The Saving Act of God

The name ‘Jesus’ means “Yahweh saves.” In the man of Nazareth, the salvation promised by the God of Abraham has arrived.

The child carried by Mary was “begotten of the Holy Spirit.” The angel instructed Joseph to name this child ‘Jesus’: “Call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” The name announced to Joseph pointed to the saving act of God that was about to unfold in History.

Humanity has seen the promised Salvation of Yahweh come to fruition in Jesus of Nazareth. In his life, teachings, death, and resurrection, the Good News of God’s Kingdom and Liberation has been revealed to the nations of the Earth.  “In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, that we might receive the adoption of sons” – (Galatians 4:4).

[Clock at 12 - Photo by Josh Redd (Kansas) on Unsplash]

Naming the child ‘Jesus’ or the “salvation of Yahweh” does not mean Jesus is identical to his Father, but instead, that “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” has acted decisively in His Son to bring salvation to mankind.

According to the Apostle Paul, the proclamation of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of the Apostolic Faith, an understanding confirmed by each book of the New Testament. Salvation is found only through Jesus because of his self-sacrificial death, and his resurrection is the guarantee of our own resurrection from the dead when Christ returns:

• “For I delivered to you, first, that which also I received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that he was raised on the third day. <…> But now, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who sleep. For since by man death came, by man also the resurrection of the dead came. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” – (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 20-22).

• “And in no other is there salvation, for neither is there any other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved” – (Acts 4:12).

• “For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all” – (1 Timothy 2:5).

• “For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” – (1 Corinthians 3:11).

The first verse of the Gospel of Matthew identifies Mary’s child as “the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” These designations are more than names on a genealogical list. Not only is Jesus the biological descendant of David and Abraham, but he also came to fulfill the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant and to reign as the long-awaited Davidic king. Indeed, the nations and “the ends of the Earth” are now his by royal right, and he reigns over them from “the right hand of God” - (Matthew 1:1).

• “Yet I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will tell of the decree. Yahweh said to me, You are my Son. This day, I have begotten you! Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession” - (Psalm 2:6-8).

• “Yahweh said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool” - (Psalm 110:1).

• “The woman was delivered of a son, a male, who is to shepherd the nations with a rod of iron” - (Revelation 12:5).

• “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenlies, far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. And he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church” - (Ephesians 1:20-22).

Jesus is “the Seed of Abraham” in whom “all the nations of the earth are blessed,” and he is “the Son of David” who now rules as the King and “Shepherd” of the nations. It is no coincidence that this same Jesus began proclaiming the Good News of God’s Kingdom in Galilee, a region that had a mixed population of Jews and Gentiles - (Genesis 12:3, 22:18, Galatians 3:16-29):

• “Galilee of the Nations! <…> The people that sat in darkness saw a great light, and to those who sat in the region and Shadow of Death. From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, Repent! For the Kingdom of the Heavens is at hand” - (Matthew 4:16).

• “There will be no gloom to her that was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time, he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Nations! The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They that dwelt in the land of the Shadow of Death, upon them the light has shone forth” - (Isaiah 9:1-3).

• “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” – (Luke 2:11).

• “For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared before the face of all peoples, a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel” – (Luke 2:30-32).

The salvation promised by the God of Abraham and Moses is provided through His Son and Anointed King, “the Son of David,” and this promise of life and salvation always included the Gentiles, “the nations of the Earth,” along with the nation of Israel:

• “For I say that Christ has been made a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given to the fathers, and that the Nations might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: Therefore, I will give praise to you among the Nations and sing to your name. And again, he says, Rejoice, you nations with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all you nations, and let all the peoples praise him. And again, Isaiah says, there will be the Root of Jesse, and he that arises to rule over the nations. On him will the nations hope” – (Romans 15:8-12, 16:25).

HIS NAME

The angel’s announcement to Joseph parallels the prediction made to Abraham about his firstborn son, which occurred when Sarah was ninety years old and beyond childbearing age, making her pregnancy likewise miraculous. Abraham also received his son’s name through Divine appointment, for God commanded Abraham to name his son ‘Isaac’ - (Genesis 17:19).

The name ‘Jesus’ or ‘Joshua’ first appears in the Book of Exodus. Joshua’s original name was ‘Hoshea’, the Son of Nun. Moses changed it from ‘Hoshea’ to ‘Joshua’, or more literally, ‘Ye-hoshua’:

• “These are the names of the men that Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea, the son of Nun, Joshua [‘Ye-hoshua’]” - (Numbers 13:16).

‘Hoshea’ means “salvation, deliverance, help.” It is from the Hebrew verb that means “to save, help, deliver,” or ‘yasha’. For example:

• “Yahweh saved [‘yasha’] Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians” - (Exodus 14:30. Compare Deuteronomy 20:4).

By prefixing the first syllable of the Hebrew name ‘Yahweh’ to ‘Hoshea’ (YHWH {יהוה}), his name became ‘Ye-hoshua’. In several of the later books of the Hebrew Bible, the second syllable is eliminated, and the name is shortened to ‘Yeshua’ - (e.g., Nehemiah 8:17, Ezra 2:2).

The Hebrew name ‘Yahweh’ means “the becoming one, the One Who is.” The sense of the name is expressed more fully in the declaration from the Burning Bush heard by Moses. The Book of Revelation also represents the full sense of the passage from the Book of Exodus when sending greetings to the churches of Asia:

• “And God said to Moses, ‘I will become whatsoever I please’. And he said, Thus, you will say to the sons of Israel, ‘He Who Becomes’ has sent me to you” – (Exodus 3:14).

• “John, to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you, and peace, from He who is and who was and who is coming <…> I am the Alpha and the Omega, declares the Lord God, who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty” – (Revelation 1:4, 8).

The commonly used form of the name ‘Jesus’ is the anglicized spelling of ‘Yeshua.’ It means more than “savior.” His name combines the name of God or ‘Yahweh’ with the Hebrew verb for “save.” Thus, ‘Jesus’ means “Yahweh saves” or “the salvation of Yahweh.” The promised salvation of God has arrived for humanity through the man from the insignificant village of Nazareth, Jesus, the son of Joseph and Mary.

The angel’s announcement to Joseph also echoes key themes from the ‘Servant’s Song’ of the Book of Isaiah. Jesus is the ‘Servant of Yahweh’ who came to redeem his people from their sins, and the same messianic figure who is to be a light to the nations. For example:

• “Call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” – (Matthew 1:21).

• “Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him; he has put him to grief, making his soul an offering for sin. <…> By the knowledge of himself, my Righteous Servant will justify many, and he will carry their sins. <…> Because he poured out his soul unto death and was numbered with the transgressors. Yet he carried the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” - (Isaiah 53:10-12).

• “For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his soul a ransom for many” – (Mark 10:45).

• “Is it too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel? I will also give you for a light to the Nations, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth” - (Isaiah 49:6).

• “For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set you for a light of the Nations, that you should be for salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth. And as the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of God” - (Acts 13:47-48).

Jesus is “the Son of Abraham,” the promised “seed” who implements the covenant promises. He is also “the Son of David,” the Messiah and King who reigns from David’s Throne over the Kingdom of God and the nations of the Earth.

The glorious reign of the God of Israel began in earnest with the Death, Resurrection, and Enthronement of this man from Nazareth, the only Savior in whom we can find salvation and reconciliation with our Creator.

Like Joshua, Jesus is the Ruler of God’s people who delivers them from bondage to Satan and shepherds the saints to the Promised Land, namely, the Kingdom of God. By his sacrificial death, Jesus has redeemed us from the penalty of sin, namely, death, and God has validated his sacrificial act and assured us of salvation by raising Christ Jesus from the dead.

• “Fear not! I am the first and the last, and the Living one. And I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and of Hades” – (Revelation  1:18).

Therefore, Jesus is the King, Savior, and Messiah who “saves his people from their sins”!

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SEE ALSO:

• Salvation for the Nations - (The Good News announced by Jesus of Nazareth offers salvation and life to the men and women of every nation)

• Jesus Saves! -  (The Good News announced by Jesus offers salvation and life to men and women of every nation and people)

• The Death of Death - (The arrival of Jesus with great glory will result in the resurrection of the righteous dead, and the end of Death itself - 1 Corinthians 15:24-28)

• Le Salut de Dieu - (Jésus signifie ‘Yahvé sauve’. En cet Homme de Nazareth, le Salut promis par le Dieu d'Abraham et d'Israël est arrivé pour tous les hommes)