Advent: Born to Dwell With Bible Study FellowshipSample

Call Him Jesus

The angel continues God’s message with further instructions about what Joseph is to do when Mary gives birth: “You are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Jewish name Joshua, meaning Yahweh is salvation or The LORD is salvation.

In Scripture’s record of Israel’s history, God used Moses to free the nation from slavery in Egypt. After their journey in the wilderness, God chose Joshua to lead the nation across the Jordan River and into God’s Promised Land. Jesus’ work is far greater. Jesus Christ came to “save his people from their sins.” He leads us from death to life.

Isaiah’s Prophecy

In verses 22-23, Matthew links the angel’s message to Old Testament prophecy. He already alluded to this prophetic connection to the virgin birth in verse 16 of the genealogy, “and … Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.” Here, Matthew quotes directly from Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel!”

Matthew connects God’s promises to their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Our Savior’s Advent fulfills God’s eternal plan and proves God’s faithfulness to His character, His will, and His Word. The name Immanuel points to God’s person and His presence with us. As with many other names ascribed to Jesus, this name is true, but it is not the given name He was to be known by. Even greater, His given name Jesus points everyone, all the time, to God’s work: God the Son came in human form to save his people from their sins.

Do you know you need to be saved? God the Son came as a Savior to redeem people from sin. Jesus rescues God’s people from a lost and hopeless condition. Consequently, believers can boldly and gratefully proclaim they have been “saved.”

Jesus is the promised Messiah, anointed and appointed to rule and reign over all nations on the earth.

• He commands legions of angels. (1)
• All authority in heaven and on earth resides in Him (Matthew 28:18).
• Jesus saves Jews and Gentiles. He makes us one. (2)

Through faith in Christ, people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation can become a part of God’s own family and His new humanity. (3) Will you pause and pray to God, praising Him for Immanuel, God with us? How will you thank God for the truths the Bible’s Advent story reveals and makes available to you?

Questions

1. What two names did God give to Mary’s Son? What does each name mean?
2. What do both aspects of Jesus’ person—His deity and His humanity—mean to you?
3. Read John 3:17, Acts 4:12, and Romans 10:9. What does the word “saved” mean to you?

Related verses:

1. Commands angels: Matt 26:53
2. Unity in Jesus: Eph 2:11-18
3. God’s new humanity: John 20:31; Gal 4:4-7; 1 John 3:1-2; 5:11-21