What’s in a Name?

Matthew 1:20,21 But after Joseph thought about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to accept Mary to be your wife. The baby inside her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son. You will name him Jesus. Give him that name because he will save his people from their sins.”

The great risk of just doing yet another Christmas, of skating over the surface of it all because, hey, I know the story anyway, is missing out on the richness and the depth of what God is saying to us through this thing that we, oh so casually, call Christmas.

So let me ask you, what’s in a name? I mean, do you know what your first name means? Mine? Well, Berni is short for Bernhard which means strong as a bear. I was named after a friend of my father’s, who saved his life during World War II.

And as things turn out, the name that my parents chose for me hits the nail right on the head. My greatest strength, the thing that I bring to the table, is in fact my strength. There are lots of other things that I’m not good at, but if you need to crash through a brick wall, then I’m your man.

So what about Jesus? Why did they call Him that? But they didn’t actually call Him Jesus, but Joshua or Yashua as it was pronounced in Hebrew. And that name means “God saves” or “God’s salvation”. And it was quite a common name back then.

But who chose His name and why did they call Him Jesus?

God named His Son because He was sent to save us. He came to save me. He came to save you. Jesus.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

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