Above Every Name: Jesus - The Hope of Salvation, Isaiah 9:7, 1 Thessalonians 5:8-11
The gospel of Matthew (2:20-23) tells us that God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to tell him that the child that Mary was carrying was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The angel also instructed Joseph that the son Mary would bear would be named Jesus because "he will save his people from their sins." The name Jesus is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means the Lord saves.
The New Testament celebrates the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophetic promise. One of the earliest books in the New Testament is 1 Thessalonians. In chapter 5, Paul gives instructions for how Christians are to live in the context of a wicked and broken world. Specifically, Christians are to live in a posture of expectation of the imminent return of Jesus.
The connection between Isaiah 9:7 and 1 Thessalonians 5 is one of timing and perspective. Isaiah is looking forward to the day that the Messiah will come. Paul, writing to the Thessalonians, is rejoicing that Jesus the Messiah has come and is looking forward to when he will return. Isaiah looks forward to the Messiah coming to establish his kingdom. Paul is rejoicing that the kingdom of God has come and is looking forward to the day when the fullness of it is known.
From these two passages, we are encouraged to have a perspective of hope in the promise of salvation that enables us to persevere in the present.
