Max Lucado - His Name is Jesus: The Promise of Gods Love Fulfilled

A GIFT FOR

FROM

HIS NAME IS
JESUS

The Promise of God's Love Fulfilled

MAXLUCADO

HIS NAME IS JESUS
2009 Max Lucado. All rights reserved.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson . Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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Scripture references are from the following sources: The New King James Version (NKJV) 1979, 1980, 1982, 1992, 2002 Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publisher. The Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. The Message (MSG), copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. New American Standard Bible (NASB), 1960, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. The New Century Version (NCV). Copyright 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. The Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT), copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. The AmplifiedBible (AMP). The Amplified New Testament, copyright 1954, 1958, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. The LivingBible (TLB), copyright 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. All rights reserved. The ContemporaryEnglish Version (CEV) 1991 by the American Bible Society. Used by permission. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible (RSV), copyright 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA.

Compiled by Terri Gibbs
Editorial Supervision: Karen Hill, Executive Editor for Max Lucado
Development Editor: Lisa Stilwell
Design: Koechel Peterson & Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, MN

Photographs unless otherwise noted are from
pages 4-5 Flickr.com | Fort Photo; pages 26-27 Flickr.com | aycee_2000 (Alan Carmichael)

ISBN 13: 978-1-4041-8673-6
ISBN 10: 1-4041-8673-5

www.thomasnelson.com

Printed and bound in China

CONTENTS

JESUS WAS, AT ONCE, COMMON AND NOT; alternately normal and heroic. One minute blending in with the domino players in the park, the next commanding the hell out of madmen, disease out of the dying, and death out of the dead. Who was this man who spoke as easily with kids and fishermen as widows and waves? It is the question that has echoed down through the centuries to us today.

HIS STORY WAS EXTRAORDINARY. He called himself divine, yet allowed a minimum-wage Roman soldier to drive a nail into his wrist. He demanded purity, yet stood for the rights of a repentant whore. He called men to march, yet refused to allow them to call him King. He sent men into all the world, yet equipped them with only bended knees and memories of a resurrected carpenter.

WE CANT REGARD HIM AS SIMPLY A GOOD TEACHER. His claims are too outrageous to limit him to the company of Socrates or Aristotle. Nor can we categorize him as one of many prophets sent to reveal eternal truths. His own claims eliminate that possibility.

WHO IS HE?

Lets try to find out. Lets follow his sandal-prints. Lets sit on the cold, hard floor of the cave in which he was born. Lets smell the sawdust of the carpentry shop. Lets hear his sandals slap the hard trails of Galilee. Lets sigh as we touch the healed sores of the leper. Lets smile as we see his compassion with the woman at the well. Lets let our voices soar with the praises of the multitudes. Lets try to see him.

My prayer is that as you read this book Jesus will emerge from a wavy figure walking out of a desert mirage to become the touchable face of a best friend. My idea is simple. Lets look at some places he went and some people he touched. Join me on a quest for his God-manness. You may be amazed.

More important, you may be changed.

MAX LUCA

HE STILLED A STORM WITH ONE COMMAND.

He raised the dead with one proclamation.

He rerouted the history of the world with one life.

Jesus

He could hold the universe
in his palm
but gave it up to float
in the womb of a maiden.

A Lowly Place of Birth

Joseph also went up from the townof Nazareth in Galilee to Judea,to Bethlehem the town of David,because he belonged to the house andline of David.He went there to register withMary, who was pledged to bemarried to him and was expectinga child. While they were there, thetime came for the baby to be born,and she gave birth to herfirstborn,a son. She wrapped him in clothsand placed him in a manger,because there was no roomfor them in the inn.

LUKE 2:4 7 NIV

ONES IMAGINATION is kindled thinking about the conversation of the innkeeper and his family at the breakfast table. Did anyone mention the arrival of the young couple the night before? Did anyone ask about their welfare? Did anyone comment on the pregnancy of the girl on the donkey? Perhaps. Perhaps someone raised the subject. But, at best, it was raised, not discussed. There was nothing that novel about them. They were, possibly, one of several families turned away that night.

Besides, who had time to talk about them when there was so much excitement in the air? Augustus did the economy of Bethlehem a favor when he decreed that a census should be taken. Who could remember when such commerce had hit the village?

No, it is doubtful that anyone mentioned the couples arrival or wondered about the condition of the girl. They were too busy. The day was upon them. The days bread had to be made. The mornings chores had to be done. There was too much to do to imagine that the impossible had occurred.

God had entered the world as a baby....

A more lowly place of birth could not exist.

Off to one side sit a group of shepherds. They sit silently on the floor; perhaps perplexed, perhaps in awe, no doubt in amazement. Their night watch had been interrupted by an explosion of light from heaven and a symphony of angels. God goes to those who have time to hear himso on this cloudless night he went to simple shepherds.

Near the young mother sits the weary father. If anyone is dozing, he is. He cant remember the last time he sat down. And now that the excitement has subsided a bit, now that Mary and the baby are comfortable, he leans against the wall of the stable and feels his eyes grow heavy. He still hasnt figured it all out. The mystery of the event puzzles him. But he hasnt the energy to wrestle with the questions. Whats important is that the baby is fine and that Mary is safe. As sleep comes, he remembers the name the angel told him to use... Jesus. We will call him Jesus.

Wide awake is Mary. My, how young she looks! Her head rests on the soft leather of Josephs saddle. The pain has been eclipsed by wonder. She looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point in history, the human being who best understands who God is and what he is doing is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. She cant take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knows she is holding God.