And His Name Shall Be...

By Danny Saavedra

“And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”—Luke 1:30–33 (ESV)

“‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.’”—Matthew 1:20–23 (ESV)

What’s the first thing you learn about someone when you’re introduced to them? Their name! Why? Because names help us remember people, to identify them, and to know who we’re communicating with or referring to. Here, we’re at the moment when God's plan of redemption reaches a paradigm-shift with the announcement of the coming King.

First, there’s Mary. Aside from being a descendent of David, she didn’t come from a wealthy family, nor was she considered great among the people. But we’re told she was highly favored by God. Then, there was Joseph, a carpenter from Nazareth who was also a descendent of David. What do we know about him? Well, Matthew 1:19 (NLT) tells us he was a “righteous man.”

So, what can we surmise about the two of them? Both Mary and Joseph, like their forefather David, were people after God’s heart, humble servants who loved the Lord and trusted Him.

Now, as you can imagine, it couldn’t have been easy for a teenage girl who became pregnant before her wedding and a young man who would be mocked and criticized for marrying her. But both obeyed whole-heartedly and without hesitation. Why? Because of the name they were both told by the angel, the name they were instructed to give this child.

To Mary, the angel said, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (emphasis added). To Joseph, he said, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (emphasis added).

So now, we circle back to where we started today: the name Jesus, which means “Yahweh saves, delivers, rescues.” As the Gospels unfold, we discover that this child couldn’t have had a more perfect name, because it would become increasingly clear that He was the Son of God who had come from heaven to save the world!

Save what? Today’s passage above spells it out for us: “He will save his people from their sins.” The name Jesus (Hebrew: Yeshua) wasn’t randomly pulled out of a hat. It was specifically and deliberately chosen to identify God’s Son, because His birth, life, death, and resurrection were all about the salvation He would provide for those who have sinned. Salvation is who Jesus is and what Jesus does.

Maybe you’ve never thought about it this way, but every time we say the name Jesus, it’s a declaration of what He’s all about. When we speak His name, we also declare His earthly mission and His eternal passion to save. He’s the God who isn’t interested in serving Himself, but in saving others! But despite not deserving to be saved, He has saved us. The Savior has come—not because of who we are, but simply because that’s who He is. And there’s no stronger exclamation mark of God’s heart to save than the name of Jesus!

Another important part of following God is obeying His command to serve! Making service a daily habit can look like finding ways to love people around you simply and consistently through both your words and actions. Reach out to the person you prayed for on Day 3 and ask how you can pray for them. Pray together over the phone or through a voice message!