The Name of Jesus

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, which means the Lord saves, because he will save his people from their sins.”  (Matthew 1:20-21)

As soon as the angel announced Mary’s pregnancy, Mary and Joseph were told to name their son, “Jesus.” It was a common, ordinary name. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew “Yeshua,” which is the Hebrew form of the English name “Joshua.” This name literally means “God saves.”

That one name tells us two things about Jesus which the virgin birth confirms. He is a human being with a human name who came to live among us. At the same time, He is also God who came to save us. For this reason, He alone qualifies to be the one person who this world needs more than anything, and that is a Savior.

In order for someone to save us from our sins, He must be a human being who can die. Also He must be a sinless human being so He can die for our sins and not His own. This is why Jesus was born like all babies are born, but He was not conceived like all babies are conceived. He was not just a son; He was God’s Son. He was not just a human; He was a sinless human. He was in no way a sinner, but in every way, He is our Savior.

Now, we understand why we celebrate Christmas the way we do. No one was conceived like Jesus was conceived. No one lived like Jesus lived, and no one died like Jesus died. No one came back from the grave like Jesus came back from the grave. No one except Jesus qualifies to be our Savior. Do not forget the gravity and the significance of that truth, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.