Jesus

The Coming Kingdom: Matthew 1.18-25 (5)

Pray Psalm 85.1-3
LORD, You have been favorable to Your land;
You have brought back the captivity of Jacob.
You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people;
You have covered all their sin.
Selah
You have taken away all Your wrath;
You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger.

Sing Psalm 85.1-3.
(Lyons: O, Worship the King)
O LORD, You Your favor showed to Your land;
Your people You saved by Your mighty hand.
Their sins You forgave, all Your wrath You withdrew.
You turned back the anger which to them was due.

Read Matthew 1.18-25; meditate on verse 21.
When you hear this Name, what do you “see” in your mind? Be specific.

Prepare.
1. What Name was Joseph commanded to give Mary’s Baby?

2. Why?

Meditate.
We mentioned that “Jesus” is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name, “Joshua.” Jesus would be identified with Joshua throughout His earthly sojourn, which is precisely what His heavenly Father intended.

Moses, whose name means “drawn out”, because he was taken out of the Nile River, was God’s chosen vessel to lead His people out of captivity in Egypt into the land of promise. He proved insufficient for the task, the rebelliousness and hard-heartedness of Israel finally getting the best of him at the waters of Meribah (Num. 20.7-12). So Joshua was appointed to replace him and finish the work of leading God’s people into the land God had promised and all the promises attached to that.

Joshua succeeded in his appointment because the LORD was with him, accomplishing His plan and will through Joshua for the deliverance of His people. “He delivers”—or “He saves”—completed this phase of God’s plan of redemption and pointed forward to a coming Joshua Who would finish the work.

Jesus is that Joshua. We all have wandered through the wilderness of wrong belief, doubt, self-interest, and confusion, looking for those promises that will bring us peace and joy. Jesus came to embody, proclaim, and bring near His great Kingdom and economy. His Name, His life, and all His teachings point forward to great and precious promises and, more important, to the realization of those promises in Him (2 Pet. 1.4). We who know Jesus know this is so, and we daily press on to know, enjoy, love, and serve Him better each day. Jesus is leading us into the promised Kingdom of God, and we follow not with fears, but with glad obedience.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“And she will bring forth a Son,
And you shall call His Name
               JESUS,
For He will save His people
From their sins” (Matt. 1.21).

Jesus is the centerpiece of all history.
Jesus is the point of everything.
Jesus is the reason for the Christmas season,
But He is also the reason for every season.

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given;
and the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His Name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end,
upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
to order and establish it with judgment and justice
from that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Is. 9.6, 7).

One of the three things Agur the proverb writer thought to be “majestic” and “stately” was “a king whose troops are with him” (Prov. 30.29, 31). JESUS is the King of our Kingdom, are we with Him? Do we understand fully why He came to earth? And for what reason He died?

If He came to “save His people from their sins” then His people are sinful people in mighty need of a Savior.
But I fear many don’t understand the extent of their sinful state. And because they don’t understand that, they see no need to be saved from anything. They’re doing pretty well, thank you. So they think.

But until people look into the Law of God (Ex. 20.1-17; Matt. 22.37-40) and see how far they have fallen away from keeping His Law, they will never grasp why they need a Savior. Nor will they appreciate the full extent of God’s sacrificial love in sending His beloved Son Jesus to die for our sins; rising victorious over them, thus freeing us from the weight of carrying that awful burden to our graves. Then on to hell. Eternally.

But God “is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3.9).
However, He cannot repent for us. We must do that. Daily, consistently, appreciatively—turning away from sin. Constantly.

When we continue in sin, we have totally forgotten that we have been cleansed from them; and we do not understand the willfulness of our own nature and are not dealing strenuously enough against it. 
Here is the remedy: “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, 
for if you do these things [having faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, love (2 Pet. 1.5-7)] you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1.9-11).

And that is exactly where we want to be! With Jesus. With our King. Living righteously in His Kingdom.
For His honor and glory. Saved from our sins to live victoriously for Him.

Reflect.
1. How do you experience the reality of Jesus having delivered you from your sins?

2. How was Jesus able to do that?

3. Whom will you encourage today to continue in the great salvation our Lord has won for us?

When the Son of God came to us clothed in flesh, he received from the Father a name which plainly told for what purpose he came, what was his power, and what we had a right to expect from him. for the name Jesus is derived from the Hebrew verb, in the Hiphil conjugation, הושיע, which signifies to save. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Matthew 1.21

Pray Psalm 85.4-13.
Jesus delivers us into the promises of God. Review the promises of Genesis 12.1-3 in prayer, mentioning each one, claiming it for yourself for this day, and giving praise and thanks for Jesus that He has made you a participant with Him in these precious and very great promises (2 Pet. 1.4).

Sing Psalm 85.4-13.
(Lyons: O, Worship the King)
Restore us, O God, renew us in peace,
and cause all Your wrath against us to cease.
Will You evermore all Your wrath to us show?
Revive us that we may Your joy again know.

LORD, show us Your love; restore us, we pray!
And help us to hear the words that You say.
Speak peace to Your people; in truth let us stand.
We fear You; let glory and grace fill our land.

In Jesus God’s grace and truth are combined;
both goodness and peace in Him do we find.
Truth springs from the earth as He walks in our midst,
and righteousness flows from the heav’ns as a gift.

The LORD by His grace will give what is good;
our land will produce abundance of food.
And righteousness will go before the LORD’s face,
and make of His footsteps a way in this place.

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast pushes on through our readings from Joy to Your World!. Our Crosfigell teaching letter continues its brief series on the early 6^th-century Irish saint, Coemgen. The ReVision column finishes the study of Kingdom values and turns to consider how to grow the divine economy. Check out our other excellent writers. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.