We've been singing about the name of Jesus, the sweetest name on earth, and I want you to turn to the passage of Scripture that is at the top of that hymn, which is Matthew chapter 1. We want to speak today on what is in a name, and we're thinking about the name of Jesus. And so the text will be, if you note it as we read verse 21, And we hope to come back to the same text this evening and think about the other part of the text that talks about being saved and what it is to be saved. It says, he shall save his people from their sins. So you pray that the Lord will make this text of Scripture a blessing to us both now and this evening. Verse 18 of Matthew 1, Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this wise, When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, my son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife. For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of by the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son. and they shall call his name Immanuel, which, being interpreted, is God with us. Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bitten him, and took unto him his wife, and knew her not, till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus." With the Bible open before us, we'll turn to the Lord in a word of prayer. Our Father, we thank Thee for this marvelous history, this marvelous event, the coming of our dear Savior into the world. And we're here today because of that. We worship God today. We meet in God's house today because of the incarnation. If Christ had never come, we would not be meeting like this today. We would not be meeting on the Lord's Day, the day that reminds us of his resurrection. But Lord, we're thinking about his birth, and we're thinking about the name that was given to him. Thou shalt call his name Jesus. And as we ponder this for a little time today, Bless us together as a congregation. Thrill our hearts with the thought of Jesus, because we ask it in His name. Amen. The scene before us in this chapter is one of the most remarkable in all the Bible. It begins by tracing the genealogy of Jesus Christ from Abraham and his successive generations to Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus. The conception and the birth of Jesus Christ I believe to be the greatest miracle that has ever been performed. We said last week we may just give a little emphasis to this, and I want to do that just now. As we think of miracles, you can think of creation, and what a gigantic wonder it was to call the heavens and the earth into being. And we ought to stop from time to time and simply ponder the magnitude of God's creative work. We think of the earth with all its complexity and all that is in this world, and we think of the heavens above our universe, the galaxy, and that which is beyond. God spoke these things into existence in six literal days. He could have done it in an instant of time, for He was God, but He chose six days to bring creation into existence, and He gave a seventh as a Sabbath of rest. The psalmist tells us in the Psalm 33, by the word of the Lord were the heavens made. and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. For he spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast." And it's in the midst of these statements that the writer says, let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. And when we look out into creation, And we think of the God of glory in all His creative work. We do stand in awe, and we stand in amazement, and we fear the Lord. And I'm sure you will agree that creation is a mighty miracle of divine majesty, omnipotent power, and infinite wisdom. You can think of the days of Elijah and Elisha. Great miracles were witnessed, all proclaiming the glory and the power of God. It is interesting that the prophet who asked for the double portion performed twice as many miracles as his predecessor. Fourteen miracles are attributed to Elijah and 28 to Elisha. I don't have time to list these acts of divine power in the lives of these two men, let alone pass comment on each miracle. However, needless to say, they were all mighty, mighty deeds of sovereign power. Both men performed great miracles, and there's one stupendous deed done by both, and that was the raising of the dead. No doubt such an act was a work of gigantic proportions. The fourth miracle of Elijah was the raising of the widow's son that we read about in 1 Kings chapter 17 and verse 22. The eighth miracle of Elisha, the raising of the Shunammite's son in 2 Kings 4 verse 34. And you just want to pause there for a moment and contemplate the wonder that was performed, the giving of life to that which was dead, a mighty miracle indeed. In Joshua's day, the sun stood still for a whole day in the fierce battle with the Ammonites. It is recorded in Joshua 10 and verse 14, and there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man. It wasn't a day like it. Before or after, time was needed to finish the battle. And the commander of the armies of Israel cried to God, or more particularly, to the sun and to the moon in God's name. Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou, moon, in the valley of Adjalon. And the great wonder was done. And the record reads, and the sun stood still, and the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Not a day like it. Is anything too hard for the Lord? When we think of the miracles that were done throughout the history of the Bible, we have to say nothing is too hard with Him. And what can we say of the days of the Savior and of his mighty miracles? The blind receiving their sight, the deaf their hearing, the dumb their speaking, the lame made to walk again. Evil spirits were cast out of those who were demon-possessed. The dead were raised to life again. Something like 37 or 38 are specified of the miracles that Jesus did. But remember the many who came. that are not specifically mentioned, but they are grouped in there with the many, and they received healing from the Lord. And remember what John wrote in John 21 and 25, and there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they should be written, every one, I suppose that even the world itself, could not contain the books that should be written. And what Jesus did when he was here upon the earth were all mighty and stupendous miracles of divine, omnipotent power. But that day, and who can speak of it in adequate terms? Not one. That day, when deity joined with our humanity, is undoubtedly the greatest miracle that has ever been performed. As we thought about it last Lord's Day, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Matthew is recording this happening by divine inspiration. You'll note what it says in verse 18. Before they came together, she, that is Mary, was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Joseph was perplexed by what he saw or what he found in his espoused wife. And when he pondered these things over in his mind and heart, the angel of God appeared in a dream to alleviate his fears and to reassure his heart. And that's what happens there in verses 20 and 21. Joseph, thy son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. The child in the womb of Mary was conceived, not by ordinary generation, not by natural conception, but by supernatural divine power, for that seed was of the Holy Ghost. And these verses tell us how the Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself our nature, and He became man. And they declare how His birth was miraculous, for Mary was a virgin. The lines before us in Holy Scripture proclaim the greatest miracle that was ever done. God was manifest in the flesh. Undoubtedly, this is a truth which we have not mined enough to comprehend, but we believe it to be so, exactly as the Scriptures tell and describe and declare. Bishop Ryle said, let us not attempt to explain things. which are above our feeble reason. Let us be content to believe with reverence and not speculate about matters which we cannot understand, enough for us to know that with Him who made the world, nothing is impossible. We have read in this passage of two names given to the one who was conceived in the womb of Mary, the first one in our text, Jesus, verse 21, and the second one in verse 23, Emmanuel. One describes his office, the other describes his nature. One reveals something about what he came to do, and the other reveals who he was. You will know how meticulous and thoughtful Jewish people were in choosing names for their children. God Himself throughout Scripture gave significant names and at times name changes to individuals. And here God, through the angel, specifies the name of His own dear Son, the name that He would be known by when He came into the world in the incarnation. There is a name by which He would be known among men. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. He was known by many other names, but if we are to give Him the full title, He is the Lord Jesus Christ. But here is the special name given at His birth, and the name that He would be known by. And you read the Gospels and the New Testament, and you will find that this is the most common name. Over and over again, He is called Jesus, hundreds of times. And the question might therefore be asked, what is in a name? And I want you to think about the name Jesus. I want you to contemplate this very simple and yet profound announcement of the angel to Joseph, thou shalt call his name Jesus. And I want to suggest to you some things that are in this name that ought to rejoice our hearts and thrill our souls. First of all, there is revelation in this name. God is revealing something marvelous in the name of Jesus. We have mentioned the significance of names, the meaning contained in Bible names especially, and it's no different when we come to the precious name given to our Savior. The name Jesus literally means Jehovah is salvation. It's the same name as Joshua in the Old Testament. One is the Hebrew rendering, the other is the Greek. And we are directed in this name to consider Jehovah. This is what we might call the proper name of God in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament Scriptures. It comes from four letters of the Hebrew alphabet, J-H-V-H. And when you add the vowel sounds, it is transliterated as Jehovah. And the name occurs almost 7,000 times throughout the Word of God. In its transliterated form, it only appears seven times in our authorized version. For example, the first time we have it is Genesis 22 and verse 14, Jehovah-Jarrah. What a marvelous scene that is, the scene of Abraham and Isaac walking the road up Mount Moriah. And you know the story well. You've learned it from your childhood, most of you have. how the Lord that day provided another in the stead of Isaac, and prophetically would provide another in our stead, and encapsulated in that name, Jehovah-Jarrah, we are reminded that the Lord will provide, and He will provide Himself a lamb, and He did so in the person of His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Psalm 83 in verse 18, we read these words, that men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth. Then most of the other references in the Bible The name Jehovah is rendered, as most of you I think know, as the Lord in capital letters. Sometimes it's the word God, but any time you come across that in the Scriptures and you read the Lord or you read God in capital letters, it is in the original the word Jehovah. So sacred was the name Jehovah to the Jews that it was never pronounced. except by the high priest on the great day of atonement when they entered into the holy place. Whenever this name occurred in the sacred books, they pronounced it, as they still do, as Adonai, which again is the word Lord, but it's not Jehovah. But the Jews, they chose to pronounce it as Adonai, as the Lord, instead of using the name Jehovah. The name Jehovah was so sacred, you see, the personal name of God. And this is probably the reason why the translators of the authorized version put it into black capitals and used the word Lord instead of Jehovah, because it is a holy and a sacred name. And so we might call this name the personal name of God. If you turn just for a moment to Isaiah chapter 42, I want you to see what it says in verse 8. When the Lord is speaking here and He says, I am the Lord, then you'll notice that it is in capital letters. So it is, I am Jehovah. He's expressing His name. He's telling who He is. I am Jehovah. That is my name. And my glory will I not give to another. Although God had many titles, and all of those titles proclaiming things about His person, character, nature, and attributes. The name Jehovah is His personal name. The name is used exclusively to refer to the one and only true God. The meaning of the word appears from what we read in Exodus chapter 3 and verse 14. The scene there is the burning bush and the Lord is appearing to Moses. He's calling him to be the leader of the children of Israel, to bring them out of the house of bandage. And there is some contention in the heart of Moses as he begins to argue or say to the Lord about his own personal weaknesses and failures. And he's wondering on this occasion, when he goes to the children of Israel, who will I tell them? Who will I say has sent me? And we have that great statement that the Lord makes, I am that I am. And that is, of course, with reference to the name of Jehovah. And so, as we think about that, we're thinking here about the unchanging, eternal, self-existent God. I am that I am. He is the covenant-keeping God. That is all in the name of Jehovah. And I mention this simply for this reason. The babe born to Mary was to receive a special name by which he would be known in the world, the name Jesus. And something marvelous is revealed in this name. Jehovah is salvation. And so, in this mighty name of Jesus, is undoubtedly that thought, that He who was now coming into the world in the incarnation was Jehovah God. This name proclaimed what He came to do, as we shall see just in a moment, but also it proclaimed who He was. He was Jehovah, the unchanging, eternal, self-existent God who is none other than the covenant-keeping God, and so we have a revelation in this name and is revealing to us the deity of Jesus Christ. He is God. Not only is there revelation in this name, but thank God there's redemption in this name. The name means Jehovah is salvation. And this is what He came to do, to provide salvation for His people. You'll note what the whole text tells us, verse 21 of Matthew 1, "'She shall bring forth a Son, thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.'" And this name leads us to redemption, the saving work of Christ. This Jesus, who was about to come into the world, and so come as the God-man, God in human flesh, taking upon Himself a body of our humanity, had one great object in view, and that was redemption, the redemption of His people. And His name tells us this. Jesus is salvation. His name declares the purpose of God in Christ. to reconcile unto himself a people out of this world, to save them by his grace, to purchase eternal redemption for them. Jesus himself declared, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. When Peter and John were arrested in Acts chapter 4 and brought before the Jewish authorities. We are told how Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost of God, preached a crucified and arisen Savior to these men. In his bold discourse, he uttered those words. It really is a memory verse. In Acts 4 and verse 12, neither is there salvation in any other. For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. There is none other name than the name which means Jehovah is salvation, whereby we can be saved. We're led to the cross, the place of suffering and shame, where our dear Savior died an atoning death for us. It is here we see the climax of all that Jesus came to do on our behalf. He lived for us. His life was lived for us. In every detail, in all His obedience to the law of God which we had broken, Jesus lived for me. And now here at the place called Calvary, He is dying for me. He is paying the price for my sin. He is being made sin for me. He is taking my place. He's offering himself in a sacrifice to God for my sins. My sins are laid upon him. And all the wrath of God against sin is poured out without measure upon him who is. Jehovah is salvation, for he's now being made the salvation of his people in his great act of atonement. bearing shame and scoffing rude. In my place, condemned he stood. He sealed my pardon with his blood. Hallelujah, what a Savior. The blood of Christ is the heart of the gospel. It is the center of redemption. We're not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold, but we are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. As a lamb without blemish and without spot, Herein lies salvation and redemption, not in what I have done, for I could do nothing, nothing at all to merit or earn my salvation, but in what He has done on my behalf. He accomplished it all when He was made sin for me, who knew no sin, that I might be made the righteousness of God in Him. I want you to see that there's much in the name of Jesus, a revelation of who He is. He's Jehovah, and the redemption that He came to provide as our Savior. Tell me, do you know this Jesus? Have you ever received His saving power in your heart and life? Have you obtained salvation through Him? What do you know of redemption? Are you His child? Are you bound for heaven? These are serious questions. They are important matters. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power, or are you washed in the blood of the Lamb, where nothing else matters? Nothing else matters. You need to appropriate the work of redemption to yourself. If you have not done that, then how do you do it? You do it by faith. By faith, you lay hold upon this Jesus, who is God in human flesh, who died to be our Savior, and you take Him into your heart and your life to be your Redeemer. Redemption. But then there is consolation in this name. This name has been described as honey in the mouth. harmony in the ear, and melody in the heart. This name is a name of comfort to sinners when they call upon Him, but it's also a name of consolation to the saints as they continue in life's journey. To quote Bishop Ryle again, he said, Jesus is a name which is peculiarly sweet and precious to believers. It has often done them good when the favor of kings and princes would have been heard of with unconcern. It has given them what money cannot buy, even inward peace. It has blessed their weary consciences and given rest to their heavy hearts. The song of Solomon speaks the experience of many when it says, my name is azointment poured forth. Happy is that person who trusts not merely in vague notions of God's mercy and goodness, but in Jesus. Are you trusting in Jesus today? John Newton wrote the hymn, How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds, in a believer's ear. It soothes his sorrows, it heals his wounds, and drives away his fear. makes the wounded spirit whole, and calms the troubled breast. Tis manner to the hungry soul and to the weary breast." And we, when I say we, I'm talking about the people of God collectively in this house of the Lord today. We have known this. We have known this by experience. Oh, the precious, precious, sweet name of Jesus, sweetest note in seraph tongue, sweetest name on mortal tongue, sweetest carol ever sung, Jesus, blessed Jesus. How sweet was the name of Jesus in the ear and in the heart of blind Bartimaeus as he sat by the wayside begging and he heard that it was Jesus that was passing that way. No wonder he cried out that day, Jesus, thy son of David, have mercy upon me. And there are today in this place of worship those that are blind in their sin. Barnabas had a physical blindness. He also had a spiritual blindness, but today you can see physically, but you were blind in your sin. Oh, that you would cry out upon this precious name, Jesus, thy son of David, have mercy upon me, and he will, a sweet name to sinners. How sweet was the name to Philip, when he found the Savior. And he sought to bring his friend Nathanael to Christ when he said, we have found him, of whom Moses and the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And I tell you, when you find him, Whom your soul loveth when he comes to your door knocking, and he enters in, his name becomes so dear. And yes, we too can say, we have found him. We have found him, Jesus of Nazareth. Do you proclaim him to others? Oh, the sweetness of this name. How sweet was the name in Martha's ear in John 11 when she was told that Jesus was coming. A time of sorrow, for their brother Lazarus had been taken in death. But she heard Jesus was coming, and her heart was glad, and she ran to meet him. And I tell you, my friends, in times of sorrow, when our loved ones are taken, it's still a precious name, the name of Jesus. And we still know in our hearts that this blessed one comes to us, and we can run to him in our times of sorrow. How sweet was that name to Stephen. as he was about to die. And to die the death of a martyr, and he whispered, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And thank God this name is still upon the lips of dying saints. And when the child of God comes to that place where they're going to leave this life and go out into eternity, I tell you, there's no sweeter name than the name of Jesus. And just to whisper His name in full knowledge of what that name means. He is your God. He is Jehovah to you. And He is your Savior. He has provided redemption for you. That's what you're trusting when you come to die. and just to breathe the name of Jesus and all its significance will bring gladness and joy to your heart. You see, my friends, the name of Jesus is so sweet. In every aspect of life, whether as a blind sinner coming to the Lord and crying upon his name, Jesus, have mercy upon me. or as a sorrowful saint in times of difficulty and need to breathe the name of Jesus and what that means, or when we come to die and we leave this life, Jesus, oh, how precious, how sweet is that name. And I just say to you as you leave the house of God today, take the name of Jesus with you. And let your soul and your heart be blessed this Sabbath by His name and all that it means. And at this Christmas time, as we think of the one who came into the world, the one who would be known by this name, the name Jesus.