Jesus – There Is Just Something About That Name!

Simeon

Luke 2:30 NIV For my eyes have seen your salvation,

Anna

Luke 2:38 NIV Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

John the Baptist (the forerunner)

Luke 3:6 NIV And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’ ”

All of this should have made sense to the people! One named Joshua (JEHOVAH saves) was here! Just like Joshua, their national hero who led the people under God’s direction from the wilderness into the Promised Land, so to would Jesus, lead HIS people out of the wilderness of sin into the Promised Land of Eternal Life.

JESUS IDENTIFIES HIM WITH HIS PURPOSE

“…give him the name Jesus, because

he will save his people from their sins.”

Matt. 1:21 NIV

Save = “to save, to deliver, to make whole” (spiritual salvation)

WHAT WAS JESUS’ PRIME DIRECTIVE?

Luke 19:10 NIV For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

Mankind’s number One problem is sin!

This is true for those who need salvation

This is true for those who know the Lord

Sinners are not the only ones who need to deal with sin. As Believers, we like to focus our eyes on others who sin and say that they need to be saved. We forget that one lie, one moment of lust, one morsel of gossip is enough to separate us from the Lord if it were not for His saving grace.

Jas 2:10 NIV For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE FOR US?

Perhaps this story can illustrate this for us:

“There was an engineer who operated a drawbridge across a mighty river. With a control panel of levers and switches, he set into motion a monstrous set of gears that either lifted the bridge for river traffic or closed it for the oncoming train.

One day he took his young son to work with him. The fascinated boy hurled question after question at his dad. It was not until the span had opened to allow the passage of a ship that the father noticed the questions had ceased and his son had left the room. He looked out the window of his control cabin and saw the young boy climbing on the teeth of the gears. As he hurried towards the machinery to get his son, he heard the whistle of an approaching train.

His pulse quickened. If he closed the bridge there would be no time to retrieve his son. He had to make a choice. Either his son would be killed or a train of innocent passengers would be killed. A horrible dilemma mandated a horrible decision. The engineer knew what he had to do. He reached for the lever.”

Max Lucado, GOD CAME NEAR, pgs. 60-61

It is true that God could not save mankind without killing His Son.

It is true that the heart of God the Father did twist in grief as He slammed the gears of His fierce wrath down on Jesus.

And it is sad, yet true, that individuals daily whiz by the message of the Cross of Christ oblivious, like those on the train, to the sacrifice that was made to save them from certain death.

A FLAW , HOWEVER, EXISTS WITH THE STORY I JUST TOLD YOU: