The Wonderful Name Of Jesus

Uplook – June 2023 — Grace & Truth Magazine

The Wonderful Name Of Jesus

“What is in a name?” This question was asked over 400 years ago by the poet William Shakespeare. Names are used to describe and identify one another. We call out names to get one another’s attention. 

In the Bible, names were used to record some aspect of a person’s birth, to express the parents’ reaction to the birth of their child or to secure the solidarity of the family ties. Names were often used to communicate God’s message, establish a connection with God, institute authority over another, or indicate a new beginning or direction in a person’s life. 

For many unsaved, the name of Jesus is simply a curse word, but to those who believe, that blessed name is very precious. The hymn writer Edward E. Nichols (1865–1952) expressed this preciousness:

Precious Name! the name of Jesus, Son of God most high, Who in love to guilty sinners, Came to die.
Precious name! the story telling Of His humble birth; Of His lonely pathway, trodden Here on earth.
Precious Name of Him the Savior, Come the lost to save; In His grace, for ruined sinners All He gave. Precious name of Him who suffered On the shameful tree, Gave Himself, the willing victim, Spotless He.
Precious name! enthroned in heaven, Still that name He bears; On His brow the crown of glory Now He wears.
Precious, peerless name of Jesus, None can tell its worth; Sweetest name there is in heaven, Or on earth.

Jesus – The Precious Name
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. —Luke 1:26-33 NKJV

Given from heaven: The name of Jesus was not given to Him by Mary or Joseph; it is not a family name passed down. Instead, the name of Jesus is precious because it was given to Him, and it was given to Him from heaven! The angel first provided the name “Jesus” to Mary, as we see in Luke. Then, according to what is recorded in Matthew 1:21, an angel of the Lord told Joseph to call Mary’s son “JESUS.” Many times through John’s gospel we read of the Lord Jesus saying He came down from heaven (Jn. 3:13, 4:34, 6:41,51,58). He came down from heaven from the Father, as did His precious name. The Father knows the value of that name!

Great in history: Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew word Yeshua and is the same as “Joshua” in the Old Testament, meaning, “Jehovah is salvation.” At least two men in the Old Testament with the name Joshua stand out because they remind us of the grace that is found in our Lord Jesus Christ.

First, Joshua, the son of Nun, led the people of God into the Promised Land. He followed Moses, the lawgiver. Joshua is a picture in many ways of the grace of God in power. Moses could not enter the land of rest. Likewise, the law cannot provide rest. The Lord Jesus Christ invites each of us, saying, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt. 11:28-29). He can do this because He is “full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14). “The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (v.17).

The other Joshua in our consideration is found in Zechariah 3. He was a priest. This Joshua fell short of what He should have been, and because of this he reminds us of our condition. He also prompts us to remember our Great High Priest, whom we see at the right hand of the Majesty on High (Heb. 4:14, 10:11-12). “We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (2:9).

Glorious in honor: The apostle Paul set this out in no uncertain terms, declaring, “Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:5-11). Even though the name “Jesus” is not uncommon in some cultures even today, the name of this Man is exalted above every name by God Himself.

Gracious help: In Mark 10:47 we read that blind Bartimaeus found His name to be a gracious help, crying out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Today you and I can cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ and find help in the time of need! The same mercy, or lovingkindness, that Bartimaeus found we find at the mercy seat of Christ. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:15-16).

Pardon In The Name Of Jesus
Going back to Matthew 1:21 we read what the angel told Joseph about Mary: “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” God the Father chose the name of Jesus for His only begotten Son because He would victoriously deliver us from the power of sin and the kingdom of darkness. As we think about this, let’s ponder these passages:

• “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them” (Lk. 9:56).
• “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Tim. 1:15).
• “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world” (1 Jn. 4:14).

Pilate hung an inscription on the cross over the head of the Lord Jesus. Someone has said it was the first gospel tract ever written, saying, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (Jn. 19:19). It was written in Hebrew for the Jews (the religious world), in Greek (the business and cultured world), and in Latin (the political world). Man in derision raised the name of Jesus in ridicule and scorn, but at that very moment God raised His name up as the Savior of the world!

On the day of Pentecost, Peter announced, “Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved” (Acts 2:21). He went on to boldly proclaim, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (v.36). Paul declared the same message of salvation that Peter did, “Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13).

Jesus is Lord, and pardon is found in Him. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:9-10). Acts 4:12 makes it very clear, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” The name of Jesus is a pardoning name!

Power In The Name Of Jesus
We have already seen the power unto salvation in that name, but in the first few chapters of Acts, a book recording the early history of the Church, we observe the source of this power. We see there the undeniable potency, or force, of the name of Jesus.

In Acts 3–4 we read about a man who had been crippled from birth. This man resorted to begging outside the temple to survive. Seeing Peter and John coming, he asked for some money. Peter had faith in the power of the name of the Lord Jesus and called on that wonderful resource – the mighty name of Jesus Christ! The man received strength in his ankles and leaped up, walked and praised God!

Peter knew when he said, “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth rise up and walk,” that the name represents the character, power and authority of the Lord Jesus. This gave Peter boldness. The thought of boldness, or having open or obvious confidence, is mentioned at least 42 times in the Acts Of The Apostles. Their faith was courageous, confident and contagious because there is power in the name of Jesus!

The Inevitable Persecution Because Of The Name Of Jesus
In Acts 4 we see the apostles defending the name of Jesus (vv.5-14), the Jewish council opposing the name of Jesus (vv.15-22), and the assembly of believers calling on the name of Jesus (vv.23-31). The apostles were on a mission to preach the name of Jesus Christ! They would not give in to the persecution from those who demanded their silence. Instead, we see their irrepressible proclamation and invisible dynamic power. There are many more references to the power of the name of Jesus, such as: Acts 5:40, 9:27, 15:26, 16:18 and 19:17.

Believers have unceasing access to this power through prayer:

• “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (Jn. 14:13-14).
• “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (v.26).
• “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you” (15:16).
• “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (16:23-24).

Praying “in Jesus’ name” is not simply something we tag on to the end of our prayers. It is the authority and power by which we can access the throne of grace. It is the character in which we approach Him according to His divine purposes. When we pray in His name we admit our bankruptcy – our total failure and ruin – and we identify with all that our Lord is. Praying in His name means that we are willing to submit to His will, represent Him and wait expectantly for Him to answer in His time.

In addition to praying, we find in Scripture other matters which are directly tied to His name. They include:

• We are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19).
• We are justified by faith in the name of the Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 6:11).
• Everything we do is to be done in the name of the Lord Jesus (Col. 3:17).
• We gather together in that blessed name (Mt. 18:20; 1 Cor. 5:4).
• We enjoy the expression of unity in that wonderful name of Jesus (1 Cor. 1:10).

May our hearts be drawn to the One who bears that precious name, and may we be able to sing with the hymn writer:

Lord Jesus, we love Thee, and joyfully pour The praises of worshiping hearts at Thy feet; Lord Jesus, we love Thee; we love and adore The name that to God and to us is so sweet.
Thy name, blessed Lord, is as ointment poured forth; And, e’en as we utter it, fragrance doth rise To the Father, who only its excellent worth, Its matchless perfection, in fulness can prize.
Oh, name of sweet savor, a savor of rest, The name of the Victim, the Lamb that was slain! Oh, name of God’s loved One in whom we are blest! Oh, name ever worthy all homage to gain!
Blest Lord, in Thy name would we boast all day long, And praise till we reach Thee on heaven’s bright shore; Thou shalt be forever our joy and our song; Lord Jesus, we love Thee, we love and adore. —Miss Catherine Helene von Poseck (1859–1953)

By Timothy P. Hadley