The wonderful One who was born in this wonderful way is Jehovah. And He is not only Jehovah—He is Jehovah with something else. The name Jesus means “Jehovah the Savior” or “the salvation of Jehovah” (Matt. 1:21). This wonderful Person is the very salvation which Jehovah renders people. He Himself is salvation. Because Jehovah Himself becomes salvation, He is the Savior.
Do not think that when we call Jesus we are just calling the name of a man. Jesus is not simply a man; He is Jehovah our salvation, Jehovah our Savior. This is simple, yet profound. When you call on Jesus, the whole universe realizes that you are calling on Jehovah as your Savior, Jehovah as your salvation.
The Jews believe in Jehovah, but not in Jesus. In a sense, they have Jehovah, but they do not have salvation or the Savior. We have more than the Jews have, for we have Jehovah the Savior, Jehovah our salvation. This is why we have such a wonderful feeling when we call on Jesus. Even if you were to say that you hate Jesus, there would still be a feeling within you. If you were to say, “I hate Abraham Lincoln,” there would be no feeling. If you say, “I hate Jesus,” some feeling is there. Abraham Lincoln has nothing to do with you, but Jesus does. Many have said, “I hate Jesus,” and later were caught by Jesus. Whoever calls on the name of Jesus will be saved. If you touch the name of Jesus, you will be touched by Him. When we preach the gospel, it is good to help people call on Jesus. As long as they call on Jesus, something will happen.
Jesus is a wonderful name because Jesus is Jehovah. In Genesis 1 we do not find the name Jehovah. We find only the name God: “In the beginning God created....” Elohim— God—is the term for the God of creation. The name Jehovah, which is not used until Genesis 2, is used especially when God relates to man. The name Jesus is something added to Jehovah—that is, Jehovah our salvation, Jehovah our Savior.
Jesus is the real Joshua (Num. 13:16; Heb. 4:8). Joshua is the Hebrew equivalent of Jesus, and Jesus is the Greek translation of Joshua. Moses brought God’s people out of Egypt, but Joshua brought them into rest. As our real Joshua, Jesus brings us into rest. Matthew 11:28 and 29 tell us that Jesus is the rest and that He brings us into Himself as rest. Hebrews 4:8, 9, and 11 also speak of Jesus as our real Joshua. The Joshua in the Old Testament text becomes Jesus in the Greek text of Hebrews. The Jesus mentioned in Hebrews 4 is our Joshua.
It is difficult to separate Jesus from Joshua because Jesus is Joshua, and Joshua is Jesus. Today, Jesus is our real Joshua who brings us into rest, the rest of the good land. He is not only our Savior saving us from sin, but also our Joshua bringing us into rest, the good land. Whenever we call on His name, He saves us from sin and brings us into rest, into the enjoyment of Himself. A line in a hymn speaks about saying the name Jesus a thousand times a day. The more you say, “Jesus,” the better. We must learn to speak the name of Jesus all the time. Jesus is our salvation. Jesus is also our rest. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord Jesus shall be saved and enter into the rest.
In 1:23 we have another wonderful name—Emmanuel. Jesus was the name given by God, and Emmanuel was the name called by man. Emmanuel means “God with us.” Jesus the Savior is God with us. Without Him we cannot meet God, for God is He, and He is God. Without Him we cannot find God, for He is God Himself incarnated to dwell among us (John 1:14).
Jesus is not only God; He is God with us. The “us” refers to the saved people. We are the “us.” Day by day, we have Emmanuel. In Matthew 18:20 Jesus said that whenever two or three are gathered together in His name, He will be with them. This is Emmanuel. Whenever we Christians gather together, He is in our midst. In Matthew 28:20, the last verse of this Gospel, Jesus told His disciples, “Lo, I am with you all the days, even until the completion of the age.” Jesus as Emmanuel is here today. According to Matthew, Jesus came, but He never went away. He was buried in the tomb for three days, but He came in resurrection and never left. He is with us as Emmanuel.
When we call on Jesus, we have the sense that God is with us. We call on Jesus, but we have God. Sometimes, we Christians are rather stupid. We call on Jesus and we find God; yet we wonder whether or not Jesus is God. Jesus is God! He is not only God—He is God with us. When we call on Jesus, we have Jehovah, we have the Savior, we have salvation, and we have God with us. We have God in the very place where we are.
This Jesus, who is Jehovah God, was born in the flesh to be the King to inherit the throne of David (1:20; Luke 1:27, 32-33). Matthew is a book on the kingdom with Christ as the King, the Messiah. When you call on Jesus, you have Jehovah, the Savior, salvation, God, and eventually, the King. The King rules. When we call on Jesus, immediately we have One ruling over us. If you have some unseemly pictures or photos on your walls and you call on Jesus, He will be your King and say, “Get rid of that!”
Jesus, the King, intends to establish His kingdom within you and to set up the throne of David in your heart. The more you call on Jesus, the more the ruling power will be there. If you do not believe me, I ask you to try it. Call on the name of Jesus for ten minutes and see what happens. The King will rule over you and bother you. The first night He may say that your attitude toward others has never been very good, especially toward your husband or your wife and that you must be ruled. Call on His name and you will be ruled by Him.
Jesus is a wonderful Person. He is Jehovah, God, the Savior, and the King. The King has been born and is here today. Every day, morning and evening, we appreciate Christ as our Savior, as our King, and as the King of kings.
When no one can rule over you, this King of kings will be able to rule you. When no one else can control you—neither our parents, your husband, your wife, or your children—the King of kings will do something. Simply call on the name of Jesus. If you do, you will enjoy Jehovah, the Savior, salvation, the presence of God, and also the kingship of Jesus. Jesus the King will be born in you, and He will establish His kingdom within you. This is the very Jesus Christ we find in Matthew.
The Christ in Matthew is the Savior-King and the King-Savior who sets up the kingdom of the heavens within us and over us. Matthew 1 not only gives us the origin of this King; it also gives us the presence of this King. This King’s name is Jesus. Whenever we call on His name, we have the sense that He is ruling within us by saving us. He is setting up the kingdom of the heavens within us. Hallelujah, this is our Christ!
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