A name, you would agree, does more than identify one among many. It often invokes the image and philosophy of a person as well as events, achievements, hopes, and joys associated with that individual. A person’s name invokes in our minds what the person stands for. However, a name does not make the person, the person makes the name.
What’s in a name? This is Juliet’s line in Shakespeare’s play where she was telling Rome that a name is nothing but a name; she argued, saying “That which we call a rose; By any other name would smell as sweet.”
She’s saying that it’s the person or qualities of the substance behind the name that matters and if the name were changed to something totally different, the quality the substance displays or emits remains unchanged.
Humanly speaking, Shakespeare is right because what someone or something is called or labeled could be arbitrary and may not reflect their intrinsic qualities. But with God, it’s different.
When God gives someone or something a name, it accurately describes her nature, personality, and qualities. More specifically, what is in the name of Jesus?
When you hear that name or when you call the name yourself, what does it bring to your mind?
It’s no ordinary name. God has invested and deposited ‘exceeding greatness of His power, and inexhaustible riches of His glory in Christ. There’s divine omnipotence behind that name.
We know of course that the name Jesus itself is not an unusual name in Biblical times. Hebrew names such as Joshua or Jehoshua are simply variations of the name Jesus, which means Jehovah-saves.
There were high priests and even commoners called Jehoshua in Israel. The name also occurs a couple of times in the New Testament Scriptures. It’s what is behind His name that makes all the difference.
What’s Barabbas’ first name?
Have you ever heard of a guy called Barabbas? I know, you are wondering why this vile person should be mentioned in such a section as this. “How preposterous!” you would say. Well, not really.
There is reasonable evidence that Barabbas’ first name was Jesus (Mat 27:17). God, the Omniscient One knows what He’s doing by associating the Holy One of Israel with Barabbas at the judgment hall of Pilate. And having Barabbas share the name of the ‘Sinner’s Substitute’ is not contrary to the revelation of Scriptures.
God chose to identify Him or count Him with Barabbas the transgressor. Isaiah the prophet clarified the mystery when by the Spirit he wrote that He was
“numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa 53:12).
This fact is corroborated by the question Pilate asked in the seventeenth verse of the twenty-seventh chapter of Matthew. In the King James Version the passage reads:
“Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?” while in the Contemporary English Version of the Bible it is rendered as saying:
“At that time a well-known terrorist named Jesus Barabbas was in jail. So when the crowd came together, Pilate asked them, ‘Which prisoner do you want me to set free? Do you want Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’” (Mat 27:16-17).
Pilate was asking them which Jesus he should release to them, Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ. Both of them were probably known as Jesus. Jesus Barabbas and Jesus the Christ. It is no accident that our Lord the Holy One, the sin substitute, was called by a name that on the natural plane was identified with Barabbas the murderer and insurrectionist.
The Lord’s name, JESUS, sums up all he came into the world to do. That name contains all that humanity so desperately needs and that only He can provide. He came to take the place of His people and pay their debt, to be the Substitute for all the condemned like Barabbas who deserved to die.
While the name Jesus itself is fairly common, the person of JESUS Christ of Nazareth the Messiah is one of a kind. The name, which means “God’s Salvation” or “Jehovah-saves,” was given to Him by God the Father and announced by Angel Gabriel before his birth. This JESUS is the fulfillment of God’s promise to humanity in the Garden of Eden. The seed of the woman had arrived to bruise the serpent’s head to redeem man from the dominion of darkness.
There Salvation in No Other
He came to be the ultimate deliverer who alone can rescue man from the grip of sin and its consequences. He came as JESUS, the Anointed One, to be the great Physician who alone can bring total healing to the whole man. And in His Name there is power, there is healing, there is provision, there is safety, there is joy, there is peace, and there is reconciliation and redemption.
“And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, ASV).
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Rom 10:9,13).
There may have been many men called Jesus born to Israeli families between the time of Moses and the time of John the Baptist, because the Patriarchs were keeping their expectation of the fulfillment of the promised Messiah alive. But finally, He came.
The One the Prophets spoke about. The One the Patriarchs had longed to see. He has come; the Messiah, the Son of David, the Daystar from on high has finally come.
The hope of Israel, the desire of all nations, our Shiloh has come and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be (Gen 49:10).
Remember what the Angel said to Mary: “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luk 1:31-33).
And in the Book of Hebrews we are told that God gave unto Him the most excellent name. The fourth verse of Hebrews states: “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” (Heb 1:4).
At the Name of Jesus, Every Knee Shall Bow
E. W. Kenyon, in his book “The Wonderful Name of Jesus”, presented the three-fold greatness of the Name which the Lord obtained and what is behind that most excellent Name. His name is great because He inherited it from God Almighty, His name is great because of His achievement, and His name is great because a wonderful Name was conferred on Him. The passage from Hebrews in the last paragraph tells us that His name, which is much greater than that of any angelic being, came to Him by inheritance. He inherited it from His Father-God. Therefore, this Name JESUS is divine and has the fullness of the Godhead backing it.
In the second chapter of Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians, he wrote: “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phi 2:9-11).
Here the Scriptures tell us that there is a name kept in heaven to be conferred upon someone who should merit it and that Christ the Lord, because of His achievements, was awarded that Name, JESUS. And God Almighty promulgated a decree that at the mention of that Name, every knee shall bow in heaven, earth, and hell; and every tongue shall confess that JESUS is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
This name must mean more to the Father than our hearts can fathom. God has given Jesus the name that has within it the fullness of the Godhead. The possibilities enfolded in that name are beyond our understanding.
We must ask: Why did God make such a great investment in the name of JESUS? The apostle Paul in his epistles tells us that God did this for the benefit of the Church and gave her the full right to use the Name.
All the authority vested in that Name is given to the Church to bring glory to the Father. When He overcame the enemy, He took back all dominion and authority that man lost and made all available to us in His Name. He said all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him, and He therefore delegated the authority to us. He gave us the right to use His Name in prayer, in praises and worship, and to overcome the enemy with.
“And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full” (Joh 16:23,24).
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Mat 28:18).
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mar 16:16-18).
He is with us always in the person of His Name, and we are, therefore sure of victory over the enemy. Let us, therefore, give “thanks always for all things unto God the Father in the name of our Lord JESUS Christ” (Eph 5:20).
