A Name for All Times and Places Matthew 1:21; Luke 2:21

 

Grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God, our Father, and our Lord, Jesus Christ, whose name we praise at Christmas and always.

 

On this New Year’s Day, we’re going to talk about A Name for All Times and Places, the name of Jesus.

 

In Luke 1:30-31, the angel, Gabriel, appeared to Mary, and told her that she would be the mother of the Messiah, and what His name would be. 

 

He said: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 

 

So Mary was the first to know what the Messiah’s name would be, which makes sense, since she would be His mother. 

 

Next to know was Joseph, which also makes sense, since he would be the Messiah’s earthly father, and the one who would give Him His legal name.

 

In Matthew 1:21, an angel appeared to Joseph with instructions to take Mary as his wife because she was with child by the Holy Spirit. 

 

And then the angel said to Joseph: She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 

 

So here we have a clue as to what the name, Jesus, means, and what His task was, to save.

 

Verse 25 says that Joseph did as he was instructed. He took Mary as his wife,  but he knew her not until she had given birth to a son. (To leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that Jesus was indeed, conceived by the Holy Spirit.) And he called his name, Jesus. 

 

In today’s Gospel, Luke 2:21, we have the naming of Jesus at His circumcision, as was Jewish custom. 

 

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 

 

When the angel told Joseph, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins, by “his people”, God meant more than the just the Jewish people, He meant all people; which is why the Messiah was not given a Hebrew name, but a Greek name. 

 

Jesus is a Greek word. Joshua would be the Hebrew equivalent. 

 

Greek was the preferred, common language of the Roman Empire, and so by giving the Messiah a Greek name rather than a Hebrew name, it signified Jesus would be the Savior of humanity, not just of one race or ethnic group.

 

Jesus came for all, died for all, and rose for all, that all might repent and believe and receive Him as their God and Savior, which is what Jesus means, “Savior”,   or more precisely, “the Lord saves”. 

 

Jesus seems to have been a fairly popular name in first century Palestine, probably because of the national fervor at the time.

 

Many first century Jewish people had a passionate hope that God would send them a Messiah, and that He would be, not just a spiritual Messiah, to save them from their sins, but also a political Messiah, to set them free from Roman rule, and serve them as their earthly king.

 

But as the Messiah Himself said to Pontius Pilate, “My Kingdom is not of this world”.

 

As His name indicates, Jesus never came to be a political king, but far more, to be a Savior from sin and death, and thus, a spiritual king above all earthly kings.

By His holy life and ministry, by His death for us, and by His resurrection, Jesus has become the One to save us from the worst that can happen to us, even everlasting death.

 

And so, to us, His is the name above all names.

 

As Philippians 2:9-11 says, Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

No name on earth is so heard, and so called on, and so looked up to, and so held on to, as the name of Jesus. 

 

But sadly, by some, no name is more despised and hated.

 

Which is tragic because no name communicates so much love, as the name of Jesus. As we sang, Jesus! Name of wondrous love, Name all other names above. 

 

As we said, Jesus was a popular name at the time of His birth. Throughout time, there have been many popular names in different cultures.

 

In America over the past 100 years, according to the Social Security Administration, the most popular boy’s name has been, any guesses… here’s a clue, this was the name of Jesus’ brother, who eventually became the leader of the church in Jerusalem and wrote one of the epistles in the New Testament… James.

 

Over the past 100 years, the most popular girl’s name in America has been, any guesses… here’s a pretty obvious clue, Jesus’ mother was named this... Mary.

 

The most popular names, Mary and James, Jesus’ mother and His brother, His family. 

 

We, all God’s baptized, faithful children, His dear family, share a common name; we’re named after Christ, His Son; in Him we share a family name… Christian.

 

Jesus Christ, our Lord: Jesus, meaning Savior, and Christ, which means, Messiah, and Messiah means chosen one. 

 

Jesus, the One chosen to be our Savior; and us, chosen to be His family.

 

So let us praise the name of Jesus with joy, and be honored to bear the name that comes from His, from Christ… Christian.

 

It seems these days, that some consider Christian to be a kind of dirty word, and Christianity a bad belief, and Christians bad people.

 

The name, Christian, started in Antioch, modern day Syria, at the time of the apostles. In Acts 11:26, Luke writes: And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

 

It seems it was first coined by opponents of the Gospel, and was meant as a sort of slur against Jesus and His followers.

 

But His followers soon embraced it, realizing that there was no better thing to be called. 

 

So when the name of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and the name of His family, Christian, are slandered, or misunderstood, or falsely accused, or hated, or persecuted, let us not shrink back, but boldly bear His name, and confess our faith and our love for Him who saves us.

 

Let us praise the name of Jesus, and bear witness to His name all the more fervently, and gratefully.

When in weakness, we sin, and fail to witness and demonstrate a Christ-like life, and others see that flaw in us, and then blame the teachings of Jesus, and the beliefs of Christianity for our short-comings, let us be the first to be honest and admit our wrong-doing to the world.

 

Our moral flaws are not God’s fault; they’re not the shortcomings of the Gospel; they’re our short-comings.

 

Let us repent before God, and embrace His forgiveness, and proclaim His saving grace to the world, that the Gospel might be believed, and the name of Jesus be joyfully praised!

 

We praise the name of Jesus, because His name stands for who He is, and all that He has done, and still does, and will do for the world. 

 

There is no name and no deeds that the world needs more than the name and deeds of Jesus. 

 

There are a lot of famous names in world history, but none like His. 

 

Jesus Christ is the name for all times and places, for everyone, everywhere, always; the name for all people to look to, and trust in, and praise, and honor, and exalt, and bear witness to. 

 

His saving name is good news for us in this new year, as it was our good news last year, and all years in the past; and will be our good news in all the years to come, and in all the days and years of eternity.

 

So let us begin, and continue, and finish this new year, in the name of Jesus, with His praise on our lips, doing His work with our hands, having His love and joy in our hearts, and living in His peace, which passes understanding, and guards our hearts and minds, in Jesus, our Savior, our Messiah, our Christ, and our name sake. Amen