English
Português
Español
Français
Response
In Matthew 1:18–21, Joseph was visited by an angel in a dream and instructed to marry Mary. Initially, Joseph planned to divorce her quietly to spare her from public shame, believing she had conceived a child with another man. However, the angel reassured Joseph that Mary’s pregnancy was a result of the Holy Spirit. Joseph was told, “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, for what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).
Both Joseph and Mary received instructions from God through angels to name the miraculously conceived child Jesus (Matthew 1:21;Luke 1:31). The angel explicitly explained to Joseph the reason for naming Him Jesus: “You are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” «And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. », (Matthew 1:21, emphasis added). The name Jesus means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation,” being the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Joshua. Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth was not to save the Jews from political oppression, social issues, or incorrect beliefs, but to save His people from their sins.
The name of Jesus not only declared His purpose but also affirmed His divinity and the effectiveness of His mission. “Yahweh saves.” Sin introduced death and created a separation between us and God «Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: », (Romans 5:1).
2″>(Romans 5:12). However, Jesus’ “righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people” «Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. », (Romans 5:18). Jesus is God eternal (John 1:1-3), yet He became flesh, lived a sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21;Hebrews 4:15;1 John 3:5), and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice on our behalf (1 Corinthians 15:3;Colossians 1:22;Hebrews 10:10). Jesus’ death eternally conquered sin and death and provided the atoning sacrifice for the entire world «and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. », (1 John 2:2). All who believe in Him will be saved (John 3:16;Acts 16:31). Since only God can save and Jesus came to save His people from their sin, Jesus’ name confirms He is God. And His purpose was successful: He provided the only way for people to be saved from their sins.
God intentionally sent Jesus to fulfill His plan of redemption “when the set time had fully come” Galatians 4:45. The Messiah’s coming was prophesied long before He was born. Jesus’ mission and name are connected to the prophecy from Isaiah 7:14. Matthew makes the connection explicit: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means God with us).
In Matthew 1:22-23, it is stated that Jesus (which means ‘God with us’) was named so because He would save His people from their sins. This raises the question of how naming Him Jesus fulfills the prophecy of calling Him Immanuel.
Immanuel is among the various titles given to Jesus in the Old and New Testaments. It was not His given name, just as He was not named “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” as mentioned in Isaiah 9:6. Instead, Jesus was His given name. Jesus embodied the meaning of His given name while also embodying the meaning of Immanuel, signifying “God with us.” This signifies that God became human, as stated in John 1:14, providing the sole means for people to be saved from their sins.
The name of Jesus is intrinsic to His identity and purpose. He was named Jesus because He would save His people from their sins, a mission He fulfilled and continues to fulfill. Acts 4:12 emphasizes that salvation is exclusive to Jesus, as there is no other name under heaven by which humanity can be saved. Those who have experienced salvation are called to share this message, as highlighted in Matthew 28:19-20, and to honor the One who came to rescue us by doing everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, as stated in Colossians 3:17.The Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father through Him.” », (Colossians 3:17).
