"You shall call His name Jesus" - Christmas 2019

In each Gospel account of the birth of Jesus – Matthew and Luke – both Mary and Joseph are told exactly what to name their miracle baby. In Matthew 1, we read Joseph was told that Mary was going to give birth to a baby that was conceived by the Holy Spirit; “and you shall call His name Jesus” (verse 21).  In his book “Why the Nativity?” Dr. David Jeremiah explains, “Jesus is just the Greek equivalent of Joshua, which means “God saves” ”.  This makes the second half of Matthew 1:21 all the more powerful: “and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

To be saved from sin is a big deal.  A Got questions.org article states, “We are all infected with sin (Romans 3:23).  We are born with sin (Psalm 51:5), and we all personally choose to sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 John 1:8).  Sin is what makes us unsaved.  Sin is what separates us from God.  Sin is what has us on the path to eternal destruction.” (Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/how-can-I-be-saved.html).

Some people see this sin dilemma, and they pursue works of righteousness to try and fix it.  But this endeavor is doomed to fail.  Interestingly, this is demonstrated in the film “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012).  This movie is something of a mixed bag – in fact, in 2014, I blogged about both the great moments of this film, and the moments that weren’t so great – I was already thinking about this movie for today’s blog, but on this specific point, I must credit author Bruce Green.  He notes,

“One of the storylines is the saving of Selina Kyle…We find out early in the movie that she is pointedly aware that her use, abuse, and stay-one-step-ahead lifestyle will catch up to her someday so she is pursuit of “a clean slate” a program that will erase her record from all databases and allow her to start over.  In her desperation for this new life, she is willing to temporarily push further into the darkness and work for those who are truly evil in exchange for the clean slate.  She is cheated by them (they have no such device)…Her own attempts to clean her slate and begin a new life have come up despairingly empty…It’s not hard to see the gospel parallels…Her pursuit of the new life through her guile is the sinner’s fruitless attempt to save themselves apart from Christ and His grace”  (https://sites.google.com/site/atasteofgracewithbrucegreen/Home/at-the-movies/-there-s-more-to-you-than-that-the-dark-knight-rises).

Maybe you can relate to Selina Kyle’s quest.  I have in mind that someone is going to read this who has been plagued with guilt.  You have done things that you feel are so reprehensible, you feel you are beyond redemption and forgiveness.  Sure, you may go through the motions of this Christmas season, but in your heart and soul, you are bowed down under the weight of your sin and shame.  I hope and pray that today you can see the truth of Christmas: Jesus Christ was born in a manger.  But there’s much more to the story than that.  He grew up, lived a perfect life, and He paid the price for all of your sin.

That same got questions.org article says, “Because the just penalty for sin is infinite and eternal, only God could pay the penalty, because only He is infinite and eternal.  But God, in His divine nature, could not die.  So God became a human being in the person of Jesus Christ.  God took on human flesh, lived among us, and taught us.  When the people rejected Him and His message, and sought to kill Him, He willingly sacrificed Himself for us, allowing Himself to be crucified (John 10:15).  Because Jesus Christ was human, He could die; and because Jesus Christ was God, His death had an eternal and infinite value.  Jesus’ death on the cross was the perfect and complete payment for our sin (1 John 2:2).”

How did the story end for Selina Kyle?  Once again, Bruce Green puts it so well in his description of the film:

“In the end, Wayne gives her the device.  It’s a free gift; she’s done nothing to earn it and she says as much (“You’re going to trust me with that?  After what I did to you?”).  But there’s a call that comes with the gift.  He needs her help.  Later, he repeats it when she suggests she is simply going to go her own way.  He tells her, “There’s more to you than that.”  And there is.”

 

Ultimately, Selina proves him right and fights by Bruce Wayne’s side.  In fact, at the film’s very end, after he had saved the city, we see that Bruce had ran away with Selina to live in solitude and anonymity.  Evidently, she had used the clean slate device after the battle; free of her past sins, but now devoted to Bruce.  Jesus has the same offer for a clean slate for you.  “You shall call His name Jesus,” Joseph was told in Matthew 1:21, “For He shall save His people from their sins.”  My prayer is, if you haven’t accepted the gift of forgiveness of sins and fellowship with Jesus, make today the day. 

Kevin