Jesus!

DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 15 1878,

BY C.H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS:
for He shall save His people from their sins." Matthew 1:21.

BERNARD has delightfully said that the name of Jesus is honey in the
mouth, melody in the ear and joy in the heart. I rejoice in that
expression on my own account, for it gives me my share of the delight
and leads me to hope that while I am speaking, the sweetness of the
precious name of Jesus may fill my own mouth. Here, also, is a portion
for you who are listening–it is melody in the ears! If my voice should
be harsh and my words discordant, you will yet have music of the
choicest order, for the name itself is essential melody and my whole
sermon will ring with its silver note! May both speaker and hearer join
in the third word of Bernard's sentence and may we all find it to be
joy in our hearts, a jubilee within our souls! Jesus is the Way to God,
therefore will we preach Him! He is the Truth, therefore will we hear
of Him! He is the Life, therefore shall our hearts rejoice in Him! So
inexpressibly fragrant is the name of Jesus that it imparts a delicious
perfume to everything which comes in connection with it.

Our thoughts will turn, this morning, to the first use of the name in
connection with our Lord, when the Child who was yet to be born was
named Jesus. Here we find everything suggestive of comfort. The person
to whom that name was first revealed was Joseph, a carpenter, a humble
man, a working man, unknown and undistinguished except by the justice
of his character. To the artisan of Nazareth was this name first
imparted! It is not, therefore, a title to be monopolized by the ears
of princes, sages, priests, warriors or men of wealth–it is a name to
be made a household word among common people! He is the people's
Christ, for of old it was said of Him, "I have exalted One chosen out
of the people." Let every carpenter and every worker of every sort
rejoice with all other sorts of men in the name of Jesus!

There is consolation in the messenger who made known that name to
Joseph, for it was the angel of the Lord who, in the visions of the
night, whispered that charming name into his ear and, henceforth,
angels are in league with men and gather to one standard, moved by the
same watchword as ourselves–the name of Jesus! Did God send the name
by an angel and did the angel delight to come with it? Then is there a
bond of sympathy between us and angelic spirits and we are come, this
day, not only "to the general assembly and church of the firstborn,"
but "to an innumerable company of angels," by whom that name is
regarded with reverent love!

Nor is the condition of Joseph, when he heard this name, altogether
without instruction. The angel spoke to him in a dream–that name is so
soft and sweet that it breaks no man's rest but rather yields an
unrivalled peace–the peace of God! With such a dream, Joseph's sleep
was more blessed than his waking. The name has evermore this power,
for, to those who know it, it unveils a glory brighter than dreams have
ever imaged! Under its power young men see visions and old men dream
dreams–and these do not mock them, but are prophecies faithful and
true! The name of Jesus brings before our minds a vision of Glory in
the latter days when Jesus shall reign from pole to pole–and yet
another vision of Glory unutterable when His people shall be with Him
where He is!

The name of Jesus was sweet at the first because of the words with
which it was accompanied–for they were meant to remove perplexity from
Joseph's mind and some of them ran thus–"Fear not." Truly, no name can
banish fear like the name of Jesus! It is the beginning of hope and the
end of despair! Let but the sinner hear of "the Savior" and he forgets
to die! He hopes to live! He rises out of the deadly lethargy of his
hopelessness and, looking upward, he sees a reconciled God and no
longer fears. Especially, Brothers and Sisters, this name is full of
rare delights when we meditate upon the infinite preciousness of the
Person to whom it was assigned. Ah, here is a Jonathan's wood dripping
with honey

from every bough and he that tastes it shall have his eyes enlightened!
We have no common Savior, for neither earth nor Heaven could produce
His equal!

At the time when the name was given, His full Person had not been seen
by mortal eyes, for He lay as yet concealed. But soon He came forth,
having been born of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit! A matchless
Man, He bears our nature, but not our corruption! He was made in the
likeness of sinful flesh, but yet in His flesh there is no sin! This
Holy One is the Son of God and yet He is the Son of man! This
surpassing excellence of Nature makes His name most precious! I shall
ask the exercise of your patience while I consider seven things in
reference to this transporting name. It is as ointment poured forth and
its scent is varied so as to contain the essence of all fragrances.
These seven things will be seen very plainly by you if you continue to
look at the text and its connection.

I. First, we shall remark that THE NAME OF JESUS IS A NAME DIVINELY
ORDERED AND EXPOUNDED. According to the text, the angel brought a
message from the Lord and said, "You shall call His name Jesus." It is
a name which, like He who bears it, has come down from Heaven. Our Lord
has other names of office and relationship, but this is specially and
peculiarly His own personal name and it is the Father who has thus
named Him. Rest assured, therefore, that it is the best name that He
could bear!

God would not have given Him a name of secondary value, or about which
there would be a trace of dishonor. The name is the highest, brightest
and noblest of names–it is the glory of our Lord to be a Savior. To
the best that was ever born of woman, God has given the best name that
any son of man could bear. JESUS is the most appropriate name that our
Lord could receive. Of this we are quite certain, for the Father knew
all about Him and could name Him well. He knows much more about the
Lord Christ than all saints and angels put together, for, "No man knows
the Son but the

Father."

To perfection the Father knew Him and He names Him Jesus. We may be
sure, then, that our Lord is, most of all, a Savior and is best
described by that term. God, the Father, who knows Him best, sees this
to be His grand characteristic, that He is a Savior and is best
represented by the name, "Jesus." Since infinite wisdom has selected
it, we may be sure that it is a name which must be true and must be
verified by facts of no mean order. God, who cannot be mistaken, calls
Him Jesus, a Savior and, therefore, Jesus, a Savior He must be upon a
grand scale–continually, abundantly and in a most apparent manner!
Neither will God refuse to accept the work which He has done, since by
the gift of that name He has commissioned Him to save sinners. When we
plead the name of Jesus before God, we bring Him back His own Word and
appeal to Him by His own act and deed.

Is not the name of Jesus to be viewed with reverential delight by each
one of us when we remember from where it came? He is not a Savior of
our own setting up, but God the everlasting Father has set Him forth
for our Deliverer and Savior, saying, "You shall call His name Jesus."
It is a name which the Holy Spirit explains, for He tells us the reason
for the name of Jesus–"For He shall save His people from their sins."
"Savior" is the meaning of the name, but it has a fuller sense hidden
within, for in its Hebrew form it means, "the salvation of the Lord,"
or, "the Lord of salvation," or "the Savior." The angel interprets it,
"He shall save," and the word for, "He," is very emphatic.

According to many scholars, the Divine name, the incommunicable title
of the Most High is contained in "Joshua," the Hebrew form of Jesus, so
that in full the word means, "Jehovah Savior," and in brief it
signifies, "Savior." It is given to our Lord because "He saves"–not
according to any temporary and common salvation, from enemies and
troubles– but He saves from spiritual enemies and specially from sins.
Joshua of old was a savior, Gideon was a savior, David was a
savior–but the title is given to our Lord above all others because He
is a Savior in a sense in which no one else is or can be–He saves His
people from their sins!

The Jews were looking for a Savior–they expected one who would break
the Roman yoke and save them from being under bondage to a foreign
power! But our Divine Lord came not for such a purpose. He came to be a
Savior of a more spiritual sort and to break quite another yoke by
saving His people from their sins. The word, "save," is very rich in
meaning–its full and exact force can hardly be given in English words.
Jesus is salvation in the sense of deliverance and also in that of
preservation. He gives health. He is all that is salutary to His
people. In the fullest and broadest sense He saves His people.

The original word means to preserve, to keep, to protect from danger
and to secure. The grandest meanings generally dwell in the shortest
words and in this case the word, "save," is a well where the plummet is
long in finding a

bottom! Jesus brings a great salvation, or as Paul says, "so great
salvation," as if he felt that he could never estimate its greatness
(Heb. 2:3). He also speaks of it as, "eternal salvation" (Heb. 5:9),
even as Isaiah said, "Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an
everlasting salvation." Glorious beyond measure is the name, "Jesus,"
as it is Divinely expounded to us, for by that very exposition the
eternal God guarantees the success of the Savior!

He declares that He shall save His people and save His people He must.
God Himself sets Him forth to us as–

"Jesus, Savior, Son of God, Bearer of the sinner's load."

Thus we have a name, dear Friends, which we have not to explain for
ourselves. As we did not choose it, so we are not left to expound
it–God who gave the text has preached us the sermon! He who appointed
the name has given us the reason for it, so that we are not left in
ignorance or uncertainty. We might have said, "Yes, His name is Jesus,
but it refers to a salvation which was worked in the olden ages." But
no, the Word of the Lord tells us, "You shall call His name Jesus, for
He shall save His people from their sins"–and this is for all time
since He always has a people and these people always need to be saved
from their sins! Let us be glad that we have such a Savior and that the
name of Jesus retains all the sweetness and power it ever had and shall
retain it till all the chosen people are saved–and then forever and
ever.

Moreover, in addition to expounding this name, the Holy Spirit, by the
Evangelist Matthew, has been pleased to refer us to the synonym of it
and so to give us its meaning by comparison. Let me read you the next
verses. "Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken of the Lord by the Prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be
with Child and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name
Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." If, when our Lord
was born and named, "Jesus," the old prophecy which said that He should
be called Emmanuel was fulfilled, it follows that the name, "Jesus,"
bears a signification tantamount to that of "Emmanuel" and that its
virtual meaning is "God with us."

Indeed, Brothers and Sisters, He is Jesus, the Savior, because He is
Emmanuel, God with us! And as soon as He was born and so became
Emmanuel, the Incarnate God, He became by that very fact, Jesus, the
Savior! By coming down from Heaven into this earth and taking upon
Himself our Nature, He bridged the otherwise bridgeless gulf between
God and man! By suffering in that human Nature and imparting, through
His Divine Nature, an infinite efficacy to those sufferings, He removed
that which would have destroyed us and brought us everlasting life and
salvation! O Jesus, dearest of all names in earth or in Heaven, I love
Your music all the better because it is in such sweet harmony with
another which rings melodiously in my ears, the name Emmanuel, God with
us! Our Savior is God and therefore able! He is God with us and
therefore pitiful! He is Divine and therefore infinitely wise! But He
is human and therefore full of compassion!

This, then, is our first head–this charming name of Jesus is a jewel
from the casket of Heaven. It comes to us as an apple of gold and it is
attended by an exposition which places it in a basket of silver! The
name is precious as the golden Mercy Seat and over it burns the light
of the Divine Glory, so that we may not stumble at it, but may rejoice
in the great light! It lets us know the very heart of God in reference
to His Son–why He sent Him; what He meant Him to be and to do–and in
what manner He would glorify Him. Salvation is the joyful sound which
rings from the bells of our High Priest's garment as He comes forth to
bless us! God, who spoke to our fathers by His Prophets, now speaks to
us by His Son whose name is Salvation! Is there not a mint of joy in
this?

II. Secondly, although this name was thus chosen by God, OUR LORD WAS
ACTUALLY CALLED BY THE

NAME OF JESUS BY MAN. To this I call your special notice. "She (Mary)
shall bring forth a son and you (Joseph) shall call His name Jesus."
The God of Heaven by His angel appoints the child's name, but His
reputed father must announce it! Both Joseph and Mary, according to the
Divine command, united in calling the child by the appointed name. See,
then, that the name which is chosen of God is fully accepted by
instructed men. Those who are taught of God joyfully recognize that
Christ is salvation and without a question give Him the well-beloved
name of Jesus, the Savior.

Here note that the name Jesus, Savior, was given to our Lord by two
simple hearts as soon as ever He was revealed to them. They only needed
to be told who He was and why He came, how He was born and what was the
object of His Incarnation and they at once accepted the Divine message
and named the Baby by the name of Jesus. And, Brethren, all of us to
whom Christ is revealed at all, call Him Jesus the Savior! Many there
are who think they know our Lord, but since

they only speak of Him as a Prophet, a Teacher, or a Leader and care
not for Him as a Savior, we are clear that they are in ignorance as to
His chief Character.

His first name, His personal name they know not. The Holy Spirit cannot
have revealed Christ to any man if that man remains ignorant of His
saving power! He who does not know Him as Jesus, the Savior, does not
know Him at all! Certain anti-Christian Christians are craftily
extolling Christ that they may smite Jesus–I mean that they cry up
Jesus as Messiah, sent of God, to exhibit a grand example and supply a
pure code of morals, but they cannot endure Jesus as a Savior,
redeeming us by His blood and by His death delivering us from sin! I am
not sure that they follow His example of holy living, but they are very
loud in extolling it and all with the purpose of drawing off men's
thoughts from the chief Character and main object of our Lord's sojourn
among us, namely, the deliverance of His people from sin! If men knew
our Lord they would call Him Jesus, the Savior, and regard Him not
merely as a good Man, a great Teacher, a noble Exemplar, but as the
Savior of sinners!

Now, Joseph and Mary not only believed, so as to give the young Child
the name in their own minds, but in due time they took Him up to the
Temple and presented Him according to the Law and there publicly His
name was called Jesus. All hearts to whom God commits His Christ should
publicly acknowledge Him in the most solemn manner according to His
ordinance and should desire in all proper places to confess Him as the
Savior. The Infant Christ was committed to the care of Joseph and Mary
to nurse and protect. Wonder of wonders, that HE should need a
guardian, who is the Preserver of men and the Shepherd of His saints!
In His feebleness as a Baby He needed parental care and in caring for
Him, Joseph and Mary did not hesitate to avow their faith by giving Him
a name which indicated His destiny! Nor did they refuse to declare His
name in the Temple before the priests and the congregation.

Now, in a certain sense Christ is committed to the keeping of all His
people. This day we have a charge to keep–we are to preserve His
Gospel in the world, to maintain His Truth and to publish His salvation
and, therefore, we are bound to bear this testimony, that He is Jesus,
the Savior of sinners! This we must make very prominent. Others shall
say what they please about Him and if they speak well of His Character
in any respect we will be glad that they shall do it, however little
they may know. But this is our peculiar testimony, that our Lord saves
from sin! Nothing is more prominent about a man than his name–we can
hardly mention him without pronouncing his name–and so we feel that we
cannot mention our Lord without speaking of salvation! If He is
anything, He is Jesus, the Savior!

We know Him best by that name! We preach unto men Jesus! We insist upon
it first and foremost that He is the sinner's Savior! He is righteous
and loves righteousness, but He is first known to men as the Friend of
sinners. He is the faithful and true Witness, the Prince of the kings
of the earth–but His first work is to save! After that He teaches and
rules His saved ones. Sunken in sin, men need to be redeemed from that
tremendous evil and the consequent wrath–and this awful need is met by
Jesus, the Savior! So, Beloved, you see that the name chosen of God is
given to Him by all those who know Him and to whom His Gospel is
entrusted. And it is given heartily, zealously and boldly! Yes, all of
us call Him Jesus if we know Him and we are resolved to publish His
name abroad as long as we live!

If He was Jesus in the cradle, what is He now that He is exalted in the
heavens? As Emmanuel, God with us, His very Incarnation made Him Jesus,
the Savior of men! But what shall I say of Him, now that beyond His
Incarnation we have His Atonement? And above His Atonement His
Resurrection? And beyond that His Ascension and, to crown all, His
perpetual intercession? How grandly does the title befit Him, now that
He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him,
seeing He always lives to make intercession for them!

If in the arms of the Virgin He is the Savior, what is He on the Throne
of God? If wrapped in swaddling bands He is Jesus, what is He now that
the heavens have received Him? If in the workshop of Nazareth and
sitting in the Temple among the doctors, He was the Child Jesus, the
Savior, what is He now that His Infancy and Childhood are over and He
is exalted far above all principalities and powers? If He was Jesus
when on the Cross, presenting Himself as an offering for His people,
what is He now that He has, by one Sacrifice, perfected forever them
that are set apart? What is He now that He sits at the right hand of
God, waiting till His enemies are made His footstool?

Let us all unite in calling our Lord by this tender human name of
Jesus! Are we not His mother and sister and brother? Did He not call
all Believers by these endearing titles? Then we, too, will call Him
Jesus–"Jesus, name all names above! Jesus best and nearest! Jesus,
fount of perfect love, holiest, most tender, dearest! Jesus, source of
Divine Grace completed! Jesus holiest, sweetest! Jesus, Savior all
Divine, Yours the name, and only Yours!

III. THE NAME HAD BEEN TYPICALLY WORN BY ANOTHER, BUT IS NOW RESERVED
FOR HIM

ALONE. There had been a Jesus before our Jesus. I allude to Joshua and
you know that in our version the name Jesus is twice used where Joshua
is really meant. The first is Acts 7:4, 5, where we read of the fathers
who entered in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles,
evidently meaning Joshua. And the second in Hebrews 4:8, "If Jesus had
given them rest." Joshua is the Hebrew form and Jesus the Greek form,
but Jesus and Joshua are the same word.

There was one, then, of old, who bore this famous name of Jesus, or
Joshua, and was a type of our Jesus. What did Joshua do? When Moses
could not lead the people into Canaan, Joshua did it. And so our Jesus
accomplishes what the Law never could have done! Joshua overcame the
enemies of God's people. Though they were very many and very strong and
had cities walled to Heaven and chariots of iron, yet in the name of
Jehovah, as captain of the Lord's host, Joshua smote them! Even so does
our glorious Joshua smite our sins and all the powers of darkness! And
He utterly destroys our spiritual enemies. Before Joshua, Amalek is
smitten, Jericho falls and Canaanites are put to rout–while Jesus
gives us triumphs in every place!

Moreover, Joshua conquered an inheritance for Israel, took them across
the Jordan, settled them in a land that flowed with milk and honey and
gave to each tribe and to each man to stand in his lot which God had
ordained for him. Precisely this is what our Jesus does, only our
inheritance is more Divine and on each one of us it is more surely
entailed. Though Joshua could not give to the people the heavenly
Sabbatismos, or rest of the highest kind, yet he gave them rest most
pleasant to them, so that every man sat under his own vine and fig
tree, none making him afraid. But our glorious Joshua has given us
infinite, eternal rest, for He is our peace and they that know Him have
entered into rest!

Joshua, the son of Nun, caused the people to serve the Lord all his
days, but he could not save the nation from their sins, for after his
death they grievously went astray. Our Joshua reserves to Himself a
people zealous for good works, for He always lives and is able to keep
them from falling. No more does Joshua lift sword or spear on behalf of
Israel, but Jesus still rides forth, conquering and to conquer–and all
His people have victory through His blood! Well is His name called
Jesus! We read of another Jesus in the books of Ezra and Zechariah. The
form which the word there takes is Jeshua or Joshua. He was the high
priest who came at the head of the people on their return from Babylon.
He is spoken of by the Prophet Zechariah in terms which make him a fit
representative of each of us. But, behold, Jesus of Nazareth is now the
only High Priest–and having presented His one Sacrifice forever, He
remains a Priest according to the power of an endless life! He heads
the march from Babylon and He leads His people back to Jerusalem!

The name of Jesus was not at all uncommon among the Jews. Josephus
mentions no less than 12 persons of the name of Jesus. Salvation of a
certain kind was so longed for by the Jews that their eagerness was
seen in their children's names. Their little ones were by their hopes
named as saviors, but saviors they were not! How common are nominal
saviors! "Lo here," they say, "here is a savior!" "Lo, there," they
cry, "another savior!" These have the name but not the power and now,
according to the text, Jesus Christ has engrossed the title for
Himself! His name shall be called Jesus, for He, alone, is a Prince and
a Savior and truly saves His people from their sins!

Other saviors do but mock the hopes of mankind–they promise fairly,
but they utterly deceive! This holy Child, this blessed, glorious God
With Us, has truly brought us salvation and He says, "Look unto Me and
be you saved, all you ends of the earth, for I am God, and beside Me
there is none else." This Jesus of Nazareth, the King of kings, is the
one and only Savior! He, and none but He, shall save His people! He
shall save by His own act and deed–He and not another! Singly and
alone He shall save His people! Personally, and not by another! In His
name and on His behalf He shall, by Himself, purge away sin!

He shall do all the work and leave none undone–He shall begin it,
carry it on and complete it–and therefore is His name called Jesus
because He shall completely and perfectly save His people from their
sins! The name has been, in a minor sense, applied to others, but now
none else may wear it since there is no other Savior and none other
name given under Heaven among men whereby we must be saved.

IV. The fourth point grows out of the wording of the text. THIS NAME
JESUS IDENTIFIES OUR LORD WITH HIS PEOPLE. "You shall call His name
Jesus," for that name declares His relation to His people. It is to
them that He is a Savior. He would not be Jesus if He had not a people!
He could not be, for there could be no Savior if there were none to
save! And there could be no Savior from sin if there were no sinners.
Notice, dear Friends, the all-important

connection here revealed between our Lord and His people since His very
name hangs on it–His proper, personal name has no meaning apart from
His people. "He shall save His people."

It does not say God's people, for then it would have been understood as
meaning only the Jews, or it would have been supposed to refer to some
good and holy persons who belonged to God, apart from the Mediator. No,
but, "He shall save His people"–those who are His own and personally
belong to Him! These are evidently a very peculiar people, a people set
apart as Christ's own treasure. They are a people that belong to God
Incarnate–Emmanuel's people. These He saves. Who are they but His
elect, whom His Father gave Him before the earth was? Who are they but
those whose names are engraved on the palms of His hands and written on
His heart? Who are they but those for whom He counted down the price of
redemption? Who are they but those for whom He became a Surety, whose
smart He has borne? Who are they but the numbered sheep that will be
required at His hands by the great Father, that He should render them
back by count and number, saying, "I have kept those whom You have
given Me, for they are Yours"?

Yes, the Lord knows them that are His and He preserves them unto His
eternal kingdom and Glory. "He shall save His people." Do you not see
that this name of Jesus is an election name, after all? It is a wide,
far-reaching name to sinners dear, to sinners given–but still in the
depths of its meaning it has a special bearing upon a chosen people–it
has a ring of sovereignty about it and is all the sweeter because of
this to those who see in their own salvation an exhibition of
distinguishing Grace.

Now the question arises, who are His people? We are eager to know who
they are and we are glad to find that His people, be they who they may,
need to be saved and shall be saved, for it is written, "He shall save
His people." It is not said, "He shall reward His people for their
righteousness." Nor is it promised that He shall, "save them from
becoming sinners," but, "He shall save His people from their sins." Do
you need saving, Brothers and Sisters? Has the Holy Spirit taught you
that you need salvation? Let your hearts be encouraged! This is the
character of all His people–He never had a chosen one who could do
without washing in the Savior's blood! If you are righteous in
yourself, you are not one of His people! If you were never sick in
soul, you are none of the folk that the Great Physician has come to
heal!

If you were never guilty of sin, you are none of those whom He has come
to deliver from sin. Jesus comes on no needless errand and undertakes
no unnecessary work–if you feel yourselves to need saving, then cast
yourselves upon Him–for such as you are He came to save! Notice, yet
again, the very gracious but startling fact that our Lord's connection
with His people lies in the direction of their sins. This is amazing
condescension! He is called Savior in connection with His people, but
it is in reference to their sins, because it is from their sins that
they need to be saved! If they had never sinned they would never have
required a Savior–and there would have been no name of Jesus known on
earth! That is a wonderful text–did you ever meditate upon it?–"Who
gave Himself for our sins according to the Scriptures."

As Martin Luther says, He never gave Himself for our righteousness, but
He did give Himself for our sins! Sin is a horrible evil, a deadly
poison, yet it is this which gives Jesus His title when He overcomes
it. What a wonder to think upon! The first link between my soul and
Christ is not my goodness, but my badness! It is not my merit, but my
misery! It is not my standing, but my falling! It is not my riches, but
my need. He comes to visit His people, yet not to admire their
beauties, but to remove their deformities! He comes not to reward their
virtues, but to forgive their sins!

O you sinners! I mean real sinners–not you that call yourselves so
because you are told you are such–but you who feel yourselves to be
guilty before God, here is good news for you! O you self-condemned
sinners who feel that if you ever get salvation, Jesus must bring it to
you and be the beginning and the end of it, I pray you rejoice in this
dear, this precious, this blessed name, for Jesus has come to save you,
even YOU! Go to Him as sinners! Call Him, "Jesus," and cry, "O Lord
Jesus, be Jesus to me, for I need Your salvation!" Doubt not that He
will fulfill His own name and exhibit His power in you! Only confess to
Him your sin and He will save you from it! Only believe in Him and He
will be your salvation!

V. The fifth point is very clear and well worthy of note. THE NAME OF
"JESUS" IS ONE WHICH INDICATES HIS MAIN WORK. "You shall call His name
Jesus, for He shall save." He shall save from sin. Why do men write
lives of Christ who know nothing about His main business and objective?
Why do some preach about Christ who do not know the very essence and
heart of Him? Think of knowing Milton, but not as a poet, and Bacon,
but not as a philosopher!

There is no knowing our Lord, if He is not known as a Savior, for He is
that or nothing! Those who fall short of His salvation do not even know
His name! How, then, should they know Him?

His name is not called Jesus because He is our Exemplar though, indeed,
He is Perfection, itself, and we long to walk in His footsteps. But His
name is called Jesus because He has come to save that which is lost! He
is Christ, too, or The Anointed, but then He is Christ Jesus, that is
to say, it is as a Savior that He is anointed! He is nothing if He is
not a Savior! He is anointed to this very end. His very name is a sham
if He does not save His people from their sins! Now, Jesus does save
His people from sin for, first, He does it by taking all the sins of
His people upon Himself. Do you think that is a strong expression? It
is warranted by the Scriptures. "The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity
of us all." Christ's shoulders bore the guilt of His people and because
He took their load, His people are free and have henceforth no burden
of sin to weigh them down.

He saves His people through His personal Substitution–by standing in
their stead and suffering in their place. There is no other way of
salvation but by His vicarious sufferings and death! Then He saves them
by bearing the penalty due to their sin. Where the sin lies, the
penalty falls. "The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with
His stripes we are healed." "He was made a curse for us." "Christ also
has suffered for us." He died, "the Just for the unjust, to bring us to
God." He bore the wrath of God which was due to us. He has taken the
sin and paid the penalty–and now liars come in and falsely say that we
teach that a man is to believe the dogma of Atonement and then he is
saved and may live as he likes!

They know better! They know that they misrepresent us, for we always
teach that this great work of Substitution and penalty-bearing by
Christ works in the person who partakes in its benefits, love to God,
gratitude to Christ and consequent hatred of all sin! And this change
of heart is the very core and essence of salvation! This is how Christ
saves His people from their sin–by rescuing them, by the force of His
love–out of the power, tyranny and dominion of sins which before then
had the mastery over them. I knew what it was to strive against sin as
a moral person, seeking to overcome it. But I found myself mastered by
sin, like Samson when his hair was lost, and the Philistines bound him.
But since I have believed in Jesus, I find motives for being holy which
are more influential with me than any I knew before! I find weapons
with which to fight my sin that I never knew how to handle before and a
new strength has been given me by the Holy Spirit.

"This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith." This is
the power which drives out the vipers of sin from the soul–the
precious blood of Jesus! He that has believed in Jesus as his expiation
and atonement becomes, thereby, through the power of the Holy Spirit,
renewed in heart! He has fresh objects set before him; fresh motives
sway him–and thus Jesus saves His people from their sins! Beloved, if
we had space at this time, I should like to speak about how completely
Christ saves His people from their sins–how when He comes in He turns
out the strong man armed with mighty force! How that strong armed man
seeks to come back again and does, as far as he can, gain a partial
entrance, but Jesus drives him out again! How all the damage and
foulness that were left within the house by the old tenant are
gradually cleared away by Jesus, till at last His people are fully
sanctified as temples of the living God.

His saints shall be without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing–and no
sign that the devil ever dwelt within them shall remain upon them!
Viewing each one of their risen bodies as a temple of God, you shall
search those bodies through and not find a trace of the dominion of
sin! You shall look into the heart, into the mind, into the
understanding–but when Jesus has done His purging work there shall be
no scar or speck to show that sin was ever there! So completely shall
He save His people from their sins that they shall be fit to dwell with
angels! Better–they shall be fit to dwell with God! May I say better
than that? They shall be one with Jesus, one with Him throughout
eternity! The fullness of Him that fills all in all. How glorious, how
transcendent is the salvation which Jehovah Jesus has brought to us!

VI. This NAME OF JESUS IS ONE WHICH IS COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED BY FACTS.
It was given Him before

He had done anything. While yet He was a Baby, or before His trembling
feet had learned to tread the cottage floor at Nazareth, He was Jesus
the Savior! But is the name well deserved? Many a child has had a grand
name and his life has contradicted it. I remember a grave on which
there is the name of a child, "Sacred to the memory of Methuselah
Coney, who died aged six months." His parents were mightily mistaken
when they called him Methuselah!

Many other names are equally inappropriate and are proved to be so in
the course of years. But this Jesus is a Savior, a true Jesus! He bears
a name which He well deserves. Come to the Christ and see, there, the
many that once rioted in sin

and rolled in the mire–they are washed! They are sanctified and now
they rejoice in holiness! Who purified them? Who but Jesus? He that
saves His people from their sins has saved them! Go to deathbeds and
hear saints telling of His love and speaking of the Heaven which is
already dawning in their souls! Some of these once could sit on the
ale-bench and use the swearer's oath, but Jesus has cleansed them!

Climb up to Heaven and behold the snow-white host, glittering like the
sun in spotless purity. I ask them from where they came? The reply is
that they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of
the Lamb! It is most true that Jesus saves His people from their
sins–the earth knows it, Hell howls at it and Heaven chants it! Time
has seen it and eternity shall reveal it! There is none like Jesus in
saving power! All glory be to Him! He shall come from Heaven with a
shout and all His hosts shall be with Him. The day of the supper of the
Lamb shall come and the bride has made herself ready. And she that is
the queen all glorious within, wearing her raiment of worked gold shall
sit down at the table of God with her glorious Husband–then shall it
be seen that He has saved His Church, His people, from their sins!

VII. Last of all, THIS NAME IS CHRIST'S PERSONAL NAME FOREVER. It is a
home name. It is the name His Father gave Him! It is the name His
mother gave Him–Jesus, the Child Jesus. We also belong to His family
for he that believes in Him is His father, mother, sister and
brother–and that most dear and familiar name by which He was known at
home is always in our mouths! He is the Lord and we worship Him! But He
is Jesus and we love Him! Jesus is also the heart name and is full of
the music of love. They who loved Him best gave Him the name,
especially His mother, who pondered everything about Him in her heart.
It is the name which moves our affections and fires our souls–

"Jesus, the very thought of you With sweetness fills my breast."

Let your hearts go out towards Him in tender union. Jesus is His death
name–"Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews," was written on His Cross.
That is His resurrection name. That is His Gospel name which we preach.
It is the name which Peter preached to the Gentiles when he said, "This
is Jesus of Nazareth by whom is preached to you the remission of sins."
And this, Beloved, is His Heaven name! They sing to Him there as Jesus!
See how it concludes the Bible. Read Revelation! Read its songs and see
how they worship Jesus, the Lamb of God! Let us go and tell of this
name! Let us continually meditate upon it! Let us love it from this day
and forever! Amen.