THE NAME OF JESUS BY ANGEL TO JOSEPH AND MARY.
As we had just passed 25 December which is Christmas Day. We would like to have your attention to the words of Angel Gabriel to Mary and Joseph.
From the two biblical account in Matthew and Luke, the angels who visited Mary and Joseph told them both that the baby’s name would be Jesus. What is the significance of these event? Why can’t Joseph and Mary name their baby as they would like, similar to all other parents in the world? Name is very special to a person. Especially in those days, name contains meaning. Even in many cultures nowadays, the name of a child has a meaning behind it. It represent the aspirations and the expectations from the parents of this baby. The name can also point out a certain character expected of the baby or any functions, job, duties that are expected of this baby. So the angel by giving a specific name to Joseph and Mary had indications and meanings that we can learn together. Let’s explore it one by one.
In Matthew 1: 20-23, Joseph was instructed by the angel to name the baby as Jesus, as he (Jesus) will save his people from their sins. And Matthew was quick to add in the following verse that this name of Jesus was to fulfil what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet that the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call His name Immanuel. Jesus, Emmanuel, the God who is with us—that is who this Jesus is. The creator fully participating in His creation. As Eugene Peterson put it, this Jesus “moved into the neighbourhood.” I love that thought! But it’s more than just God coming near and closing the geographical gap. Even as far back as is recorded in Exodus 3:6, Moses learned that God desires to be known as the God of the people. With God, it’s always been way more personal, more relational, than we might first have anticipated. He has always been a “with-us” kind of God. Isaiah recorded something specific about this “with-us” characteristic of God (Isaiah 7). Isaiah seems to suggest that God makes His “with-us” quality particularly well known by His people during times of trial and hardship—and even more specifically, while His people are experiencing the consequences of judgment for their own sin and failures. Yes, that is right. While God is disciplining them, He is close to them, He is with them. Like the most amazing Father, He truly disciplines those He loves. It is during these “worst of times” hardships that it is good to belong to the very present, “with-us” God who generously provides His comfort.
Isaiah’s conception of Emmanuel does not end there. There is a second understanding of this expression. This “with-us” quality of God is an indicator of a hopeful and certain future. God’s “with-us” character actually ensures our victory and survival through the difficult times. God’s enduring presence and faithfulness to His people is the best and only guarantee of a hope and a future. This promise of a life to be lived in complete and unhindered oneness with Jesus will indeed be the culmination of these best of times. It is during these “best of times” that it is also good to belong to the very present, “with-us” God who generously provides His joy. This season, as we are celebrating the First Advent of Jesus, we are demonstrating that we indeed belong to a “with-us” kind of God. So, this Christmas, I want to encourage you all to be comforted and joy-filled because of our certain, secured future hope in Jesus.
Next, what about the angel’s word to Mary? We read that in Luke 1: 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” This sayings has so many wonderful meanings that need to be unpacked. Mary as a devout Jewish woman would certainly understand the full extent of the meaning behind the angel’s sayings. Let’s do it line by line:
1. V32a: He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Greek term that Luke use for “Most High” is the one employed in the LXX to translate the Hebrew saying of The Most High God. This is a way of saying that He is the Son of God. Since a son bear his father’s qualities, calling a person someone else’s son was a way of signifying equality. So here the angel was telling Mary that her son would be equal to The Most High God!!
2. V32b: And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. Jesus was David’s physical descendant through Mary’s line. David’s throne was emblematic of the messianic kingdom. Angel was telling Mary that this child will be the fulfilment of the Davidic covenant promises. This sayings will definitely point Jewish people to 2 Samuel 7 : 13 – 16 which read as follows :
13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he does wrong, I will discipline him with a rod of men and with strokes of sons of mankind, 15 but My favour shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from you. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall endure before [a]Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.
David was and always be one of the greatest king in the history of ancient Israel. Even for people during Joseph and Mary’s time. Imagine how shocked, surprised, honourable and encouraging is this sayings to Mary. That she will conceive and gave birth to her child that will inherit the throne of David the great king. The great promises to David that was so familiar to Mary will be fulfilled by God of Israel through the child that she was going to bear and deliver!!
3. V33: And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and His kingdom will have no end. This final sayings from the angel will have complete the awe of Mary. That her child will be ultimate ruler of all Israel forever. Not just that but His kingdom will have no end means the eternal permanence of this child’s rule over all. This sayings are also similar to what the prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 9 : 6 -7 which read as follows :
For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of armies will accomplish this.
Let the significance of what it means by the name of Jesus sunk into our heart, mind and life. God that incarnate into a human baby thousand years ago are known by the name of Jesus. Although he came as fulfilment of the prophecies of old, but when He was walking on the earth, He was unlike any other king. He seek the lost, the sinners. He healed many people’s sicknesses and chase demons out. He fed thousands of people. He always reached out to the poor and marginalized peoples, to social outcasts. His closest disciples are ordinary man with ordinary job and occupations. This is the Messiah that finally died to give eternal life to us. It’s always exciting to name a new baby. But no other baby had such a powerful, exciting, world-changing name as the one who was “Jesus who is called the Messiah” (Matthew 1:16). What a thrill for us to be able to “call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:2)! There’s no other name that saves (Acts 4:12).