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Christmas: Call His Name Jesus—At the Name of Jesus
“For He will save His people from their sins”
Our New Testament opens with the glorious advent of Christ the Promised One; God the Son came to Earth to save sinners.
Christmas is really has one theme and one central message—Jesus came to save people from their sins. That is the way He is introduced to us; those are the first words recorded about Jesus in the New Testament.
Christmas as the Matthew 1:21 introduces it, is year round–because Christmas means remembering Christ’s coming to Earth to save people from their sins.
Christmas marks the season we remember the birth of the Name; the Name that is above every name—the Name of Jesus[1]. And that Name is first given to us in Matthew 1.
THE NAME OF JESUS
More people over the past 20 centuries have found strength, comfort, and most of all salvation in the Name of Jesus, than any other Name.
The Name of Jesus has been whispered with the last breath of countless dying saints;
that Name has been sobbed at the bedsides of many sick and injured loved ones;
that Name has been held to tightly in many dark and fearful hours.
That Name is the Name that is above every name; at the Name of Jesus every knee will bow; with the Name of Jesus, God highly exalted His Son.
This Christmas season, have you pondered the powerful, gracious, matchless worth of the Name of Jesus? One young lady in England did so and wrote a collection of poems about the blessing that comes from meditating upon the precious name of Jesus. This woman named Caroline Noel published in 1870, a collection of poems she wrote (that eventually totaled 500) with this interesting title: “The Name of Jesus and other Verses for the Sick and Lonely”. Here is one poem that was written many years ago that you may recognize.
At the Name of Jesus Every Knee Shall Bow
Miss Caroline Maria Noel, 1817-1877
At the name of Jesus
Every knee shall bow,
Every tongue confess him
King of glory now:
‘Tis the Father’s pleasure
We should call him Lord,
Who from the beginning
Was the mighty Word.
Humbled for a season,
To receive a name
From the lips of sinners
Unto whom he came,
Faithfully he bore it
Spotless to the last,
Brought it back victorious,
When from death he passed:
In your hearts enthrone him;
There let him subdue
All that is not holy,
All that is not true:
Crown him as your captain
In temptation’s hour;
Let his will enfold you
In its light and power.
Brothers, this Lord Jesus
Shall return again,
With his Father’s glory,
With his angel train;
For all wreaths of empire
Meet upon his brow,
And our hearts confess him
King of glory now.
And this Christmas we remember the birth of that Name.
EXPERIENCE THE NAME OF JESUS TODAY
Look with me to the very first time the Name of Jesus is used in our New Testaments. It is in the first book. Matthew starts right out with a long list of names. At the end of that genealogy we find the first record of the greatest Name that is above every name—because in Matthew 1:21 we first find the Name of Jesus.
Matthew introduces us to Jesus through this list of fallen sinners so we can see Christ came as a human, the Son of Man, encompassing all of mankind in our needy condition, weaknesses and frailties—yet of course He comes always without sin.
- Matthew 1:21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
The One who came can forgive sins. When He forgives us, He also moves to live within us. Jesus is God with us! We have all of God in the person of Christ who dwells in us!
Christmas is forever tied with Jesus coming to “save His people from their sins”. The message of Christmas is salvation from sin in the Name of Jesus.
This Christmas, if you fear your past, hate your sin, long to have some deep dark stain removed, some painful memory healed, some horrible guilt forever banished—Jesus has come. His gates are open wide; His Door is unlocked and He stands with open arms to believers and unbelievers alike, this very moment. No one who ever wants to believe and be saved is ever turned away.
WATCH JESUS IN ACTION
Today explore that Name above every Name, the Name of Jesus as we travel to the Gospel by Mark.
Mark records Christ’s very active life of ministry with the Gospel that has the most recorded events. There are 250 commonly accepted different events in the Gospel record of Christ’s earthly ministry. Of the Four Gospels, Mark is the shortest in number of verses but longest in the number of different events that are chronicled. [2]
Christ came to save from sin and Mark records perhaps the most touching in chapter 1. In the Gospel that gives us the most complete record of all that Christ Jesus our Lord said and did—chapter one brims with person after person that Christ ministers to.
Please open to Mark 1:40 to see Jesus, the Name of the One that saves from sin—demonstrate why He came.
This is Christ’s first conversation with an individual in Mark’s Gospel. All other events have been with groups. This meeting is captured because it is the most beautiful reminder of how Jesus cleanses us completely as individuals.
Jesus, who came at Christmas to save people from their sin, uses this leper to show us His love, and compassion for us sinners He came to seek and save. What does He choose to show us about this leper who came seeking His help? The answer is in Mark 1:40-42.
- Mark 1:40-42 Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.
LEPROSY IS A PICTURE OF SIN
Lepers are the clearest picture of sin in the Bible. So, for the One who came at Christmas to save His people from sin, it is fitting that the first individual Jesus meets is a leper. Christ’s actions forever remind us of His love and compassion as He seeks and saves sinners.
Physically, leprosy is awful. Leprosy was the scourge of the ancient world. Nothing evoked more fear, more dread, or more revulsion than the sight of these walking dead. That is what a leper was called, a walking dead man.
The smell of his decaying flesh would announce his coming long before the tattered scraps of his clothing would be seen, or his raspy “Unclean! Unclean!” announcement he was required to declare, could be heard. [3]
Spiritually, leprosy is a vivid and graphic picture of the horrible power of sin. Sin is ugly, loathsome, incurable, and contaminating; it separates men from God and makes them outcasts. Please turn back with me to the third book of the Old Testament called Leviticus.
In Leviticus 13, the instructions given to the priests in Leviticus 13 help us understand the nature of sin:
- Sin is inside us, deeper than the skin (Lev. 13:3) and cannot be helped by mere “surface” measures (see Jeremiah 6:14)—sin is always from deep inside [our hearts];
- Leviticus 13:3 “The priest shall examine the sore on the skin of the body; and if the hair on the sore has turned white, and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous sore. Then the priest shall examine him, and pronounce him unclean.
- Sin also spreads just like leprosy (Lev. 13:8)—sin always spreads;
- Leviticus 13:8 “And if the priest sees that the scab has indeed spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy.
- Sin always defiles (Lev. 13:45). People with leprosy were looked on as “dead” (Num. 12:12)—sin always defiles.
- Leviticus 13:45 “Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!”
- Because of his defilement, a leprous person had to be isolated outside the camp (Lev. 13:46) so lost sinners one day will be isolated in hell—sin always isolates;
- Leviticus 13:46 “He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.
- And just as leprous garments are fit only for the fire (Lev. 13:52, 57), so those who die clothed in sin will burn forever—sin will always be judged.
- Leviticus 13:52, 57 “He shall therefore burn that garment in which is the plague, whether warp or woof, in wool or in linen, or anything of leather, for it is an active leprosy; the garment shall be burned in the fire. 57 “But if it appears again in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in anything made of leather, it is a spreading plague; you shall burn with fire that in which is the plague.
So Jesus came at Christmas to save us sinners with sin deep in our hearts, hopelessly defiled, isolated from God, facing inescapably and fiery judgment in Hell. That is why we need to remember why He came, and tell other lost sinners how to trust Jesus Christ and by faith get rid of the “leprosy” of their sins![4]
COMING TO JESUS WITH SIN
Back to Mark one, and note the incredible details of Christ’s cleansing of this man.
The lepers, or the walking dead were so feared that they were driven to live outside of civilization. No family would be allowed to stay in touch with their loved one once that oozing, green sore was detected.
Off went the walking dead leper to the dark, pain-filled world of exclusion, hatred, bitterness, and loneliness.
But then came Jesus. Mark used his favorite word in our passage we will read this morning. When the untouchable was touched by Jesus in v.42, note that “Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.”
This man knew that Jesus was able to heal him, but he was not sure the Master was willing to heal him. Lost sinners today have the same unnecessary concern, for God has made it abundantly clear that He is not willing that sinners perish (2 Peter 3:9) and that He is willing that all men be saved (1 Tim. 2:4). Anyone who has never trusted the Savior is spiritually in worse shape than this man was physically.
When Jesus touched the leper, He contracted the leper’s defilement; but He also conveyed His health! Is this not what He did for us on the cross when He was made sin for us? (2 Cor. 5:21) The leper did not question His ability to heal; he only wondered if He were willing. Certainly God is willing to save! He is “God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved” (1 Tim. 2:3-4). God is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9).
With that touch Jesus answered for all time the doubts of those who wonder if God really cares. Jesus not only met the physical need–He understood the loneliness this man must have experienced, and with His touch dealt directly with that inner pain.
If you’ve ever been lonely, ever felt rejected or unloved, you know what that touch must have meant. Jesus’ touch was not needed to heal the leprosy, but it was necessary to meet this man’s deep, inner need for love. Jesus touched him, as He yearns to touch us all.
SAVING PEOPLE FROM SIN
Jesus always offered only one way out of sin. Sorrowful admission of guilt, and humble requests for mercy. Confession and Forgiveness. Belief and repentance.
If you realize that the leprosy of sin has infected your person, then you have no doubt that you are a sinner.
If you believe that, there is no reason why you should not go immediately to Him. He has compassion, He will actually touch the leprosy of your sin, and you will be immediately healed!
Have you humbled yourself to say, “I know You are willing, make me clean”? If not yet, then why not this morning, why not do it now?
Christmas is when we remember that His Name is Jesus.
Christmas is when we rejoice in the complete forgiveness of our sins.
Christmas is when our Savior was born to save us; His Door is unlocked and He stands with open arms to believers for cleansing and unbelievers for salvation–this very moment.
CALL HIS NAME JESUS
This morning at this communion service, let us worship Him.
So Jesus came at Christmas to save us sinners with sin deep in our hearts, hopelessly defiled, isolated from God, facing inescapably and fiery judgment in Hell.
Remember His hands that touched lepers with the touch of acceptance, love and healing. Whisper to Him:
“We worship you oh Lamb of God who came to us in our leprosy of sin and rescued us.”
DO YOU KNOW YOUR CRITICAL NEED?
Like David, we need to see ourselves as God saw us. We like David are guilty of breaking them all. We should see ourselves as worst than we think, rather than better. Because Christ’s death is only for the guilty, only for the hopelessly stained, and only for the helplessly lost. It is in that condition—like David’s, that we find God’s grace.
All sinners (so that means all humans that have ever lived on planet earth except Jesus Christ) have seven basic Biblically described needs. Briefly summed up, a lost sinner needs forgiveness, justification, regeneration, reconciliation, adoption, redemption, and sanctification.
FORGIVENESS—CRITICAL NEED #1
- Because of our sin, like David–we are all debtors; so we need forgiveness.
So Christ died to take the hopeless debt we owe to God and pay with His own life our eternal death sin has caused us to be responsible to pay–that’s forgiveness. A Sinner stands before God as a debtor and that debt is forgotten by His payment.
- Psalm 32:1-2 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. NKJV
- Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace NKJV
- Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. NKJV
Have you like David, experienced the relief of knowing that all your sins, everyone of them—past, present, and future, are GONE? Your sins are paid for, and your eternal life is purchased—and you have the receipt in your hand, written in the very blood of the One who paid the price. Christ’s record of that payment is forever settled in this book the Bible!
JUSTIFICATION—CRITICAL NEED #2
- Because of our sin, like David–we are all guilty convicts in God’s sight; so we need justification.
So Christ died to take guilty convicts and destroy any record that that ever committed a crime and takes their place in the punishment—that’s justification! A Sinner stands before God as accused and is declared righteous by His imputed righteousness.
- Psalm 51:3-4 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight—That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. NKJV
- Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. NKJV
- Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, NKJV
Have you like David, experienced the peace of justification, all guilt removed, all punishment forever taken away from God’s sight?
REGENERATION—CRITICAL NEED #3
- Because of our sin, like David–we are all dead in our trespasses and sin; so we need regeneration.
So Christ died to take dead and rotting spiritual corpses and make them vibrant, full of endless life and brand new—that’s regeneration!
- Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, NKJV
- John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. NKJV
- Hebrews 7:16b …but according to the power of an endless life. NKJV;
Have you like David, experienced the power of an endless life, and every day partaking of the powerful presence within of the very Lord God Almighty?
RECONCILIATION—CRITICAL NEED #4
- Because of our sin, like David–we are all enemies of God; so we need reconciliation.
So Christ died to take enemies and make them friends—that’s reconciliation! A Sinner stands before God as an enemy and is made a friend by His peace.
- Romans 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. NKJV
- Romans 5:10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. NKJV; John 15:14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. NKJV
Have you like David, experienced the wonder of friendship with God?
ADOPTION—CRITICAL NEED #5
- Because of our sin, like David–we are all strangers to God; so we need adoption.
So Christ died to take strangers and make them part of the family—that’s adoption! A Sinner stands before God as a stranger and is called a Son by His choice.
- Ephesians 2:12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. NASB
- Galatians 4:4-6 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” NKJV
Have you like David, experienced the joy of being adopted into Christ’s family?
REDEMPTION—CRITICAL NEED #6
- Because of our sin, like David–we are all slaves to unrighteousness; so we need redemption.
So Christ died to take slaves and make them freed forever—that’s redemption! A Sinner stands before God as a slave and is granted freedom by His ransom.
- John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. NASB
- John 8:36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. NKJV
Have you like David, experienced the thrill of being liberated, set free, rescued by God forever?
SANCTIFICATION—CRITICAL NEED #7
- Because of our sin, like David–we are all defile; so we need sanctificationd.
So Christ died to take our soiled and spotted lives that always get wasted and make them clean, focused and fruitful—that’s sanctification! Just before we read Romans 6:13b, may I again remind you of the two sides of the coin of salvation. To best understand what God has done, let me contrast and explain justification and sanctification. Because we are saved (justified) this is how we should live (sanctified).
- Justification is what Christ did for me on the cross–sanctification is what Christ is doing in me because of the cross.
- Justification is immediate and was completely finished in me the instant I was saved—sanctification is an ongoing process never completed on earth until I meet Jesus face to face at death or His coming.
- Justification is activated the moment I trust in the Person of Christ Jesus and His finished sacrifice of the cross—sanctification grows with each obedient choice I make empowered by the Holy Spirit.
- Justification is my position declared right in God’s sight—sanctification is my practice made right by becoming more conformed to His image.
Try COR gates open, etc.
Get greatest critical needs
As you review this section of Acts, you cannot help but be impressed with some practical truths that should encourage all of us in our witnessing for Christ.
- God is long-suffering with lost sinners. The leaders of Israel had rejected the ministry of John the Baptist (Matt. 21:23–27) and the ministry of Jesus, and yet God gave them another opportunity to repent and be saved. They had denied and slain their own Messiah, and yet God patiently held back His judgment and sent His Spirit to deal with them. God’s people today need patience as we witness to a lost world.
- True witness involves the “bad news” of sin and guilt as well as the “good news” of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. There can be no true faith in Christ unless first there is repentance from sin. It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to convict lost sinners (John 16:7–11), and He will do this if we faithfully witness and use God’s Word.
- The way to reach the masses is by helping the individual sinner. Peter and John won the crippled beggar and his transformed life led to the conversion of 2,000 men! The servant of God who has no time for personal work with individual sinners will not be given many opportunities for ministering to great crowds. Like Jesus, the Apostles took time for individuals.
- The best defense of the truth of the Christian faith is a changed life. The healed beggar was “Exhibit A” in Peter’s defense of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In his evangelistic ministries, the Methodist preacher Samuel Chadwick used to pray for “a Lazarus” in every campaign, some “great sinner” whose conversion would shock the community. He got the idea fromJohn 12:9–11. God answered his prayers in meeting after meeting as infamous wicked men trusted Christ and became witnesses through their changed lives. Let’s go after the “hard cases” and see what God can do!
- Whenever God blesses, Satan shows up to oppose the work and silence the witness; and often he uses religious people to do his work. The same crowd that opposed the ministry of Jesus Christ also opposed the work of the Apostles, and they will oppose our ministry today. Expect it—but don’t let it stop you! The important thing is not that we are comfortable, but that the name of the Lord is glorified through the preaching of the Gospel.
- God has promised to bless and use His Word, so let’s be faithful to witness. Jesus even prayed that our witness would have success (John 17:20), so we have every reason to be encouraged. There is power in the name of Jesus, so we need not fear to witness and call sinners to repent.
- The name of Jesus Christ still has power! While we may not perform the same apostolic miracles today that were seen in the early church, we can still claim the authority of Jesus Christ as He has instructed us in the Word.
We can preach the “remission of sins” in His name (Luke 24:47) so that people might believe and have “life through His name” (John 20:31). We can give someone a cup of cold water in His name (Mark 9:41), and we can receive a child in His name (Matt. 18:5). These ministries may not seem as spectacular as healing a cripple, but they are still important to the work of God.
We can ask in His name as we pray (John 14:13–14; 15:16; 16:23–26). When we ask the Father for something “in the name of Jesus Christ,” it is as though Jesus Himself were asking it. If we remember this, it will help to keep us from asking for things unworthy of His name.
Yes, the name of Jesus Christ still has authority and power. Let’s go forth in His name and conquer! [5]
As you begin the new year, one of the greatest gifts you can present to God is to believe what He’s said about you…not what others have said about you all your life. How many times have you fallen and then spent countless days or weeks condemning yourself for what you’ve done? As you go through your day, if you fall down, turn to God and repent, confess your sin immediately and believe that He has forgiven you and then get through the going through. You Are Special In Christ: As You Think, So You Become!
I would highly recommend printing this letter, posting it in several places in your home and office, following the instructions, and you’ll begin to see a life-changing transformation take place based on His eternal principles.
Instructions: Read The Following Out Loud To Yourself Each Night Just Before Bedtime For Thirty Days And Begin Realizing Who You Are In Christ Jesus
I Am Accepted In Christ Jesus
I am God’s child (John 1:12)
I am Christ’s friend (John 15:15)
I have been justified (Rom. 5:1)
I am united with the Lord and one with Him in spirit (1 Cor. 6:17)
I have been bought with a price; I belong to God (1 Cor. 6:20)
I am a member of Christ’s Body (1 Cor. 12:27)
I am a saint (Eph. 1:1)
I have been adopted as God’s child (Eph. 1:5)
I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins (Col. 1:14)
I am complete in Christ (Col. 2:10)
I Am Secure In Christ
I am free forever from condemnation (Rom. 8:12)
I am assured that all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28)
I am free from any condemning charges against me (Rom. 8:33, 34)
I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom. 8:35)
I have been established, anointed and sealed by God (2 Cor. 1:21)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3)
I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected (Phil. 1:6)
I am a citizen of heaven (Phil. 3:20)
I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7)
I can find grace and mercy in time of need (Heb. 4:16)
I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me (1 John 5:18)
I Am Special In Christ Jesus
I am the salt and light of the earth (Mth. 5:13, 14)
I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15:15)
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16)
I am a personal witness of Christ’s (Acts 1:8)
I am God’s temple (1 Cor. 3:16)
I am a minister of reconciliation (2 Cor. 17:20)
I am God’s coworker (2 Cor. 6:1)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm (Eph. 2:6)
I am God’s workmanshhip (Eph. 2:10)
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3:12)
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
For the complete study, visit the following link:
http://www.christianoutfitters.com/youspec.html
Grow in grace and truth…
Doug Morrell
Christian Outfitters
[1] The Name given to God the Son the coming to Earth was Jesus, the English transliteration of the Greek Yeshua which comes from the Hebrew Yehoshua both of which mean “Yahweh/Jehovah Savior” or “Yahweh/Jehovah saves”.
[2] Mark has 119 of the 250 events recorded in just 678 verses; Matthew has 111 of the 250 events captured in his 1071 verses; Luke has 99 of the events captured in his 1151 verses; and John has 68 of the events captured in his 879 verses.
[3] Drawn from the Mark series message # 17 preached on 00611AM.
[4] Wiersbe, Warren W., The Bible Exposition Commentary, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books) 1997.
[5]Wiersbe, Warren W., The Bible Exposition Commentary, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books) 1997.