“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
When expecting parents choose a name for their child, there is usually a reason for the name they choose. Some choose a name merely because it sounds good. Others honor a relative, friend, or even a movie star. Still others choose a name because of its meaning.
Mary and Joseph never got the chance to choose their baby’s name. They were told what to name their child. God the Father, through his angel, told them to name their child Jesus. The angel Gabriel told Mary: “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus” (Luke 1:31).
In this Bible reading, which occurred some months after Gabriel spoke with Mary, an angel comes to Joseph in a dream and tells him the same thing: “[Mary] will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.”
Why Jesus? Because the name rolls off the tongue? Because there were family members or other important people with that name? No! It was because of what the name meant. Literally, Jesus means “the Lord saves.” The angel explained to Joseph: “Because he will save his people from their sins.”
For all you readers of this devotion who feel lost because you know the depth of your sins, who are afraid to die because you wonder if God will accept you, or who are going through a time when you know the power of the devil and evil in a particularly intense way—pay close attention to the name of Mary’s child. Jesus was conceived and born for the very purpose of saving you from all of that and from the guilt and fear that come with it. He accomplished your salvation by living the perfectly sinless life God demands of you and by offering himself up as a sacrifice for your sin at the cross.
What a miraculous blessing that is! God can’t and won’t count your sins against you. God will accept you as his child now, and at the end of your life, he will receive you into his heaven.
Prayer:
Jesus! Name of wondrous love,
Name all other names above,
Unto which must every knee
Bow in deep humility.
Jesus! Name of priceless worth
To the fallen here on earth
For the promise that it gave,
“Jesus shall his people save.” Amen.
(Christian Worship: Hymnal 496:1,3)
From Tidings of Comfort and Joy. All rights reserved.
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