Called by Name

Matthew 1:21–She will bear a Son and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He will save His people from their sin. (NASB)

Our neighbors call their dog Fluffy. This sounds reasonable, until you know that the dog is not a poodle, but a dachshund! Names create expectations, tell us about a person and create pictures in our minds. For example the Bible explains that the first woman was called ‘Eve‘because she was mother of all living. “Moses’ means ‘drawn out of the water’, and disciples were first called ‘Christians’ in Antioch.

What kind of mind picture do we have of the Son of God? Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew word, Joshua, meaning Savior. There is power in the name of Jesus!  Philippians 2:10 says every knee must bow at his name. It can be now, by choice or else, at the time of the great judgment, it will be by compulsion.

John 3:16-18–For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already; because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God (NRSV).

Prayer: Oh God, of tenderness and love, you are also a God who must judge a people and a world full of sin. Help us make the best decision of our life right now, and not wait till it‘s too late. Amen