“You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
What is in a name? Names are defining terms. Often, a name represents a type of action or occupation. My name, “Schneider,” means: To Cut, or Tailor. What does your name mean? When it comes to our Lord and Savior, Jesus, His name means “Yahweh saves!” or He who saves us from our sins. Jesus’ name is our blessing, because it heralds our salvation and shows that God is for us.
His name is our comfort, assurance, and confidence. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” . . . “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” And the answer is: nothing. As Christians, we belong to Jesus for we have been baptized into Jesus, and we know that in Him, come what may, we are secure.
And so it is good to hear once again where our confidence lies. It is not in our names or what we are able to do or accomplish. It is not in the powers and people of this world. It is rather in the Name of the One who has overcome the world in His death and resurrection (1 John 4:4). It is in the Name of the One who has conquered all things by His might (Rev. 5:5). It is in the Name of the One who holds us in His hand, which He promised no one can snatch us out of (John 10:27). It is in the One who is our Savior and our Lord. Jesus, the One whom all the passing years are named after and lived under: anno domini – the year of our Lord. And this Lord, the Maker of Heaven and earth, who was and is and is to come, is the One whose birth in human flesh we celebrated a few weeks ago. This One named Jesus, so named, for “He will save His people from their sins.”
For it is our sin that is the greatest threat to you and me. It is not terrorism, or violence, or crime, or disaster. Those things do come upon us, but the worst they can do is take our life. But for those who belong to Jesus, who have been baptized into Jesus, the One who conquered death and the grave, this is really no threat at all. The end of our life is simply the beginning of eternity through Jesus.
In Christ,
Pastor Schneider
