What we're going to do is look at Romans chapter one, just verses one through four. I'm going to read it before I pray. I'll give you just a second to turn to it.
But where I'm going to spend most of my time is actually on the last four words. Romans one through four. Let me go like this. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning his son, who is descended from David according to the flesh, and was declared to be the son of God in power, according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead. Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Let's pray. Lord God, we come before you tonight with hearts that are rejoicing and full of thanksgiving and it is because we consciously, your church, are able today to, in unison, just spend some time consciously reflecting the resurrection. How amazing. We know the truth of the resurrection the truth of the resurrection and yet, frankly, it continues to blow our minds. We truly do not come to grips with the idea. God, we are so thankful for Jesus Christ. All that he is, all that he has done for us. So I ask, Lord, in these few moments as we really just spend a couple moments focusing on Jesus Christ, our Lord, Holy Spirit, that you would just edify our souls, that you would encourage us, convict us, and teach us where we need. Father God, may it be for your glory and your honor. We ask these things in your name. Amen. I have a basic question that I want to present tonight and I'm going to repeat it over and over again so you will not forget it.
And it's simply this. What's in a name? Well, if we jumped into a middle of a conversation, Juliet is not allowed to associate with Romeo pretty much because he's a Montague. If he had any other name, it would have been fine. She's complaining that his name is meaningless.
You probably know it well, right? If the rose had any other name, it would still be the same, it would still smell as sweet. So with Romeo, he would still be the same beautiful young man, even if he had a different name. What's in a name? Well, if he had a different name, what's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Juliet knows that the blood feud prevents her from loving a Montague.
She ponders it. It's only your name that's the enemy. You are what you are, even though you may be a Montague. What's Montague?
It isn't hand or foot or arm or face or any other part belonging to a man. Oh, I wish you had a different name. What is so special about a name? A rose, even if it were called something else, would smell just as sweet. So Romeo would still have all the perfections that he has, even if he were not called Romeo.
Romeo, take off your name, she pleads. And in exchange for that whole name, which is not really a part of you, you can have all of me. I ask again, what's in a name?
Does it really matter? Would you be you if you had another name? Given names may not carry as much these days as they used to, especially back in Old Testament times, maybe New Testament times.
We've heard this probably over and over again. A lot of times a name was given because of maybe either something they were good at or something they looked like or something that they wanted to be remembered by. There was a lot of thought that was put into that. Nowadays, I would say it's much more whimsical. I think parents still put time and energy into names, but it happens to be a little bit more based on, I like the sound of that, or I like the sound of that, or I want it to be a little different.
So we come up with wind and rain and things like that. A question, would you agree with Juliet the name is not really a part of who you are? Is there anything special about a name? What's in a name? If I asked it this way, is there anything special about the name Jesus? Jesus in the Greek is Jesus, which when translated into the Latin is Jesus. It's the same Hebrew word as Yahshua or Joshua, which means Yahweh saves. You remember well Matthew, the angel appeared to Joseph and told him to take Mary as his wife for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son to you, Joseph shall call his name Jesus.
Why? Because he will save his people from their sins. But also Jesus was a very, very common name. Much like in our church at Providence, Mike is the name that most men have. We have a hard time distinguishing between the Mikes. If we want muscle because all of them are built the same, we call the Mikes. But if we need to distinguish them, we need to go after last names and they're tough like Golombowski. Mike is much easier.
One of our guitar players is simply Ox. And if you saw him, you know why. First century, the name of Jesus really wasn't that special. Listen to what the Bible says about this man named Jesus. If we go back into Isaiah as far as it says, the servant grew up a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field. This is from Isaiah 53, two to three. And this is the message.
Just kind of like the way the poetry of this. There was nothing attractive about him. Nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over. A man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand. One look at him and people turned away.
We look down on him, thought he was scum. Well, we learn quickly then in John 1, and you'll remember this well also, Philip runs and finds Nathaniel, his friend, and says to him, we have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nathaniel said to him, and you remember his response, right? Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Jesus was born into obscurity, in poverty, the son of a carpenter. I'm sure they didn't have much money.
In fact, we can infer from stories in scripture that they did not have much money. As an adult, he himself said at times that he didn't even have a place to lay his head. So he would tell some disciples that wanted to follow Jesus, why do you want to follow me?
You're going to be sleeping on rocks. Later after Jesus's life, Paul in Philippians even states, he, meaning Jesus, made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant. Is there anything special about this name Jesus?
Well, let's add to that before we answer that question. What if we add the title that is most often given to him, the Christ? I hope you know that's not his last name. It is a title, meaning the anointed one or Messiah. If nothing else, I would think that titles add expectations, don't they? If you were to think of some of these titles, typically, actually what you're going to do is probably conjure up somebody in your head, but then you'll also, in general, maybe just think of expectations.
If I were to say to you a boss or CEO, if I were to talk about a coach or a pastor, a teacher, maybe a father or a mother, a husband or a wife, there are expectations associated with these titles. The question then that comes along with this title, Jesus Christ, is this idea of who would the Christ be? What would he come to do?
What would be his role? Well, expectations ran wild in the first century, much like they do today. There were many religious groups. Many of them awaited the Christ to vindicate their belief systems. The Pharisees, well, you know, they were the moral ones, the upright life, and they thought that if we just live upright enough, we will bring the Messiah. The Messiah will come. They hoped the Christ would usher in a millennial age of peace.
Finally, they would have peace. There was an ultra-righteous group called the Essenes, and the Essenes waited for a priestly Christ who would come and would reform the priesthood and establish Israel as the great world power. The zealots prepared for a military leader who would destroy Rome, and they, too, wanted Israel to be set up again as a world power, but maybe not so much in a religious sense, but maybe not so much in a religious sense, but in a political sense.
And then you've heard of the Sadducees, right? Well, they had power and prestige and wealth already, and they didn't really care if this Christ figure would come at all. They figured he would maybe just get in the way and cause trouble, ruin the good thing that they had going with Rome. Well, there were a number of religious reformers and military leaders during both the 400 years of silence between Malachi, the Old Testament, and Matthew in the New Testament, but also during that first century, there were all sorts of these figures who rose to power claiming to be some version of Israel's Christ, of the chosen one, the Messiah. He would be just, follow me and I will lead you to whatever, only to be assassinated, convicted of crimes, usurped, or killed in battle. So the question then becomes, would this Jesus meet the true expectations and be the Christ? Is there anything special about this name, Jesus Christ?
Nathaniel called him the King of Israel. The blind beggar shouted out, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. When Jesus asked Peter, he responded famously. Jesus asked, who do you say that I am? Peter responded by saying, you are the Christ. And this all culminates just a few days prior to today, what we're celebrating in the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where many are shouting, Hosanna, could you imagine what an amazing day that would have been? I'm sure the sun would have been shining much like today, and everyone as Jesus is riding in on this day, Jesus is riding in on the donkey.
And I get it. I love, I understand it's not a white horse, but that's what David wrote in on. The King was coming and everyone's chanting. He's here, the King, Hosanna to the son of David.
But as Friday comes, all of that dissipates, or at least it all changes into something else, doesn't it? Within a week's time, not even a week, the shouts turn into, crucify him, crucify him. The crowd thought Jesus Christ nothing more than an imposter, than a pretender, a blasphemer. Within a week's time, he's taken outside of Jerusalem, and he's nailed to a cross as if he is a common criminal.
And he's left there to die. Is there anything special about the name Jesus Christ? If we were to stop right here, Jesus would be no better than every other leader that has come by and claimed that they were the one. Thank God for Paul, and for the fact that he pushes past, he continues on. Because what we have in Romans 1 through 4 is actually the gospel. I know we love to look, especially us theologians love to look at Romans 1, 16, and 17, and that sort of encapsulates all of Romans. Really, Romans is encapsulated in these first four verses. The good news is not so much as a Christian, a Christian, or a Christian, a news about a system, or a thing, or an idea, but it is a person. Romans 1, 4.
Let me read it again. Jesus Christ was in fact declared, says the ESV. That declared is an important word, and we're going to use other words like proclaimed, appointed, vindicated, or proven to be the son of God in power, according to the spirit of holiness. His resurrection changes absolutely everything. His resurrection establishes himself, Jesus, as the savior of his people, and proves him to be the one and only Christ. He is vindicated as the eternal son of God. Paul says that the resurrected Jesus Christ, the son of God, is the subject matter of the gospel. But do you understand what makes it good news is the fact that Jesus Christ is alive, that he is living, that he has conquered death, that he is the risen one. Robert Shaw says it like this.
I love this. This quote just kind of puts it all into perspective. It says, his supreme deity was thereby vindicated. His divine mission and the truth of the doctrine which he taught was truly confirmed. The sufficiency and acceptableness of the sacrifice which he offered was attested.
Incontestable evidence was given of his decisive victory over death and the grave. And believers have now a certain pledge and infallible assurance of their joyful resurrection to eternal life in that beautiful, special name, Jesus Christ, our Lord. In power, Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit is resurrected bodily in fullness of life, or to fullness of life.
Life as it is supposed to be. The life, well, frankly, the life you and I crave to have, whether we are actually craving it or not, is everlasting, eternal, immortal life. Jesus truly is the savior of his people. Jesus Christ is truly the long-awaited Messiah, freeing his people not from Rome, but from sin and death. Through his resurrection, he truly holds the name then that we see after Jesus Christ, which is Lord. He is Lord. He is Lord.
And this is not simply a title as in Lord of the manor or someone that we just simply give respect to because of age or because, in a sense, maybe of stature or title like we would with another human being. What we're talking about here is Lord as the scriptures write it out in all capitals, the almighty sovereign, the covenant binding name of Yahweh. Lord, he is King Jesus, son of David, and Yahweh God Almighty, the eternal son. There is something very, very, very special about the name Jesus Christ, our Lord. We go back to Paul's statement in Philippians. He is the same Jesus who made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. But the next verse is after the resurrection where Paul goes on to say, therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess what?
That Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. There is something very special about his name. There's still one more word that we need to look at, and this is where the application falls in. It's a very small possessive.
It's the one word that's not capitalized. It's the word our, Jesus Christ, our Lord. That Christ was declared the Son of God by openly exercising a real and celestial power, says John Calvin. That is the power of the Spirit when he rose from the dead, but that this spirit, I'm sorry, but that this power is comprehended when a conviction of it is imprinted on our hearts by the same Spirit.
By this, Calvin simply means this, that as the Spirit of power worked in Jesus Christ to raise him from the dead, so this same Spirit works in our lives, in you and me, to raise us from the dead. The Spirit of power works in our hearts and minds to convict and to convince us through faith that Jesus Christ is truly the resurrected Lord. So the question then to apply tonight is, has the Holy Spirit worked in your heart to convict and convince you of this glorious truth? Is Jesus Christ your resurrected Lord? Do you know the power of his resurrection and the life that he freely gives? If you do not, tonight, if you do not know that power, if you don't know how to claim Jesus Christ as your Lord, the scriptures tell us to simply cry out to him, to call out to him, to the only name that has power to raise the dead. He states, or he stated to his disciples in John that he is the resurrection and the life, and what he's asking you to do tonight is to simply trust in those words.
Acts 4 12 puts it succinctly, there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Church, the question I have then for you is, are you trusting in Jesus Christ as your Lord tonight? Tomorrow as Monday rolls around and everything just kind of becomes normal again.
I don't know, you might have, tomorrow might be the holiday and Easter, so maybe Tuesday. But come Tuesday, is Jesus Christ your Lord? Is he the one that you are leaning on? Is he the one that you are gleaning strength from moment by moment?
Have you admitted, and do you continually admit, that there is nowhere else to go, there is nowhere else to turn? He is my strength, he is my fortress, he is my rock, and he is my mind, he is my salvation. In him alone is hope, in him alone is joy and peace that surpasses all understanding.
Do you look to him for those things? Not him and, but him alone as Jesus Christ your Lord. What Jesus wants as he reveals his name to his beautiful bride is that we learn to flourish in him, that we learn to meditate on his name. We learn to revel in it, we learn to cherish it because he truly has risen, hasn't he? He has risen indeed, and there is something very, very special about his name, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let's pray. Father God, I thank you so much. I truly believe, yes, we might need a little bit more information, but the gospel is wrapped up just in your very name, Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus, you are the one that has saved your people from their sins by coming and taking on flesh, by living the life we could not live, and by dying a death that we could not even die. You proved to be the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Son of David, by rising again three days later. And now you are vindicated as Lord of all, Lord of all creation, Lord of your church, Lord of all the world that rebels against you. You are Lord in heaven, you are Lord on earth, and you are Lord throughout hell. You alone are Lord. It is my prayer tonight, Lord Jesus Christ, that every person in this room knows you as their Lord. I pray, Father, please, that you would work, work through your spirit, reveal yourself to us. For your church, for those of us that just, frankly, we're going through it, we're going through the darkness, the tough times, struggling, there are trials, there are sins, there is sickness, whatever it may be, God help us to look to you because Christ, you are the Lord.
You are in control of all of it. And thank God you have loved us and you have proven it through your death. You love us so much now that you are walking with us through all of this. Allow your church to fix our gaze, to fix her gaze on you. Lord God, may you help us to say, Jesus Christ, our Lord, for all glory and honor is yours. We ask this in your name. Amen.
