View source for The Name of Jesus

What condescension it was when God, the great Creator and Lord of the whole universe, the infinite Being who is beyond all human description, took a name in human language by which he could be known. Much greater condescension followed. 

In the fullness of time he took a human body. Specific instructions were given to Joseph in a dream and to Mary by the angel Gabriel: 'Call his name Jesus'. The New Testament never once mentions the name of YHWH, but gives immense prominence to the name of Jesus.

We have considered the name YHWH, and the reverence given to this day to a name that no one knows how to pronounce. We find a surprising parallel in the name JESUS. Every language pronounces his name differently. None of the five letters that make up the name in our Latin spelling has a consistent pronunciation in different European languages. 

The J has at least 4 pronunciations including Y and CH. The E may be the phonetic E or I. The S may be S, SH or Z. The U has minor variations. The final S may be present or absent. Indeed the Hebrew name Yeshua and the English Jesus have no phonetic sounds in common.

Do we not all know who we mean when we say Jesus? Historically speaking, yes we do. Jesus means the person described in the New Testament who lived two thousand years ago and founded the Christian faith. 

Spiritually speaking it is another matter. Do we really all mean the same person? To three quarters of the world's population Jesus, if known at all, is the founder of an alien religion. In the western world to a minority Jesus is Son of man, Son of God, Saviour, Healer, Lord and Friend. For the rest each has a different idea according to his traditions, biases and prejudices.

Interestingly there are four other people named Jesus in the New Testament, besides the Jesus who dominates its pages. Jesus was quite a common name. People had to say Jesus of Nazareth to be clear whom they meant.

Where does all this lead us? What really is the name of the Son of God? The answer, I believe, is like the answer to our first question, 'What is the name of God?' Jesus was the name, description and identity of God to all who met him when he walked the earth, as he also is to us his people today. 

We are to become the name, description and identity of Jesus to the world. Jesus reveals God to his people. His people are to reveal him to the world. We are to be the manifestation or name of Jesus to the world, just as Jesus is the manifestation or name of God to his people.

This concept is probably new and hard to grasp. We are familiar with the thought of being the body of Christ or the temple of the Holy Spirit. These things are explicitly stated in the Bible. Our very familiarity with the words of Scripture, alas, has often let us accept deep truths of God too lightly.

The idea that we should be the name of Jesus is not clearly stated in the New Testament, but matches and throws light on many passages, which we will now consider.


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