Message
Matthew 1:21
Name Above All Names - Jesus
As we continue our series on the Name Above all Names we come to the name … Jesus.
As we think about the name of Jesus I want you to just stop for a minute and I want you to think about your own name.
And imagine if you had a different name would you feel the same about yourself if you had a different name? I think it would depend on the name that you had.
Before I was born my mum told my grandmother that my mum was going to call me Donald. So I would have been Donald Quak.
think I would have struggled a little more in life if my name was Donald Quak.
Especially because there was the famous Disney character called Donald Duck.
You can understand why my mum and my grandmother didn't always get on so well.
But there are crazy names that you hear … really crazy
don't you crazy names
Nicolas Cage called his son Kal-El … that is the original name of superman before he left the planet Krypton. Nicolas did that because he likes comics. He liked comics better than he liked his own son obviously
Gwyneth Paltrow called her child Apple … when asked why she said “you know apples are so sweet and they're wholesome”.
The actor Rob Morrow called his son Tu Morrow.
Some people should not have the right to name their own children.
Tu Morrow … what is that going to do for your identity.
Do you want to go to the beach Tu Morrow?
Would you like an ice-cream Tu Morrow?
Nothing would ever happen in that child’s life because tomorrow never comes.
It is the cruellest name to give to a child. Some people should not be allowed to name their children.
I think this should be a rule.
Some names are just terrible.
But there are other names that are not terrible.
There are other names are so really significant … especially when an angel tells you what to name your kid. Then you know that that's going to be a special name.
We find this name in Matthew 1:18-25
As we've been going through this series we've been reading the various areas of the scriptures talking about the birth of Jesus this is a section focusing on the birth of Jesus as it relates to his mother Mary.
Matthew 1:18-25
So clearly … verse 21 … give him the name Jesus because he will save people from their sins. Verse 25 … and they gave birth to a son and gave him the name Jesus
And just to be sure we get it right.
In Luke 1:21 the Angel talks to Mary and says
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
And again in Luke 2:21 when he is circumcised it says there
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived
His name is Jesus.
It is not a title. It’s not a description. It’s not a characteristic.
This is His birth name.
On his birth certificate this the name that Joseph and Mary would write into the register … Jesus son of Joseph. It is his personal identification.
As a persona identification it's not a unique name. Let's understand that.
It’s not like the name Jesus is unusual or that it's never been used before.
There was a guy when Jesus was being crucified. There was another guy there and his name is Barabbas but Matthew 27:16 says
At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas (Matt 27:16)
There's another guy in Colossians 4:11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings.
I think what happened is this man’s name was Jesus … and then he became a Christian. So he went, “No I can't be called Jesus anymore.” So they changed his name to Justice.
The point is … Jesus is a common name. In fact archaeologist have unearthed the tombs of 71 people who lived in the first century whose name was Jesus.
So Jesus is the name that people would use to call out and get his attention.
Jesus is on his way to school and his mates see him, “Jesus let's walk together to the school.”
His mother would use the name Jesus when she wanted him to take out the rubbish.
It was name that families would use to call their baby. A Jesus would be walking down the street and then someone else would call out, “Jesus”, but then he would realise it's not him.
So what does that all mean?
The name Jesus reminds us that He is an ordinary person who did mundane things.
Eating because he was hungry.
Drinking because he was thirsty.
Sleeping because he was tired after a long day
Walking as a mode of transport.
Talking to communicate and build relationships.
Paying temple taxes and government taxes.
He met with friends and went out for parties.
He got invited to dinners and spent time socialising.
He attended baptisms, weddings and funerals.
He walked through grain fields and enjoyed the fresh grains.
He went to the synagogue, like the rest of the towns people.
Sometimes he went to a country retreat, or out for a sail, or to climb a mountain.
He bled when he got a cut.
He loved meeting people in town.
He would share stories and listen to others tell theirs.
He enjoyed travelling and going to new places.
He had a family and did family things.
He did mundane things … the ordinary stuff just like us.
The one called Jesus had times when he was faced with the pressures of life and reacted to them.
Jesus got tired and slept, once he was so tired he slept through a storm while sleeping in a boat and he had to be woken up.
There were days when the crowds were too much and he withdrew; He just needed some space and some time to recharge.
Some days he got frustrated at the lack of willingness of people to believe, and so he would just walk away.
On two occasions, at the beginning of his ministry and also at the end, He got so angry with the way that the temple had become a market place that he just let rip with a whip.
He got exasperated with his own disciples … sometimes calling them dull and chastising them for their lack of belief. One time he even called Peter “Satan”.
At times he needed to spiritually recharge, so he would go to a solitary place and pray, just so he could spend time with God alone.
There were times when he found himself annoyed by the religious elite who had nothing better to do than try and bait him.
He went through the pressures of life … just like us.
The one called Jesus experience a range of emotions.
Love and compassion.
Joy and grief.
Anger and gratitude.
Wonder and hope.
There were times when he experienced those real deep emotions of a troubled human soul – loneliness, perplexity, alarm, dismay, and despondency.
On occasions these emotions caused a physical response:- he wept, he even wailed, he sighed, he groaned, he flashed angry glares at people, he spoke with annoyance in his voice, he cried out in utter desolation.
He experienced all these emotions and more … just like us.
The one called Jesus had times when he was misunderstood.
For some he was a copycat Messiah who needed to be removed from the preaching circuit.
Other merely saw a wannabe prophet from the town of Nazareth … a place which was so insignificant no prophet every came from there.
There were those who would keep hinting at the fact that he was conceived out of wedlock.
John the Baptist was his number 1 supporter yet he wasn’t always sure what Jesus was doing … Even John misunderstood Jesus … Are you the One or should we expect another?
When people listened to his teaching they would sometimes be so shocked that they would just abandon him all together … they got up and walked away.
Some people wanted to stone him, others were ready to throw him off a cliff.
On multiple occasions he was accused of being possessed by the devil - once they accused him of being a demon-possessed Samaritan.
Some people thought he was John the Baptist raised from the dead, others thought he was Elijah or another prophet.
Constantly his authority was questioned … and tested … and mocked. Even though nobody could bring any solid proof against him he was still maligned.
On one occasion the crowd were so enthralled by his ministry they immediately wanted to make him their King.
Pilate had absolutely no idea what to do with him, and in the end Pilate just listened to peer pressure.
The spiritual leaders mocked him at his crucifixion and smiled at his grave thinking that it was all over.
He was misunderstood again and again … just like we can be.
Jesus is his name.
The name above all names which reminds us … assures us … that he is one of us.
Like us. Doing the mundane things. Facing the pressures of life. Experiencing emotion. Being misunderstood.
He is not just God putting on a mask or a cloak and just pretends to be a human.
He is not a phantom that has crawled into some skin.
He has an identity … a very human identity.
And it is that identity which gives us so much hope.
Because, when we read the Scripture we see
The one called Jesus interacted with all sorts of people
A Centurion whose servant was paralysed
Pharisees who wanted to debate with him
A group of mates who broke open a roof to lower their friend down to be healed.
A fiery prophet named John, who was also his cousin.
Fishermen who were going about their business.
The local governor who really wanted nothing to do with him.
A woman caught in an adulterous situation.
His own brothers who completely misunderstood him.
Tax-collectors who sought to rip off the community.
A Samaritan woman who was shunned by the whole village because she's had seven husbands.
The mother of James and John who thinks that she's got a way with Jesus and comes along and says to let her sons take the best places of authority.
Little children who got to sit on his lap and have all of his attention.
The friends which he grew up with in Nazareth who, when he came back later, wanted nothing to do with him anymore because they didn’t believe him.
Prostitutes who were desperately trying to make a living in a man’s world
A Canaanite mother who just wanted her daughter to be well.
Herod the tetrarch who eventually mocked him.
Jesus interact with all of them.
He touched lepers who had been dismissed by society
The young boy who was the only person in a crowd of 5000 to remember bring his lunch on the day outing.
A synagogue leader whose daughter had died.
Very close friends such as Mary, Martha and Lazarus – the man who eventually rises from the dead.
A woman who was ceremonially unclean because of constant bleeding.
A band of disciples who deserted him.
A high priest who unjustly condemned him.
A disciple who denied him.
A Roman governor who sentenced him to death.
A life-long criminal who made a death-bed confession.
Two people on the road to Emmaus who were distraught and confused over his death.
Jesus met with them all.
Husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, inlaw’s, grandparents, teenagers, children.
Poor, unemployed, homeless, and the down-trodden.
Middle class, rich, and the social elite.
Judeans, Galileans, Samaritans, Romans, Greeks, Syrians, Phoenicians, Cyreneians
People who were grieving a death.
People who were caught in sin.
People who were arrogant and rude.
People who were unsure and insecure.
People who were full of shame and guilt.
All of these people spoke his name. All of them call on his personal name … it's Jesus. And it's just Jesus.
After the book of Acts closes we get the epistles.
The letters which were written by Paul, Peter, John, James, and the author of Hebrews.
In these letters the word Jesus occurs 272 times.
But when we are looking for just Jesus
… not the Lord Jesus.
… not Jesus Christ
… not the Lord Jesus Christ
just Jesus
We find that only 27 times. In this small number two passages stand out.
The first is in Hebrews 2:9-11
9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.
We are part of God's family - not primarily because he is Lord Saviour or Messiah or the Most High - but because he is Jesus.
Because he is one of us in every single way. All those other aspects of his work are important; but this is the most important. Because if he's not one of us he can't offer the sacrifice for us on our behalf.
It's just Jesus. And it says that Jesus comes along to all of those people we mentioned … all of those people in the Scriptures … and he comes along to people like us and he says, “I'm not ashamed of you. I'm not ashamed to call you my brother and sister.”
I know your background.
I know your history.
I know your story.
I know your guilt.
I know your shame.
But I'm not ashamed because I am Jesus and I've come to save.
That the first passage I think that's most important to understand salvation in terms of the name of Jesus.
The other one I want to show you is Philippians 2:10.
At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Every knee will bow when they see their brother … when they see their flesh and blood … at the end of days.
When the Lord returns they will see him and they will identify with him.
And we will bow down. And we will worship.
Some of us will do so for the first time … all too late realising that we have been ashamed of him when we should not of been.
All too late understanding that our family … Jesus … just wanted to identify with us.
But no matter who you are know he is not ashamed.
He just wants you to call.
Jesus
No matter who we are, ultimately that is the name we need to speak.
It is the only name we need to speak.
Because even before he was conceived his identity was unmistakable.
You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
Just Jesus … and no other name.
Prayer
