Salvation of the LORD

Jesus means ‘Yahweh saves.’ In the man from Nazareth, the Salvation promised by the God of Israel has arrived in all its glory. 

The angel informed Joseph that the child borne by Mary was “begotten of the Holy Spirit.” He instructed Joseph to name the child ‘Jesus’ - “Call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” This name pointed to the saving act of God for humanity that He was about to reveal to the world. The world would behold the long-promised “Salvation of Yahweh” in Jesus of Nazareth.

[Photo by Adam Mirza on Unsplash]

Naming him ‘Jesus’ or “Salvation of Yahweh” does not mean he is identical to his Father, but that the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” has acted decisively in His Son to bring salvation to humanity, especially through Christ’s Death and Resurrection. According to the Apostle Paul, this is the very foundation of the Apostolic Faith:

• “For I delivered to you first of all that which also I received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that he has been raised on the third day” – (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

The first verse of the Gospel of Matthew identifies the child as the “Son of Abraham.” This was more than another name on a genealogical list. Not only was he the biological descendant of Abraham, but he also came to fulfill the promises made to the Patriarch, and Matthew - (Matthew 1:20-21).

Jesus was the “Seed of Abraham” in whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. It was no coincidence that Christ began proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom in--:

• “Galilee of the nations… The people that sat in darkness Saw a great light, And to them that sat in the region and shadow of death” - (Genesis 12:3, 22:18, Isaiah 9:1-3, Matthew 4:16, Galatians 3:16-29).

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 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 name originally was ‘Hoshea’, the Son of Nun. Moses changed it from ‘Hoshea’ to ‘Joshua’ or ‘Ye-hoshua’ - (Numbers 13:1-8, Exodus 17:9).

‘Hoshea’ means “salvation, deliverance, help.” It is from the Hebrew verb meaning “save, help, deliver,” or ‘yasha’. For example, “Yahweh saved 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 was eliminated, and the name was shortened to ‘Yeshua’ - (e.g., Nehemiah 8:17, Ezra 2:2).

The form ‘Jesus’ is the anglicized spelling of ‘Yeshua.’ It means more than “savior.” It combines the name ‘Yahweh’ with the Hebrew verb for “save.”

Thus, ‘Jesus’ means “Yahweh saves” or “Salvation of Yahweh.” The promised salvation of God had arrived in the man from the insignificant village of Nazareth, Jesus, the son of Joseph.

Furthermore, the angel’s announcement echoed key themes from the ‘Servant’s Song’ of the Book of Isaiah. Jesus was the ‘Servant of Yahweh’ who came to “bear the sins of many.” For example:

• (Isaiah 53:10-11) – “Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him; he has put him to grief: when you will make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his seed, he will prolong his days, and the pleasure of Yahweh will prosper in his hand. He will see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied; by the knowledge of himself will my Righteous Servant justify many, and he will carry their sins.”

The genealogy of Jesus recorded by Matthew begins with Abraham, the Great Patriarch, and the Progenitor of Israel. Jesus is the “Son of Abraham,” the promised “Seed” who fulfills the covenant promises. He is also the “Son of David,” the Messiah and King who reigns from David’s Throne and inaugurated the Kingdom of God. The glorious reign of the God of Israel began on Calvary.

Like Joshua, Jesus is the Ruler of God’s people who delivers them from bondage to Satan and shepherds them to the Promised Land, namely, the Kingdom of God. In the truest sense, he is the one who “saves his people from their sins.”

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SEE ALSO:

• The Seed of Abraham - (Jesus is the Seed of Abraham, the heir of the covenant promises, and receipt of the inheritance is based on faith in Him)

• The Heir of the World - (The faith of uncircumcised Abraham provides an example for Jewish and Gentile believers to live from the faith of Jesus – Romans 4:11-17)

• Kings and Nations - (The foundation of redemption in the Bible is the covenant God made with Abraham. It included the promise that in him, “all the Nations of the Earth would be blessed”)