The Name "Jesus"

The Name “Jesus”

Matthew 1:21

Purpose: To display Christ’s role as savior.

Aim: I want the listener to glory in who Jesus is and worship Him passionately.

INTRODUCTION: "There are two hundred and fifty-six names given in the Bible for the Lord Jesus Christ, and I suppose this was because He was infinitely beyond all that any one name could express." [Billy Sunday, in a sermon, “Wonderful,” quoted in The Real Billy Sunday]

“Truly, no name can banish fear like the name of Jesus: it is the beginning of hope and the end of despair.” Spurgeon

Who was Jesus? Gregory, an early church father, answered:

• He began His ministry by being hungry, yet He is the Bread of Life.

• Jesus ended His earthly ministry by being thirsty, yet He is the

Living Water.

• Jesus was weary, yet He is our rest.

• Jesus paid tribute, yet He is the King.

• Jesus was accused of having a demon, yet He cast out demons.

• Jesus wept, yet He wipes away our tears.

• Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver, yet He redeemed the world.

• Jesus was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, yet He is the Good Shepherd.

• Jesus died, yet by His death He destroyed the power of death. [Gregory of Nazianzus, A.D. 38110,000 sermon illustrations. 2000 (electronic ed.). Dallas: Biblical Studies Press.]

Today we are going to look at the name that was given to our Savior even before He was born.

➽ I. Who Named Jesus?

➽ A. God announced His name

As a rule, parents name their children. They usually pick a name for their child based on its meaning or in order to honor a family member.

In our text we see that Christ is given the name Jesus. This was a very common name among the Jews in that day, but the way Jesus received His name is unique in all of human history. Joseph and Mary were not allowed to name the child born to Mary, although, it could be said that the real Father did name the Child because Jesus had no human father.

When Joseph was asked if he was the father of Jesus, he could well have replied, “I am not his father, but he is mine!”

Jesus is a name that was chosen by God and revealed to both Mary and Joseph, so it must have great importance. The name “Jesus” came directly from heaven. Matthew 11:27 … no one knows the Son except the Father… (NAU)

➽ B. Believers proclaim His name

God announced the name of Jesus, but it was Joseph and Mary who proclaimed it.

So it must be with us. Romans 10:9-10 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (NAU)

Moses sang, 3 “For I proclaim the name of the Lord; Ascribe greatness to our God! 4“The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He. (Deuteronomy 32:3-4 NAU)

It was not long after Paul met Jesus that Acts 9:20 immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” (NAU)

By the grace of God I will proclaim the name of Jesus every opportunity I have. I have vowed to never pray in private or public without acknowledging the name of Jesus.

➽ II. What is the Meaning of the Name Jesus?

Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua which means “Yahweh is Salvation.”

➽ A. The name Jesus pictures His purpose

Joshua in the OT is a picture of Jesus in the NT. Not only do they both have the same name, but as Joshua brought the Jews into a new land and inheritance Jesus is the One who leads us into a new relationship with our God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ… (NAU)

➽ B. The name Jesus points to our need

It is interesting to note that Joshua followed the lawgiver Moses. In the same way Jesus came after the Law because the Law cannot save us. Otherwise there would be no need for Jesus to die for our sin. We don’t need rules, we need grace.

The Law cannot provide a right relationship with our God, but Jesus can bring us into a relationship with our God, into a spiritual land flowing with milk and honey.