the patron saint of Paris. St. Genevieve was a prayer warrior for the city of Paris during the barbarian invasions of the 5th century. And the name Susannah is the name of John’s sister, aunt and grandmother, and close to my own name, Susan. When we finally decided on the name, then that was the right name. That was who she was when she was born. Naming children is an important way that parents give their children an identity and a family they belong to.
Today we are celebrating another
naming of a child. In the church January 1 is celebrated as the day Jesus was
given his name. It’s the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. In the Jewish
tradition, the eighth day after a boy’s birth was when they were circumcised
and given a name. Mary and Joseph however, unlike John and I, did not choose
the name of their child. Mary was told the name of her son by the angel Gabriel
when he came to her nine months before. Remember what the angel said, “You will
give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great
and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the
throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever;
his kingdom will never end.” (Lk. 1:31-33). Jesus was not given a name by Mary
and Joseph. Rather it was revealed to them by God.
It would be easy for us to
underestimate the importance of naming in the scriptures. Nowadays we don’t
really think to much about what our names mean. There may be a family history
connected with the name, but probably most of the time we just pick names that
we like the sound of. Actors often change their names to be more appealing to
their audiences. And sometimes they’ll use a name that’s really striking to
sort of reinvent themselves, like Madonna, a name that is striking in it’s
irony since she is nothing like the Madonna. Or Lady Gaga, a name that doesn’t
really mean anything except that I suppose her audience is supposed to be gaga
over her. Names can be interesting, or surprising, but they don’t carry the
weight that names in the Bible carry.
Naming someone carried much greater
significance then than what it means today. To give someone a name was a sign
of authority and power over them. There are a few particularly important places
of naming in the Old Testament. In the creation story of Genesis, Adam is the
one who names the animals. It says God
brought the animals to Adam to see what he would name them. When Adam names the
animals it shows that God gave mankind authority and power over creation, not
to abuse it or use for our own purposes, but to love it and care for it.
God allowed Adam to name the
animals, but God does not allow humans to choose a name for God. Rather God
reveals his true name to Moses when he appears to him in the burning bush. He
says “I am who I am.” It’s a verb of being. God is God in himself. The Hebrew word for “I am who I am” is
Yahweh. One of the Ten Commandments forbids using the Lord’s name lightly or
disrespectfully. God’s name reveals his nature and character. It is holy. In
fact, the Jews believed that the name was so holy that it must not be
pronounced. In case you didn’t know, in the Old Testament when you see the word
LORD in capital letters, that is the translation for the word Yahweh, I am who
I am.
People’s names are also important in
Scripture in revealing who they are. Sometimes God will change someone’s name
in order to reveal a person’s truer identity and godly purpose. For example,
God changes Abram’s name which means “exalted father” to Abraham which means
“father of a multitude.” He changes Sarai which means “my princess” to Sarah
which means “princess” in a broader sense.
Jacob’s name which means “supplanter” is changed to Israel, which means
“one who strives with God.” Jesus also
changes names—he changes Simon’s name to Peter, “the rock.” The new names
reveal each person’s truest identity, who they truly are in God’s purpose.
Sometimes God reveals the names of
people before they are born to their parents. He tells Abraham and Sarah that
their son will be named Isaac, which means “he laughs” (Gen. 17). And in the
gospel of Luke the angel Gabriel reveals to Zechariah that he and Elizabeth
will have a son who is to be named John, which means “God is generous.”
In the Bible names have great
significance. And so it is even more true that the name of Jesus has enormous
significance. With Jesus also, his name
is revealed. The angel Gabriel tells his name to Mary. It is his true identity.
The Hebrew name Yeshua means “Yahweh saves.” Jesus is the one who saves God’s people.
The name echoes back to Joshua, who was the valiant warrior and man of God who
led the people of Israel out of the Wilderness and into the Promised Land.
Jesus, the Savior, Yeshua, leads God’s people out of the wilderness of sin and
death into the bounty of eternal life in his Name.
The name of Jesus is unlike any
other name. Paul helps us understand this in Philippians chapter 2. He says
that because of Jesus’ humble obedience to the Father, even to death on the
cross, God highly exalted him and gave him the name above every name, so that
at the name of Jesus every knee shall bend in heaven and on earth and even
under the earth. And every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father. While the name of Yahweh was not to be spoken,
Jesus in his incarnation assumes our humanity, so that his name is the one that
we confess with our tongues. Yahweh saves. Jesus is Lord.
The name of Jesus embodies to his whole character. When we
call on Jesus’ name we are not just saying a name like I would say John or Jim.
His name embodies all that he is, the Risen One, the Son of God, the Alpha and
the Omega, the Messiah, the Lamb of God, King of the nations, the Holy One, the
Word of God. The name of Jesus is all of those. Jesus’ name signifies the full
presence of the Lord God. That is why at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he
is Lord.
The name of Jesus embodies his
whole purpose of Salvation. Jesus tells his followers that whatever they ask in
his name, he will do it that the Father may be glorified in the Son. As
Christians we are to pray in Jesus’ name. Does that mean Jesus’ name is magic
and as long as we say “in Jesus name” at the end of the prayer we’ll get what
we want? No. Praying in Jesus’ name we are asking him to act according to his
whole purpose, according to the saving purposes of God which are loving and
good and true.
The name of Jesus is powerful.
Salvation is through his name. In Acts when Peter is preaching he says,
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven
given to men by which we much be saved.” Eternal life is through his name.
Through his name the demons tremble and flee. Through his name the lame walk
and the blind see. Through his name the captives are set free. Jesus’ name has
the power to save and heal.
The name of Jesus has authority. To
call upon the name of Jesus means that we place ourselves under his authority.
We are under his Lordship. As Paul says in the reading today, “We belong to
Jesus Christ.” He calls us by our names, because we belong to him.
Have you ever wondered if Jesus has
a new name for you? He gave Simon the new name of Peter, a name that embodied
who he was. What might be Jesus’ name for you, the name that truly embodies who
you are? Perhaps we won’t know that name until we see him face to face. But the
name of Jesus is the only name that saves. Yahweh saves. Jesus is Lord.