Neither Joseph nor Mary had anything to do with the naming of their Son, our Messiah. His name, Jesus, was chosen by God. This is significant.
It serves as an indication of ownership. God was establishing God’s self as the Divine Parent of what was to come into the world.
It was a statement as to the purpose of the Child’s coming. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name, Jehoshua (Joshua), and it means Salvation or Savior. So, in naming the Child Jesus, God was declaring to the world that Salvation had arrived.
We have reason to celebrate Advent, for it serves as evidence that God has met our greatest need. Jesus didn’t come to bring salvation; Jesus came to be salvation; salvation is the essence of who Jesus is. Jesus is our expiation (the act of making amends for wrongdoing). Jesus is our propitiation (the action of appeasing God). Jesus bridges the gap between us and God that was caused by our sin. Through Jesus’ personal sacrifice at Calvary, Jesus pays our price and makes restitution to God.
Paul said of Jesus, that, “He was given a Name that is above every name… At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Christ is Lord of all (Philippians 2:9-11).” And it’s in that Name, it’s in that Promise of Salvation that we place our hope.
Jesus came because we had a problem we couldn’t resolve on our own: “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” But Jesus came to be our solution: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23)…God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but shall have everlasting life (John 3:16)…I am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believes in Me shall live, even though he dies; and the one who believes in Me shall never die (John 11:25, 26).”
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