1. It is a Name Acquired as the Son


        1. He Was Named By the Father
          1. The name "Jesus" is unique in the entire world – to say it is to find comfort; to hear it is to find sobriety.
          2. In this passage, this most lofty of names is given to a commoner – a carpenter named Joseph – demonstrating that it is not a name to be monopolized by kings and priests, but is available to all men.
          3. The first issue of import in the text is that the angel declared: "You shall call His name Jesus" – demonstrating that this specific name was brought down from Heaven and given to men.
          4. Jesus had many other titles and offices, but the name Jesus was given to Him by none other than His Father – the Almighty God of Heaven
          5. In that the Father knows Him best, it is the most appropriate name possible for Him to bear – cp. Luke 10:22.
          6. When we bring before the Father the name of Jesus, we bring Him back His own word – and appeal to Him by virtue of what He himself has done in providing us His Son.
        2. He Was Named For a Function
          1. The name given to the Son of God by the Father is "Jesus" – literally meaning "Savior" – and thus is explained by the angel: "for He will save His people from their sins."
          2. In Hebrew, the name Jesus is "Joshua" and means "the salvation of the Lord," or "the Lord of salvation."
          3. The reason the Father in Heaven chose the name "Jesus" for His Son is because this is what He would do "save His people from their sins."
          4. In giving it to His Son, God guarantees the success of the Savior – salvation is what He must bring or God becomes a liar.
          5. This name allows us to see the heart of God toward His Son: why He sent Him, what He meant for Him to do, and the sole means by which the Son could bring glory to the Father – by fulfilling the name He had been given!


      2. It is a Name Accepted by Sinners


        1. His Name Identifies Him With His People
          1. The angel clearly states: "For He shall save His people from their sins."
          2. "His people" are those who are His own, who personally belong to Him, given to Him by the Father.
          3. Who are these ones? - Well, it would necessarily refer immediately to the Jewish people, but would also have to describe all those who are written on the heart and hands of the Savior.
          4. Thus, it refers to those who prove to be the elect by means of their redemption – certainly the salvation provided by "Jesus" is sufficient for every man in the world, but is efficient only for those who believe – cp. John 1:12.
          5. Notice that He did not come on a needless errand; nor did He undertake an unnecessary work.
          6. He did not come to save men from becoming sinners, but to "save His people from their sin."
          7. "The first link between my soul and Christ is, not my goodness, but my badness; not my merit, but my misery; not my standing, but my falling; not my riches, but my need. He comes to visit his people, yet not to admire their beauties, but to remove their deformities; not to reward their virtues, but to forgive their sins.".
        1. His Name Identifies Him For His People
          1. By those who are so delivered, the name "Jesus" is fully accepted for what He is, the Savior of men from their sin.
          2. Those who do not know Him as "Jesus" – the Savior – do not know Him at all.
          3. Such men and women will call on Jesus as the great Messiah or Christ, commissioned by God to exhibit a great example of a pure code of morality, but refuse to endure Him as a Savior, redeeming us by His blood.
          4. Such ones reject the notion that it is by His stripes that they will be healed of the soul-sickness of sin from which they suffer.
          5. Yet, because of the grace of God, He has certainly and definitively identified His Son as "Jesus" – the Savior from the curse of sin.


      1. It is a Name Affirmed Through Salvation


        1. His Name Is Appropriate
          1. The angel revealed to Joseph: "Thou shall call His name Jesus, for He will save" – His name was directly linked to what He would do.
          2. Consider the fact that without salvation, there is no Jesus.
          3. His very name is a sham if he does not save his people from their sins!
          4. Thus, it is the sweetest name – the name that is above every name – the name that banishes fear by serving as the beginning of hope and the end of despair.
        2. His Name is Accomplished
          1. This is a name that has proven to be well-deserved – for He does deliver men from their sin.
          2. Consider those who once were immersed in sin, rolling in the muck of degeneracy; but are now "washed and sanctified and justified all in the name of Jesus"
          3. It is Jesus who has washed us clean, who has lifted us up and set our feet on solid ground. He is "Jesus" indeed!
          4. "O ye sinners, I mean real sinners, not you that call yourself so because you are told you are such, but you who feel yourselves to be guilty before God, here is good news for you. . . . Go to him as sinners, call him ‘Jesus,’ and cry, ‘O Lord Jesus, be Jesus to me, for I need thy salvation.’ Doubt not that he will fulfill his own name and exhibit his power in you. Only confess to him your sin, and he will save you from it. Only believe in him, and he will be your salvation."