https://www.bible.com/events/49365254
Church of the Nazarene East Rockingham Campus
The Names of Jesus Part 4- East Rock
Savior
Today we continue our Advent teaching series “The Names of Jesus”
Throughout this series we are looking at a few of the different names that the scriptures give to Jesus. Names In the bible often hold far more meaning and importance than what we are accustomed to in our time. Names often spoke of a persons character and even their destiny. The same is true for Jesus.
We continue today with the name Savior
As you enter the Christmas story, the theme of salvation or rescue is all over the place.
Luke 1:30-31
But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
The name Jesus literally translated means “The salvation of God” or “God saves” And so, from the very moment of his miraculous conception, the message of salvation is there.
After Jesus is born in Bethlehem, when the angels appear to the shepherds out in the fields, their announcement is really all about salvation.
Luke 2:10-11
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
A savior, a deliverer, has been born to you. A rescuer has arrived.
And I love that in Matthew Chapter 1 Joseph gets perhaps the most clear explanation of them all.
Matthew 1:20-21
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
This baby boy’s name would be his mission- The Lord saves.
He was born to save his people from their sins.
This idea of will save, is one word in the original language.
It has the basic idea of rescuing someone from great peril. Additionally, it carries the idea of protection, to keep alive, to preserve life, to make someone whole.
It’s the basic idea of rescue.
The great rescue mission of Christmas is a little different because it’s not about rescue from a burning building, or from a hiking trip in the woods gone wrong.
Jesus came to rescue his people from their SINS.
The word for sins here means literally to miss the mark.
Literally, it meant shooting at a target and missing.
It was used of a traveler who lost their way, who couldn’t get to their destination.
Sins also spoke of falling short of an intended purpose. Not fulfilling what you were made for.
So as we consider the rescue mission of Jesus, it is not about rescuing us from torrent waters, or not fulfilling our career dreams.
He came to bring us back into relationship with God. To re-align our lives to our created purpose, to bring us back on target.
Jesus himself said “I have come to seek and save the lost.”
It’s all about rescue.
I understand this news of needing rescue might be a little surprising to hear because typically, when you find yourself in the need of rescue, something happened, right? A car accident, you got lost on a hike, something catches fire, etc.
So, you’re hearing all this talk about Christmas and rescue wondering “Why do I need rescue? I’m doing just fine?”
But the bible tells us that something DID happen to put us all in need of rescue, even if everything seems fine now. To see what happened, we need to go back in the Christmas story, WAY back, to the beginning.
The need for rescue begins all the way back in Genesis 3 of our bibles.
In Genesis 1 and 2 we find the story of how God brought all of creation into being. It was his creative power speaking everything into existence, including Adam and Eve, the first human beings.
As you read the creation account we see that Adam and Eve were created for relationship with the Lord. They knew him, they walked with him, and served as co-agents in tending creation.
Think about it- they had deep meaningful Relationship, true sense of identity, and life-giving purpose. They had literally everything that we still long for today. They had it all, until genesis 3.
God had given Adam and Eve virtually unlimited freedom, nothing was off limits except for the fruit of one tree. They were not to eat the fruit from this one special tree in the garden. That was God’s only stipulation to them, they had to choose relationship and obedience to him.
At this point in the story, a strange new character comes in, evil in the form of a snake. This evil one convinces Eve that God is holding out on them, that they should take matters into their own hands. They shouldn’t be told they couldn’t eat from a tree. And so, they do. They disobey God.
Genesis 3:6
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Adam and Eve fractured their relationship with God, with each other, and with all of creation. They missed the mark, no longer fulfilling their created purpose for relationship with God. They sinned.
The bible looks at this moment of disobedience as the moment when sin and death entered our story. When we first needed rescue.
And it’s not that you are blamed for eating an apple thousands of years ago. But the bible calls out that same spirit of rebellion and self serving interests is in each one of us today.
On our own we are apart from God, fulfilling our own desires, doing our own thing, and we are destined for death.
What makes the rescue story of Christmas different, is that our rescue came to give his life for us.
Jesus did not accomplish our rescue by coming in the manger, he won our salvation by dying.
The bible tells us that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The truth is, if we do not embrace Christ as our savior, we will face death, eternity separated from God’s presence. That’s the end result of a life, even a good life, lived in sin.
But it doesn’t have to be that way, because a gift has been given to you in Christ Jesus. It’s the best Christmas gift ever, you just need to receive it.
Have you received that gift? Do you know Jesus as your savior? As your Rescuer?
Romans 10:9-10
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.