“WHAT'S IN A NAME?”
New Year’s Eve (Eve of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus)
December 31, 2015
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
At the end of eight days, when He was circumcised, He was called
Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the
womb.
Luke 2:21 (ESV)
What’s in a name? Have you ever wondered what your name means? I
looked up mine a number of years ago and found out that “Arthur” is an
Anglo-Saxon name that means “strong as a rock.” Now anyone who knows
me at all would hardly describe me as being strong as rock (maybe
heavy as a rock or stubborn as a rock, but not strong as a rock). And
I doubt very seriously that there is a whole lot of Anglo-Saxon
heritage in my ancestry, given the fact that both sets of my
grandparents came to this country from Poland within the last century.
Our names don’t always describe us very well. I’ve known some black
people name White and some white people named Black, some short people
named Long and some tall people named Short, and even a few guys named
Rich who would hardly describe themselves as being wealthy. But be
all that as it may, names can be a lot more important than you might
think. With very few exceptions, the name that a person is given at
birth will be that person’s name throughout his or her life. I
remember once reading a book about names that advised parents to avoid
giving in to the temptation to be humorous when choosing names for
their children. The book explained: “Imagine the unhappy future on
the playground for children with such unfortunate names as Forrest
Greene or Jay Byrd.”
What about our Savior’s name? What is the significance of that? I
think that we first have to explore what His name really is. We often
refer to Him simply as “Jesus Christ” as if “Jesus” was His first name
and “Christ” was His last name. But that is not at all the case.
Since Jesus was assumed by friends and relatives to be the Son of
Joseph, chances are that if He had a last name, He probably would have
been known as “Yeshua ben-Yosef.” In reality, “Jesus” is the Savior’s
name and “Christ” is His title. In speaking of Him by name it would
far more accurate for us to say “Jesus, the Christ.” On the calendar
of the church year New Year’s Day is the Circumcision of our Lord,
when the Savior, in accordance with the Old Testament Law, received
His name. As we prepare this evening to enter a new year in His name,
let’s spend these moments in His Word examining both His name and His
title.
“Jesus” is in fact a form of the name “Joshua,” who, you will
remember, was the successor to Moses in leading God’s Old Testament
people into the promised land. In the language of Jesus’ time and
place, the name probably would have been pronounced “Yeshua.” The
name means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is Salvation.” That’s why the
angel had explained to Joseph in a dream that Mary’s Child would be
called Jesus, “for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew
1:21). How appropriate that name is for this Child, since it is in
the Person of Jesus that God has saved sinners and restored them as
His children, as we read in the apostle Paul’s second letter to the
church at Corinth: “In Christ God was reconciling the world to
Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). That’s why the name of Jesus is
precious to the believer--because, for the believer, Jesus is God’s
Forgiveness--His Acceptance--His Salvation.
The text before us makes mention of the significance of this name
“Jesus.” We are told that this was “the name given by the angel
before He was conceived in the womb.” In fact it was on two separate
occasions that an angel of the Lord let it be known what this Child’s
name was to be. At the annunciation to Mary, the angel Gabriel told
her: You shall call His name Jesus” (Luke 1:31), and Joseph, as he
contemplated a quiet divorce, had a dream in which an unnamed angel
gave him the same instruction. The naming of Jesus, like His
circumcision, is another indication that the Savior was subject to the
Law and will of God in every respect. One of the things that had to
be done to win our salvation was the perfect fulfillment of the
Law--right down to the last detail. So even at the tender age of
eight days Jesus is already beginning His work of redemption by being
obedient to His Father’s every command.
Now what about the other name--the title “Christ”? “Christ” is
derived from the word , which is the Greek translation of the
Hebrew word jycm, which means “Messiah.” The title means “the
Anointed One” and it indicates that Jesus is the One who has been
commissioned by God to bring salvation to the world. In the same way
that the Old Testament kings were anointed with oil to symbolize that
they were God’s choice, the Savior has been anointed with the Holy
Spirit without measure for the work that He came to do. The ancient
prophets for centuries had spoken in hope about the Messiah who would
come. They longed for His coming to deliver His people from the
darkness and hopelessness of their sin. They had prophesied that He
was to be born of a virgin in the city of Bethlehem and that He would
grow up to preach Good News to the poor and heal the sick and comfort
the afflicted. He would also be the suffering Servant of the Lord,
who would bear the brunt of God’s righteous anger against sin. In all
of this, so the prophets said, the coming Messiah would atone for
human sin and bring about peace between the holy God and sinful man.
Everything that the prophets had hoped for has now become blessed
reality in the One who we know as Jesus, the Christ. He who has come
is indeed the Christ--the Messiah--the Anointed One. In everything
that He has said and done, He has revealed God to us. He is indeed
God in human flesh. In Christ we see God living in our world:
submitting to His own Law, resisting temptation, healing the sick,
raising the dead, forgiving sinners, bringing hope to the hopeless,
and finally offering Himself as the sacrificial Offering to make
atonement for the sin of the world. His resurrection from the grave
assures us that He is the One and that everything that He has done has
truly brought about reconciliation between perfect God and sinful man
once and for all.
So what’s in a name? I suppose that depends, to a great extent, on
the name in question. In the name of Jesus, the Christ, we find a joy
that will be with us long after the fleeting celebrations of the
holiday season are over--a confidence that will carry us boldly not
only into the new year but into every year that follows. He gives us
the joy of forgiveness--the knowledge that we have in God not an angry
Judge but a loving Father who cares about us and who will be with us
every day in this new year in all the years to come to work out His
good and gracious will in us and for us and through us. His Spirit,
working through the Gospel, will lead us to know this and to live each
day confident in His grace and love.
Amen.
May the true Light which enlightens everyone, which has come into the
world, shining brightly in the darkness, be your very life. And may
the Word become flesh, Jesus Christ Himself, continue to make known to
you His redeeming grace and truth now and always. He who calls you is
faithful, and He will do it. Amen.