New Year's Eve 2019

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: Luke 2:21
Theme: “Give Him The Name Jesus”



Dear friends of the newborn Saviour,

Jesus was not an uncommon name in First Century Palestine. Notably, Barabbas, the notorious criminal who was released by Pilate at the request of the Jews instead of Jesus was known as ‘Jesus Barabbas’1. Pilate had to be careful with his name identity when meeting the demands of the crowd. Additionally, during one of his missionary campaigns Saint Paul encountered a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus2. He was a well-known and influential sorcerer in the region. Yet, there was only one Jesus who was known as the Christ. The definite article gives specificity to the identity the true Messiah.

The name ‘Jesus’, is not coincidental, of course, deriving from the Hebrew name ‘Joshua’. Joshua means ‘Yahweh is salvation’ or ‘God saves’, or ‘Saviour’. Of the many titles and names of Jesus in the Bible ‘Saviour’ is arguably the most well-known and most important. The sum and substance of who Christ is, what He does, and how He relates to us conveyed in this title. Naming Jesus as Saviour is just information for the unbeliever, but for Christians it is an affirmation of faith.

Jesus was named on the day of His circumcision. A sign of the covenant with profound connotations, circumcision identified one as belonging to Yahweh. Jesus fulfilled the requirements of that covenant, of course, opening the way for baptism to supersede circumcision as the means of becoming adopted into the divine patronage according to the Scripture, “In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature…with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God who raised Him from the dead.”3

Jesus lived up to His name, and He still does. His name is a beacon of light in this dominion of darkness. As we stand at the threshold of 2020 biblical Christians should recognize that the presence of Jesus is needed as much as ever. Others disagree, claiming humanity can solve its own problems, even thinking most problems will inevitably be solved human ingenuity. No heroes will be needed in Utopia then. No need for Guardians of the Galaxy or the Justice League, or any superheroes at all. With no villains, protagonists, perpetrators or transgressors and with love, harmony and peace practiced everywhere, there’s no need for intervention, rescue, or redemption. But ours is not a situation of utopia but of dystopia. Things are out-of-place in our world. They are dysfunctional. The world is hurting, broken, dying, decaying.

Often, we try to cover things with quick fixes and so-called miracle cures. But the brokenness of sin cannot be remedied in that way. Managing sin with our own abilities is like a ‘catch-22’ conundrum- like the woman who walked into a pharmacy asking if they had any tablets to help her memory. The first attendant enquired about whether she had seen a doctor first. Overhearing the conversation another pharmacist said, “Your prescription has been ready for two weeks, but apparently someone has forgotten to ring you!” It’s like going to the bank to get a loan but the bank wants to first know that you don’t really need one! It’s like people with poor eyesight looking for their glasses: You need to be wearing them to be able to find them!

And so, it is with sin; we can’t even diagnose sin properly, let alone, remedy it. The cardiologist can’t perform his own heart surgery. But we have the Physician of body and soul.
The naming of Jesus was fulfillment of the prophetic word “you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”4 And again, “…the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wing.”5 The proverb, “Physician, heal Yourself!”6 was quoted to Him, and He did! His qualification is a crucifixion and resurrection. His attending physician is the Holy Spirit. His primary medication is the sacrament of Holy Communion.

The year 2020 is now upon us. Maybe your view of the future is filled with excitement and anticipation, or fear and trepidation; or perhaps a mixture of both hopes and doubts? If you’ve made it through the past calendar year without any experience of brokenness, without any failures, without any griefs or sorrows; if you’ve been spared all forms of pain, trauma, hurt or offence, then either you’ve been exceptionally blessed or you’re in a little bit of denial. Conversely, you might be saying, “Good riddance!” Sometimes people are happy to see Christmas in the rearview mirror, or even the past year entirely.

Christians need never despair that the future is lost because Christ is already there. He says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega…who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”7 He doesn’t promise your journey will be easy. He doesn’t promise your 2020 will be prosperous in a worldly sense. He doesn’t promise you won’t face challenges, suffer heartache, endure loss or trauma. He certainly doesn’t promise your faith won’t be tested.

But He does say this: “The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”8 And He does promise this: “…to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”9 And this: “Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved.”10 And again, “Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”11

At the end of the genre-defining movie ‘The Truman Show’, Truman, the main character who had been unknowingly living in an artificially fabricated reality endures a mighty struggle and then ultimately realizes the deception. As he stands at the threshold between the real world and the fake one- the only one he had ever known- all eyes are focused on him to see what would happen. Would he remain in the familiarity of the world he knew- confined, but comfortable? Or would he step into the real world, the unknown?

It’s a fitting analogy for our transition from this world to the next, and even for our stepping out in faith each day. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting for moment this world is fake. It’s not an illusion. It’s not a Hollywood movie set. All the good that we experience is a blessing of the Almighty God that is real and tangible. And the evil is very real too. But this world is on life-support. It’s on its way out. The Scripture says, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”12 And again it says, “The world in its present form is passing away.”13

Of course, God has the resources to keep it on life-support for as long as He wishes. He could even completely revitalize it. But He says He won’t. One day, a little like Truman stepping into the real world for the first time, believers will step in resurrected glory into that celestial dimension of peace, and light, and permanence. Everything that was will be the past and we will dwell only in the present.

Dear friends, you bear the name of Jesus, the Christ. He gifted it to you in baptism and it is the most secure and irrevocable thing you will ever possess. Christians need not fear the future because God is already there. He lives in 2020 just as certainly as He lives in eternity. He has consecrated you for this time and place and He will not fail you. Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

New Year’s Eve
31 December 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 See Matthew 27:16 2 See Acts 13:6
3 Colossians 2:11-12 4 Mathew 1:21
5 Malachi 4:2 6 Luke 4:23
7 Revelation 1:8 8 Deuteronomy 13:8
9 John 1:12 10 Ephesians 2:4-5
11 John 6:40 12 Romans 8:22 13 1 Corinthian 7:31