Christmas 2024: The Name that Saves

“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)

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12, NASB)

Jesus was not an uncommon name in Biblical times. It still isn’t, even though most will think of the same Jesus when they hear the name.

Back in Jesus Christ’s time, salvation was so longed for that the people named their children after it. Jesus meaning in simple terms, “God saves.” But when the angel came to Mary and Joseph, they both received the same name, and it was an indication of the work God was doing through this baby King.

Even before His birth, the title of Prince of Peace, Savior, and Christ was claimed. He was the One who God appointed to save His people. He was the One that would die for our sins. That purpose wasn’t hidden. It was given to Joseph in Matthew chapter 1: “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

The method of salvation may not have been made known to us, but it was sovereignly known by God. Jesus knew it, being part of the Godhead. And only Jesus would be able to carry out that plan for redeeming us from our sins. Only He would be able to take on the sins of the world. To become sin Himself and to be the sacrifice that would once and for all forgive the sins of all who turn to Him and believe. 

Only the Son of God, born as man, would have the ability and the holiness to be able to accomplish what needed to be done on the cross and in the grave. Only God made man could resurrect from the finality of death and then turn around and share that renewed life with us. 

“He shall do all the work,” writes Charles Spurgeon. “And leave none of it undone; He shall begin it, carry it out, and complete it; and therefore is his name called Jesus, because he shall fully, entirely, and perfectly, save his people from their sins. The name Jesus has been, in a minor sense, has been applied to others aforetime; but now, henceforth, no one else may wear it since there is no other Saviour but Christ the Lord.”

In short, there could be a million men named Jesus walking the face of the earth, but only one has the power to save. Only one could begin to do that work and shoulder it.

Acts 4 states it simply: Salvation could only come from one person. There is no one else under heaven or born to mankind that could save us but Him. And only one could bear that name with all the grace, mercy, and power that our Lord does.

Today, let’s ponder that name. Let’s meditate on it and think about it in our hearts. Consider the baby in the manger, how His name is the sum of all creation hoped for and the subject of all its worship. This child that came to be with us, to teach us, to love us, and to die for us. This God that took it upon Himself to live amongst us and give us a way back to the Father. 

His name is Jesus. He is the only One who could bear the name and prove to the world that God does save. That name is the greatest gift we have ever received, because we were the least deserving recipient. We weren’t worthy to know Him, let alone be chosen or saved by Him. 

That name is a promise to us. We look upon the baby in the manger, and we can be assured that God has come to save.