Hymnals are full of songs praising “Jesus.” From “Away in a Manger” to “Jesus is Coming Again,” Christians sing about Yahushua. They sing about his birth, his ministry, his blood, his death, and his return. Very few songs are dedicated to the Father, and those that are, focus on His majesty, grandeur, and wrath.
This focus on Yahushua and his undeniably selfless sacrifice obscures a too-often overlooked fact of Scripture: the true identity of our Savior.
The Savior of sinners is none other than Yahuwah Himself.
“You are My witnesses,” says Yahuwah,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
That you may know and believe Me,
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
Nor shall there be after Me.
I, even I, am Yahuwah,
And besides Me there is no savior.” (See Isaiah 43:10-11.)
The Life-giver is the one who provided the plan of redemption. Certainly, Yahushua is deserving of our love and gratitude, but Satan has hidden the fact that Yahuwah Himself is our ultimate Savior. Instead of love drawing souls to Yahuwah in recognition of His gift, Satan has filled people with fear of the Father and diverted all that worshipful adoration to Yahushua—recognition that Yahushua always directed back to the Father.
One day, a rich young ruler asked Yahushua, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” Yahushua immediately responded: “Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is, Yahuwah.” (See Matthew 19:16-17.)
The work of a savior is to save! Throughout Scripture, Yahuwah raised up many saviors. In fact, a recurrent theme throughout sacred history is that of Israel apostatizing, being conquered by enemies, again worshipping Yah, and Yahuwah raising up saviors to deliver them.
Nevertheless they were disobedient
And rebelled against You,
Cast Your law behind their backs
And killed Your prophets, who testified against them
To turn them to Yourself;
And they worked great provocations.
Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies,
Who oppressed them;
And in the time of their trouble,
When they cried to You,
You heard from heaven;
And according to Your abundant mercies
You gave them deliverers who saved them
From the hand of their enemies. (Nehemiah 9:26-27, NKJV)
The ancient Israelites were well aware that Yahuwah was their ultimate Savior, the one who raised up deliverers for Israel. “I, even I, am Yahuwah, and besides Me there is no savior.” (See Isaiah 43:11.)
Yahushua, like Joshua before him, was a savior, raised up by Yah, to lead Yah’s people into the Promised Land. An angel told Joseph: “You shall call his name Yahushua, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21, NKJV) The name “Yahushua” means “Yahuwah’s salvation.” That is what Yahushua is; he is, literally, Yahuwah’s salvation.
But Yahushua’s mission was far more comprehensive than merely delivering Israel from their Roman oppressors. Yahushua was sent to redeem a world of sinners!
When John the Baptist was born, his father, Zacharias, rejoiced:
Blessed is Yahuwah, God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been since the world began,
That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. (See Luke 1:68-75.)
The greatest enemy anyone has ever had is not an angry neighbor, an abusive parent (or spouse), or powerful war-mongering country. It is Satan, the enemy of our souls. Yahuwah provided Yahushua to save us from sin. “For He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of Yah in him.” (See 2 Corinthians 5:21.)
This righteousness is available to all who will simply accept it by faith. Then, the merits of Yahushua’s blood cover the sins of believers, while the merits of his sinless life are credited to our account!
Most Israelites of Christ’s day expected the Messiah to save Israel from her political enemies. Very few grasped the full magnitude of his mission. One of the few, however, was Simeon.
This man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen Yahuwah’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Yahushua, to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed Yahuwah and said:
“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” (See Luke 2:25-32.)
After living a sinless life, Yahushua died in our stead. Yahuwah then raised him the third day and exalted him in recognition and gratitude for his great sacrifice. “Him Yahuwah has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” (See Acts 5:31.) That’s how much Yahuwah loves you!
Just as Yahuwah raised up saviors in the past to deliver His people from earthly enemies, so He raised up Yahushua to deliver His people from their sins. “For Yah so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For Yah did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.” (See John 3:16-17.)
The offer of salvation is still available. It is free to all who will turn to Yahuwah our Savior and accept His great gift by faith, because “Salvation is of Yahuwah.” (See Jonah 2:9.)
