Good News!

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21). This well-known verse from the Christmas story was spoken to Joseph by the angel. This short message will look at that name of Jesus, using it as an acrostic.

Jesus
Often parents will have an idea of what to call their child before it is born. Both Mary and Joseph were told what to name the Baby. Only Joseph was told why, “for he will save his people from their sins.” Jesus is the Greek form of the name Joshua, which means “the Lord is Salvation”. In 2011 Joshua was the sixth most popular name for a baby boy in the UK. The Bible states, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”.

Eternal Life
At Christmas we think of the three gifts that the wise man brought Jesus: gold, frankincense and myrrh, besides present we get. The Bible tells us that eternal life is a gift from God. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”, Romans 6:23. We need to believe, by faith, in His Son.

Son of God
Not only does the Bible tell us that eternal life is a gift, but also tells that the gift was the Son of God. “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son”, 1 John 5:11 and also, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”, John 3:16 Jesus, God’s Son was God’s Gift to the world that we live in.

Uniting
Often we sing at Christmastime “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”, written by Charles Wesley. In that carol we sing the words, “God and sinner reconciled”. The reason why Jesus came into the world was to reconcile or unite once again God and Man. Sin, deliberate disobedience to the known will of God, came into the world, despite the serpent telling Eve in the garden of Eden that she and Adam would not die if they ate the forbidden fruit. They did eat it, immediately dying spiritually, creating a distance, a gulf, between God and man. Man became an enemy of God. If you are not reconciled to God, then you are God’.s enemy. The Bible records, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:10) The Lord Jesus has come to unite God and man.

Saviour
We have thought that Joseph was told about Jesus, “for he will save his people from their sins”. We have also thought that “the wages of sin is death”, Romans 6:23. We have seen the wages of sin that has been brought about by Adam and Eve. Romans 5:12 says, “Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned”. We need a Saviour. The cry of the angels to the shepherd announced His arrival, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

For Jesus to save you from your sins, you need to:

  • ADMIT that you are a sinner in need of the Saviour, Jesus Christ;
  • BELIEVE that Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sin;
  • CONFESS Jesus as Lord and Saviour of your life.

You are most welcome if you are able to attend, any of our services at Cromwell Hall Christian Fellowship. If for whatever reason this is not possible and you want to know more about why Jesus came into this world, please contact us. We shall respond as quickly as possible.

© Cromwell Hall Christian Fellowship 2003-2024