Some people are born risk-takers. Such was the case with Dr. John Haldane who was born
in Scotland in 1860. His professional life was spent in seeing how close he could come to
dying without actually ending up dead. He wanted to learn why it is that carbon monoxide
kills people. So he got himself a partner and they both sat in a lab breathing carbon monoxide.
In about half and hour his partner suddenly flipped over on his back and Haldane
realized it was time to flee. He ran up the stairs and out into fresh air. He was dizzy and
could not see right, but after awhile he returned to normal. His partner was dead, of course,
but that was the plan. His partner was a mouse and mice breath faster than men and so he
died faster. This was how Haldane knew when he still had a chance to escape. He later
learned that small birds breathe even faster than mice and so he did not have to cut it so close
in his experiments with poisonous gas.
Haldane did this experiment with every gas that was discovered in the mines. He risked
his life over and over again, but in so doing he learned the effects of gas on miner's and thus
developed ways whereby the lives of many miner's were spared. His studies also led to
improved ventilation in mines and he developed the salt tablet to replace lost salt due to
severe sweating in the mines. He led the way to the therapeutic use of oxygen which has been
a life saver to so many. By the grace of God, Haldane lived to be 76 years old and died in
1936. He made a name for himself by almost dying time and time again.
The prophets of the Old Testament told of the coming Prince of Peace who would make a
name for himself by not, almost dying, but by literally dying for his people. His dying would
not just save them from earthly dangers but from the everlasting dangers of eternal death.
There has never been a person like this in history, and so the prophet Isaiah makes a
special emphasis on the unique names to be given to this promised Messiah. In Isaiah 7:14 we
read. "Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will
give birth to a Son and will call Him Immanuel." Then in Isaiah 9:6 we read, "For to us a
child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be
called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
When we come to the New Testament we see the angel Gabriel telling Mary in Luke 1:31,
"You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus."
Later in Matt. 1:21 he gave this same message to Joseph, "She will give birth to a son, and
you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
Mary and Joseph did not need to struggle with a name and try out a few to hear how they
sound. Their baby came with a name already attached. The name of this baby was so
important to God that God himself selected it. He chose the name that He would honor above
all names. God left most naming of people, creatures and things to man but He wanted to
name this special child Himself.
You would not believe the complexity of life that astronomers have to struggle with. They
have to name everything they discover and as they discover more and more they have to
come up with names galore. It use to be a one man job. In 1647 Hevelius made a map of the
moon and considered naming the mountains and valleys after Bible characters. But he chose
instead to name them after earthly mountains and valleys and these have stuck. Galileo
named the flat areas after seas and bays and even though there's no water there, these too
have stuck.
But life became more complex. When William Herschel discovered the seventh planet, he
wanted to name it George after George III. But others said it should be called Uranus to be
consistent with the other planets which are named after Roman gods. George almost became
a name exalted to the heavens, but some committee shut it down.
Today we have international planetary nomenclature committees. Space exploration is
making this a massive job. They now need too many names to be limited to astronomers and
other scientists. They are now naming things after poets, composers, painters, historians,
playwrights, mathematicians, sculptors, doctors, psychologists, biologists, novelists,
engineers, and linguists. God gave Adam the task of naming all the animals and now man is
given the task of naming all of the billions of things that God has created in universe. But
when it came to the naming of His Son, God stepped in and took over and said His name will
be Jesus. Not his earthly parents; not a committee; not a government agency, no one but God
Himself was permitted to give the Christmas Baby His name. It was not a suggestion or a
request, it was a command that His name be called Jesus. God is very open-minded as to what
man will name all the rest of what He has made, but when it comes to this child conceived by
the Holy Spirit, there is only one name that will do, and that is Jesus.
Jesus was a nobody in the world of his day. The really big name was that of the Emperor,
Augustus Caesar. He fought the famous Brutus, who betrayed Julius Caesar. He fought and
defeated the famous Mark Anthony and Cleopatra. He became the name above all names in
the known world and he reigned for 44 years. He was greatly loved and was clearly the most
famous name on the planet. Now he is only known because of he decree that brought Mary
and Joseph to Bethlehem. It is the name of their baby that is now the name known and
honored all over the known world and praised as well in all of heaven. His name is the name
above all names and will be for all eternity.
Even the Moslems with their seven prophets-Mohammed being the last- consider Jesus to
be the only perfect prophet and superior to all the rest. There is no other name like that of
Jesus. The genealogy of Matt. 1, is a list of names that sums up the whole Old Testament.
These were the people God used to make history and to fulfill His plan to bring His Son into
history. All of these names are leading to one last and final name. Jesus had no children and
so the list ends with Him and goes no further. His is the last name in God's plan because He
fulfilled it completely and there is nothing anyone else can do to add to it. His name crowns
the biggest project in the universe, the project of saving lost men for eternity. That is why
God insisted that He be called Jesus, for it means Savior and He was and is the only Savior of
man.
There are a lot of names that just fit the people who receive them. For example: the
horticulturist named Mr Bloom; the gynecologist named Dr. Ovary; the Undertaker named
Mr. Digger; the Ice Maker named I. C. Shivers and the Dentist named Dr. Boring. But no
name in history is more fitting for the Son of God than the name of Jesus. It is the name by
which we approach the throne of God; the name by which we offer our petitions; the name by
which we send the devil fleeing. The poet has written,
Nothing can vex the devil more
Than the name of Him whom we adore.
Therefore doth it delight me best
To stand in the choir among the rest,
With the great organ trumpeting,
Through its metallic notes, and sing:
The Word has become flesh!
These words the devil can not endure
For he knoweth their meaning well!
Him they trouble and repel
Us they comfort and allure;
And happy it were if our delight
Were as great as his afright!
In some parts of the world the name of Jesus is still used for others but for most of the
Christian world this name has been kept exclusive for the Son of God. It therefore did not
become a popular name. But all who are connected with Jesus had names that became the
most famous ever. Mary for girls and John for boys are the two most popular names because
of their connection with the name of Jesus.
Charles Wesley is one of the two great hymn writers of all time-the other being Isaac
Watts. Wesley was able to get one of his hymns into the Church of England's Book of
Common Prayer. An 18th century printer did not know that the Church of England did not
like Wesley. He needed a hymn to fill an empty space and he found a Christmas poem that he
thought was just right. It was by Wesley. He included it and it was too late to remove it when
it was discovered it was one of Wesley's. It might have been left out of future printings yet,
but William Cummings discovered it fit so well with the tune by Felix Mendelssohn. He re-titled it,
Hark The Herald Angels Sing, and it became one of the most popular Christmas
hymns of all time. It exalts the name of Jesus but it also exalts the names of Wesley and
Mendelssohn because they are connected with the name of Jesus.
If you want to make a name for yourself, attach your name to that which exalts the name of
Jesus. If you tie your name to this name above all names it will carry your name to the top
also. It may not get famous in time but any name linked to His will be written down in glory in
the Lambs book of Life and will be known for all eternity. The highest success that can be
achieved is to have your name positively linked to the name of Jesus. It is not what, but who
you know that ultimately matters. O do you know the wondrous name of Jesus? That is the
question of greatest importance. Jesus said so Himself in John17:3, "Now this is eternal life:
that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."
Jesus was either the proudest man to ever live, or he was the Son of God and Savior he
claimed to be. No one else would ever dare to make the knowledge of His name the basis for
eternal life. Jesus does this and forces every person to choose to accept and exalt that name
or to reject it. Paul writes in I Cor. 6:11, "But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ..." Those who put their trust in this, the only
name under heaven by which we must be saved, will bear that name forever like a brand in
the most conspicuous place possible-the forehead. In Rev. 22:4 we read this description of the
servants of the Lamb in heaven, "They shall see his face, and his name will be on their
foreheads." This is no trifle, for the eternal destiny of every person revolves around what they will do
with the name of Jesus. Will they use it to curse and thus be themselves cursed, or will they
bless the name of Jesus and thus be themselves forever blest? The spirit of Christmas is
found in blessing and exalting that blessed name. A poet put it-
O that Thy name may be sounded
Afar, over earth and sea,
Till the dead awaken and praise Thee,
And the dumb lips sing to Thee!
Name of God's tender comfort,
Name of His glorious power,
Name that is song and sweetness,
The strong everlasting tower,
Jesus the Lamb accepted,
Jesus the Priest on His throne--
Jesus the King who is coming--
Jesus Thy Name alone!
Thy degree to which we have a truly Christian Christmas will be the degree to which we
honor and exalt His Wondrous Name.
