Savior

Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua (Numbers 13:16). She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

What’s in a name? These days, names don’t mean much. A cooper is a person who makes crates and barrels, but most people named Cooper don’t build containers for shipping. A smith is a person who works with metal, but most people named Smith do not work in steel mills. In today’s world, a person’s name rarely describes him.

But in Bible times, people were frequently given a name that described them and their work. Moses was given his name because Moses means "drawn out of the water." Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, because Abraham means, "father of a great nation." Jacob wrestled with an angel of the Lord all night, and as a result was given the name Israel, which means "one who wrestles with God."

In today’s Bible texts, we are told that Hoshea had his name changed to Joshua; Joshua is the Hebrew word for "savior." We are also told that the Son of Man was given the name Jesus, which is the Greek word for "savior." Both Joshua and Jesus were given the same name. And so today we will compare these two individuals to see how they were both properly named "Savior."

To begin with, both men were obedient. Joshua obeyed even when it was hard to obey. When it was time to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land, the Lord told Joshua "Be strong and courageous. Go take the land" Joshua obeyed. He led the people across the river, even though it was at flood stage and there were no boats or bridges. He went on to conquer the land of Canaan, even though his people were hopelessly outnumbered.

Jesus was also obedient. His obedience was necessary for our salvation. We are saved from damnation not only through Jesus’ suffering, but also through His obedience to God the Father. Romans chapter 5 tells us, just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one Man the many will be made righteous. Jesus obeyed even when it was hard to obey. He agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane to the point that He actually sweated blood—yet He told His Father, not as I will, but as you will (Matthew 26:39). St. Paul writes, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8)

How is our obedience to God? We are tempted to practice selective obedience. Often, a person will be choosy about which of the Ten Commandments to keep. He might care a great deal when someone vandalizes property, but at the same time he skips church attendance whenever he feels like it. What’s the difference? There is none—vandalism breaks the 7th Commandment, and ignoring worship breaks the 3rd. Both show disobedience to God.

Selective obedience is not obedience at all. When King Saul thought that he could disobey God and later make it up with a generous offering to Him, God’s prophet Samuel told him, To obey is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). There are many people who feel that they can live as they please during the week, and make everything all right by saying a few prayers in God’s house on the day of worship; to such people Jesus cautions, Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 7:21).

Obedience is made possible by trust. Both Jesus and Joshua trusted the Father in heaven, and so they obeyed Him. How strongly do you trust God? Ask the Holy Spirit to increase your faith, so that you too can be obedient.

Joshua and Jesus were also alike in that they were both warriors. On the way to the Promised Land, Joshua led the fight against the Amalekites. From the time that he succeeded Moses as leader of Israel until his death, Joshua spent his time fighting the Canaanites who stood against God’s people.

Jesus also spent His life in battle. He fought the false teachings of the Pharisees; He opposed everything that was a lie. He combated sin, death, and the power of the devil. The enemies of Joshua were physical; the enemies of Christ were spiritual. Joshua gained victory by spilling the blood of his enemies; Jesus won the victory by shedding His own holy blood. Both were warriors for God.

Every Christian is called to do battle. The Bible says, Put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:11); Contend for the faith (Jude 1:3); Fight the good fight of the faith (1 Timothy 6:12); Put to death the misdeeds of the body (Romans 8:13). Christianity is not for those who are cowardly, lazy, or apathetic. Christianity is for men and women who are willing to go into battle. This means, first of all, arming yourself and your children with God’s Word. Second, it means daily battling falsehood and evil, fighting against every temptation. Above all, it means crucifying your own impulses when you feel the urge to do evil, or when doing the right thing seems like too much work.

Is your family life everything that Christ wants it to be? Is your community the kind of place our Lord would approve of? If not, then go to battle! And be sure that your first battle is with yourself. Develop within yourself kindness, forgiveness, courage, patience, and love. We fight the battles of God's kingdom, not by spilling the blood of others, but by spilling our own blood.

Speaking of Joshua, Scripture says he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses (Joshua 11:15). He led the people of Israel into the Promised Land, he conquered the Canaanites, he divided the land between God’s people—Joshua finished the work the Lord had given him to do. At 3:00 p.m. on Good Friday, Jesus cried out from the cross, it is finished (John 19:30). He had completed His purpose for coming to earth, He will save His people from their sins. Joshua saved his people from dying lost in the wilderness; Jesus saved us from dying lost in our sins.

To understand what Jesus accomplished, we must remember that the price of sinning is death. To save us from our sins meant saving us from death. To save us from death meant payment and substitution. For us to live, something must die in our place, and a price must be paid in providing that substitute. All of the sacrifices of lambs, bulls and goats throughout the Old Testament illustrated the need for payment and substitution for the forgiveness of sins. To save us, Jesus had to endure our death, our rejection by God, and our damnation. The book of Hebrews tells us that it was impossible for the blood of all these Old Testament sacrifices to take away our sins, then adds that Christ has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. This meant agony in the Garden of Gethsemane; beating, whipping and ridicule at the hands of Pilate’s men; crucifixion, rejection and damnation on Calvary’s hill. Yet, regardless of the cost, our loving Savior paid the price and finished His work. And because of this, instead of God’s anger, we have forgiveness; instead of death, we have life; instead of hell, we have heaven.

Palestine had been promised as an inheritance to Abraham’s descendants. But drought caused Jacob and his children to move to Egypt, and the children of Israel lived there for 400 years, eventually ending up as slaves. Even after Moses led them to freedom, they spent another 40 years in the wilderness. The children of God must have been tired—tired of the wilderness, tired of living in tents, tired of the heat and the wandering and a steady diet of manna. What a day of joy it must have been when Joshua led them through the Jordan River into the Promised Land!

What a day of joy it will be when Jesus leads us through the river of death into the Promised Land of heaven! Our Lord said, In my Father's house are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you (John 14:2-3). Speaking of heaven, an angel told John: There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 21:4). And John himself tells us, Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).

Are you suffering or in pain? Are you tired of life? Are you fed up with all the bad news you hear? Do you want to live in a place that has true freedom and limitless opportunities? Then I have Good News for you, because Jesus will take us, one by one, across the Jordan to the eternal Promised Land.

When Joshua had conquered Canaan, he divided it among the twelve tribes of the people. Each person was given his or her proper portion, without payment of any kind. The people received vineyards that they had never cultivated and olive groves that they had not planted, all for free, a gift from God.

In the same way, Jesus will give each of His followers a portion in heaven—joys and pleasures we never earned or deserved, all free, without any price. That’s the wonderful generosity of Christ. He declares, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). He also says, To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life (Revelation 21:6). And Saint Paul adds, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

It’s all there, free, just across the Jordan, for all who follow Jesus like God’s people followed Joshua. God the Father has sent the Savior—the Savior who was perfectly obedient, who won the battle against evil, and who leads us to the Promised Land, where we can enter freely as His followers. Follow Him, that He might save you eternally.