The Name of Jesus

Introduction by Pastor

Tonight we're going to take a close look at the name of Jesus.  In fact, we're going to look at many names that either were given to Jesus or used for Him. There were names given him by the angels, names that told of his work, names that showed his love for us, names that proved he was God, names of strength and names of humility, names of his office and names of his glory. Someone once counted about 40 names mentioned in the Bible that speak of Jesus. For if anyone deserved many names, it was this very special baby who came to be our Lord and Savior.

Our worship will be a service of prophecy and fulfillment. Our teenagers will read the Old Testament prophecy and then our Sunday School children will recite how these names find their fulfillment in Jesus.

The Name of Jesus

Philippians 2:9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

For the past month, a huge billboard was put up in Times Square by atheists. The billboard has a picture of Santa Claus above another image of Jesus Christ. The sign urges passersby to “Keep the Merry!” and “Dump the Myth!”

This is just the latest attack on Jesus. It isn’t the first and it won’t be the last. But what is it about Jesus that is so troublesome for so many people? Well, everything that is offensive about Him is really contained in His name. His name means, “Savior,” for He will save His people from their sins. The very name of Jesus bothers people because it exposes their deepest problem – sin. People don’t like to be reminded of how awful they are. They don’t like to be told that they are rotten to the core. They don’t want to know that they can’t be good by themselves. They don’t want to face the fact that they are beholden to someone greater than them and that they will ultimately be judged, not on what they did, but on whom they believed.

We shouldn’t really get too upset with the numerous attacks against Jesus. We should come to expect it. Let’s be honest, the name of Jesus is confrontational. It doesn’t let you sit on the fence. Jesus said of Himself, “He who is not with me is against me.” The name of Jesus is not politically correct. It is not sensitive and inclusive of all religious thinking. However, it is the only name that saves: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mean by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Tonight and tomorrow morning you will be opening presents. It’s nice to see all those presents under the tree – big ones and small ones, square ones and round ones, nicely wrapped ones and ones wrapped by dad. But which are the most important of all those presents? The ones with your name on them! They are for you. They belong to you.

Isn’t it great that you have already been given the greatest present of all? His name is Jesus. There is salvation in no other name, but the name of Jesus. There is power in the name of Jesus. There is healing in the name of Jesus. There is hope in the name of Jesus. There is life and forgiveness in the name of Jesus. But there’s something even better than all that – that this Jesus came for me. He came for you. He came for every single one of us.

God made Jesus who had no sin to be sin for me, so that through faith in Him I am forgiven. God raised His Son, Jesus, from the dead, to bring eternal life to the world. I like better the more personal promise of Jesus. “Because I live,” Jesus said, “you also will live.” Life for me. And life for you.

Jesus placed His name on you in your Baptism. The water, the Word and the sign of the cross are not mere symbols. They are God’s actions! God made you His own in those baptismal waters.

Men, think about when you got married to the love of your life. You placed your name on her. For better or worse, she is yours. Mothers, think about when you saw your newborn child for the first time. How sweet was it to call her by her new name that you had just given her? Children, consider how you put your name on your feet of your toys or on your backpack or on your i-Pod. They belong to you.

Jesus came into this world as a Child laid in a manger, so that He could be yours and you could be His. He has placed His name on you. He has written the name of Jesus all over your life. The sign of the cross at the beginning and end of every worship service reminds you of the cross that Jesus put on your in your Baptism marking you as His for all eternity.

That means that everything that’s His is now ours. We have access and a right to eternal life, because of the name of Jesus. We can come to God, confess our sins and have them forgiven, because of the name of Jesus. We know that right now God will hear and answer our prayers because of the name of Jesus. We have the protection of God on our lives because of the name of Jesus. We have the promise of God going with us in our lives because of the name of Jesus. The poet was right when he said, “How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer’s ear! It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds and drives away all fear. It makes the wounded spirit whole, And calms the heart’s unrest; ‘Tis manna to the hungry soul; and to the weary, rest” (CW: 358).

Listen to me you who are hurting and are right now staring in the face of an impossible situation of life. Do you know who is on your side? The Jesus whom “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that 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 who left His throne of glory to be born in a lowly stable and die on a Roman cross is once again seated on His throne of glory. This is the same Jesus who loves you and me. This is the name we worship this evening. This is the name we loudly praise. This is the name we boldly confess. And this is the name that was placed on us. Amen.