The name Jesus!

(Matthew 1:21) “You shall call his name Jesus”

We address one another by name; we use words to describe a person’s character, he is kind and gentle or we could say he is brash and obnoxious; it is our name which gives us our identity. Our names are used to identify us within a crowd or at home amongst family; even nicknames play a part to our lives growing up amongst friends. If I think about the name given to me from about the age of fourteen, I must confess and conclude that it helped form my character. Now I am not implying that always has a positive outcome in one’s life, but nevertheless it helps form a person’s character. What chance does someone have of disappearing into the shadows of a crowd and not being noticed with a nickname like Typhoon! Throughout the bible names have been carefully selected to fit each personality, God has purposefully instituted names to depict a person’s persona and to help illustrate truths throughout scripture. Lets us consider a few... rōōth (ריּת, rūth; explains the word as an abstract noun = “friendship.” Ruth means companion in friendship and when we look at the book of Ruth we see a commitment from her to Naomi, a friendship beyond any expectation and it is clear for all to see.

Derived probably from שׁמשׁ, shemesh, “sun” with the diminutive ending ון-, -on, meaning “little sun” or “sunny,” or perhaps “sun-man”; Σαμψών, Sampsṓn; Latin and English, Samson: His home was near Bethshemesh, which means “house of the sun.” Samson would mean that he is “like the sun”. One thing for sure, the sun is notice by all, it can be beautiful at sunrise and yet deadly at noon. Samson was like this in character, he fed his parents honey from the belly of a young lion that he had killed and it was pleasant to the taste, it had a tranquil effect on those who ate of the spoil and yet he slew a thousand Philistines with the jaw bone of a donkey, the harshness of the noonday sun cutting into all of creation will shade the only option to escape its severity.

David means – well beloved and we know that David was a man after God’s own heart, so we can safely deduce that the fruit of him who is greatly loved will result in him having a heart after God.

“The proper, as Christ is the official, name of our Lord. To distinguish him from others so called, he is spoken of as “Jesus of Nazareth” (Joh_18:7), and “Jesus the son of Joseph” (Joh_6:42).
This is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, which was originally Hoshea (Num_13:8,Num_13:16), but changed by Moses into Jehoshua (Num_13:16; 1Ch_7:27), or Joshua. After the Exile it assumed the form Jeshua, whence the Greek form Jesus. Christ means theAnointed, the Greek translation of the Hebrew word rendered “Messiah” (q.v.), the official title of our Lord, occurring five hundred and fourteen times in the New Testament. It denotes that he was anointed or consecrated to his great redemptive work as Prophet, Priest, and King of his people. He is Jesus the Christ (Act_17:3; Act_18:5; Mat_22:42), the Anointed One. He is thus spoken of by Isaiah (Isa_61:1), and by Daniel (Dan_9:24-26), who styles him “Messiah the Prince.” This name denotes that Jesus was divinely appointed, commissioned, and accredited as the Saviour of men.” (Easton)

This is of all the best examples we have in scripture to prove the relevance a person’s name has in relation to their calling.

When a person is dear, everything connected with him becomes dear for his sake. Thus, so precious is the person of the Lord Jesus in the estimation of all true believers, that everything about him they consider to be inestimable beyond all price. “All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia,” said David, as if the very vestments of the Saviour were so sweetened by his person that he could not but love them. Certain it is, that there is not a spot where that hallowed foot hath trodden-there is not a word which those blessed lips have uttered-nor a thought which his loving Word has revealed-which is not to us precious beyond all price. And this is true of the names of Christ-they are all sweet in the believer’s ear. Whether he be called the Husband of the Church, her Bridegroom, her Friend; whether he be styled the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world-the King, the Prophet, or the Priest-every title of our Master-Shiloh, Emmanuel, Wonderful, the Mighty Counsellor-every name is like the honeycomb dropping with honey, and luscious are the drops that distil from it. But if there be one name sweeter than another in the believer’s ear, it is the name of Jesus. Jesus! it is the name which moves the harps of heaven to melody. Jesus! the life of all our joys. If there be one name more charming, more precious than another, it is this name. It is woven into the very warp and woof of our psalmody. Many of our hymns begin with it, and scarcely any, that are good for anything, end without it. It is the sum total of all delights. It is the music with which the bells of heaven ring; a song in a word; an ocean for comprehension, although a drop for brevity; a matchless oratorio in two syllables; a gathering up of the hallelujahs of eternity in five letters. C.H.Spurgeon

Signing off

Tyrone