I, Jesus

I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches.  I am the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.

Revelation 22:16

We have begun considering the final self-descriptions of Christ.  Yesterday, we thought upon, ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.’  Today, we move three verses onward to our text.  Here, Christ identifies Himself with His Name.  If we return to the Gospel of Matthew, we find the significance of this Name, ‘And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’  The name Jesus means, ‘Jehovah saves.’  The angel who announced the birth of Christ to Joseph attached the meaning of Christ’s Name to the work He came to accomplish, ‘for He shall save His people from their sins.’  Therefore, when we come to our text, which holds the last of Christ’s Self-descriptions in the canon, He says, ‘I, Jesus, have sent my angel…’  Christ’s very use of His Own personal name points to His saving work.  Above all else, Christ would have us remember that He came to seek and to save that which was lost.  The testimony of the angels to the shepherds was, ‘For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.’  It is of the utmost importance that we remember this Person and His saving purpose.  Christ did not come to merely improve our lives or simply make us better people.  He came ‘to save His people from their sins.’  Therefore, He bears the Name, Jesus. 

Our Gracious Master and our God,
we rejoice at who You are.
We praise You that You have come to seek and to save
those of us who would be lost for all eternity
apart from You.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning