What's in a Name? Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: What's in a Name?--------------------------------------- Date: 12/22/2000 Keywords: "Emmanuel" "Jesus" "name" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Luke 1:26-38* 26. Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, 27. to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28. And coming in, he said to her, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you." 29. But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. 30. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31. "And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32. "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33. and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end." 34. And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" 35. And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God. 36. "And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37. "For nothing will be impossible with God." 38. And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. Questions 1. What is the first thing the angel tells Mary about her son?   2. Why is that important?   Practical help Everybody has a name. It's nice to think of our names as significant, but in this day and age, we don't put nearly as much emphasis on it as 2000 years ago. For instance, my name means "stony meadow," but I have yet to figure out the life significance of that fact, and I'm not sure I'll like the result when I do! It is significant that when an angel (or God Himself) appears to announce an unusual, God-ordained pregnancy, the first clue given about the baby's nature is His name. The same thing happened with baby John in Luke 1:13, with Ishmael in Genesis 16:11, and with Isaac in Genesis 17:19. God thought names were important enough to make sure nobody made a mistake in naming His son! What does Jesus' name tell us? The name means, "the Lord saves." That's simple enough. We don't save ourselves; only the Lord can do it. Too often we go about trying to deny the name of Jesus by trying to do it on our own. Maybe your struggle with porn is in this category. You can let it go and call on the name that has the power to save. Jesus had many other names; two more are in this passage: "Son of the Most High" and "Son of God." That tells us a lot more about Him. The reason He is powerful and strong enough to save is that He is son and heir of the one who made beings that need saving. He was there at the beginning, and He presided over the creation of all things, including sex, desire, and love. He knows how it's all supposed to work. So you can look to Him for the real truth about how you're supposed to handle those urges and needs that cause you to turn to images created by men for evil purposes. Another name of Jesus (not mentioned in this passage) is Emmanuel. That means. "God with us." Not just around and about, but in us. His accomplishment was not just to be here for awhile and leave, but to be with us "always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:20) You can count on him anytime, anywhere, in any circumstance, if you have accepted the true meaning of his name. If not, click here. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2000 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."