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, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21 NIV)
Mary didn’t get to name her Son. Have you ever noticed that in the Christmas story? Mary didn’t get any say in naming her Son. Can you imagine being at the hospital, giving birth to a child, and having the nurses bring him back to you and say, “Oh, by the way, his name is Rumpelstiltskin. Hope you like it!” Or, “Here’s your daughter. Hope you don’t mind that we picked out a name for her. It’s Cleopatra!” You know how special names are. The names of the children up here in front this morning carry special meaning for their parents. But Mary didn’t get to name her Son.
There’s a pretty simple explanation: In those days, fathers got the final say on naming their kids. That’s the way it was. So it made sense for Joseph to name the Baby. Except, Joseph didn’t get to pick out the name either. Know why? He wasn’t the father. Who was really the father of Mary’s Baby? God. So who was supposed to pick out the Baby’s name? God. As the Father, that’s exactly what God did. He picked out the Child’s name and had his angel tell both Joseph and Mary: “You are to give him the name Jesus.” What would the Baby’s name be? Jesus.
For those of you who were here last week, we talked about this. You can remember back to last week, can’t you? We talked about what the name “Jesus” means. Remember? I’ll give you three options: A) God is good! B) The LORD saves! C) Boomer Sooner. Which one do you think it is? B) The LORD saves! The name “Jesus” comes from Hebrew. It means: “The LORD saves.”
I hope that name brings you joy every time you hear it: “Jesus.” For us, Jesus is a special name. Most people don’t name their kids “Jesus.” But Jesus was a common name in Jesus’ day. There were a lot of Jesuses around. There are four other people named “Jesus” in the New Testament. Jesus is the Greek way to say the Hebrew name “Joshua.” Someone with lots of time researched and found that the name “Joshua” or “Jesus” was the 6th most common boys name at the time of Jesus. God didn’t choose the name “Jesus” because it was popular. God chose it because of what it means. “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
That implies something: You and I need a Savior from our sins. Are you willing to admit that? Joseph seemed to get it. He didn’t say to the angel, “What sins?” or “Save whom?” He knew. “Save me!” Later in this gospel of Mathew, Jesus says, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick…. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:12-13). When do you go to the doctor? When you’re sick! When you’re healthy, you don’t think about doctors at all. But when you’re sick, doctors are sure nice to have. If you think you’re pretty good, you won’t think about Jesus at all. But if you see your sins, it sure is wonderful to have a Savior.
I’m concerned that Christians are forgetting what Jesus came to do. When you hear people talk about Jesus at Christmas, do you hear them say, “he will save his people from their sins”? I heard a new Christmas song on the radio this week. Its refrain goes like this: “We need a little help, we need Emmanuel.” That’s how we talk about Jesus, isn’t it? We need a little help now and then. There are days we can’t quite make it on our own. “We need a little help, we need Emmanuel.” Hold on. What if you told your spouse today, “You’re a little help.” How would he or she react? “Are you kidding me? Really? A little help? Is that all?” But isn’t that how we talk about Jesus?
Notice what the angel didn’t say. He didn’t say, “You will call him, ‘Teacher.’” Or, “You will call him, ‘Coach.’” Or, “He will be a really nice role model.” That’s what we want to believe. Because if Jesus is a teacher or a coach or a role model, that means that inside me is all the potential to fix the problems of this world. All I need is a little help: a little coaching. A good example. Some inspiration. But do you know what the Bible teaches? Inside me isn’t the potential to fix the problems of this world. Inside me is the sin that is the problem of this world. I don’t need another good example I can’t follow. I need a Savior from my sins! You do too.
That makes me think of Balto. Have you heard the story of the dog Balto? In January 1925, a diphtheria epidemic swept through the town of Nome, Alaska. Dozens of children were deathly sick. They needed more than a little help. They needed to be saved! They were helpless. Their parents were helpless. Even the doctor in Nome was helpless. He needed one certain medicine. But there was a problem. That medicine was stuck in another town miles and miles away. A blizzard prevented any planes or trains from flying. It was 23 below zero! So a man took his sled dog team, led by Balto, and charged through the blizzard in the middle of night. They got the medicine, delivered it back to Nome, and the children were saved! Do you think they said, “Balto was a little help.” No! There is a statue of Balto in New York City today! He saved them.
Remember what Jesus said? “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick…. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:12-13). Advent is like a checkup at the doctor. It’s a time to get on the scale and see what it really says. It’s a time to check your bloodwork. It’s a time to see what you really look like spiritually. We’re sick. We’re sick with sin. We don’t need a little coaching. We need a Savior from our sins! That’s why Advent is a time of repentance. A time to say, “God, have mercy on me a sinner.” Like a sick child lying flat in bed, we desperately need God’s medicine to save us. A little help? No, we need a Savior.
I once shared this story with an elderly man at Christmastime. I read right up to the line, “He will save his people from their sins.” Before I could continue, the man said, “That is so good. A Savior! I have a Savior. That is so good!” I said, “Yeah, I need a Savior too.” And he looked at me and said, “You don’t understand. You’re less than half as old as I am. (He said he was 201!) I really need a Savior. This is such good news. I have a Savior!” That man didn’t leave his nursing home for Christmas, but that’s okay. He had everything he needed in Jesus—his Savior!
If you miss that Jesus came to save his people from their sins, you miss the heart of Christmas. “Joy to the world,” we’re going to sing. Except you look around and say, “What joy? In this world? I don’t see it!” We’ll sing, “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright.” “Huh? What planet are you on? Calm? Holy? Where?” Only in Jesus. Joy in Jesus our Savior. Peace in Jesus our Savior. That’s the heart of Christmas: Jesus came to save his people from their sins.
As I was studying Jesus’ name, I came across something I’d never heard before. I said there are four other people named Jesus in the New Testament. One of those is surprising. There are some ancient copies of the Bible that say that Jesus was also the first name of Barabbas (Matthew 27:16). Remember who Barabbas was? The murderer on death row at the time of Jesus’ death. Pontius Pilate asked the people who should be released. Jesus Barabbas or Jesus Christ. I’m not sure if Jesus was really Barabbas’ first name, but what Jesus did for him is absolutely true. That man deserved death and damnation, but Jesus stepped into his place and died for his sins and let him go free. Jesus the Savior died so that the murderer could go free. “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” That’s Jesus. Our Savior.
Jesus didn’t come down to show you the steps you have to take to get up to heaven. Jesus came down and made himself into the steps to carry you up to heaven. Jesus is the steps to heaven! He’s not your teacher. He is the Way! Jesus didn’t come to give you some pointers on avoiding sin in your life. Jesus came to take all your sins away by dying for you on the cross. He isn’t your coach. He’s your Savior. Jesus doesn’t wait for you to be good. He comes to us even when we are mad and bad and sad and anything but glad to give us forgiveness and joy and peace. If there’s ever any doubt. Just remember his name: Jesus. He will save his people from their sins.
Why? Because God loves you dearly. I hope you take to heart what our children shared with us this morning. It’s not just for children. Actually, I think big kids need to hear it even more. God loves you dearly! Big kids face bigger struggles and bigger challenges and bigger temptations. But you can know this: “God loves me dearly, loves even me.” God the Father had one chance to name his Son. And he chose the perfect name: Jesus. “Savior.” Because he loves you dearly.
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