“...and they gave him the name Jesus!” And what a wonderful name it is!
“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:9-11 NIV)
What an AWESOME picture that conjures up in my mind!
What is it about the name Jesus that is so significant, so profound, so inspiring... even today, some 2,000 years removed from those events in Bethlehem? What is it about the name... Jesus?
That infant to whom the name was given those years ago would grow into THE most polarizing figure in human history! His birth would scare the living daylights out of the most powerful of Kings! His miracles would astound crowds of people! His ministry would attract thousands of curiosity seekers as well as seekers of truth! His teachings would challenge the establishment, but would endure for millennia! His call to discipleship would promise nothing but persecution and harsh times, yet would attract millions over the centuries. His critics would blast him for his unorthodox ministry, and eventually take him to the cross for his execution! His claim to deity would confound many, yet would be so unmistakable when the tomb was found empty! And His followers would spread their new religion all over the known world within a generation! Jesus is a remarkable individual... perhaps the greatest of “under-statements!”
So, who IS this Jesus? This morning we’re beginning a new series– we’re going to be taking a look at the
various names given in Scripture to this most remarkable individual! We’ll follow it up in a few weeks with the question, “What will you do with this Jesus?” Once we have encountered Jesus, a decision is
demanded! A verdict is necessary! There can be no hesitation, no ‘straddling the fence’, we simply MUST
decide what we’re going to believe; what we’re going to DO about this Jesus! But, first we must look at
who he is and why we should care in the first place!
What’s the first thing you usually tell someone about yourself when you meet them for the first time? You
tell them your name, right? If you’re like me, you might forget their name– I’m horrible at remembering
names! But its important to know people’s names! Names become a part of our identity– a way of
describing to others who we are. The Bible gives us a larger and clearer picture of who Jesus is through
the rich variety of names attributed to him throughout the Old and New Testaments. He is known as Lord
& Savior. Some call Him the Son of God, but he seemed to prefer the title Son of Man. To the Jews, he
was the long-awaited Messiah or Christ. He is the Word made flesh, the Good Shepherd, the Great High
Priest. This time of year he may best be known as Immanuel, or “God with us.” Yet perhaps the most
meaningful term for us is the Lamb of God because it was his sacrifice of himself on the cross which has
affected our salvation! It is indeed wonderful that the Bible doesn’t just use ONE name to describe Jesus,
because each one adds something more to how we are to understand who he is and what he has done!
So, let’s take a look at his most common name: Jesus. The name has its roots in the Old Testament
Jesus is the Greek form of the O.T. Jewish name Yeshua. In English, most of us know the name better in
its biblical form as Joshua. It was translated into the Greek O.T. as Iesous, from which we get our
transliteration “Jesus.”
The name was a very common name
In the form of Joshua, the name was extremely popular among Jews, probably due to the importance of
Joshua, son of Nun– the fellow God chose to succeed Moses in leading the people of Israel from their
desert wanderings and into the promised land. He was an extremely effective and powerful, Godly leader
of God’s people. The name is found throughout the history of the Mediterranean world. The Jewish
historian Josephus, for example, names nineteen different men who bore the name Jesus. Its also found on numerous grave markers and tombs in and around Jerusalem– sometimes in its Hebrew form and
sometimes in its Greek form. In the N.T., the name appears a number of times to identify persons other
than Christ. There is an ancestor of Christ’s in Lk 3:29 with the same name; there is a certain “Jesus who
is called Justus” who is associated with Paul in Col. 4:11; and there is good reason to believe that the full
name of the “notorious prisoner” who was released instead of Jesus at the trial by Pilate was Jesus
Barabbas (cf.Mt. 27:16,17) Isn’t it amazing that the God of the whole Universe, when he chose to take on
appearance as a man would choose such a common name? You would think he would pick something
grander, something more royal, something more fitting a GOD! It would be like --if he were to come to
Earth today in the same way- to America- he might choose a name like “John.” Actually, according to
www.babynames.com the #1 boy name in 2002 was Jacob; #2- Michael; #3- Joshua– so its still a very
common name!
Yet, in its Greek form, it became very Uncommon
By the end of the first century the name had come to be so closely associated with Jesus of Nazareth that
it was deemed uniquely his. The name came to be held in such deep reverence by Christians that it
became reserved for him alone. Even for unbelievers, whether Jew or Gentile, the name was avoided
because of its unique association with the one Christians professed as Lord! And so you don’t run across very many people today (in English speaking countries at least) named ‘Jesus.’
The name is a profound theological statement: It is God’s Promise to Save!
In its older Hebrew form, the name literally meant “Yahweh is salvation” or “Yahweh saves.” It’s the oldest name known to us that contains the divine name of God, Yahweh, within it; that in and of itself is a testimony to the uniqueness of God as the one in whom mankind can safely trust for salvation! It suggests that there is no one worthy of comparison to Yahweh, because he (and he alone) can save! No other
name offers what his name promises! That explains why the angel in Mt. 1 told Joseph to name the child
Jesus “because he will save his people from their sins.” The angel was telling Joseph that this child is
God’s promise to save mankind from their sins! His name (very literally) is God’s promise to us of
deliverance! This is remarkable because up till this point Yahweh, and Yahweh alone, was seen as the
only one capable of saving... But NOW, the angel attributes to Jesus what was formerly reserved only for
God, the Father! NOW, in Jesus, God will be personally present and personally active in saving people.
NOW, the bumper stickers will read: JESUS SAVES! NOW, the Bible will read: Salvation is found in no one
else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12 NIV) In Luke’s account, he doesn’t bother with the Hebrew names and their meanings– he’s a Gentile and he’s writing to
Gentiles and he relates the announcement of the angel to the shepherds out in the field this way,
Luke 2:10-11 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. NIV)
He is SAVIOR! He is CHRIST! And He is LORD!
That claim (made by his very name) is exemplified so clearly in Mark 2:3-12
While Jesus made the direct and unambiguous claim to be divine in a number of settings, this is one of the
clearest– and one which demands a decision on the part of its witnesses. Jesus was in Capernaum and
quite a crowd had gathered to hear him. The house he was teaching in had become so packed full of
people that absolutely nobody else could get in. That presented a problem for four friends who
desperately wanted to get their buddy who was paralyzed in to see Jesus. No doubt they had heard of
Jesus’ miracle-working power and wanted to get him in to see Jesus hoping that Jesus would do another
miracle. I can just imagine perhaps there being a lot of pushing and shoving going on as they tried to get
through the door, maybe they tried a window, but they just couldn’t break into the crowd of people to get
inside... so they try a most unusual and creative approach (I think.)
Mark 2:4-12
4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus
and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said
to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." 6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to
themselves, 7 "Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 8
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them,
"Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ’Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say,
’Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive
sins...." He said to the paralytic, 11 "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12 He got up, took his mat and
walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything
like this!" (NIV)
The man very clearly wanted physical healing... but initially Jesus just told him, “Your sins are forgiven.”
We’re reminded that Jesus always pointed people from their immediate perceived need to their larger need
for salvation. Have you been struggling with a physical ailment praying that God would relieve it?
Remember, that’s not your greatest need. Struggling financially? That’s not your greatest need, either.
Your greatest need is salvation because your sins have separated you from God and only Jesus can bring
the two of you back together! That’s Jesus’ point here.
But, its that statement that brings about the harshest response of those around! “Who are YOU, that you can
forgive sins? Only God can do that! Are YOU God?” And so that they would see that he indeed was God
and that he indeed DID have that authority... look at vs. 10 again. He heals the man... the man picks up
his mat and walks! And nobody can believe their eyes! “We’ve never seen anything like it before!”
The two things you can’t miss in this text:
Jesus did indeed claim to be deity! No doubt about it! Here Jesus’ critics had their premise right, only they
drew the wrong conclusion. They knew that only God had the ability to forgive sins, and they were right.
But when Jesus claimed this authority for himself, the choice was clear. Either Jesus was God or he was
guilty of blaspheme (on top of being a lunatic.) They chose to believe the latter. They were wrong. There
are some today who want to make the claim that Jesus was just a great teacher, that he never claimed to
be anything more. His followers much later would make that claim for him, but they are wrong! Jesus did
indeed claim to be God! And either he IS or he IS guilty of blaspheme and pulling the greatest hoax the
world has ever seen! Jesus leaves no room for any ‘middle ground’ position on who he is.
Jesus did indeed claim the ability to forgive sins! And further he proved it by miraculously healing the
man... he gave power to back up his claim! If all he had done had been to say, “Your sins are forgiven”
and left it at that, his critics would have simply replied, “No they aren’t” and they could have gone back and
forth forever! But Jesus told the man to walk and the man walked! If Jesus could do THAT, then he could
certainly forgive the man of his sins!
What have YOU decided about Jesus?
Is he God? Can we put our trust in him for salvation? Next week we’ll look at two names that may seem at odds: Son of God & Son of Man Which is it?
The very name of Jesus proclaims that he is God’s vessel for salvation! The very name of Jesus proclaims
that he is God’s promise to us for deliverance! The very name of Jesus proclaims that salvation can be
found in no other!...there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved!
Do you know Jesus by name this morning? The Bible says that “all who call on the name of the Lord will be
saved.” (Acts 2:21) Have you called on his name? Have you made him your Lord & Master? Have you
been baptized into his name for the forgiveness of your sins? Let us encourage you today to do so!
Maybe you’ve taken the NAME of Jesus lightly. You’ve been wearing his name for many years, yet you’ve
never really put your trust in him to save you... you’ve been trying to do it by yourself. How can we
encourage you this morning to re-commit your life to him, turning over your sins, your shortcomings and
trusting him to save! He and he alone can do it!
(Resource: Shelly, Rubel "The Names of Jesus" West Monroe, LA: Howard Publishing, 1999.)
