What’s in a name?
Sometimes not that much! As a for instance, my name is Gerald, which according to my friend Dictionay.com is from Germanic words meaning “spear” and “rule.” Wikipedia defines Gerald as “rule of the spear.” Other one word definitions I have seen simply say “warrior.” But any warrioring I have done has been on the hockey rink and the football field! (See, I told you that sometimes there’s not much in a name.) We have people in our church whose names are not Gerald, and they are highly, highly, decorated American war heroes. You get the point.
And then there are parents who have named a child “Faith,” trusting that as the child grows he or she will fulfill the definition of such a great name. I like that. Sometimes, in our lives, names can mean a lot, and sometimes in the Bible, names mean everything.
Jesus means Saviour, as Matthew 1:21 indicates “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Now that’s significant!
There's a whole lot there! And Matthew 1:18 says “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” Christ means “Messiah.” And that is mighty significant. There's a whole lot there! Sometimes a name means everything, and with Jesus Christ, that is 100%, absolutely, positively the case! Jesus is the Saviour, and He is the promised and eternal Messiah! Praise the LORD!
This essay is very brief, and we can all do an exhaustive study of the names of God, but right now I cannot help but cite Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” My LORD and Saviour is Wonderful, My LORD and Saviour is the greatest Counseller (This through the Word – John 1:14), He is the Prince of Peace and is both the Mighty God and the Everlasting Father!
WOW!!! Just reflect on those names of our LORD Jesus Christ. They don’t mean “something” - they mean “everything”! I’m not going to waste a lot of time doting on Gerald, but Oh the thrill of contemplating the name of Jesus Christ.
What’s in a name? When that name is Jesus Christ, all of eternity is in it! AMEN! (Oh yeah, Amen is one of His names too! (Rev 3:14)
Love to you all, “In Jesus’ name.”
Pastor