This is a study of the name Jesus being an ordinary name. Many had this name in the time of Jesus, and in some places in the world it is true yet.

1. JESUS WAS AN ORDINARY NAME
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Jesus:An Ordinary Name?
G. Campbell Morgan
The angelcame to Josephand announced the name, "You shall call His name
Jesus." Itwas just an ordinary Jewishname, about as common in Judea as
John is common to us. The name had not the significance thatwe understand
today. It was a beautiful, Jewish boy's name, a common name of the common
people. But here, as everywhere in the greatspiritual movement, God took
hold of the commonplace to show that there was something infinitely more
than the common.
Jesus is a Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, meaning Savior. Other men have
had that name. Many a mother calledher boy Joshua in the hope that he
would be a saviorand break oppressionand setthe people free. Now the angel
said: Give that name to this Boy; "It is He that shall save His people from
their sins." Take the human name, sweetestofthem all, and give it to the
Child of the Holy Mystery; the Child Who is not of Joseph, but of God. Tell
His sweetmother Mary to give Him this name Jesus. Moreover, the name
means "JehovahSalvation."
Mark the intention of it. They are "His people." Give Him the name as one of
His people;calling Him by the ordinary name of His people; He is coming to
identification with them. They are under a yoke, eating curds and honey; He
is coming to eat curds and honey with them, as the prophet said. They are an
oppressedand a devastatedpeople; He is coming to identification with them;
give Him the name signifying identification in all its deepestmeaning. He is
coming to suffer.

2. Then mark how the angeltold heaven's secretin heaven's language. Whatthe
people thought they wanted was a Joshua who could revealhimself to this
material Jerusalemas King, break the powerof Rome, and set up an earthly
Kingdom. The angelsaid the deeper trouble was not that of the Roman yoke;
or that they had been beatenin battle; the trouble with them was that they
were sinners - "He shall save His people from their sins." He will not come to
battle with externalities, but to grip sin at its heart.
Adapted from The GospelAccording to Matthew, Chapter 1, by G. Campbell
Morgan.
Originally published September 13, 2010.
Jesus ToldMe the Answer
The question was, "Why is Jesus a common name in some Spanish-language
cultures, but not other Christian cultures"?
Eugene Volokh |The VolokhConspiracy | 10.19.20198:01 AM
Last month, I askedwhy Jesus is common in some Spanish-speaking countries
(as well as among Hispanics in the U.S.), but apparently very rare in other
Christian countries, whether Catholic or otherwise.
Fortunately, Prof. Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde (Penn, Economics)offeredan
explanation:

3. "Jesús"became a relatively common name in Spain in the late [19th century],
at the time when there was a strong revival of militant Catholicismas a
reactionto secularizationforces from the left-wing. It was linked with a steep
increase in the devotion to the SacredHeart of Christ and the Christ the King
movement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Heart
From Spain, as far as my understanding goes, the strong devotion to the
SacredHeart and Christ the King movement jumped to Mexico ….
The naming use never moved out of Spain (and to a small degree Portugal)to
other Catholic European countries. My hypothesis (100% personal)is that in
Spain and Mexico we usually say "Jesucristo"to refer to Christ, not "Jesús"
(K12 + Catholic College gives me 20 years of educationin Catholic
institutions, and I would say95% of times it was "Jesucristo"). Thus, "Jesús"
sounds less odd as a first name.
Also, let me point out that a very common name for girls in Spain is "María
Jesús" whichis even odder for an English-speaker.
When I was a kid in Spain, in a class of 40 students or so, there would be 2 or
3 "Jesuses." Today, Iwould say1 at most, as the country has become more
secular.
"Jesus"was notused in Spain during the Middle Ages at all for boys (thus,
the argument that this has something to do with the Muslim presence in Spain
and a reactionagainstthe "Mohameds" is 100%false). [EV adds: This source
supports the view that Jesus was notcommon in 16th-century Spain.]
To the best of my understanding, Jesuits started in the 16th century to
promote adding "de Jesus" to names to make a point againstProtestants in
Northern Europe (i.e., you were "Luis de Jesus" or"Isabelde Jesus")and to
honor the Holy Family….
[The article at]
https://ojsng.colmex.mx/index.php/nrfh/article/download/437/437 aboutfirst
names in Mexico … states (page 22, footnote)that, in Mexico, the first

4. documented use of "Jesus"as the main name is from 1852…. [I]n novels and
other sources ofliterature in Spanish before around 1850, one never ever
encounters a characternamed "Jesus."
Armed with this, I searchedthrough the Spanish baptismal records database
on FamilySearch.org, andfound Jesus as the first name appearing 5 times in
1800-1820and576 times in 1880-1900. Nordid it stem from an increase in
database coverage overtime; the database appears to 1.1 million total entries
in 1800-1820and 650,000in 1880-1900. Searchesthrough the Mexico records
revealthe same pattern.
Jesus is not a pure Greek name, as there is no "J" in Greek. Yashua's Greek
name begins with an iota. The name is transliteratedIESOUS and sounds like
ee-ay-soos.
Origin of the name "Jesus" -Hebrew or Greek?
Since the entire New Testamentis written in Greek, not Hebrew, it suggests
that God does not considerit inappropriate to use a name or title for Christ in
keeping with that of another language orculture. The New Testament
repeatedly calls the Hebrew Messiahby Greek names, severalofthem.
The inspired writings of the apostles referto Yashua with other linguistic
renderings pronounced differently. Yeshua and the Jewishapostles frequently
quoted from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures,
which was frequently read and studied by Jews in the New Testamentera.
Yashua vs Yeshua
Yashua is not an undisputed form, but due to the absence ofHebrew vowels is
variously rendered YESHUA or Y'SHUA or YAHSHUA. My messianic
friends mostly call Him Yeshua. But I am happy with any of these since they
refer to the same person, my beloved Savior.

5. When I spent time in China the believers did not call the Messiaheither
Yashua or Yeshua or Jesus. There are more than two hundred Chinese
dialects and eachone has a different pronunciation. In Mandarin, the two
characters forChrist's name are read "YE-SU," in Cantonese "YE-SOU," in
Taiwanese"YA-SAW," and in Hakka "YA-SU."
Meaning of Yeshua
According to Blair Parke from BibleStudyTools.com, There are several
definitions of Yeshua that canbe found in Hebrew and Aramaic biblical text,
takenfrom the Hebrew verb, Yasha, that means “to deliver, save, or rescue,”
and also statedas “Yehoshua.” Pronunciationof “Yeshua,” in Hebrew, can be
read this way: “Yod,” “Shin,” “Vav,” “Ayin.” In Aramaic, the term, “Yeshu,”
was transliteratedfrom the Hebrew term of Yeshua, pronounced as “Yeh-
shoo,” and missing the “a.”
Greek translations have “Yeshua” listedas Yesous, among first century
Greeks, ofwhich the name, Jesus, is derived.
The involvement of the Council of Nicea, within the Roman Catholic Church,
as well as the influence of the English language into biblical text, changedthe
use of “Yeshua” to describe the Savior into Jesus. “Yeshua”canbe found
mostly in the Hebrew Bible and other ancient texts that are still referenced
among those in the Jewishfaith. Hebrew is still consideredthe holy language
used primarily for worshipping and prayer to God.
Our Lord rejoices to have people of every tribe and language and nation
(spokenof in Revelation 5 and 7) address him in the wayof their own
language.
Takenfrom "Canyou explain the name “Jesus”?"by Randy Alcorn, Eternal
Perspective Ministries, 39085PioneerBlvd., Suite 206, Sandy, OR 97055,503-
668-5200,www.epm.org

6. What Does the Name 'Jesus'Mean?
The name Jesus means "Savior." It is the same name as Joshua in the Old
Testament. And it is given to our Lord because "He saves His people from
their sins," (Matthew 1:21).
Jesus is a very encouraging name to weighted-downsinners. He, who is the
King of kings and the Lord of lords, might lawfully have taken some more
high-sounding title. But He does not do so. The rulers of this world have often
calledthemselves great, conquerors, bold, magnificent, and the like. The Son
of God is content to call Himself Savior.
Where the Name Jesus Came From: Hebrew and Greek Origins
According to Easton’s Bible Dictionary, the name Jesus is the Greek form of
the Hebrew name Joshua, which was originally Hoshea (Numbers 13:8,
Numbers 13:16). Moses changedthis versioninto Jehoshua (Numbers 13:16, 1
Chronicles 7:27 ), or Joshua. Then, after Israel’s exile to Babylon, it assumed
the form Jeshua, from which we getthe Greek form Jesus. It was given to our
Lord to denote the objectof his mission, to save (Matthew 1:21).
The Importance of Jesus’Title as Christ
Many people have been named Jesus before and since the biblical Jesus. But
only this Jesus is referred to as Jesus Christor Christ Jesus. The word Christ
further signifies his unique identity and mission.
Christ means anointed, according to Easton’s Bible Dictionary. Anointed is
the Greek wordfor the Hebrew "Messiah,"whichis Jesus’officialtitle. In the
New Testament, this title is linked with Jesus 514 times. Here are a few
examples: Acts 17:3, Acts 18:5, Matthew 16:15-16.

7. This Christ/Anointed/Messiahpart of Jesus’name is significant because ofthe
Old Testamentprophesies about the Messiah.
A Messiahwas prophesiedthroughout the Old Testament(Psalm22,
Deuteronomy 18:15-18, Genesis 3:15), specificallycalling him anointed in
Isaiah61, Psalm 2:2, Daniel 9:24-26.
The Meaning of Jesus’Name as Savior
As stated above, Jesus means savior. This is His specialrole. He saves his
people from the guilt of sin, by cleansing them in His own atoning blood. He
saves them from the dominion of sin by putting in their hearts the sanctifying
Spirit. He saves them from the presence of sin, when He takes them out of this
world to restwith Him. He will save them from all the consequencesofsin,
when He shall give them a glorious body at the lastday.
Those seeking salvationmay draw near to the Father with boldness and have
access withconfidence through Christ. It is His role and His delight to show
mercy. "ForGod didn't send his Son into the world to judge the world, but
that the world should be savedthrough him," (John 3:17).
Jesus is a name, which is especiallysweetandprecious to believers. It has
often done them good. It has given them what money cannot buy – that is,
inward peace. It has easedtheir weariedconsciencesandgiven restto their
heavy hearts. The Song of Solomondescribes the experience of many, when it
says, "Your name is oil poured forth" (Song of Solomon1:3). Happy is the
person who trusts not merely in vague notions of God's mercy and goodness,
but in "Jesus."
Why Do Christians Pray “In Jesus’Name”?
Watch DonWhitney, professorof biblical spirituality at Southern Seminary,
talk about why Christians often end prayers “in Jesus’name” in this video.

8. “To pray a prayer in Jesus name is to recognize that we’re coming in the
righteousness ofChrist, not our own. We don’t deserve to be heard by God,
but Jesus does, andwe come in his name.
“It also means that we are coming and asking what we believe Jesus would
ask if he were in or situation. So that’s a lessertruth to the greatertruth that
we come in the righteousness ofChrist. God hears us because ofJesus.”
Listen to the rest here.
What Does it Mean to Take the Name of Jesus in Vain?
Commandment number three of the 10 Commandments says not to take
God's name in vain (Exodus 20:7). The words “in vain” mean "empty, idle,
insincere, or frivolous." So to take God's name in vain means to sayit in a
way that is empty, idle, insincere, or frivolous. And one of the most obvious
ways this is done is through the use of profanity. We all have heard people use
the name of Jesus to punctuate a point. BecauseChristians believe in the
divine nature of Jesus, taking his name in vain is taking God’s name in vain.
Philippians 2:9-11 reminds us, "Therefore Godalso 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 thatJesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
The name of Jesus has power. God wants His people – His followers to never
take His name in vain, but to honor it instead.
This content was adapted from “The Name with Power?” by Greg Laurie.
ResearchSource:
Gordon ConwellTheologicalSeminary, Jesus in the Old Testament, Dr.
Walter C. Kaiser Jr.
Adapted from The Gospelof Matthew by J.C. Ryle (Chapter 1).

9. Jesus was an ordinaryname until the resurrection,
and then it became the most extraordinaryname in
history.
SINACH: The Name of Jesus
How Majestic is Your Name
Oh Lord in all the earth
Your Name is Strong and Mighty
Your name is Glorious and Great
In Him we are saved
Refrain:
The Name of Jesus, Higher than other names
King of all kings, no other Name like His
The Name of Jesus, Higher than other names
Alpha and Omega, no other name like His
Your Name, like sweetperfume
Poured upon my soul
In your Name we overcome
In His Name there’s victory
His Name is powerful

10. (Refrain)
Bridge:
Every other Godis deaderthan dead (?)
Jesus died and rose again
We lift Him higher
In Your Name, every knee shall bow
In your Name all men are saved
We callupon the name
Call his Name
Jesus!Jesus!Jesus!
Oh Jesus!(Repeat)
One Solitary Life
Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant
woman. He grew up in another village. He workedin a carpenter shop until
He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.
He never owneda home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He
never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His footinside a
big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He
never did one of the things that usually accompanygreatness. He had no
credentials but Himself...
While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned againsthim. His
friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned overto His
enemies. He went through the mockeryof a trial. He was nailed upon a cross
betweentwo thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambledfor the

11. only piece of property He had on earth – His coat. When He was dead, He was
laid in a borrowedgrave through the pity of a friend.
Nineteenlong centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of
the human race and leaderof the column of progress.
I am far within the mark when I saythat all the armies that ever marched, all
the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever satand all the
kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affectedthe life of man upon
this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.
This essaywas adaptedfrom a sermon by Dr James Allan Francis in “The
RealJesus and Other Sermons” © 1926 by the Judson Press of Philadelphia
(pp 123-124titled “Arise Sir Knight!”)
-
Some people own their name in a way that defies all others. Forexample,
when you read “Elvis” on this page, mostly likely your mind goes immediately
to that Mississippiboy who would become the King. You don’t need any more
clarificationthan his first name to come to that conclusion.
There are others. Cher, Sting, Beyonce, Prince, Adele, Oprah, Bono, Rihanna:
All these shining stars of stage and screen. And history finds Plato, Voltaire,
Dante, Rembrandt, and Aristotle. There is nothing about any of these
individual names that is unique. But when you hear one of these names, a
name that might be sharedwith millions, you probably don’t think of your

12. greatuncle Ringo, a childhood neighbor named Madonna, or your best
friend’s pet cat, Liberace. You think of a particular individual who has set
himself or herself apart by accomplishment or reputation.
The technicalterm is “mononym” or “mononymous person.” One name is
enough for the proper identification of an individual to be made; one name is
elevatedabove all others who might share the same vowels and syllables. Of
course, this is no entertainment or Renaissance-basedphenomenon.
Earlier this year I traveled to Nazareth, an ancient village that sits atop a
stony cliff in Northern Israel. The original village of a few hundred people, as
it was in the first century, is today flanked on all sides by a sprawling city.
Some 75,000 Arabs, Christians, and Jews now live in Nazareth, a village that
long ago outgrew its original outcrop.
I walkedthe oldest sectionofNazareth’s twisted, crowdedstreets to reachthe
“Basilica ofthe Annunciation.” It is a massive church that marks the
traditional site where Mary receivedthe “goodtidings of greatjoy,” from the
angelGabriel. Mary would give birth to a child, a miraculous boy, who would
be titled, “The Son of the MostHigh” and who would follow in his ancestor’s
— King David — footsteps.
And it was there in an inglorious grotto, very much like the original village of
Nazarethwhich has been layered by centuries of growing stratification, that
Mary heard the child’s name for the very first time: “You will call him
“Yeshua,” an Aramaic form of “Joshua,”and for we English speakers, Jesus.
In Mary’s day “Jesus”was as commonas Ethan, Olivia, Kate or Connor
might be today. Even in a village of Nazareth’s limited size there might have
been a dozen boys with the name. But what makes Jesus so special, and the
cause for our Christmas celebration, is that this ordinary name is attachedto
an extraordinary character, the Christ-child whom Christians acceptas the
Son of God.
Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary was not for the purpose of providing a clever,
mononymous, stage name for her son. It was to reveal the grace and salvation

13. of God’s Son, “who has been given the Name that is above all names,” even
above the names of today’s brightest stars – and thank God for that.
Ronnie McBrayeris a syndicated columnist, blogger, pastor, and author of
multiple books. Visit his website at www.ronniemcbrayer.net.
© 2002 ScottL. Engle
Ordinary People and an Ordinary Name December22, 2002 -- Fourth Sunday
of Advent BackgroundStudy
Scripture Passage – Luke 1:26-38 (NRSV)
26In the sixth month the angelGabriel was sentby God to a town in Galilee
calledNazareth, 27to a virgin engagedto a man whose name was Joseph, of
the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And he came to her and
said, “Greetings,favoredone! The Lord is with you.” 29Butshe was much
perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
30The angelsaid to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor
with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and
you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be calledthe Son of the
MostHigh, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor
David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacobforever, and of his kingdom
there will be no end.” 34Marysaid to the angel, “How can this be, since I am
a virgin?” 35The angelsaidto her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and
the powerof the MostHigh will overshadow you; therefore the child to be
born will be holy; he will be calledSon of God. 36And now, your relative
Elizabeth in her old age has also conceiveda son; and this is the sixth month
for her who was said to be barren. 37Fornothing will be impossible with
God.” 38ThenMary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with
me according to your word.” Then the angeldeparted from her.

14. An Ordinary Girl ReceivesanExtraordinary Announcement
The simple, holy dignity of Luke’s gospelis evident throughout this passage
and it will repay a slow reading! Luke opens his Gospel(Luke 1:5-25)by
telling us how the angelGabriel appeared to Zechariah, an old priest going
about his daily duties, and told him that his wife, Elizabeth, would bear a
child, to be named John, who would “make ready a people prepared for the
Lord.” This child would grow to be John the Baptist.
When Elizabeth was six months pregnant (see v. 26 above), her relative,
Mary, was visited by the angelGabriel. At the time, Mary was engagedto a
young man named Joseph. Marywould probably have been 14 or 15 at the
time. Her engagementto Josephwould have been completelybinding, so
much so that had Josephdied before their marriage, Mary would have been
considereda widow!
Gabriel tells Mary that she is favoredby God. As I’d guess mostof us would
be, Mary is perplexed and disquieted, probably even fearful. But she becomes
reflective as she considers what the angel’s greeting might mean for her. But
Gabriel comforts her and then tells her something that makes no sense
whatsoeverto her! Mary is going to bear a child, and not just any child, but
the “Sonof the Most High” who will sit on David’s throne! Mary’s reflections
turn to the immediate question of how this could possibly be. She is a virgin!
Gabriel tells her that the baby will be born by the powerof God. The word
“overshadow”(v. 35)translates the Greek, episkiazo, andcarries the sense of
God’s holy presence, as in the cloud that “covered” the tabernacle (Exodus
40:35). There is no sexualnuance here at all.
The Gospelof Luke

15. This Gospelis the first volume of Luke’s history of Jesus and the early
church. The secondvolume of his work is the Book ofActs. Together, they
comprise about 25% of the New Testament! Luke was the only non-Jewish
writer in the New Testament. His gospelwas written to tell all the world –
Roman, Greek, Jewish, and so on – that Jesus is the saviorof everyone, Jew
and nonJew alike. Here is one example. In Matthew’s Gospel(written for a
Jewishaudience), Matthew traces Jesus’genealogyback to King David.
However, Luke traces Jesus’genealogyback to Adam, the father of all
humankind.
Gabriel then tells Mary that her relative, Elizabeth, is pregnant, even though
Elizabeth was very old and had been unable to bear children. Finally, Gabriel
reminds Mary that “nothing will be impossible with God.” Alan Culpepper,
in his commentary on Luke, draws our attention to the fact that Gabriel’s
reminder is in the future tense. It echoes Jesus’laterdeclaration, “What is
impossible for mortals is possible for God” (Luke 18:27). A barren woman
can have a child. A virgin canconceive. Godcancome to earth as a child. A
person canbe resurrected. All of these are incredible claims, but with God,
the impossible becomes possible. And these seeminglyimpossible acts of God
happen to and through the most ordinary of people. Mary was just a young
woman in a small, insignificant town, in an out-of the-way Roman province.
Gabriel didn’t visit a queen or a princess;instead, it is the obedient,
worshipful response ofthis pious girl that enables God’s story to move
forward. We celebrate Advent and Christmas eachyear because ordinary
people like Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, and Josephobeyed God!
The Name of Jesus
Though we often take names for granted (what are the popular baby names
this year?!), in the Bible, names are very important. Biblical names were
readily understandable and were often translatable sentences. God’s
revealing of his name to Moseswas a momentous event in the story of the
exodus (Exodus 3:13-15). Sometimes, Godwould even change a person’s

16. name to convey a new meaning, such as changing Abram’s name to Abraham
(Genesis 17:5).
Mary is told that her baby’s name is to be Jesus. “Jesus”is simply the Greek
form of the Hebrew name, Joshua, meaning “Yahweh [God’s name] is
salvation.” Matthew tells us that the baby is to bear this name because “he
will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
In Aramaic, the language probably spoken by Jesus, his name would have
been Jeshua. This was a very ordinary name in Jesus’day but, of course,
given here to a most extraordinary person. The angelGabriel tells Mary that
Jesus will be called “the Sonof the MostHigh,” a striking title, and that he
will sit on David’s throne, where he will reign over God’s people (the “House
of Jacob”)forever. Indeed, Jesus’“kingdomwill have no end.” All this is in
keeping with promises God had made to King David nearly 1000 years before.
Luke could not be more proclaiming that Jesus, this baby to be born to Mary,
is the promised but longawaitedJewishMessiah, who would usher in God’s
kingdom on earth.
Christmas Eve
The scripture passageforChristmas Eve will be Luke’s Christmas story (2:1-
20). In the study, we’ll try to readthis familiar story with fresh eyes and hear
the extraordinary announcement made to a few most ordinary shepherds.
The Name Of Jesus
By Bidemi Mark-Mordi on May 28, 2015
Heart Song

17. The name, the name of Jesus is greaterand better than all names, it is not an
ordinary name. It’s the name that’s full of powerand praise. Here is the song
in my heart for you today, O Lord, King and God of my life. I have seenyour
precious name transactfor me in places unimagined.
I have seenyour name bring people out of the ICU and I have seenyour name
break chains of bondage. I know that your name is not an ordinary name.
I have been in situations where nothing else worked, but at the mention of
your name, knees bow;tongues confess that Jesus Christis Lord. That is the
reasonwhy today, my song is:
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
Your name that opens doors, your name that heals, your name that delivers,
your name that saves, your name that redeems, your name that honours.
There is so much power in your name.
People sayto me, it is just a name… I laugh in their faces becauseit is clear
ignorance to think that your name is an ordinary name. No!Your name is not
an ordinary name; it is a name that is full of power and praise. Your name
that causedthe prison foundation to quake, your name that causedthe
prisoners’ shacklesto break and fall off. Your name that takes a man destined
for death and sets him apart for greatness…
Your name is not an ordinary name; it is a name that is full of powerand
praise.
That is why the song in my heart today is; sweetJesus, sweetJesus, how
wonderful you are? That is why my song is, there is something about the name
Jesus, yes, there is something about the name Jesus, it is the sweetestname I
know…
Lord we cansearchall over; we cansearchhigh and low, but there still
doesn’t exist, a name as powerful, honourable and effective as yours. Men

18. have made many a boastabout their abilities, but none Lord, has made a
boastin the overall efficiencyand efficacyof their name.
Yours is the only name by which men will obtain salvation and redemption;
and that is why the song in my heart today is; that the name of Jesus is not an
ordinary name, it is a name that is full of power and praise.
Thank you Lord for the name of Jesus!
—Bidemi
https://www.effectualmag.com/the-name-of-jesus/
Back in 2013, a judge blockeda mother’s name for a child on religious
grounds. She wouldn’t allow the mother to name her child ‘Messiah,’because
the judge felt it was a name reservedonly for Jesus. It was probably the
oddest judicial ruling I’d ever heard.
It was almostas if the judge believed that names themselves had some sort of
specialreligious or spiritual power.
I, for one, am thankful a name is just a name. Otherwise, every time I got
angry, I’d turn into a massive green monster who smashes everything in sight.
See, I wasn’t named for the biblical David — the musician and songwriter, the
shepherd and warrior, the king and the man after God’s own heart.
Not even close.
Rather, I was named for Dr. David Banner, the man who turned into the
Incredible Hulk on the 1980stelevisionseries. In case you’re wondering, it
was my three-year-old brother who chose the name, not my parents. But, I’m
told, I should be thankful for my parents’ gentle guidance of him. Otherwise, I

19. would have been named Bo David, after not only the Incredible Hulk, but also
after Bo Duke from the Dukes of Hazzard.
Now, if I were to have wound up with both of my brother’s preferred names
for me, and particularly if they wound up hyphenated, I likely would have a
legitimate complaint againstmy family. But honestly, I think my older
brother really did hope his younger brother would wind up to be a legendary
superhero or a wild Southern outlaw with a coolcar.
I mean, what kid wouldn’t want that?
But soonhe soonlearned, I’m sure, that names don’t really have the kind of
powerto fulfill our hopes. My brother was probably disappointed to find his
brother he had such high hopes for was really just a typical little brother
whose only superpowerwas annoying him.
But, truth be told we all name things after our hopes, no matter if we are
three or 30.
As parents, we too tend to name our children in just this way. We name them
after beloved family members, hoping they will carry on some quality in them
we cherished, that they will continue some of the traditions of family. At the
very least, we think, their names will be a small way to join hands with both
our history and our future. We name them after favorite characters in books
and movies, after saints and visionaries, after presidents and warriors. With
theirnames, we embroider their birth and their first moments of life with our
hopes and dreams for them. It is one of the most shared experiences ofhuman
life, the naming of a child.
Though as parents we often agonize and debate over just the perfect name
with just the right cadence and meaning, it is a small, insignificant moment to
everyone except the people doing the naming at that moment. I remember the
dissonance ofmaking Brendan’s name official. It was jarring, after the sheer
awe of childbirth and those first few moments of life, to reduce the messy,
chaotic, and beautiful experience to an orderly SocialSecurityform where I
penciled into confining little boxes the 12 letters of his name.

20. But it is the most human thing I can think of. Having a name and being
named. Having a grouping of letters put togetherlovingly just for you, a
smattering our of consonants andvowels stitched togetherby parental love
and hope. A name by which the ones you love the most will reassure you that
the scrape ofa knee, or the loss of a first love, as much as it hurts, will not be
the end of the world. Aname your parents will breathe in exasperation, when
for the umpteenth time, you forgot to finish your chores, or put your wallet in
your pocket, or bring your lunch box home, or pick up the milk at the store so
there’s enoughfor coffee and cerealin the morning. The name your parents,
and maybe even one day a lover, will whisper as they ponder in their hearts
what this odd happening or that unfortunate event will mean for your future.
It is such an ordinary, human thing to be named.
It is so unlike the cagey, dramatic responses ofGod, who when an awestruck
Moses asks forthe divine name from the burning bush only getthe
infuriatingly cryptic I AM WHO I AM as an answer. It’s so unlike the
sarcasticand ironic response of God to Moses onMt. Sinai to see God’s face.
But insteadof the divine face, Godcondescends to show Moses his divine rear
end. It’s so unlike God’s aloofreply to a brokenand lame Jacob after their
midnight wrestling match. When Jacobpleads with to know the divine name
of the being he fought, God not only brushes aside the request, but God also
decides it’d be better to simply rename Jacobsomething else entirely.
God had always beenthe one who had refused to be named, whose name was
not even spoken, but was insteadknown by the letters YHWH.
And yet, here is God Incarnate, the Divine Mystery, not only being gestated
and born to two unimportant teenagers, but also being named by them in the
most common of ways. 8 days after birth at his circumcision. Just like
everyone else in the Jewishworld.
So here we have the Eternal Word made flesh, God who came down from
heaven to become Incarnate from Mary for us and for our salvation, being
given a completely common name, in a completely common way, a Jewish
ritual of circumcisionand naming.

21. And that, to me, is why we celebrate the naming of Jesus today. Because itis
just so ordinary. So common. So human. To be named. It is something we can
all identify with and connectto. Even the name itself — Jesus — was ordinary
for the time. The name of Jesus is one of those moments where, maybe, if we
look hard enough, we can see the divine story connecting with our own, and
maybe, we caneven begin to see the divine, holy name of Jesus as a part of our
own naming.
It is a reminder that betweenthat betweenthe wonder of birth, the tragedy of
crucifixion, and the triumph of resurrection, there were three decades of
every day life, and that those three barely acknowledgeddecades as a common
carpenter’s son in a backwatertownin Judea were just as important a part of
the Incarnation as the miraculous events in Bethlehem and Jerusalemthat we
normally associate withthe Son of God.
Sometimes we forget that the Incarnation of God — Jesus — didn’t come just
to be born, just to be crucified, and just to be resurrected. He came to live. He
came incarnate the love of God for us, not just with his death but with his life,
not just with nails but in the meals he shared with the forgottenand
disenfranchised. Not just with his cross, but with his hunger, his laughter, his
sadness, his grumpiness, his gooddays and his bad days. He came to save us
not just with the whiz-bang moments that have inspired artists for 2,000
years, but also with the mundane, day-to-day moments of his life, like being
given a name by two parents.
The eternalWord, the Son of God in whom we live and move and have our
being, is named by two teenagerswith barely a penny to their names.
And as Galatians reminds us, we are heirs to this holy name, inheritors of
Jesus’legacy. We are the bearers of this Holy Name in the world today. In so
many ways, however, we’ve often squandered his goodnamed and left the
name Jesus with quite the checkeredlegacy. Only the briefest look at history
shows how we’ve twistedthis holy name into something unholy and horrible.
So today, on the Feastof the Holy Name, may we hear againthe call to go into
the world, bearing the Holy Name of Jesus and creating something
extraordinary in the same wayJesus himself did. Notby invoking the name of

22. Jesus as if it had some sortof magicalpower, but by the way we live. Not by
being perfect Christians who never make mistakes, but by the way we love.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/davidhenson/2015/01/an-ordinary-name-a-
reflection-for-the-feast-of-the-holy-name/
You Needa More Ordinary Jesus
We are united with a Christ who seems not to have done much of note for
most of his life.
Kevin P. Emmert
I was in youth group when I first heard that God had an extraordinary plan
for my life. This plan would include seeing revival, winning converts, helping
the poor, and traveling overseas to preachthe gospel, dig wells, and serve
orphans. I attended youth conferences like Acquire the Fire where I learned
what it meant to be an “on-fire-for-God” Christian, and was then sent out to
be—in the words of Delirious?—a “historymaker.”
The idea that I had an incredible destiny was only reinforcedby my own
study of Scripture. When I read the Book of Acts for the first time as a senior
in high school, I concluded that the lives and habits of the first Christians
were the norm. Like Jesus, they healed the sick, raisedthe dead, castout
demons, opposedcorrupt power structures, and preachedto the masses. As
Christians, our lives should take on the same quality as Jesus’right?
Right. But could it be that the Jesus ofthe Bible, the Jesus of history, is less
extraordinary than the Jesus of Christian conferencesand our guilty
consciences?
About a year ago, in the CT coverstory “Here Come the Radicals,”Matthew
Lee Anderson explored “radical” Christianity books from David Platt,
Francis Chan, Shane Claiborne, and Kyle Idleman. Radicals, he noted, aim to
understand what Jesus really meant in his teachings, what“radical

23. abandonment to Jesus reallylooks like,” and “what it really means to follow
Jesus.” Forthem, the “real” Christian life is radically abnormal.
Right now we’re in the middle of a backlash, with critics asking if radical
Christianity is realistic or evensustainable.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/october-web-only/you-need-more-
ordinary-jesus.html