City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

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

Commentary

In reading Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth over the last two days, the sentence that keeps drawing my attention is, “…and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” This statement drew my attention because it speaks of the importance of God’s message to humanity, Jesus’ humanity, and God’s sovereignty. 

If you are a movie buff, you are aware of the importance of names in movies. The names given the characters are almost always intended to contribute the message of the movie by providing us information about the person’s character or his purpose. Some examples include Luke Skywalker (Star Wars), Gordon Gekko (Wall Street), and Snake Plissken (Escape from New York). Here, the Lord, the Great Auteur of history, tells Joseph to name the baby, “Jesus.” Jesus was the Greek variation of Joshua, which means, “The Lord is salvation.” The angel of the Lord confirms this when he told Joseph the reason for the name: “because he will save his people from their sins.” In commanding the name to be used, the Lord wanted to make sure we understood that salvation was through Jesus, and not because of our works.

The name the Lord required Joseph give to the baby also speaks to Jesus’ humanity—Jesus was a human name already in Israel. The Lord did not tell Joseph to name the baby Thor, or Zeus, or Jupiter or some other otherworldly name but a human name further emphasizing the reality of the incarnation, that Jesus was fully God but also fully man. 

This passage also demonstrates the sovereignty of God. It has always amazed me how God is so hands-off in the exercise of His sovereignty. He is not a micromanager. In fact, this is non-Christians’ most popular criticism of God, which manifests in accusations like “If God is good, then why does he allow ….” or in its most extreme form, “God is dead.” Yet while God gives us great reign in our lives, He is still sovereignty. So, when we see God intervene in history by way of an angel to ensure the incarnate God is properly named among humanity, we should take note.

Application

This Christmas, as you read the Christmas story, embrace the message of the Gospel, the humanity of Jesus, and the sovereignty of God. It is what makes for peace on earth and good news for mankind.

Prayer

Lord, we praise You for Your sovereignty, Jesus’ humanity, and the message embodied in the history of the birth of Jesus. Amen.