Yahweh Is Salvation

Woman: How do you like the name Bethany?

Man: I knew a girl named Bethany in third grade, and she was mean to me.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: One of the biggest decisions expectant parents face is their child’s name.

Woman: How about Kathryn?

Man: No, I think that’s too formal. But we could call her Katie.

Woman: Katie’s too cutesy.

Nancy: This was one decision Mary and Joseph didn’t have to worry about. Luke 2:21 says, “He was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”

The child we celebrate at Christmas was named by God Himself, a name announced by an angel to both Mary and Joseph. The name Jesus means “Yahweh is salvation.”

Hundreds of years earlier, the prophet Isaiah gave more detail about this deliverer: “His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (9:6). This season, we celebrate a child who was unique in His name.

With Seeking Him, I’m Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth.