‘What is in a name?’ (Matthew 1:20-21)

 

Caroline is the female of ‘Charles’ and means ‘free woman’ (do with that what you may).  I used to tell my children that ‘Paul’ means ‘courageous warrior’ but they knew that it means ‘small’.  ‘Jesus’ is the Greek form of Joshua, and means ‘Yahweh/Jehovah saves.’  It is a name loaded with significance.

What does it mean to be saved?

The angel addresses Joseph as ‘son of David’.  Like all Jews at that time Joseph was looking for a king from the line of King David.  But the hope of that people was not a king who would free them from sin, but free them from the occupying Romans.  No one seems to be thinking of rescue from sin, even though the Old Testament had pointed to it in so many ways.  The angel’s words echo Psalm 130:8, ‘He Himself will redeem Israel from their sins’.

The online dictionary, Merrion-Webster, defines ‘sin’ as ‘an offense against a religious or moral law’.  That is inadequate!  Sin is primarily an offense against a person: God.  Sin comes from within, and it shows that there is something wrong with our hearts.

Sin is rooted in rebellion, ‘I will not live under the loving rule of God.’  Sin is rooted in pride, ‘I know better than you how to live my life.’  Sin is rooted in ingratitude, ‘I will not thank God for all that He has done for me.’  Sin is rooted in self, it is self-righteousness, selfish and self-centred.  Sin is rooted in apathy, ‘I do not care about the death of Jesus.’

Sin has cut us off from God.  Sin leaves us condemned, and the objects of God’s holy anger.

Yet, in His incalculable love, Jesus came so that we can be forgiven and free from the condemnation and power of sin.

That is what it means to be saved!

How does Jesus save us from our sin?

In chapter nineteen of this gospel, a young moral man approaches Jesus.  Without any sense of shame or hypocrisy he can talk about all the religious laws that he keeps.  Like everyone in our society, he bases his hope before God on the idea that ‘I am a good person.’ Yet his conscience is uneasy.  In his heart he does not believe it.  Jesus bursts his self-righteous bubble, ‘no-one is good but God alone.’  There are no amount of rules that we can keep that will put us right with God.

Yahweh/Jehovah saves people from their sin because we are completely incapable of saving ourselves.  Tim Keller points out that while traditional religion says, ‘obey God and he will love you’, Jesus teaches us to accept God’s free gift of Love and you will want to change.  If you have lost the desire to become more like Jesus it is probably because you have lost the wonder of the gospel. 

But how does Yahweh/Jehovah save us in Jesus?  Matthew records Jesus’ words, ‘even the Son of man [Jesus] did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many’ (Matthew 20:28).  A ransom is a price paid to set some one free—like paying a price to free a slave.  What price was paid for our guilt?  Jesus Himself!  On the cross of Calvary we see Jesus taking the punishment we deserve.

Who are His people who will be saved?

‘For He will save His people from their sins’ (21).  Remember Psalm 130:8, ‘He Himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.’  As a Jew Joseph might first have thought of His people the Israel.  But while God worked through that people in the Old Testament, you will see that many of that people were not in a loving relationship with God, there were people who were not Israelites who were found by God, and God repeatedly spoke of His desire to bless people from all over the world.

When a Roman centurion shows faith that was sadly lacking among the Jews of that day, Jesus declares, many will come from east and west, and will take their place at the feast with Abram, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 8:11).  At the end of Matthew’s gospel Jesus commissions His disciples to go to all the nations with the good news (Matthew 28:20).

Then there is another surprise about His people, which I will mention tonight.  By and large the traditionally religious people didn’t want Jesus.  In their pride they wanted to earn a place in heaven.  The so-called thugs and scumbags flocked to Him.  Jesus outlined His mission statement saying, ‘I have not come to call the righteous but sinners’ (Matthew 9:12).

I remember talking to a friend of mine, Ronnie.  Ronnie told me that his wife and his son were Christians.  I asked him whether he had thought of becoming a Christian.  He replied, ‘I am not the type.’  I think Ronnie would have been surprised to see who were Jesus’ type.

Climax:

Tim Keller writes, ‘The gospel says that you are simultaneously more sinful and flawed than you dared believe, yet more loved and accepted than you dared hope.’  The thing that I find interesting is that quote is taken from his book on marriage.  You see this gospel is to have a profound affect on how we relate to other people.

You might be able to give me a really good definition of the good news of Jesus, but is it being lived out in your relationships?

Are you defensive?  Do you keep people at arm’s length?  Do you struggle to forgive?  Are you easily insulted?  Are you critical and demanding?  Do you hurt people with your words?  Then our problem is a gospel problem. 

When we see God’s love in Jesus, we will become more loving.  When we experience His kindness and patience, we will become less critical.  When we know His forgiveness, we will have the power to forgive.  When we see that He reaches the least and the last, we become less proud.   When we rejoice in His mercy, we will be kind.   

We never move on from the gospel.  We simply grow deeper in it.