Named On Purpose!
"And Mary will bring forth a Son, and you
shall call His name Jesus, for He will
save His people from their sins."
Matthew 1: 21
Abraham means “father of many nations” which reflects
God’s purpose for him (Genesis 17:5). Similarly, Jesus’
name reflects
God’s purpose for Him. Jesus is the Greek
form of the Hebrew name Joshua (Hebrew Yeshua)
which means “the
Lord [Yahweh] saves.”
So Jesus was given the name which meant
“the Lord saves” because it reflected His purpose:
“He [would] save His people from their sins.”
This purpose of Jesus was pictured beautifully in Isaiah 53
where Servant of the Lord (the Messiah) took upon Himself
the sins of Israel and by extension the sins of the Gentile
world as well. Jesus took upon Himself the terrible
burden
of bearing the sins of mankind, being judged in our place
so we would not be judged.
At the right time God sent forth His Son to redeem
those who deserved the judgment the law demanded
(Galatians 3:13; 4:4). He came
to seek and save all
who were lost (Luke 19:10).
God’s purpose for you is to make you like Christ
(Romans 8:28-29). Thank God today that
Christ
fulfilled His purpose so you may fulfill yours.
"Salvation, the salvation of man,
is the final purpose of the whole
Bible."
J. H. Bernard
