The Name of Jesus

THE NAME OF JESUS sermon January 1, 2012 Year B

Today is the first Sunday of Christmas, and so the bulletin cover we use has printed the scripture texts that are used for this Sunday, which are all about the presentation of Jesus in the Temple when he was forty days old. But this is not the 40th day since we celebrated the birth of Jesus. It is the 8th day of the twelve days of Christmas and the 8th day since our Christmas day festivities. To every devout Jewish family and to those well versed in the culture of the Bible, the 8th day of a boy’s life was very special.
Why is that? Well here is a hint. In Philippians 3:3 St. Paul is arguing against having confidence in worldly attainments, ethnic purity, or outward religiosity. There he writes, “… if any other man thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews…..” and on he goes. You noted it, right? Circumcised on the 8th day – in strict obedience to the law set down in Genesis 17:12 as a sign of the old covenant that God made with Abraham and his descendents. A boy who was 8 days old was to have this done – and was to be given his formal legal name at the same time. This is what happened to Paul in strict obedience to the command. And this is what happened to Jesus. In the New Testament there is but one simple verse describing this event. It is Luke 2:21 “At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”
The very next verse in the Bible is the verse that begins today’s reading about the things that happened 32 days later when Jesus was 40 days old. Once again notice the strict adherence to the laws of the old covenant made with Abraham and his descendents so many years before: “When the time came for her [that is Mary’s] purification according to the law of Moses [Mary and Joseph] brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.’” You can’t help but notice that in the early life of Jesus, everything was done properly according to the rules and rituals that pertained to the Jewish people in that day.
But when you read Luke 2:21 you also can’t help but notice a subtle shift of emphasis from the acting out of the ritual to the new thing that God is doing in Jesus Christ. Listen again to Luke 2:21: “And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” The event that took place at the end of eight days is just the setting for what this passage of the Bible really wants us to hear: that his name is Jesus.
Yes, once again, we find that Mary and Joseph were the kind of people who did everything according to the Book – or in this case according to the word of the angel who appeared to both of them, about this child Jesus. When the time came for the official, formal, and final naming of her son, they did as they were told. They named him “Jesus.”
In Luke 1:31 the angel Gabriel says to the very young Mary, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High……” And so Mary agreed to name him Jesus. In Matthew 1:20 Joseph hears an angel say, “…do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is 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.” And so Joseph agreed to name him “Jesus.” They didn’t talk about any other name. They didn’t go through a book of popular names.
“Jesus” is the way we pronounce the name in the English language. In the original Hebrew it was the same as the name we pronounce as “Joshua” and was a fairly common name in the days of the New Testament because people were looking for a savior. In the Hebrew pronunciation it was “Yehoshuah” which means “the Lord* saves” or “the Lord* will save.” And so Joseph is told by the angel that “he will save his people from their sins.” *the Lord = the sacred ׳חוח
So while a subtext of this passage is the way that the family of Jesus did everything for him properly and in a timely manner, the main point is centered on this name. Jesus. Through Jesus salvation will come to his people – and to all people, even you and me. His name says it all.
The name of Jesus was not given to him simply as a convenient handle by which we can talk about “the Man from Galilee,” although that is one way it is used. The name of Jesus was never intended to be a swear word, as often as it is used that way in violation of the second commandment. This child was given this name to tell everyone what was his purpose in life.
I would like you to consider a few verses in the Bible about the name of Jesus.
First, listen to Acts 4:10 St. Peter is giving his testimony about the power that healed a crippled man. He says, “Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved.” In this passage, there is both the universal and the exclusive claim made by the followers of Jesus: universal in that all people everywhere are invited to faith in Jesus Christ and exclusive in that this is the only one way of salvation. It was an audacious statement then; it is a politically incorrect statement in today’s world. But it is the claim of the name.
Then there is Philippians 2:9. Leading up to that verse is a statement of the humility and suffering of Jesus which ended on the cross. Philippians 2:9 says, “therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” “Jesus” is that name which is above every name. It has not happened yet, but the day is coming when every knee shall bow before that name and every tongue confess that name.
Until that time, those of us who believe Jesus is Lord are to honor that name and use that name. In Colossians 3:17 we are told, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” It is in the name of Jesus that we gather here today on the first day of the new year. It is in the name of Jesus that we pray, confident that God the father hears our prayers for Jesus’ sake.
“Jesus” is the name announced by the angels beforehand, given by Mary and Joseph to her son on the 8th day, used by us today to pray and to bless, and one day exalted by all. AMEN.