the time of storm. He’s my help in the time of need. He’s my bridge over troubled waters. He’s my strength in weakness. He’s my comfort in distress. He’s my peace in the valley. He’s my song in the night. He’s my all in all.
What’s in a name. Let me recommend that name to you this morning. I know a name that is mighty sweet. Take that name with you. Take the name of Jesus with you Breathe that holy name in prayer. I know a name this morning that will do you good. Take that name with you.
What’s in the name of Jesus? There is joy in that name. There is peace in that name. There is comfort in that name. There is power in that name. There is love in that name. There is hope in that name. There is faith in that name. There is SALVATION in that name. Your past is in that name. There is PRESERVATION in that name. Your present is in that name. There is GLORIFICATION in that name. Your future is in that name. What’s in a name? Take the name of Jesus with you.
