Call Him Jesus: A Christmas Eve Homily

Call Him Jesus

Christmas Eve

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-25 (KJV)

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.

The most popular boys names the year I was born (1947) were James, Robert, John, William, and Richard. The most popular in 2014 were Noah, Liam, Mason, Jacob, and, still on the list, William.

Parents give a lot of time and thought to choosing their baby’s name. But no babies I know get named by heavenly messengers. However an angel named both John the Baptist and our Savior.

1. Joseph’s Accommodation

Joseph was a righteous man, an Old Testament believer. His faith was counted to him as righteousness. He lived out his faith by seeking to conform his life to the righteousness of God’s law.

Joseph was engaged to a young woman of perhaps 14 or 15 years, whose name was Mary, when he found out she was pregnant. He knew he was not the father. He was disappointed and shocked.

Because he was a righteous man Joseph faced the necessity of making a righteous accommodation to reality. He knew he could not marry a woman who had been unfaithful during their engagement. But in his day engagements were not easy to break. There was a process something like getting a modern divorce. But Joseph did not want to expose Mary to public shame through public proceedings. The best solution was to “put her away privily” - to use the legal process in a private way. This decision that honored both the righteousness of morality and the righteousness of mercy.

Joseph was thinking over all his plan when an angel showed up.

2. The Angel’s Revelation

The angel addressed Joseph as “thou son of David.” Joseph lived in Nazareth of Galilee, but his family belonged to the tribe of Judah and originally came from Bethlehem. He was from a humble family but was a descendant of King David.

After addressing Joseph, the first words the angel spoke were, “Fear not.” Angels are messengers from God. The natural response to them is fear. An Angel appeared four times in connection with the birth of our Lord, and each time gave assurance that there was no need to be afraid. When an angel of the Lord appeared to the priest, Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, he said, “Fear not, Zacharias.” When Gabriel greeted Mary, he said, “Fear not, Mary.” When the angel of the Lord appeared with the glory of the Lord to the shepherds, he said, “Fear not.” In each case there is no need to be afraid because the angel brought good news of what God was doing to save his people. Knowing that God is for us, and has intervened in history in Jesus Christ to save us, dispels our fear and gives us peace.

The angel revealed to Joseph the secret that only Mary and Elisabeth knew: “Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”  

When Gabriel told Mary she was highly favored, and she would bear a Son, she responded, “I’m a virgin. How can this be?” The angel answered, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee.” Now Joseph knew what Mary knew. Her pregnancy had come about by the miraculous work of God through the Holy Spirit.

Gabriel told Mary that her child’s name would be Jesus. Now the angel brought Joseph, who would have to name Mary’s Son formally, up to speed about the name: “Thou shalt call his name Jesus.”

There were three brothers who played professional baseball, the Alou brothers - Felipe, Matty, and Jesus. Announcers usually called Jesus “J” Alou, because many feel it is sacrilegious to give an ordinary person the name Jesus. Many think no one but our Lord ever had that name. For the last 2000 years that is generally true, but, when Jesus was born, the name was not uncommon. The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Old Testament name Joshua. The most famous Old Testament Joshua, or Jesus, led Israel in the conquest of Canaan.  

The importance of the name “Jesus” given to Mary’s Son, is not its uniqueness but its significance.

3. The Angel’s Explanation

The angel explained to Joseph why he must name Mary’s Child Jesus. “Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

The name Joshua or Jesus means “Yahweh saves.” You may have noticed in your English Bible that sometimes the word “Lord” is spelled with a capital L followed by lowercase letters - “Lord.” Other times it is spelled with all capitals - LORD. Those two different spellings represent two different Hebrew names for God. The Hebrew word behind the name LORD spelled with all capitals is “Yahweh.” The reason that is important is that Yahweh is the most personal name of God, the name he revealed to Israel as his people, the name of Israel’s Redeemer. Yahweh is the covenant God who saves his people.

Joshua, or Jesus, means “the God of Israel saves.” The name was given to our Lord, because he will save his people from their sins. People might have expected, “He will save his people from Roman oppression, reign as king, give prosperity, and restore Israel’s glory among the nations. But Jesus did not come for that. He came to save from sin.

Sin is the real human problem and underlies all other problems.

Sin creates guilt. An accused may or may not feel guilty. The purpose of a court is to determine whether before the law he is guilty of a crime. So people may feel guilty or not, but sin creates real objective guilt before God.

Sin controls. Sin promises freedom and happiness, but it produces slavery and misery. When the Jews claimed that, as sons of Abraham, they were not slaves of anyone, Jesus replied, “Everyone who sins is the slave of sin” (John 8:34).

Sin brings condemnation and eternal death. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, but for all others there is the certainty of condemnation, condemnation to God’s just punishment of sin, which is the state of eternal dying outside the mercy of God forever.  

Jesus came to save us from all that. He is Joshua in the fullest sense. The LORD saves through him. But there is more. He is Emmanuel, God with us, God in the flesh. He is the LORD himself saving us. By his incarnation he became one with us, by his life he fulfilled God’s righteousness, by his death he paid sin’s penalty, by his resurrection he justified us, and by his ascension he presented his sacrifice to secure our eternal salvation.

At this Holy Table we have Holy Communion with Jesus our Savior in the company of his church on earth and in heaven. By faith we receive his sacrificed body and his shed blood to preserve us body and soul unto everlasting life.

King of kings yet born of Mary,

as of old on earth he stood,

Lord of lords in human vesture,

in the body and the blood,

He will give to all the faithful

his own self for heav’nly food.