“And the angel said unto her, ‘Fear not, Mary—for you have found favor with God. And, behold, you shall conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call His Name, Jesus’.”
Luke 1:30-31
She was special; her angelic visitor was special; her conception would be special; but none of them could compare to that special Name He would be given.
“Jesus.”
It means “the Lord is Salvation” and is the Greek version of the Hebrew name “Hoshea” (Num. 13:8, 16), from which the name “Joshua” also comes. Like other Jewish names, which were given to convey the character of the recipient, Jesus’ Name embodied His Mission: “To seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10).
Although there was no one in Joseph or Mary’s lineage who had that name (Mt. 1:1-17; Lk. 3:23-38), Gabriel was very specific in his instructions as to what His Name should be. And, we know it was God the Father Who chose the Name—and how thankful we should be that He did.
Hundreds of songs have been written about this simple, yet majestic Name. Songs like “His Name Is Wonderful,” “There Is A Name I Love to Hear,” “My Jesus, I Love Thee,” “Jesus Loves Me,” etc., help lift our hearts to Heaven. And, Scriptures throughout the New Testament repeatedly remind us of Who He is and what He came to do.
That’s why His Name is so precious.
And, that’s why we should never take it/Him for granted—for He was/is the One Who one day would “bruise the serpent’s head” (Gen. 3:15). . .set the captives free (Is. 61:1-3). . .make the blind to see, the deaf to hear and the dead to live. . .and very soon will come back again to receive His own unto Himself.
Until then, we should demonstrate our love for Him by telling others about Him and His Love for them. We should daily “deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Him” (Lk. 9:23) in all we do so we’ll not “crucify Him afresh and bring Him (and His Name) to an open shame” (Heb. 6:6).
Do you love Him, Pilgrim?
Do you love Jesus with “all your heart, mind, soul and strength” (Mk. 12:30)? Do you show that love by “loving others as He has loved you” (Jn. 13:34)? Have you surrendered everything to Him and long for the pleasure of His Smile?
If so, then you, too, like Mary will say “Be it unto me according to Your Word” (Lk. 1:38b). And, in so doing, others will readily notice something different about you—and when they ask, “What’s different about you?” you can start singing “Jesus, Jesus, oh Jesus, There’s just something about that Name. Master, Savior, Jesus—like the fragrance after the rain. . .Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, But there’s something about that Name.” Amen and amen.
By Tom Smith Morning Manna Dated December 22, 2010