Calvary Lutheran Church

What's in a Name? The Savior

Grace and peace to you from him who is, who was, and who is to come, Christ Jesus our blessed Lord and Savior.  Amen

Psalm 118:26

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

From the house of the Lord, we bless you."

 Dear Christian Friends.

For these Sundays in Advent I am following a sermon series theme “What’s in a name?” Last time I spoke about a name or title for Jesus that I said contained the most information about him. That was “Messiah” or the “Christ.” This morning, I have another name with which we are perhaps the most familiar and the most fond of, and that is the name “Jesus.” We learned that name already at a very early age and to sing, “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.”

“Jesus” is his English name that comes to us from the Greek transliteration of “Iasous.” But Jesus and his family didn’t speak Greek, they spoke Aramaic. So when Mary called Jesus by his Aramaic name, she pronounced it “Ieshoua.” “Ieshoua, it’s time for supper.” And when Ieshoua is transliterated into the English, it becomes “Joshua.” So if the name “Jesus” had come to us directly from the Aramaic rather than pass through the Greek, we would all be singing, “Joshua loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.”

Now whether we call him “Jesus” or “Joshua,” it makes no difference, both have the same meaning, and both were very common names in the first century A.D., sort of like our John and Mary today. But when this name was given to Jesus of Nazareth, it took on a whole new significance. The angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21). The name “Jesus” means “savior.”

WHAT’S IN A NAME? THE SAVIOR

Yes, a savior is what the heavenly Father had in mind for the world when he saw our fallen condition. We had gotten ourselves into a heap of trouble. We had decided to play with the greatest dangers in the world—sin and wickedness. Oh, we might say that we were just victims of circumstances, after all, we received our sinful natures from our sinful parents already at conception. But it didn’t stop there. Since that time, we have chosen from our own freewill to rebel against God in every possible way.

In fact, we have become so accustomed to sinning that we do it oftentimes without even thinking about it or knowing it. Remember the rich young ruler who wanted to follow Jesus so he who came to Jesus and said proudly, "I have kept all the commandments from my youth." Jesus told him, "One thing you lack, go, sell everything you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me" (Mark 10:21). And we are told that the man went away sorrowing, because he had great wealth. He hadn’t even kept the first commandment, "Love God above all things," much less all the other commandments including "Love your neighbor as yourself." That is why John warns in his epistle, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).

We might say, “But wait a minute, haven’t we repented of our sin?” Yes, but complete repentance also means complete change. John the Baptist told some selfish Jews who came out to be baptized, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same” (Luke 3:11). He told some dishonest tax-collectors, “Don’t collect any more than you are required to” (Luke 3:13). He told some corrupt soldiers, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely–be content with your pay” (Luke 3:14). In other words, change.  And we haven’t always done that after repenting, so our repentance has been in words and not always in actions.

But God the Father saw our pitiful state and in an extraordinary way sent his Son Jesus to two obscure parents in the remote little town of Bethlehem, so that he might rescue us from our sins. The angel of the Lord announced to the shepherds of Bethlehem: "A Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). John wrote in his first epistle, "We have seen, and do testify, that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). 

Yes, the angel named him "Jesus," because he would save the world from sin. And Peter said in his great Pentecost sermon, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Only Jesus’ name has the power to save.

But that’s not all, Jesus’ name also has the power to bless. The 72 disciples upon returning from their mission work of spreading the gospel said to Jesus; “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name” (Luke 10:17).

When I was serving as pastor in Milwaukee I personally observed the power of Jesus’ name to control even demons. One day I got a phone come from a teenager who lived with her family near our church. They were not members, but they got our church’s name from the phone book. She called with an unusual question, “Do you exercise houses?” It seems that her family was experiencing strange and in some cases frightening supernatural phenomenon that made living in that house unbearable. For example, the family would leave the house with everything turned off, and when they arrived back home all the lights and televisions and radios were on full blast. Another time the Skill saw in the garage turned on all by itself, it wasn’t even plugged in. Another time the mother was doing the dishes and she felt a tap on her shoulder, when she turned around, no one was there. In other words, it was typical case poltergeist—demons manipulating material things in the house—nothing violent, but nevertheless unnerving. So would I come over and do something? I, of course, said, “Sure, where do you live?”

I had never experience a case of poltergeist before, but I knew of other WELS pastors who had, and so I contacted them and asked what they did. They simply said, “Take a cross, enter every room of the house, and pray in the name of Jesus that the demons leave.” So that’s what I did.

I took a pastor friend, Vic Fisher, with me for support. We went to their home and met the family—a very normal family of four with two teenage daughters, and we told them what we planned to do. They agreed. We spent about 45 minutes in that house praying in the name of Jesus in every room—upstairs, downstairs, basements. And when we were finished we told them to let us know if there was any improvement.

I hadn’t heard from them for about four months. But then one Sunday morning the daughter who had called me walked in our church just before worship. I recognized her immediately and asked how things were going at home. She said that since our visit when we prayed in the name of Jesus for the demons to leave, they had not had any strange phenomenon take place. What a humbling experience to be used by Jesus to control demons. No enemy either visible or invisible has power over the name of Jesus.

That is the power we tap into when we go to the Lord in prayer. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:12-14).  What could we do that would be greater than Jesus’ healing the sick? What could we do that would be greater than Jesus calming the storm or raising the dead? I’ll tell you—when members of this congregation read the Scripture lessons in a worship service; when little children tell the Christmas story in a children’s Christmas service; when a believer come up here and receive the body and blood of the Lord. Jesus’ miracles helped people physically, whenever the gospel of Jesus Christ in Word and Sacrament is proclaimed and administered it has the power to save people’s souls eternally. Yes, Jesus’ name has the power to save and to bless.

And that is why those who know him have another name for him—“Lord.” The meaning of “Lord” is "master" or "owner." What an appropriate title we give Jesus when we call him "Lord." For he truly owns us. He owned us even before he saved us by giving us physical life on this planet. But he especially owned us when he took our place and paid the punishment of our sins. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “You are not your own, you are bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20). The price was his blood.

 But how do you make him as Lord and master?  Jesus is your Lord and master when the first thought that comes to mind when you wake up in the morning is not, “What am I going to have for breakfast this morning?” Or, “I wish I didn’t have so much to do today.” Instead, “How am I going to serve the Lord today?”

Jesus is your Lord and master when you endure even troubles and sorrows with faith and patience. After Jesus had attracted many disciples to his side he began to tell them what following him really meant. It meant watching him go to a cross. It meant carrying their own crosses because of their faith. And we are told that many disciples deserted him. In other words, they were saying “This isn’t what we signed up for Jesus. This isn’t why we became your disciples—to suffer. We wanted only blessings in the life by following you.” Oh, the blessings are there, but they come with a cross.

And Jesus is your Lord and master when you serve him in the world and especially here in the church. The psalmist said, “I rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked” (Psalm 84:10). There are many ways to serve the Lord in the church. There are all sorts of spiritual gifts and talents that the Lord gives to each individual believer so that the body of Christ as a whole may be built up. Jesus is your Lord and master when you pray, “Lord, what would you have me do?”

 Remember, either you serve the Lord fully as your master, or you serve someone or something else. Don’t try to do both. Don’t be lukewarm. Jesus told the congregation at Laodicea, “Because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16).

But by making Jesus your master you are giving up nothing. After many disciples left him, Jesus turned to the twelve and asked if they wanted to leave too. And Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Serving Jesus as Lord and master is not like a slave giving up his freedom to serve his master, it is more like a prisoner giving up his prison cell for pure freedom.

But finally, you know that Jesus is your Lord and master by giving him another title that the disciples liked to use, that was, "Rabbi" or “teacher.” Although Jesus had not gone through rabbinical school, the Jews were amazed at his teachings and asked, "How did this man get such learning without having studied." Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me" (John 7:15). The way to make Jesus your Rabbi is to be a regular and enthusiastic student of his Word. Use every opportunity available to you to learn to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Christmas is a time of much excitement and joy. Part of that excitement and joy is giving and receiving gifts from loved ones. The gift from your loving heavenly Father at Christmas is his Son, Jesus, your Savior. And if you want to give your heavenly Father a gift in return, then make his Son Jesus your Lord and Master, your Rabbi and Teacher. Then you too will say with the psalmist, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

May we pray: 

Dear Jesus, we confess that all the words that we speak and sing to your glory at Christmas fall short of the praise we sinners owe you, our God, who left your throne in heaven to appear here in lowliness as our Savior. A stable was your first home; a manger, your first bed. Yet for our sakes, you endured far deeper humiliation than that: for you came to bear the cross, the shame, the suffering, and even the death, which we sinners deserve for our sins.

May we remain faithful to you throughout our lives: ever adoring you, ever trusting you, ever loving you as our Lord, our Master, our Rabbi, our Teacher. Keep us all in the faith and direct our footsteps from day to day with the light of your truth that shines so brightly through your Word. In your name we pray.  Amen.