Savior: What Does It Mean?
Savior: What Does it Mean?
Last week we studied Jesus the Messiah. This week we will look at another name for Jesus: Savior.
This word is one we have read and heard frequently. I wonder if the familiarity has taken away some of the immense power of the name.
Let’s take a fresh look at the name of Savior – an additional name and facet of the character of Jesus, the Messiah. Like all the names of God, we need to go back to the Old Testament to understand them better.
The Hebrew word (Strong’s 3467) is yasha. It means to save, to deliver, rescue, bring to safety.
Throughout the Old Testament, this word is used to mean saved or delivered. For example, after God parted the Red Sea and Israel crossed on dry land, Scripture says, “Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians.…” Exodus 14:30.
In Judges, “the LORD raised up a deliverer for them . . . “ Judges 3:15.
David “. . . delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.” I Samuel 23:5.
Hundreds of verses use this word to show that someone had been saved, rescued, delivered, from a perilous situation.
The people of the Old Testament understood what yasha meant (to save, to deliver, rescue, bring to safety). Then in the book of Isaiah, God shares with the prophet that HE, God Himself, is the deliverer, the rescuer, THE SAVIOR:
“”For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior . . .” Isaiah 43:3
“. . . Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I, even I, and the LORD; and there is no Savior besides Me.” Isaiah 43:10-11.
“Truly, Thou are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior!” Israel 45:15.
Now that God told His people that He was the Savior, He prepared the way for them to understand that God the Son, the promised Messiah, would be the Savior that would “save” them from their sins.
God gave a prophecy to Zechariah. The LORD allowed Zechariah to foresee the Savior, Jesus the Messiah, in His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
“Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9.
We see this prophecy fulfilled in Matthew 21:5 when Jesus entered the city. Remember that Savior means to save. What did the people cry out when Jesus entered Jerusalem that day? Hosanna- which means “save us, now”. Matthew 21:9. A perfect fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9.
So where is Jesus called the Savior?
The New Testament was written in the Greek language. The Greek word (Strong’s 4990) translated Savior makes it clear that Jesus, the Son of God born to Mary, was THE SAVIOR.
“For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:11-12.
The apostle John, an eyewitness to the ministry of Jesus, wrote:
“And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confessed that Jesus is the son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” I John 4:14-15.
Jesus, the Messiah, is the Savior.
Carla Killough McClafferty