MIGHTY TO SAVE

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

This morning we want to examine two questions from today’s text . Our first question is;

What gives Jesus his power to save?

The answer to this question is obvious to some and obscure to others.

he answer to this question is obvious to some and obscure to others.

Jesus gets his power to save first from his name.

In Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet a question is posed by Juliet to Romeo; “what is in a name?”

Names Shape People's Destinies

NYU professor Adam Alter has observed the power names have to shape destiny. The technical name is "nominative determinism," which literally means "name-driven outcome." Alter points to the following examples: The current Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is Justice Igor Judge. His colleague, Lord Justice Laws, is a judge in the Court of Appeals. In the realm of athletic pursuits, Anna Smashnova is a professional Israeli tennis player. Layne Beachley is a seven-time world champion surfer. Derek Kickett was an Australian Rules footballer. Stephen Rowbotham was an Olympic rower for Britain. Usain Bolt currently reigns as the fastest man in the world over the 100 meter and 200 meter distances.

Other examples include Daniel Snowman, the author of a book about the Arctic and Antarctica; Christopher Coke, a notorious Jamaican drug dealer; the rapper Black Rob who was sentenced to seven years in prison for grand larceny, and Dr. A.J. Splatt, a doctor of urology.

Are all of these examples just coincidences? For instance, would Usain Bolt run just as fast if his name was Usain Plod? Alter concludes, "Researchers have shown that our names take root deep within our mental worlds, drawing us magnetically towards the concepts they embody."

Names, especially in Scripture, have great significance. Names were not randomly chosen but were chosen convey a message not only to that child but to others. Moses name, pulled from the water, would always remind him of his miraculous rescue from the Nile. Isaac’s name, son of laughter, would always remind him of his miraculous birth as his mother laughed upon hearing the Lord’s baby prediction. Jesus name, Messiah, was not given to remind Him of who he was but to reveal to others who he was.

Jesus name is eternal.

Although his name was given to him at birth it had been eternal. teaches us that Jesus had always been with the Father. He has always been with God the Father. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one and there never has been a time where they were not one.

Jesus name meant Messiah the long awaited deliver of God’s people.

John 1:1 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Philippians 2:8–11 ESV

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Colossians 1:15–18 ESV

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

; And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

People today bow to titles such as president, king, dictator, and ruler. However, everyone will one day bow not to a title but to the name that is above every name. Don’t miss what gives this name its power.

HIS NAME IS EXALTED

Its power comes from God having highly exalted it above all other names. Jesus exaltation according to Paul was due to his humility and obedience.

Philippians 2:8–11 ESV

Peter reinforces this teaching to us on a personal level in

1 Peter 5:6 ESV

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

; humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you. Jesus was exalted as a result of his humility and obedience. Our Lord exalts the humble but brings low the proud. Jesus is exalted so that God the Father would be glorified (, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you). God the Father exalts us so that we might glorify Him.

John 17:1 ESV

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,

God the Father exalts us so that we might glorify Him.

HIS POWER COMES FROM HIS NATURE

Not only does his power to save come from his eternal and exalted name but his nature. Notice first the

Birth of Jesus

Jesus was born natural like any other child but he was conceived super-naturally which is unlike any other child.

Matthew 1:20 ESV

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit. This was necessary because had he been conceived of man he would have been born a sinner. Sinners don’t sin and thereby become sinners they’re sinners and thereby they sin.

If one doesn’t believe in the virgin birth of Christ they do not believe in a sinless Savior. If Jesus be not sinless he therefore cannot be the one who is mighty to save. If we don’t believe in Christ virgin birth then all of His power to save is taken away.

One question we should consider is; why did Jesus have to be born? Could he not have come fully grown? Why come as a baby? He had to be conceived by the Holy Spirit to be fully God. He had to be born of woman so that he could be fully human. His humanity is important because he had to restore what Adam lost in the fall. Paul’s gives further reasons for the necessity of Christ humanity in

Romans 5:17–19 ESV

For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Jesus divinity was necessary so that he could live a sinless life and thereby be mighty to save. Jesus humanity was necessary so that he could be a perfect sacrifice and thereby be mighty to save.

Not only does his birth give him power to save but

His behavior

gives him power to save. Had Jesus not been born perfect he could not have lived perfect and had he not lived perfect he could not be the perfect sacrifice which God the Father’s holiness demanded. Jesus was sinless in all his behavior. He never once failed to obey. He kept all the commandments and perfected the law. He was perfect in every way that we have failed. His behavior at Calvary caused a solider to remark;

The story is told that an unbeliever once asked a Christian this question: “If I should tell you that a child had been born in this city without a father, would you believe it?” The Christian answered, “Yes, if he should live as Jesus lived.”[1]

Mark 15:39 ESV

And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

Jesus behavior gives further evidence that Jesus was born of a virgin. His behavior gives him power to save because only he who was sinless qualifies to save. The Bible makes it clear, however, that Jesus Christ, though tempted in every way just as we are

Hebrews 4:15 ESV

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

never committed a sin (; ). The apostle Peter stated it clearly: “He committed no sin and no deceit was found in His mouth” (). Indeed, as Jesus Christ is God, He has no capacity to sin.

never committed a sin

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

1 John 3:5 ESV

You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

The apostle Peter stated it clearly: “He committed no sin and no deceit was found in His mouth” (). Indeed, as Jesus Christ is God, He has no capacity to sin.

The apostle Peter stated it clearly:

1 Peter 2:22 ESV

He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

Indeed, as Jesus Christ is God, He has no capacity to sin.

The apostle Peter stated it clearly: “He committed no sin and no deceit was found in His mouth” (). Indeed, as Jesus Christ is God, He has no capacity to sin.

Author Henri Nouwen tells the story of a family he knew in Paraguay. The father, a doctor, spoke out against the military regime there and its human rights abuses. Local police took their revenge on him by arresting his teenage son and torturing him to death. Enraged townsfolk wanted to turn the boy's funeral into a huge protest march, but the doctor chose another means of protest. At the funeral, the father displayed his son's body as he had found it in the jail—naked, scarred from electric shocks and cigarette burns, and beatings. All the villagers filed past the corpse, which lay not in a coffin but on the blood-soaked mattress from the prison. It was the strongest protest imaginable, for it put injustice on grotesque display.

The cross that held Jesus' body, naked and marked with scars, exposed all the violence and injustice of this world. It exposed who we really are as a people. A deprave people in desperate need of saving. The cross forever settles what kind of people we are and what kind of God we have.

Now let’s examine our second question this morning;

Who are the people that he is mighty to save?

He is only able to save sinners.

This is good news because

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

says that all have sinned. We have established that all have sinned because they are born sinners.

Why does he only save sinners? Only sinners need to be saved. Jesus doesn’t wait for sinners to come to Him.

Luke 15:2 ESV

And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

Luke 19:7 ESV

And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

( And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

Matthew 9:11 ESV

And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

( And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

Luke 15:2 ESV

And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Jesus is not only able to save sinners alone but he is only able to save those who his Father gives him. This point is taught by Jesus in ; All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. ; My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

Jesus doesn’t wait for sinners to come to Him.

Luke 19:10 ESV

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

People are saved in the following way. First the God the Holy Spirit draws a person to God the Father; No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. Then God the Father gives that person to God the Son All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. So why does God the Spirit draw them to God the Father and then God the Father give them to God the son? ; Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Luke 19:7 ESV

And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

Matthew 9:11 ESV

And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

He seeks them because they are sick.

Luke 15:2 ESV

And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

He seeks them because they are sick.

Mark 2:17 ESV

And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Mark 2:13–17 ESV

He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

He seeks them because they are sick.

Jesus was sent to seek and to save the lost according to; For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. This was his mission and the mission that he has left us. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. The Message paraphrase reads this way; “In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world.”

He secures those He saves.

Jesus not only came to seek and to save that which was lost but to secure them.

Our salvation is secure because we have been given Christ name.

Romans 8:14–17 ESV

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

1 John 3:1 ESV

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Romans 8:

Our salvation is secure because we have been given Christ nature.

Ezekiel 36:26–27 ESV

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Ezekiel 36

1 John 3:1 ESV

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

John 10:28–29 ESV

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

You can’t be snatched out of the Father’s hand because you have been sealed with the Spirit.

Christ says, "Give me all. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want you. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there. I want to have the whole tree down. I don't want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think are innocent as well as the ones you think are wicked—the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you myself: my own will shall become yours."

—C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Jesus is relentlessly undermining all that is not god to make room for the God who has redeemed our hearts.

This salvation and security is the foundation for a lay it all down and risk it all lifestyle.

Matthew 10:16–42 ESV

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

It is the fuel that enables us to go.

It is the fuel that enables us to

Luke 14:23 ESV

And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew This was his mission and the mission that he has left us. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. The Message paraphrase reads this way; “In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world.”

It fortifies us to complete our mission.

John 17:18 The Message

In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world.

Jesus condescended to earth through the Virgin birth to save the lost. Now He commissions us through the new birth to speak the gospel to the lost.

; give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

Romans 10:10–13 ESV

For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:13–15 ESV

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Just as Jesus was sent by God so He sends us through great commission. Just as Jesus was sent to seek the lost so he tells us to seek until all have heard. Just as Jesus had the power to save the lost so he gives us his gospel which is the power of God unto salvation.

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