This post was first published December 14, 2015. -ed.
For such an aggressively godless culture, we still tend to hear the name Jesus Christ with surprising frequency. It’s tragic that the world has turned the Lord’s name into a blasphemous exclamation, but it should not surprise us. Satan can’t erase the truth about Christ, but he will happily settle for turning the Savior’s life into a myth and His name into an expletive.
Even among professing believers, the Lord’s name is used with the kind of casual familiarity that overlooks its significance. When was the last time you considered what it meant for God to name His Son Jesus Christ?
With the celebration of the Savior’s birth just around the corner, let’s consider the meaning of the name His Father gave Him.
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” – Matthew 1:21
God chose the name Jesus for His Son because its basic meaning defined the fundamental, overarching purpose for the Son’s coming to earth. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, Jeshua, or Jehoshua, each of which means “Jehovah (Yahweh) will save.” The baby Mary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and gave birth to in the plan of God would grow up to testify to the Father’s plan of salvation—and would Himself be that salvation. By His own sacrificial death on the cross and triumphant resurrection from the grave, He would save all those who are drawn from sin to repentance and who receive faith to embrace His atoning work.
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” – Matthew 1:23
The name Immanuel is the heart of the Christmas story. It is a Hebrew name that means, literally, “God with us.” It is a promise of incarnate deity, a promise that God Himself would appear as a human infant, Immanuel, “God with us.” This baby who was to be born would be God Himself in human form.
If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words: “God with us.” We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ, but the greater truth of the holiday is His deity. More astonishing than a baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth!
Immanuel, infinitely rich, became poor. He assumed our nature, entered our sin-polluted world, took our guilt on Himself although He was sinless, bore our griefs, carried our sorrows, was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5). All of that is wrapped up in “God with us.”
The apostle Paul penned one of the gladdest truths in all of Scripture: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9) That’s the immeasurable gift of Christmas. Christ, God’s own Son, gave up His wealth and privilege to live as God with us, that He might save His people from their sins, and that through His poverty they might become rich.
“For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” – Luke 2:11
Christ is an exalted title for a baby born in a humble stable. Jesus wore no crown and had no halo over His head to identify Him as someone special. There were no outward marks of His deity, sovereignty, or Messiahship. But when the angel announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, he identified the One born that night by His twofold heavenly title, “Christ the Lord.”
In both the Greek translation of the Old Testament and in the Greek New Testament, the title Christos (“Christ”) means “the anointed one.” That usage in reference to the future Savior occurs as early as Daniel 9:25-26 (where Christos is simply the equivalent of the Hebrew Messiah). Whenever the term was used in biblical times, it signified that an ultimate authority was anointing someone and placing him in a very high office. In Jesus’ case, the ultimate authority who anointed Him was His Father. God declared that Jesus is the King. He is the eternal King of kings who will sit on David’s throne and reign over His kingdom forever. Jesus, at the very end of His earthly ministry, confirmed the truth of His kingship in this exchange with Pontius Pilate:
Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king, then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.” (John 18:37 NKJV)
When the angel called Jesus “Christ the Lord,” he was not using a mere human designation of lord. Instead, he used a divine designation and claimed that the Child in Bethlehem is God. To say that Jesus is Lord is to say that He is first and foremost God. This is the most fundamental and essential confession of the Christian faith. It is unequivocal that if any person desires to be saved, he must make the heartfelt and vocal confession that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9).
In addition, the expression “Jesus is Lord” implies all the sovereignty and authority associated with One who is God. For “Lord” in Luke 2:11, the angel used the Greek word kurios, which expresses an authority that is valid and lawful. The ultimate lawful authority in the universe is God, and the angel announced Jesus’ lawful authority as the Son of God. The Greek translators of the Old Testament and the writers of the New Testament used kurios so often to refer to God that the word became synonymous for the name of God. When the angel declared Jesus to be Lord, he declared Him to be the true God, the One who possesses all authority and sovereignty.
You affirm those same rich truths when you address the Son of God by name or call Him “Lord.” Let’s discipline ourselves to remember what it means to use those terms, and help unsaved friends and family understand what we’re communicating through them.
“The question I have for preachers is: What tone should you aim at in preaching? This is an urgent question because, if you don’t answer it, your listeners will answer it for you.”
By Sermoncentral on Mar 18, 2020
Phillips Brooks who died in 1893—and who along with Jesus, Paul, John Stott, Dick Lucas, and other preachers never married—most famously said that preaching is “truth through personality.”
This personality factor raises the question of preaching tone. What should a preacher aim at in the tone of his preaching?
By “tone” I mean the feel that it has. The spirit it emits. The emotional quality. The affectional tenor. The mood.
Personalities Are Like Faces
Every personality has a more or less characteristic tone. That is part of what personality is. Some personalities play a small repertoire of emotional instruments, while others play a larger repertoire. Nevertheless, whether a personality plays a two-piece band or a symphony of emotional tones, there is a typical tone. A kind of default tone for each personality.
This has a huge effect on peaching. And there is no escaping it. Preachers have personalities, like they have faces. They can smile, and they can frown. But they have one face. It was given to them.
The question I have for preachers is: What tone should you aim at in preaching? This is an urgent question because, if you don’t answer it, your listeners will answer it for you.
The Tone of the Text
Over my 31 years in the pulpit, I have received a fairly steady stream of affirmation and criticism related to the tone of my preaching. The very same sermon can elicit opposite pleas. “More of that, pastor!” “No, we already get too much of that.”
This is totally understandable. Listeners have personalities too. Which means they have default tonal desires. They have preferences. They know what makes them feel loved. Or encouraged. Or hopeful. Or challenged. And some people feel challenged by the very tone that makes another feel angered or discouraged.
So I ask again: What tone should you aim at in preaching?
My answer is: Pursue the tone of the text. But let it be informed, not muted, by the tonal balance of Jesus and the apostles and by the gospel of grace.
Ten explanatory comments:
Texts have meaning, and texts have tone. Consider the tonal difference between, “Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden . . .” and “Woe to you, blind guides . . .You blind fools!” The preacher should embody, not mute, these tones.
Nevertheless, just as the meanings of texts are enlarged and completed and given a new twist by larger biblical themes, and by the gospel of grace, so also the tones of texts are enlarged and completed and given a new twist by these realities. A totally dark jigsaw-puzzle piece may, in the big picture, be a part of the pupil of a bright and shining eye.
The grace of God in the gospel turns everything into hope for those who believe. “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that . . . we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:32). Therefore, all the various tones of texts (let them resound!) resolve into the infinitely varied tones of hope, for those who believe in Jesus.
If there is a danger of not hearing the tone of gospel hope, emerging from the thunder and lightening of Scripture, there is also a danger of being so fixed on what we think hope sounds like, that we mute the emotional symphony of a thousand texts. Don’t do it. Let the tone grip you. Let it carry you. Embody the tone of the text and the gospel dénouement.
But it’s not just the gospel of grace that should inform how we embody the tone of texts. We are all prone to insert our own personalities at this point and assume that our hopeful tone is the hopeful tone. We think our tender is the tender. Our warmth is the warmth.This is why I said our capturing of the tone of the text should be informed by the tonal balance of Jesus and the apostles. We may simply be wrong about the way we think tenderness and hope and warmth and courage and firmness sound. We do well to marinate our tone-producing hearts in the overall tonal balance of Jesus and the apostles.
Tonal variation is determined in part by the nature and needs of the audience. We may well shout at the drowning man that there is a life preserver behind him. But we would not shout at a man on the edge of a precipice, lest we startle him into losing his balance. Jesus’ tone was different toward the proud Pharisee and the broken sinner.
But audiences are usually mixed with one person susceptible to one tone and one susceptible to another. This is one reason why being in the pulpit week in and week out for years is a good thing. The biblical symphony of tones can be played more fully over time. The tone one week may hurt. The next it may help.
There is a call on preachers to think of cultural impact and not just personal impact. In some ways our culture may be losing the ability to feel some biblical tones that are crucial in feeling the greatness of God and the glory of the gospel. The gospel brings together transcendent, terrible, horrific, ghastly, tender, sweet, quiet, intimate, personal realities, that for many may seem utterly inimical. Our calling is to seek ways of saying and embodying these clashing tones in a way that they sound like the compelling music.
In the end, when a preacher expresses a fitting tone, it is the work of God; and when a listener receives his tone as proper and compelling, it is another work of God.
So we pray. O Lord, come and shape our hearts and minds with the truth and the tone of every text. Let every text have its true tone in preaching. Shape the tone by the gospel climax. Shape it by the tonal balance of Jesus and the apostles. But don’t let it be muted. Let the symphony of your fullness be felt.
Beginning with “Israel – 1 – A Pagan Breeds A Nation,” through “19 Israel – Honoring The Seventh Day – Keeping The Law – A Discussion,” we have studied the nation of Israel, going back to the time of God’s covenant promise with Abraham. We have discussed such times of God’s covenant people, as their four hundred thirty years’ stay in Egypt (Exodus 12:40-41), and their departure from Egypt. We have studied such gifts of God to Israel, as the Sabbath and the Law. We have seen God’s presence in the Tent of Meeting (the tent of Moses, Ex 33:7-23), where He would speak with Moses, where Joshua was also present. We saw God’s command to Moses to build a Tabernacle in the desert (Ex 25:8), in which His presence was so strong that the following experience was realized at its completion: “34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle” (Ex 40:34-35. NASB 77. Note that the Tabernacle in the desert was also called the tent of meeting). In this timeline of Israel’s travels, we will see God’s covenant people leaving the Sinai desert, crossing the Jordan River, and entering into the Land of Canaan (Joshua 1:2; 3:17). We will see that Canaan was God’s gift to the Israelites, and was a land gift for Israel to conquer and possess (Josh 1:3), although it was not the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant. Canaan will also be an inheritance for the Jews during the Kingdom Age of the millennium (2 Samuel 7:8).
III. KEY CONCEPT OF JOSHUA (See Conclusion, Ephesians 2:1-10).
The key concept of the book of Joshua is possession through conflict by the power of Yahweh, the Captain of the Lord’s host. In this regard, the Book of Joshua is also like Ephesians, for though we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ, we must realistically face the fact of our enemies (Eph. 6:12) and strengthen ourselves by putting on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10-11, 13-18). It is important to realize that Israel’s ownership of the land was unconditional under the Abrahamic covenant, but possession of the land was conditional upon faith and obedience. And so today, conflict and conquest by faith go with laying hold of that which we have positionally in Christ; the experience of our blessings in Christ comes through faith in the midst of conflict. (J. Hampton Keathley III, Deceased, Th.M., 1966 graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary https://bible.org/seriespage/introduction-and-background).
IV. In this article we continue our prophetic journey of Israel, as opposed to a verse-by-verse scripture discussion. We have had a brief look at Joshua in Israel 20 and 21 (I will no longer number Israel posts). In future articles, we will discuss how the Israelites in the Book of Joshua relate to the nation of Israel in the times of the millennium (Kingdom Age), and the eternal state.
V. The following data (A-D) was gathered from the commentary of Joshua by Dr. David M. Howard, Jr., Ph.D.
A. Joshua’s name means, “Yahweh saves,” or “Yahweh delivers.” His name is the same form as Jesus’s name in the New Testament (Iēsoûs, ee-ay-sooce’; of Hebrew origin (H3091)). Joshua was present with Moses at the Tent Of Meeting (tent of Moses) in the wilderness, when God was Present (Ex 33:11). When Moses was about to die, Joshua went with him to the Tent of Meeting (Tabernacle in the desert) to meet God (Deu 31:14). “Israel served the LORD all of the days of Joshua,” which speaks well of his leadership (Joshua 24:31).
B. Joshua’s original name was “Hoshea,” which means “salvation,” or “deliverance,” (Num 13:8, Dt 32:44). Numbers 13-16 explains that Moses gave Hoshea the new name “Joshua.” He accompanied Moses up to Mount Sinai (Ex 24:31). He was one of the 12 spies that went into the land of Canaan, and he and Caleb were the only ones who brought back a positive report (Num 13-14).
C. Joshua was designated as the successor to Moses by the Lord, and Moses took him before the Lord to commission him (Num 27:15-23). During the ceremony, Moses passed his authority to Joshua through the laying on of his hands. Along with Eleazar the priest, Joshua was to distribute the lands to the tribes (Num 32:28; 34:17), a role they carried out when they reached the land (Josh 14:1; 19:51).
D. God used Joshua to save His people by conquering Canaan and apportioning it to Israel as their promised land. The purpose of the Book of Joshua is to give an official account of the historical fulfillment of God’s promise to give Israel the land of Canaan. Specifically, the conquest of Canaan under Joshua’s leadership was based on the Abrahamic Covenant.
E. It is important to understand that the people of Canaan were cousins of the Israelites (very sinful cousins, which we will discuss), whom also descended from the Ark to repopulate the earth (Gen 9:2,18).
VI. In Leviticus 18, God states His laws on moral relations. In that chapter, the many sins of Canaan are exposed by God to Moses. The Israelites were bound by the Law. Lev 18 verses 4-24 state the moral condition of the Canaanites (cousins of the Israelites).
A. Leviticus 18:1-3 (NASB) 1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘I am the Lord your God. 3 You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of “Canaan” where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes.
VII. The following verse shows the severity of the instructions that God gave to Joshua and the Israelites concerning their attack on Jericho:
Joshua 6:17 (NKJV) “Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.”
VIII. Consider the comment that comes from The Moody Bible Commentary on the Canaanites.
The city was to be destroyed and burned. All of the people and livestock were to be killed. The destruction had been ordered by God (Dt 7:2, 20:16-18) because He wanted these people eradicated: indigenous pagan survivors would bring compromise and syncretism to Israel. These people were unredeemable, exterminated for their wickedness. God had told Abraham 430 years earlier that “the sin of the Amorite was not yet complete” (Gen 15:16). Now it was. ….. They (Israelites) were to kill or drive the Canaanites into exile (Dt 20:16-18)….. Amidst the chaos of the battle, God’s grace came to one believer and her family. Rahab was spared, along with anyone wise enough to separate from their countrymen and join with Israel.
IX. Was Joshua’s conquest justified? Yes it was! Consider the following article from NAMB Blog:
X. In this article we will look into the details of the triumph of Joshua and the Israelites in the promised land of Canaan, in the conquest of Jericho. In following articles, we will discuss other Israelite triumphs. As we continue forward in our study of God’s plan for His chosen people, Israel (Deu 14:2), consider Joshua’s excellence, integrity, and godly character.
XII. Consider the following video on the battle of Jericho.
The Walls of Jericho – Joshua 6 | Sunday School Lesson and Bible Teaching Story for Kids |HD| – Sharefaith Kids – Published on Aug 26, 2016 Sunday School lessons for Kids! Try 4 FREE Lessons: http://sharefaithkids.com Download the full Sunday School Lesson: http://www.sharefaith.com/set/joshua-…
XIII. God had a strange plan for the battle of Jericho. He told Joshua to have the armed men march around the city once each day, for six days. The priests were to carry the ark, blowing trumpets, but the soldiers were to keep silent. On the seventh day, the assembly marched around the walls of Jericho seven times. (https://www.learnreligions.com/battle-of-jericho-700195)
XIV. The following information (A through D) comes from the works of Pastor David Guzik, Calvary Chapel of Santa Barbara, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Blue Letter Bible.
(https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/joshua-6/)
A. Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel (Joshua 6:1): Jericho itself was on full alert; from a human perspective, this would be a hard, if not impossible, battle. From God’s perspective, the battle was already over, because He can say to Joshua, “I have (in the past tense) given Jericho into your hand,” (Joshua 6:2).
1. Up to this point everything had been more or less preliminary and preparatory. Now, the real task before them must be faced and tackled. The Canaanites must be dispossessed if Israel is to occupy that which God has promised them.
2. Jericho was not an exceptionally large city; but it was an important, formidable fortress city. If Israel could defeat Jericho, they could defeat anything else that would face them in Canaan. Again, we see the wisdom of God as opposed to human wisdom, in that Israel faces their most difficult opponent first.
B. You shall march around the city (Joshua 6:3): The method of warfare was one that made absolutely no sense according to military intelligence. It required total dependence on God. It required great faith from Joshua because he had to explain and lead the nation in this plan. It required great faith from the elders and the nation, because they had to follow Joshua in this plan (Joshua 6:4).
C. The wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him (Joshua 6:5): It was a plan for victory whereby it would clearly be the work of the LORD. Yet God gave them something to do, so that Israel could work in partnership with God.
D. Obviously, it was something that God could have done without Israel’s help at all, but He wanted them to be a part of His work – as He wants us to be a part of His work today.
E. The Moody Bible Commentary. “It likely indicates that the walls fell “outward” and down the slope.” (My note. Consider the walls falling “outward!”)
XV. Video Of Archaelogical Study Of Walls Of Jericho.
Walls of Jericho – Whispering Past – Published on Aug 8, 2017 – The evidence for the ancient city of Jericho and it’s walls falling is there for the pondering!
XVI. Considering the sin of Jericho, Sodom, and Gomorrah (we must consider all three cities).
A. Did God make a mistake? After God ordered the destruction of Jericho, did He say,”Oops!” Has God changed His mind on the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? Consider that it was sin that caused Adam and Eve to be kicked out of the Garden of Eden, and that it was sin that put Christ on the Cross. Sin is “serious stuff.” Let’s consider the sin that caused the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
C. Let’s take a look at the facts of the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah.
1. Genesis 18:20 (NASB) “And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.”
2. God Questions. https://www.gotquestions.org/Sodom-and-Gomorrah.html (see excerpts below from article.) Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion.” …..while homosexuality was not the only sin in which the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah indulged, it does appear to be the primary reason for the destruction of the cities…Those who attempt to explain away the biblical condemnations of homosexuality claim that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was inhospitality…Sodom and Gomorrah serve as a powerful example of how God feels about sin in general, and homosexuality specifically.
3. Ryrie Study Bible. Genesis 19:5. “that we may have relations with them, i.e., have sex with them. God’s attitude toward the sin of homosexuality is seen in the destruction of Sodom and in Lev 18:22,29; 20:13; Rom 1:26; 1 Tim 1:10.
4. Consider the sin of Gen 18:20 in the world in which we live today, “their sin is exceedingly great.”
(a) Recently, as I was watching the various news reports of Hurricane Dorian, I heard a reporter say, “the storm has a mind of its own.” Really? That is like saying that “Mother Nature” is directing the things that are happening in our world. First of all, let me say that, “there is no Mother Nature!” However, there definitely is, “Father God,” with the following verse of scripture that describes His sovereignty:
(b) Psalm 103:19 (NKJV) “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all.”
(c) After 911, “god,” little “g,” was welcomed into our nation’s “churches,” little “c.” However, Christ, our Lord and Savior, has been denied His proper place of honor and deity ever since that day, to include “so-called religious places” and places of influence, such as “news, government, media, employment, academia, entertainment, new world order, et el.”
XVII. Conclusion. God’s Love.
There are many people that can not understand how “a loving God,” can destroy complete cities of people, such as Jericho and Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as other cities, to include the destruction that will come during the “yet future” tribulation. Such people cite the unfairness of God, as it relates to those whom may be “the innocents” of His judgments. Psalm 103:19, and other similar scriptures tell of God’s sovereignty over His creation, also His love and mercy over “all.” Consider the nature of God in the following verses:
A. 1 John 4:8 (NKJV) “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
B. Psalm 136:1 (NKJV) “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”
C. We are told in scripture that, “we must be born again.” We are also told that God causes the New Birth to take place.
1. John 3:3 (NKJV) “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
2. John 3:8 (NKJV) “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
3. Ezekiel 36:26 (NKJV) “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;”
4. Ephesians 2:1-10 shows a result of the new birth.
D. Whether the situation of God’s judgment falls on such circumstances as “Jericho and Sodom and Gomorrah,” or where small children are taught by their parents to hate God’s chosen people, Israel (Deu 14:2),” remember the truth of Psalm 136:1. There has never been an instance of Christ expressing anything that is less than love for children (Matthew 19:14). God is ready, willing, and able to cause anybody’s spirit to be born again which, upon death, causes such a person to be in the immediate Presence of God. Consider the account of a beggar, whose name was Lazarus.
2. Specific verse. Luke 16:22 “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.”
Opening video.
The Martins – Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho [Live] Gaither Music TV – Published on Aug 9, 2012 – The Martins – Official Video for “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho (Live)”, available now! Buy the full length DVD/CD ‘The Old Rugged Cross’ here: http://smarturl.it/TheOldRuggedCross Available at iTunes: http://smarturl.it/TheOldRuggedCross.iT Sign-Up for the Gaither Newsletter and receive $5 off your next online purchase: http://smarturl.it/GaitherNewsletter
Please follow this blog. I will see you again in seven days.
NarrowPathMinistries 