Advent Day 15....His Name Would be Called

His Name would Be called.....

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign; “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

…And the stretching out of his wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel…. Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; State a proposal, but it will not stand, For God is with us.” Isaiah 8:8, 10

Names are of extreme importance to God. He is the one who created naming after all. Names are meant to tell WHO the person is, or who they are going to be. There are many times in the Bible when God renamed someone to reflect a change in who they were, or who He was calling them to be.

In the Bible, the person who is given the authority over something or someone is the one who does the naming. In Genesis God names the sun, moon and stars. These are not things He gave man authority over. He does give Adam dominion over the cattle, beasts of the field, and the birds of the sky, and He brings them to Adam to name. God has given parents authority over their children. Throughout the Bible it is one or both the parents naming the children. Eve named her children, Abraham and Sarah named Isaac, Rachel and Leah named the twelve sons of Jacob, and the list goes on.

Who named the newborn Messiah, and how would they know what to name Him?

Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel. He was to deliver the most joyous message. The Messiah was to be born, and Mary had found favor with the Lord. She was to be the mother of the Messiah. Gabriel tells Mary this news and what she is to name her son, God’s Son, when He is born.

Luke 1:31-32 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 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.”

I get so excited thinking about this! Jesus…the name above all names!!! HIS NAME has just been announced to a human being for the first time in history. The name that is now spoken as a blessing and a curse the world over was first revealed to a precious, pure, young girl as she received the most incredible news, not of her life, but of all our lives. JESUS!

It is wonderful to see how God includes not just Mary in the naming of Jesus, but Joseph, His adoptive father. This is like a pat on the back to Joseph saying, “I am giving My Son into your care for a while. I am calling you to be His earthly father.” Wow! What an assignment, being the adoptive father of the Messiah!

Growing up, Joseph had no idea that each day, with each situation he encountered, he was being prepared to be “Abba” to the Son of God. God chose Joseph for this role before Joseph was born. He had been chosen before the foundation of the heavens and earth had been laid. No pressure there! Not much is spoken of him in scripture, but what we do know speaks volumes about this man and his strength of character. Matthew 1:19 tells us Joseph was a righteous man. His actions when he finds out Mary is with child clearly demonstrate this fact.

Can you picture Joseph? He is betrothed to this lovely girl named Mary. He has been working hard to get the house ready for her arrival. He is so excited about the night he will get to bring her to their home as his wife. The time is getting close for him to go and get her! Then he hears through the grapevine that his beloved bride, his sweet Mary, is with child…..and he has never been with her. Can you imagine the anguish and betrayal he must have felt?

Here we catch a glimpse of one of the reasons God chose Joseph to fill the role of earthly father to His only begotten Son. We see the character of Joseph come shining through.

It was his right, by law, to have Mary stoned to death, or he could have humiliated her and made her an outcast. Although he must have felt so hurt and betrayed, he wanted to protect Mary. He wanted to send her away quietly, so as not to disgrace her. As Joseph is thinking through his plan, God reveals HIS PLAN…….

But when he thought on these things, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, fear not and take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet; “BEHOLD THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,’ which translated means “GOD with us.” Matthew 1:20-23

Joseph decided to go with God’s plan. How honored he must have felt…how humbled and overwhelmed....and a little afraid, I am sure! When the angel visited him to clear up the misunderstanding about Mary and the baby, the angel also told Joseph what they were to name the Child. They were to name Him Jesus, because He would save people from their sins.

Jesus means “Jehovah is salvation”, which breaks down further to mean, “The Existing One is Salvation”.

The name Jesus is Who He is. He IS our salvation. Immanuel means “God with us”. The name, Immanuel, is a statement of Who He was and Who He is. He is God with us.

The name of our Savior is: Jehovah is Salvation. The Existing One is Salvation. God with Us. That is HIS NAME!!!! He is with us and He is our salvation.I pray you feel the presence of Jesus in the midst of your Christmas celebrations. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!