Jesus - His Name…His Mission…His People
Matthew 1:18-25
(Focus - vs. 21)
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 "behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, "God with us." 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. (NASB)
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
INTRODUCTION
A. What’s in a name?
1. It is how we are known to others -
(a) Our Tag for Life – Cradle & Grave
We are not just a number – we have a name
Especially when addressed by our mom using our full name
(b) Our Statement – Introduction & Signature
Hello my name is …, I sign my name by … (It is who we are)
(c) Our Identity – Title & Deed
Official documents must bear our name to be legal
2. It carries importance -
* Parents labor for months choosing “just the right name” for their child –
(a) After Presidents – George Washington Carver
(b) After Automobiles – Mercedes
(c) After Family Name – Uncles, Aunts, Cousins, Friends
(d) After Biblical Meanings –
1 Samuel 1:20
Hannah … gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel [heard of God], saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord.
3. It testifies of a good reputation -
* We should strive to maintain a good name.
Proverbs 22:1a
A good name is to be more desired than great wealth.
It is better to have men speak highly of your character than to just speak about your money. (Ex. D. Trump – lots of money, lousy reputation)
4. It is something we hope others will remember -
(a) Such as –
Winston Churchill – FDR
John F. Kennedy – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ronald Reagan – Bill Clinton – George W. Bush
(b) But not as –
Hitler - Mussolini
Stalin – Lenin
O’Sama bin Laden - Saddam Hussein
Proverbs 10:7
The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot.
5. It is something we try to memorialize –
Our Headstones testify to this …
Traditional:
Name – date Born – date Died
Non-Traditional:
[Source: Internet – Failed to make citation]
(a) In memory of Anna Hopewell:
Here lies the body of Anna
Done to death by a banana
It wasn’t the fruit that laid her low
But the skin of the thing that made her go
(b) Jedediah Goodwin - Auctioneer
Born 1828
Going!
Going!!
Gone!!!
1876
(c) Jonathan Blake
Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake
Stepped on the gas
Instead of the brake
(d) Pa
Here lies Pa.
Pa liked wimin.
Ma caught Pa in with two swimmin.
Here lies Pa.
(e) Hannah Proctor
Here lies old Aunt Hannah Proctor
Who purged but didn’t call the Doctor:
She couldn’t stay, She had to go
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
B. HOWEVER – UNDERSTAND –
OF ALL THE NAMES THAT MEN AND WOMEN HAVE USED
OF ALL THE NAMES EVER RECORDED ON THIS EARTH
OF ALL THE NAMES THAT WILL EVER BE UTTERED THROUGHOUT ETERNITY
THERE IS NONE MORE IMPORTANT TODAY TO US THAN THE PRECIOUS NAME OF
JESUS!
There’s Something About That Name
(William J. and Gloria Gaither)
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus;
There’s just something about that name!
Master, Saviour, Jesus,
Like the fragrance after the rain;
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Let all Heaven and earth proclaim:
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,
But there’s something about that name!
[Hymns of Faith, Tabernacle Publishing Co., 1980, 71]
TEXT
“She [Mary] will bear a Son; and you [Joseph] shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Here we find revealed in this passage three very important aspects concerning this Son – this Immanuel (vs. 23) – God with us!
Aspects –
His Name – You shall call His name Jesus
His Mission – Fir He will save
His People – His people from their sins
I. HIS NAME – You shall call His name Jesus
Jesus – (Greek: [Ye-shu-a] iesous - # 2424) “[This] is a transliteration of the Heb. ‘Joshua,’ meaning ‘[Yahweh] is Savior’ …” [Vine’s Expository Dict. of NT Words, 1996, 333 & Jamison, Fausset, & Brown, Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1970 ed., 862]
Matthew Henry
[Concerning the name of Joshua] - “There were two of [the] name [Joshua] [in] the Old Testament … both [were] … types of Christ, [1] Joshua who was Israel’s captain at their first settlement in Canaan, and [2] Joshua who was their high priest at their second settlement after the captivity … Christ is our Joshua; [-] both the Captain of our salvation, and the High Priest of our profession, and in both, [he is] our Saviour….” [Matthew to John, Vol. 5 of A Commentary on the Whole Bible, 8]
A. Jesus – Only Name Given
Acts 4:10-12
Let it be known to all of you … that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene … there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.
* None --- all others are worthless/ignored --- not even our own name
B. Jesus – Only Way Given
John 14:6
Jesus said … I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
* No other way --- God does not lie/He is truth incarnate --- the perfect life
C. Jesus – Name Above All Names
Philippians 2:9-11
God bestowed on Him [Jesus] the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.
* Though the ACLU or the Americans for Separation of Church and State may desire to remove the name of Jesus from our schools, government agencies, or any other public aspect of our lives – yet, know that despite all of these efforts by the “prince of power of the air” [Ephesians 2:2] ---- that the name of Jesus, our Lord, will endure for all eternity!!
MY FRIEND – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS JESUS – WHAT DOES HIS NAME MEAN TO YOU?
II. HIS MISSION – FOR HE WILL SAVE [emphatic - He]
Save / Salvation - (Greek: sozo - # 4982 / soteria - # 4991) “to save,’ … ‘denotes - deliverance, preservation, salvation.” [Vine’s Ibid., 547, 545]
A. Jesus Saves – Salvation
1 Timothy 1:15
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. [NKJV]
Matthew Henry
“… For He shall save his people from their sins; not the nation of the Jews only … but all who were given him by the Father’s choice, and all who have given themselves to him by their own. He is a king who protects his subjects, and, as the judges of Israel of old, works salvation for them.” [Ibid.]
B. Jesus Keeps – Preservation
1 Peter 1:3-5
Blessed be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
* Nothing can or will be able to separate us from our Savior – Jesus Christ [Romans 8:31-39].
C. Jesus Delivers – Deliverance
1 Thessalonians 1:10
And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He [God and Father – vs. 3] raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Matthew Henry
“Those whom Christ saves he saves from their sins; from the guilt of sin by the merit of his death, from the dominion of sin by the Spirit of his grace. In saving them from sin, he saves them from the wrath and the curse, and all misery here and hereafter. Christ came to save his people, not in their sins, but from their sins; to purchase for them, not a liberty to sin, but a liberty from sins, to redeem them from all iniquity (Tit. ii. 14); and so to redeem them from among men (Rev. xiv. 4) to himself, who is separate from sinners.” [Ibid.]
* Our salvation is found complete in Christ – We are justified, we are being sanctified, and we will be glorified – Jesus will deliver us!
Romans 8:30
These whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
MY FRIEND - DO YOU SEE THE NEED OF A SAVIOR (?) – JESUS WILL AND DOES FULFILL THAT NEED!
III. HIS PEOPLE – FROM THEIR SINS
Sin – (Greek: harmatia # 266) “is lit., ‘a missing of the mark’ …” [Vine’s, Ibid., 576]
Jesus has come to seek and save the lost – Luke 19:10
All who receive Him [Jesus] become the children of God – John 1:12
Sinners – such were some of you – 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
There is no condemnation in His name – Romans 8:1
B.H. Carroll
“Let us make no mistake about this ‘salvation from sins.’ It is salvation through the vicarious expiation of sins satisfying the claims of justice. It is salvation from the guilt of sin by justification, through faith. It is salvation from the defilement of sin by the cleansing blood of Christ applied by the Holy Spirit. It is salvation from the love of sin through regeneration. It is salvation from dominion of sin through sanctification. It is the salvation of the body through resurrection and glorification.” [The Four Gospels, Part I of An Interpretation of the English Bible, 89]
MY FRIEND - DO YOU NEED DELIVERANCE FROM YOUR SIN (?) – IF SO, LOOK TO JESUS!
COMMITMENT
Vs. 25 – He [Joseph] called His name Jesus.
Who is Jesus to you?
Is His name the most precious you have ever heard?
Is His name the one you think of when it comes to your salvation?
Is His name the one you cry to God seeking forgiveness of your sins?
If so, then …
A. Believer
There should not be any name sweeter to hear -
How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds
(John Newton)
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.
It makes the wounded spirit whole
And calms the troubled breast;
‘Tis manna to the hungry soul
And to the weary rest.
Dear name! the rock on which I build,
My shield and hiding place;
My never – failing treasure, filled
With boundless stores of grace!
Jesus, my Shepherd, Brother, Friend,
My Prophet, Priest and King,
My Lord, my Life, My Way, My End,
Accept the praise I bring.
A-men.
[Hymns of Faith, Ibid., 69]
B. Seeker
For you too …
There should be no sweeter sound to your ears, than Jesus.
There should be no other name to proceed from your heart, than Jesus.
There should be no louder cry from your lips, than Jesus.
Sooooooooooooo - - - What hinders you today from listening to, searching for, and proclaiming the name of Jesus as your Savior!
My sinner friend – I urge you to repent before God and come to Him today in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ and He will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
[Jesus said,] Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Because –
FOR SHE BORE A SON AND CALLED HIS NAME JESUS AND HE IS SAVING HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS!
Bruce Allen
bea0210@hotmail.com
bcallen0101@aol.com
