“On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived” (Luke 2:21).

What’s in a name? A name is more than a string of words that identifies a person. Different names have different meanings. A name like Abraham Lincoln might make you think of the American president during the Civil War, whose image now graces currency and countless monuments. A name like Adolf Hitler might bring to mind images of a terrible dictator who caused the deaths of millions around the world. A name like Albert Heidel is only meaningful if you belong to my family. My great-grandfather Albert shared the message of Jesus with my grandmother years ago.

A foretold name

Names have meanings. That’s certainly true in the Scriptures. Names often came from the story of a person’s birth or life. Isaac means “laughter” because his parents laughed when God promised to give them a son in their old age (Genesis 21:3,6,7). Sometimes God changed a person’s name. Jacob became Israel, which means “he struggles with God,” after Jacob wrestled with the Lord (Genesis 32:28).

Nevertheless, one name is more significant than any other name in human history—the name of Jesus.

The name Jesus, or Yeshua, simply means “the LORD saves.” It was an ordinary Jewish name, given by parents who looked forward to the One who would embody that saving name. When that time finally came, the Lord made sure that both the virgin Mary and Joseph knew the name of the holy child she would bear. The angel had told Mary, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus” (Luke 1:31). The angel explained further when he told Joseph that not only was this child conceived by the Holy Spirit but also that Mary “will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). So when it was time for the infant to be circumcised according to the Law of Moses—eight days after his birth—he was given the name of Jesus, as God had commanded.

A saving name

For centuries, Jan. 1—eight days after the celebration of Jesus’ birth on Christmas—has been the day when the Christian church has celebrated the Circumcision and Name of Jesus. What a great way to begin a new year—in the name of Jesus!

By that name of Jesus alone, we have full access to heaven.

Think of all the beautiful imagery packed into that simple name. That name of Jesus is truly a name of wondrous love before which every knee will one day bow. That name of mercy was given to an infant child when he experienced pain for the first time. Already then, he was suffering for our sake. That priceless name was given to an infant child, who had left the glories of heaven to set us free from the slavery of sin. By that name of Jesus alone, we have full access to heaven. Now as blood-bought children of God, we bear that saving name, even as we celebrate all that God accomplished for us through that saving name.

How fitting, then, to enter the new year in the name of Jesus!

PRAYER: “Jesus! Name of wondrous love, human name of God above; pleading only this, we flee helpless, O our God, to thee” (Christian Worship 496:6). Amen.

Author: Jeremiah Gumm
Volume 112, Number 01
Issue: January 2025