In Mark, the earliest of the gospels, the identity of Jesus is revealed at the Jordan, when he is baptized by John, whose voice cried in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”[1] When Luke and Matthew write, ten to fifteen years later, and independently of each other, Jesus is revealed differently. For Luke and Matthew, Jesus’ conception and birth showed whose child he was. In Matthew, the child to be born is already “Emmanuel, (which means God with us)”[2]. He is to be called in Hebrew, “Yeshua,” that is “Joshua,” and in Greek, “Jesus.”[3] I like the explanation of this name given in my annotated Revised Standard Version, “The Hebrew and Aramaic forms of “Jesus” and “he will save” are similar. The [meaning] could be suggested by translating [the verse], ‘You shall call his name “Savior” because he will save.’ ”[4]
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