King and Saviour

The name ‘Jesus’ means “Yahweh saves.” In this man, the Salvation promised by the God of Abraham has arrived. The child carried by Mary was “begotten of the Holy Spirit.” The angel instructed Joseph to name this child ‘Jesus’: “Call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” His name, ‘Jesus’, pointed to the saving act of God that was about to unfold in History.

Humanity has seen the promised Salvation of Yahweh fulfilled through Jesus of Nazareth. In his life, teachings, death, and resurrection, the Good News of God’s reign and His sovereignty began to invade the nations.

[Photo by Mark Fletcher-Brown on Unsplash]

Naming him ‘Jesus’ or “Yahweh saves” does not mean that Jesus 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 and the other benefits of God’s reign to humanity. According to the Apostle Paul, Christ’s Death and Resurrection form the foundation of the Apostolic Tradition:

• “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 Mary’s child as “the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.”

These are more than names on a genealogical list. Not only is Jesus the biological descendant of David and Abraham, but he also came to implement the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant and to reign as the long-awaited Davidic King. Indeed, the nations and the “ends of the Earth” are now his by royal right - (Matthew 1:20-21).

• “Yet I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will tell of the decree. Yahweh said to me, You are my Son. This day, I have begotten you! Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession” - (Psalm 2:6-8).

• “The woman was delivered of a son, a male, who is to shepherd the nations with a rod of iron” - (Revelation 12:5).

Jesus is “the Seed of Abraham” in whom “all the nations of the earth are blessed,” and he is “the Son of David” who now rules as King and “Shepherd” over the nations. It is no coincidence that this same Jesus began proclaiming the Good News of God’s Kingdom in Galilee, a region with a mixed population of Jews and Gentiles - (Genesis 12:3, 22:18, Galatians 3:16-29):

• “Galilee of the Nations <…> The people that sat in darkness saw a great light and to those who sat in the region and Shadow of Death. From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent! For the Kingdom of the Heavens is at hand” - (Matthew 4:16).

• “There will be no gloom to her that was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time, he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Nations! The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They that dwelt in the land of the Shadow of Death, upon them has the light shined” - (Isaiah 9:1-3).

• “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord” – (Luke 2:11).

• “For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared before the face of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel” – (Luke 2:30-32).

The salvation promised by God in past ages is provided through His Son and Anointed King, “the Son of David,” and this salvation always envisaged the inclusion of the Gentiles, “the nations of the Earth,” along with Israel:

• “For I say that Christ has been made a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, Therefore, I will give praise to you among the Gentiles and sing to your name. And again, he says, Rejoice, you Gentiles with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him. And again, Isaiah says, there will be the Root of Jesse, and he that arises to rule over the Gentiles. On him will the nations hope” – (Romans 15:8-12, 16:25).

HIS DIVINELY APPOINTED NAME

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

‘Hoshea’ means “salvation, deliverance, help.” It is from the Hebrew verb for “save, help, deliver,” and that verb is ‘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}), the Son of Nun’s name became ‘Ye-hoshua’. In several of the later books of the Hebrew Bible, the second syllable is eliminated, and the name is shortened to ‘Yeshua’ - (e.g., Nehemiah 8:17, Ezra 2:2).

The form ‘Jesus’ is the anglicized spelling of ‘Yeshua.’ It means more than simply “saviour.” It combines the name of God or ‘Yahweh’ with the Hebrew verb for “save,” and so, ‘Jesus’ means “Yahweh saves.” The promised salvation of God for Israel and the nations arrived in the man from the insignificant village of Nazareth, Jesus, the son of Joseph.

The angel’s announcement also echoes key themes from the ‘Servant’s Song’ of the Book of Isaiah. Jesus is the ‘Servant of Yahweh’ who came to “bear the sins of many,” and thereby “to save his people from their sins”:

• (Isaiah 53:10-11) – “Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him. He has put him to grief, making 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.”

• (Mark 10:45) – “For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

• (Acts 13:22-23) – “And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king; to whom also he gave witness and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who shall do all my will. Of this man's seed has God according to promise brought unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus.”

The genealogy of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Matthew begins with Abraham, the Great Patriarch and Progenitor of Israel. Jesus is the “Son of Abraham,” the promised “Seed” who actualizes and implements the covenant promises.

He is also the “Son of David,” the Messiah of Israel, and “the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth” who reigns from David’s Throne over the Kingdom of God. This glorious reign began with his Death and Resurrection - (“Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance!” - Psalm 2:6-9. Revelation 1:5).

Like Joshua, who led Ancient Israel out of the Wilderness to Canaan, so Jesus is the Ruler of God’s people who delivers them from bondage to Satan, and the “Shepherd of the Nations” who guides them to the True and Greater Promised Land, 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 Shepherd King - (The Lamb’s reign commenced with his Death and Resurrection. Since then, he has been shepherding the nations to New Jerusalem)

• Servant or Tyrant? - (Satan offered Jesus unlimited political power to achieve his messianic mission if only he acknowledged the Devil as his Overlord) 

• Kings and Nations - (The Nations and the Kings of the Earth are found in the City of New Jerusalem because of the redeeming work of the Lamb)

• Good News For All Nations - (The Good News announced by Jesus of Nazareth provides salvation and life for men and women of every nation and people)