The Story Behind the Name of Jesus

“Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.’

“Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, ‘As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you will be the father of a multitude of nations.

“‘No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.’” (Gen 17:1-6)

Journal,

Every letter in the Hebrew language is full of meaning. Hebrew is a language of pictures and symbols. This especially carries over into names.

For the Hebrew people a name was meant to convey the nature, essence, history, and reputation of the one named.

Consider the name Jesus. When the angel Gabriel appeared to Joseph, he said,

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus [Yešhûa, or, Y’Shua], for He will save His people from their sins.” (Mat 1:20-21)

Jesus is Yeshua in Hebrew. The name Yeshua means Savior, or by extension, ‘Yahweh saves,’ or, ‘Yahweh is salvation.’ The Lord’s name is derived from the verb which means, ‘to save.’ Gabriel gives the meaning of the name Yeshua, by saying, “He will save His people from their sins.”

What makes it even more interesting is that when you see the word ‘salvation’ as an impersonal word in the Old Testament, it is the very name of Jesus, or, ‘Yeshua’. So, depending on its usage the Hebrew for salvation and the Hebrew for Jesus is the same.

If you mentally transpose where you see the term ‘salvation’ in the former testament to ‘Jesus’, you will see prophetic pictures of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now let’s talk about one of God’s revelation names in the Old Testament and see how it unfolds in Jesus. We’ll talk about God’s Name – El Shaddai.

The God of Abraham

God’s names are revelations of His person. The first time that God reveals Himself by name to Abraham, the Lord says,

“I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless [made full or complete].” (Gen17:1)

The term ‘God Almighty’ is El Shaddai. It is easy to miss what this name means because English does not convey the expressions of Hebrew. The word El is masculine and speaks of might, power, or strength. The term Shaddai is also masculine. (Some try to make Shaddai, to be a feminine term, but the point is being missed.)

‘Sha’ means who, and ‘dai’ means enough. So in the Hebrew mind El Shaddai did carry an imagery of a mother whose full breasts are more than enough for her baby.

We see an echo of the Hebrew imagery of Shaddai (Almighty) and shadaim (breasts) when Jacob prophesies over his sons.

“Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; its branches run over a wall. The archers bitterly attacked him, and shot at him and harassed him; but his bow remained firm, and his arms were agile, From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), …

” … from the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty [Shaddai] who blesses you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts [shadaim] and of the womb.” (Gen 49:22-25)

Everything that Jacob speaks over this son has to do with fullness, with blessings, with protection and with an overflow of life. This is what Jesus came to give us.

The Lord said,

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (Joh 10:10)

Jesus Came to Give us Fullness of Life

Listen with your heart to the following Scriptures. They all carry the idea of El Shaddai:

“For of His fullness (or, ‘out of His fullness) we have all received, and grace upon grace.” [Grace upon grace speaks of an overflow of ‘all that you will ever need.’] (John 1:16)

“I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Php 4:12-13)

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.” (Mat 23:37)

There is so much more to be said. This will give an idea of just how rich and wonderful our salvation is through the Lord Jesus. We are the children of God’s presence. He is with us in every circumstance and situation. Even in our sufferings, God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in your weakness.”

Now we need a better understanding why the apostle said that …

Jesus is the Name Above All Names

In the Old Testament God had various names by which He was known. Among these names you had, El, Elohiym, El Shaddai, Elyon, Eloah, Adonai, and, Ba al’. But there was only one name that was considered God’s personal or proper name. This name was known as, ‘the name above all names.’

The name above all names is spoken of as the Tetragrammaton, or the four letters. It was designated by the letters yhwh (Or, yhvh.)

No one really knows how yhwh was pronounced. It is generally thought that it was pronounced as Yahweh, or Yahveh. (Ancient Hebrew had no vowels.)

The Jewish disciples knew that God’s personal name was Yahweh. No one had to tell them that. They knew that God was holy, and that His personal name was also holy. To them, God was in His name.

When Paul wrote the Church at Philippi, he said something that a Jewish reader would have picked up instantly.

Listen carefully:

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

“Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason, also, God highly exalted Him, ***and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name*** …

Paul continues:

“…so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord [yhwh in Hebrew. kurios in Greek], to the glory of God the Father.” (Cf. Philippians 2:5-11)

Did you catch it? The name above all name is now Jesus.

This helps us to understand why Jesus said to the disciples, “All authority has been give to Me in heaven and on earth.” This authority speaks of all that God has revealed in Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This helps us to better appreciate why …

Salvation is Only Found in Jesus

What then does this have to do with Jesus and the name of Jesus?

No one today casts out demons in the name of Yahweh, or Elohim, or Eloah, or El Shaddai, or any other appellation. The only name given during the church age that carries all the power, the presence and the authority of God Almighty, is the name Jesus.

This is why for men to be saved they must call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. In the New Testament writings, wherever you see the term Lord being used, even though it may not say Jesus explicitly, it speaks of the name of Jesus.

Peter quoted the prophet, saying,

“And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21)

Paul –

“But what does it say, ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’, that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:8,9)

Peter said,

“If we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead — by this name this man stands here before you in good health.”

The apostle then says,

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Cf. Acts 4:8-12)

Now let’s talk about how …

God’s Presence is in His Name

Now let’s see how very awesome it is to call on the name of the Lord Jesus. Again we can compare an Old Testament setting and see its fulfillment in the New Testament.

God speaks to Moses, and says,

“In every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.” (Exo20:24)

Remember when God says, ‘My Name,’ He is speaking of the name above all names. But we have already seen where God’s power, presence and authority is now found in only one name in the new covenant.

So how does the new covenant respond to this? Listen to Jesus;

“For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Matthew 18:20)

To call upon the name of Jesus, is to invoke His very presence. Wherever you find people who call upon the name of Jesus, that is, in their worship, in their assemblies, in their faith in Him, there you will find the presence of the Lord. It is the presence of the Lord that makes true Christians one together. (It doesn’t matter what denomination a believer belongs to.)

Keep in mind what Jesus said about life –

” … I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (Joh 10:10)

Now listen to the Psalmist –

“You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” (Psa 16:11)

Keep in mind that salvation is always in the mouth of the believer. Do you need help? Call upon the name of the Lord. Pray in the name of the Lord. Rejoice in the name of the Lord.

This applies even in water baptism. It is not in the words that a Christian minister may say over the one being baptized. Salvation is always personal. It is a matter of ‘who’ the candidate has called upon. Have they called upon the name of the Lord in salvation?

Are they true confessors of the Lordship of Jesus? Then there is nothing to add to this.

I pray this study has been of  help to my readers.

Take time for this video. The tells the story behind the song, ‘All Hail the Power of Jesus Name.’

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