Prayer Intention for the Week

September 2 - 8, 2018


That the Holy Spirit may inspire us to think of, speak about and do the things that would glorify God the Father and cause the salvation of souls. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord and Friend. Amen.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

His Name is Jesus: Savior

ANGEL APPEARS TO JOSEPH IN A DREAM.
Image from bibleartwork.wordpress.com vi
a google.com





"She will give birth to a son 
and you must name him Jesus, 
because he is the one who is to save 
his people from their sins." 
- Matthew 1:21








First of all, we must be clear about this: the name of the Lord is Jesus. While Christ is His most common and well-known titles which we shall discuss in a later entry.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia'[t]he word Jesus is the Latin form of the Greek Iesous, which in turn is the transliteration of the Hebrew Jeshua, or Joshua, or again, Jehoshua, meaning "Jehovah is salvation."' More explanation can be read thereHence the name of the Lord Jesus Christ means savior and salvation. 

In the Gospel according to St Luke, the announcement of the name of Jesus was made to the Blessed Virgin Mary, 


"Look! You are to conceive in your womb
and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus." 
- Luke 1:31 


it can be deduced that the angel appeared to St Joseph in a dream after this Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary because the account of St Matthew already tells us that the Blessed Virgin Mary was already known to have a child and he was already thinking of secretly divorcing her hence the divine intervention to ensure God's plans are fulfilled [see Matthew 1: 18-21]. Isn't this event a prelude to the saving act of Jesus?

Both Evangelists mention the name Jesus but instead of stating that the name was due to our Lord's mission of salvation for all men, Luke instead declares about His important title of being the Son of the Most High, His royal lineage, and His future reign: 


"He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. 
The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; 
and he will rule over the house of Jacob for ever 
and his reign will have no end"
- Luke 1: 32-33]


St Matthew states the Lord's role of Savior. In St Luke's record, we can say that his account of the Lord's eternal reign speaks not of an earthly kingship but a heavenly one. His declaration about the Lord ruling over the House of Jacob, could be pointing out to His being the Head of the Church, the New Israel. Remember that the former name of Israel is Jacob [see Genesis 32:28; 35;10]. St Matthew directly introduces our Lord as Savior; St Luke somehow gives us a hint of His role as our salvation for we shall be ruled by Him in the New Israel, the Church, and  ultimately be ruled by Him in heaven, in the Father's kingdom.

Our Lord's name is therefore equivalent to the very mission for which He was sent by the Father. St John states in his account of the Gospel,


"God so loved the world 
that he sent his only-begotten Son
so that whoever believes in him should not perish 
but have everlasting life." 
- John 3:16


Should not perish but have everlasting life - salvation in another formulation of words. St Luke wrote quoting St Peter in Acts 4:12,


"Salvation is found in no one else, 
for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind 
by which we must be saved."


St Paul, whose original name was Saul before it was changed by the Lord to Paul declared His being a Savior by writing to Timothy in this manner, 


"For there is one God 
and one mediator between God and mankind, 
the man Christ Jesus."
- 1 Timothy 2:5


The Lord also gives meaning to His mission to save mankind in another set of words,

"I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."

- John 10:10


The they refers to His sheep, and who are His sheep? Who else but the members of His flock, the Church, the New Israel. He also acknowledged that there are other sheep outside of the flock, which means those who are still not members of the Church, the New Israel, which He also must bring in so that there should be only one fold and one Shepherd [see John 10:16]. To this sheep He has sent His Apostles that they may belong to the Church, the One Fold and the New Israel, and attain salvation in His name [see Matthew 28:19]. As to the fullness of life, what more salvation can mankind expect beyond having the fullness of life? For such life can only be with the Father in eternity!

Being our Savior the name of the Lord requires our utmost respect just as St Paul wrote,


"That in the name of Jesus every knee should bend, 
of those that are in heaven, on earth, 
and under the earth ..." 
- Philippians 2:10


Clearly, Jesus's name means salvation, and He is our Savior. A lot more passages in the New Testament would attest to this and their fullest meaning can be best understood when read in conjunction with Old Testament prophesies about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

We only have to prayerfully read the Bible to know more about Him.


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