You shall call his name Jesus

In keeping with the message of the season, the Verse of the Day for December 17, 2013 is taken from Matthew 1:20-21:

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

After Joseph learns that Mary is pregnant before they came together as husband and wife, he is considering divorcing her privately. The angel of the Lord, Gabriel, appears to him in a dream and makes prophetic declarations expressed in the future tense:

Mary shall bring forth a son.

Joseph shall call his name Jesus, no other name given under heaven whereby men must be saved (Acts 4:12)

Jesus shall save his people from their sins, just as his name makes known (Jesus—“the salvation of Yahweh”)

This passage from Matthew is the inspiration for the contemporary Christmas song “Call His Name Jesus” by Philips, Craig and Dean:

Tags: Call His Name Jesus, Jesus, Matthew 1:20-21