THE GIVEN NAME

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The angel (Gabriel) said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call Him Jesus.” Luke 1:30-31

He (Joseph) did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave Him the name Jesus. Matthew 1:25

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before he was conceived. Luke 2:21

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

You may recall in an earlier devotion the account of when Zechariah and Elizabeth had their newborn son circumcised and then named him. The law required that all Jewish newborn males be circumcised on the eighth day after birth, complying with the covenant God had made with Abraham, the recognized progenitor of the Jewish nation. Once the circumcision was complete, all eyes turned to the parents and the naming of the child. It was normally custom for the son to be named after the father or another family relative but not in this instance as first Elizabeth and then Zechariah announced the boy’s name would be John. It was not a name they chose but rather a name commanded to be given by the angel Gabriel:

The angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.” Luke 1:13

And so it was. The given name to the baby who would grow up to make the way for Jesus to start His ministry was John.

Speaking of Jesus, we see from our scripture excerpts that His name was also given and Gabriel was right in the thick of things in this instance as well.

First, the angel appeared to Mary, informing her she had found favor with God and would conceive through the work of the Holy Spirit and the very power of God Himself. When the baby was born, she was to give Him the name Jesus.

And so Mary did become with child, an event that caused much angst with her fiancée Joseph who she was betrothed to. You see, he knew he hadn’t done anything that had led to Mary becoming pregnant and just assumed that she had been unfaithful to him. Instead of publicly shaming her, an act that could result in her execution by stoning, he decided to quietly divorce her. But then in a dream, Gabriel appears and explains to Joseph how Mary had become impregnated, underscoring that her conception was supernatural in nature. Gabriel exhorted Joseph to still keep Mary as his wife and when the son was born, he was to name him Jesus.

We know that birth happened in a lowly stable within the little town of Bethlehem, the renowned home city of David. They were there because Joseph was required to register after a decree was issued by Roman emperor Caesar Augustus and Joseph was in the line of David. Eight days after their son’s birth, Joseph and Mary had him circumcised and afterwards gave Him the name of Jesus, just as Gabriel had commanded.

From that point on, the given name Jesus would be the name above all names because it was the only name by which anyone could be saved. It would be a name that would be associated with the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. It would be the name that people would be baptized and healed by. It would be the name that people would pray to. And it would be a name all Christians were to hold to as they strived to be like the Savior who bore the name.  

Finally, in the future this given name will be one that every person on earth will submit to when Jesus returns from heaven to judge the world and all mankind:

At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:10-11

As we move toward the start of a new year, have you received and accepted the given name of Jesus in your life?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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