The Precious Name of Jesus

The Precious Name of Jesus
Monday, December 09, 2019
by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”

Luke 1:30–33

When Gabriel announced to Mary that she would be the mother of the Messiah, he told her to name Him Jesus, which means “Jehovah is our Saviour.” There was no question or doubt from the beginning regarding the purpose behind Jesus coming into the world. He did many wonderful things and taught many wonderful truths, but the driving motivation behind the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ was the salvation of the lost.

There is no way we can fully comprehend the majesty, glory, and wonder of the Lord. Human minds and human words fail to even begin to praise Him as He deserves. We are simply not up to the task. Billy Sunday said, “There are two hundred and fifty-six names given in the Bible for the Lord Jesus Christ, and I suppose this was because He was infinitely beyond all that any one name could express.” He is worthy of all praise.

The name of Jesus is the power of the gospel message. When Peter was told to stop preaching about Jesus, he replied, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The world may treat the name of Jesus as a curse word or a punch line, or use it almost like punctuation. But it is a lovely and precious name, and we should never take it lightly.

Today's Growth Principle:
The very name of Jesus contains God’s promise of salvation for those who trust in Him.

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And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger. --Luke 2:7 I still marvel at the simplicity of Christ’s birth. Think about this … the God of the universe decided to send His only Son to Earth, and He decided to do it in the most humble way possible.  The earthly mother of the child would be a simple girl from a small town in a small country occupied by the oppressive Roman Empire. The earthly father entrusted to rear the boy would be a simple carpenter, not royalty, not a great warrior, and not a politician. The child would be born in an animal’s stable, resting his head in a feeding trough. He wouldn’t be clothed in fine silk, but simple, rough cloth. The birth of the divine Son of God wasn’t announced with an earth-shattering, jaw-dropping event, or a trumpet’s fanfare, but in the cry of the small helpless child.  But this humble birth would be the most important birth ever. It would quite simply change the world. Jesus Christ’s birth is the revealed promise of God that He will never leave nor forsake you.  He sent Jesus, who sacrificed His life to bridge the gap caused by sin between you and your heavenly Father. That child wrapped in a manger in Bethlehem so long ago is God’s gift to me and to you.