His Name is Jesus!

The name ‘Jesus’ means “Yahweh saves.” In this man, the Salvation promised by the God of Abraham has arrived.

The child carried by Mary was “begotten of the Holy Spirit.” The angel instructed Joseph to name this child ‘Jesus’: “Call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” His name pointed to the saving act of God that was about to unfold in History.

Humanity has seen the promised Salvation of Yahweh come to fruition in Jesus of Nazareth. In his life, teachings, death, and resurrection, the Good News of God’s Kingdom is announced to the nations.

Naming him ‘Jesus’ or “salvation of Yahweh” does not mean Jesus is identical to his Father, but that “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” has acted decisively in His Son to bring salvation to mankind.

[Jesus Saves - Photo by Edwin Andrade (Los Angeles) on Unsplash]

According to the Apostle Paul, the Death and Resurrection of Jesus together form the foundation of the Apostolic Tradition, an understanding confirmed by each book of the New Testament. Salvation is found only through Jesus, and his resurrection is the basis and guarantee of our future resurrection from the dead:

• “For I delivered to you, first of all, that which also I received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that he was raised on the third day. <…> But now, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who are asleep. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” – (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 20-22).

• “And in no other is there salvation, for neither is there any other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved” – (Acts 4:12).

• “For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all” – (1 Timothy 2:5).

The first verse of the Gospel of Matthew identifies Mary’s child as “the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” These are more than names on a genealogical list. Not only is Jesus the biological descendant of David and Abraham, but he also came to implement the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant and to reign as the long-awaited Davidic King. Indeed, the nations and “the ends of the Earth” are now his by royal right - (Matthew 1:1).

• “Yet I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will tell of the decree. Yahweh said to me, You are my Son. This day, I have begotten you! Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession” - (Psalm 2:6-8).

• “The woman was delivered of a son, a male, who is to shepherd the nations with a rod of iron” - (Revelation 12:5).

Jesus is “the Seed of Abraham” in whom “all the nations of the earth are blessed,” and he is “the Son of David” who now rules as King and “Shepherd” of the nations. It is no coincidence that this same Jesus began proclaiming the Good News of God’s Kingdom in Galilee, a region with a mixed population of Jews and Gentiles - (Genesis 12:3, 22:18, Galatians 3:16-29):

• “Galilee of the Nations! <…> The people that sat in darkness saw a great light, and to those who sat in the region and Shadow of Death. From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, Repent! For the Kingdom of the Heavens is at hand” - (Matthew 4:16).

• “There will be no gloom to her that was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time, he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Nations! The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They that dwelt in the land of the Shadow of Death, upon them the light has shone forth” - (Isaiah 9:1-3).

• “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” – (Luke 2:11).

• “For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared before the face of all peoples, a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel” – (Luke 2:30-32).

The salvation promised by the God of Abraham, Moses, and Elijah is provided through His Son and Anointed King, “the Son of David,” and this salvation always included the Gentiles, “the nations of the Earth,” along with Israel:

• “For I say that Christ has been made a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given to the fathers, and that the Nations might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: Therefore, I will give praise to you among the Nations and sing to your name. And again, he says, Rejoice, you nations with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all you nations, and let all the peoples praise him. And again, Isaiah says, there will be the Root of Jesse, and he that arises to rule over the nations. On him will the nations hope” – (Romans 15:8-12, 16:25).

HIS NAME

The angel’s announcement to Joseph parallels the prediction made to Abraham about his firstborn son, which occurred when Sarah was ninety years old and beyond childbearing age, making her pregnancy miraculous. Abraham also received his son’s name through Divine appointment, for God commanded Abraham to name his son ‘Isaac’ - (Genesis 17:19).

The name ‘Jesus’ or ‘Joshua’ first appears in the Book of Exodus. Joshua’s original name was ‘Hoshea’, the Son of Nun. Moses changed it from ‘Hoshea’ to ‘Joshua’, or more literally, ‘Ye-hoshua’ - (Numbers 13:1-8, Exodus 17:9).

‘Hoshea’ means “salvation, deliverance, help.” It is from the Hebrew verb for “save, help, deliver,” and that verb is ‘yasha’. For example, “Yahweh saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians” - (Exodus 14:30. Compare Deuteronomy 20:4).

By prefixing the first syllable of the Hebrew name Yahweh to ‘Hoshea’ (YHWH {יהוה}), his name became ‘Ye-hoshua’. In several of the later books of the Hebrew Bible, the second syllable is eliminated, and the name is shortened to ‘Yeshua’ - (e.g., Nehemiah 8:17, Ezra 2:2).

The common form of the name or ‘Jesus’ is the anglicized spelling of ‘Yeshua.’ It means more than “savior.” It combines the name of God or Yahweh with the Hebrew verb for “save,” and so, ‘Jesus’ means “Yahweh saves” or “salvation of Yahweh.” The promised salvation of God arrived in the man from the insignificant village of Nazareth, Jesus, the son of Joseph and Mary.

The angel’s announcement also echoed key themes from the so-called ‘Servant’s Song’ of the Book of Isaiah. Jesus is the ‘Servant of Yahweh’ who came to redeem his people from their sins and become a light to the nations. For example:

• “Call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” – (Matthew 1:21).

• “Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him; he has put him to grief, making his soul an offering for sin. <…> By the knowledge of himself, my Righteous Servant will justify many, and he will carry their sins. <…> Because he poured out his soul unto death and was numbered with the transgressors. Yet he carried the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” - (Isaiah 53:10-12).

• “For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his soul a ransom for many” – (Mark 10:45).

• “Is it too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel? I will also give you for a light to the Nations, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth” - (Isaiah 49:6).

• “For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set you for a light of the Nations, that you should be for salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth. And as the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of God” - (Acts 13:47-48).

Jesus is “the Son of Abraham,” the promised “seed” who fulfills and implements the covenant promises. He is also “the Son of David,” the Messiah and King who reigns from David’s Throne over the Kingdom of God and the nations.

Thus, the glorious reign of the God of Israel began in earnest with the Death, Resurrection, and Enthronement of Jesus of Nazareth, the only Savior in whom we may find salvation and reconciliation with our Creator.

Like Joshua, Jesus is the Ruler of God’s people who delivers us from bondage to Satan and shepherds us to the Promised Land, namely, the Kingdom of God. By his sacrificial death, he redeemed us from the penalty of sin – death - and God validated his act and assured us of salvation by raising Christ from the dead.

• “Fear not! I am the first and the last, and the Living one. And I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades” – (Revelation  1:18).

Therefore, in the truest sense, Jesus is the King and Messiah who “saves his people from their sins!”

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SEE ALSO:

• Salvation for the Nations - (The Good News announced by Jesus of Nazareth provides salvation and life for men and women of every nation and people)

• The Incommunicable Name - (The Incommunicable Name of God, its meaning and significance, according to Joseph Bryant Rotherham)

• The Son of David - (Jesus is the son of David and heir to the Messianic Throne, the beloved Son of God, and the Suffering Servant of Yahweh)

• Son nom est Jésus! - (“Jésus” signifie “Yahvé sauve.” Dans l'homme de Nazareth, le salut promis par le Dieu d'Israël est arrivé dans toute sa gloire)