When we list the names of God, we usually have in mind the ethereal Father God. He is YHWH and El Shaddai and an assortment of other names that describe His character. But the incarnate God, the babe in the manger, was also given a revealing name. We use it so frequently that it is easy to forget the deep meaning it has, the hope that is attached to it. Jesus, or in the Hebrew, Joshua (or Yeshua), means God saves or God is Salvation.
“She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
Jesus’ name tells us Who He is. He is God, come to save. When people called His name, they were literally affirming the salvation He would bring. I wonder if when Jesus heard His name He thought about the cost.
Jesus, the infant, the God who humbled Himself to leave glory. God saves.
Jesus, the man, who taught us how to live. God saves.
Jesus, the sacrifice, who defeated death. God saves.
I believe in Jesus. I believe God saves. There is power in His name, it declares Truth. He is salvation, for me and for all who call on His Holy name. Blessed be the name of Jesus.
And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:8-11
