1. Jesus - What’s in a name?

1. What’s in a name?

I wonder what your name means. People generally name their children, for their hopes and aspirations about what their child will be. For example, the name John, means “the gift of God”. I know somebody called Grace, and her nature is that of somebody full of grace. My wife’s name means “Forever Beautiful” and she is! Some remote tribes in New Guinea, who knew no English, called their children after some English words they had heard, and liked the sound of, without knowing the meaning. One name was “Tinned Fish”. Somebody else was called “Second Gear”,

My name means “beloved” and when my parents named me, it was meant to symbolise the love they had for me. Although when I put the cricket ball through the kitchen window or the time I crushed the vegetable patch whilst running after a football, I didn’t feel very beloved then!

When Jesus was born, his name imbued the very reason he was born. His conception and birth, were extraordinary at every level. So important is our understanding of the birth of Jesus, that no fewer than 4 angels come to give us a full picture of the event. Do you think that his parents, Joseph & Mary, or God, ever gazed upon him wistfully, and thought “How misnamed He is!” They did not, because they knew the very purpose for which He was born. His name means “one who saves” and his entire birth, life and death was centred around this very role. His role was to save all those who would follow Him.

He is the most talked about person in history. Almost everyone has an opinion about Him. He was born to confirm God's promises and to reveal God as a Father, and to be our representative before Him. In doing this, He gave us an example of how to live a holy life to the full. He was not merely a man who received some special power, as some think. He was not some strange creation that was half man and half God, with his human nature somehow absorbed into the divine.
Tomorrow we will ask the question - was he a good moral teacher?