What Child Is This? - Matthew 1:21

 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” - Matthew 1:21

    Assurance. By any definition the word means certainty. And in this day and age certainty is hard to come by. With the fleeting pace of modern life we can never be sure what the next moment holds for us. Relativism has humanity wrapped in the grasp of its gnarly talons and those who are without Jesus Christ know nothing of their future. Is it any wonder that so many people’s live are filled with fear, anxiety, an indecisiveness?
    Joseph, the husband of Mary, found himself in a similar predicament. It was revealed to him by Mary that she was with child and they had not yet “been together.” The situation was precarious for his wife. Who, after all, would believe that she had conceived a child through the Holy Spirit? What was he to do in an age when women who found themselves in such circumstances were routinely “put away” by their husbands? This was the biblical way of describing a divorce and the public shaming of the woman. But Joseph was a just man and not quick to shame his young wife. Thus, he was full of fear, anxiety, and indecisiveness. Enter, an angel of the Lord: “But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.’” - Matthew 1:20.  An angel of the Lord? A heavenly being authorized by God to give Joseph the go ahead in his betrothal to Mary. How much more certainty would you need to accept that the message received was from God, Himself? God knew of Joseph’s human dilemma and He sent word to him that THIS was His will!
    Joseph was assured by an angel of the Lord to set his mind at ease. That assurance preceded something even more certain: the Child would be a Son and that Son’s name was to be “Jesus.” And that particular Son was to be named that particular name for great reason - He was to be the “Jesus ,”  - “And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6b) the Savior, the Messiah of His people!
    I can only speak for myself but I am certain that if an angel of the Lord told me that my wife would give birth to the Son who would be the Savior of His people it would certainly create a “assurance” in me that would relieve me of all fear, anxiety, and indecision for the rest of my life.
    What that angel had to tell Joseph was not a suggestion. It wasn’t optional. It wasn’t discretional. It was a series of three commands from God Himself! She WILL bring forth a Son. You WILL call Him, Jesus. And He WILL save His people from their sins! Still need assurance?
    What is in a name? Scripture makes the promise of God crystal clear - “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” - Acts 4:12. “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” - Romans 10:1.
    This Christmas let us remember the assurance and the certainty of the only name by which we can be saved: “Jesus”: the Son of God, the Christ, our Savior!