JULY 16, 2015
A Given Name
Read:
Matthew
1:18-25
She
will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His
people from their sins.— Matthew 1: 21
Most families have their own family stories. One in our family
has to do with how I got my name. Apparently, when my parents were in the early
days of their marriage, they disagreed about what to name their first son. Mom
wanted a son named after Dad, but Dad wasn’t interested in naming a son
“Junior.” After much discussion, they reached a compromise, agreeing that only
if a son was born on Dad’s birthday would he be given Dad’s name. Amazingly, I
was born on my dad’s birthday. So I was given his name with a “Junior” attached
to it.
The naming of children is as old as time. As Joseph wrestled
with the news that his fiancée, Mary, was pregnant, the angel brought him
insight from the Father about naming the Baby: “She will bring forth a Son, and
you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins”
(Matt. 1:21). Not only would Jesus be His name, but it would also explain the
reason for His coming into the world: To take on Himself the punishment we
deserve for our sin. His redemptive purpose behind the manger is wrapped up in
the perfectly given Name above all names.
May our heart’s desire be to live in a way that honors His
wonderful name!
Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son to rescue us from sin
and bring us into relationship with You.
Jesus: His name and His mission are one and the
same.
INSIGHT:
The Bible contains
more than 200 names for Jesus. In today’s passage we see two of them—Jesus and
Immanuel—both drawn from the Old Testament. Jesus, the Greek form of the Hebrew
word Joshua, means “the Lord saves” and describes what He came to do: “He will
save His people from their sins” (v. 21). This phrase comes from Psalm 130:7-8
where Israel is encouraged to “put [their] hope in the Lord. . . . He himself
will redeem Israel from all their sins” (niv). Immanuel is an Old Testament
name mentioned in the prophecy of Isaiah (7:14; 8:8) and describes His nature:
He is “God with us” (Matt. 1:23).
Source: Our Daily Bread 2015
