Christ's Name – Jesus

The 4^th name found in John chapter 1 for Christ is the name Jesus.  It appears in v. 17, 37, 38, 42, 45, 47, 50.  If asked, most people would tell you that the name Jesus means Savior.  This is consistent with Matt. 1:21: “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”   By digging a little deeper we find that there is more to the name “Jesus” than just the name Savior.  In the Old Testament there is a patriarch named Joshua.  However, twice Joshua is mentioned in the New Testament but his name is spelled “Jesus:”

1.  Act 7:45  “Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;”

2.  Heb. 4:8  “For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.”

It is very apparent that the name “Jesus” in these two instances is referring to Joshua of the Old Testament.  

Fairly frequently the spelling of names of individuals in the New Testament is different from the spelling of those names in the Old Testament.  This came about as a result of those names in the Old Testament were originally written in Hebrew and then when they appeared in the New Testament they were translated to the Greek language and later translated to the English language.  The English translation for those names in the Old Testament was directly from Hebrew to English.  The English translation for those same names in the New Testament was from Hebrew to Greek to English.  In the process of this second translation the spelling of the names differed.  Examples of this are the following:

1.  Jeremiah vs. Jeremy

2.  Marah vs. Mary

3.  Elijah vs. Elias

4.  Elisha vs. Eliseus

5.  Joshua vs. Jesus

The man called Joshua was not at first called Joshua, but Oshea:  Num. 13:8 “Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun.” The word Oshea means saved.  Later Moses changed his name to Jehoshua: Num 13:16  These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua. The word Jehoshua is a contraction of Jehovah and Oshua.  The name Jehoshua means Jehovah saved.  From this time on, the name Jehoshua was shortened to Joshua.  The fact that Joshua means Jehovah saved is very significant. 

The name Jehovah is not a direct translation from Hebrew to English.  A direct translation would have read “JHVH” or “YHVH” or “YHWH.”  In the rules of the English language every syllable must have at least one vowel.  The three names mentioned in the previous sentence have no vowels.  Thus to arrive at Jehovah or Yehovah or Yahweh vowels must be added.  There ae 22 letters in the Hebrew language and 26 in the English language.  This means that 4 letters in the Hebrew language are each translatable into 2 different letters in the English language.  The Hebrew letter translated J is also translated Y.  The Hebrew letter translated V is also translated W.  That is why you can have three possible spellings in English of the one word in Hebrew.  To avoid the confusion the King James translators chose to use the name “LORD” in all capital letters to represent “JHVH” etc.  “LORD” appears nearly 8000 times in the Old Testament and is the most common word depicting God in the bible.  It appears more than all the others words used to depict God combined. 

The first time the word, “LORD,” appears in the bible is the 2^nd chapter of Genesis and it appears in connection with God giving the covenant of the law of sin and death to Adam and giving the covenant of marriage.  Thus Jehovah or “LORD” identifies God as the covenant making, covenant keeping God.  Every time the word “LORD” appears in the Old Testament the context will be as a covenant making, covenant keeping God. 

Now back to the name Joshua.  As we have shown, Joshua means Jehovah saved.  This is an apt description of Jesus.  Jesus saves his people based on a covenant that was made before the foundation of the world.  This covenant is spelled out for us in Rom. 8:29, 30: ”For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”   This is known as the covenant of redemption.

There are three great consequences to sin.  There is the condemnation of sin.  There is the bondage of sin.  And there is the corruption of sin.  Through the miracle of the new birth (called) Jesus delivered us “those he foreknew” from the bondage of sin.  Through the sacrificial atonement of Jesus on the cross, he delivered us from the condemnation of sin.  Through the resurrection of the dead in the last day he will deliver us from the corruption of sin. 

Christ's Name – King 

In John 1:49 Nathaniel calls Christ the “King of Israel.”  As we have previously studied, the name Christ means the anointed one.  As the anointed one Christ is both the king and the high priest after the order of Melchisedec. 

Calling Christ, the “King of Israel” carries us back to a prophecy that was pronounced by the prophet Nathan to David the king of Israel: 2 Sam.7:12 “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. 16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.  17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.”  

According to the prophecy this promised king and kingdom was to come about after David’s days were fulfilled and he slept with his fathers.  In other words, it was to be fulfilled after his death.  This rules out Solomon being the promised king as Solomon was anointed king while David was yet alive.  This was to be an everlasting king, throne, and kingdom.   

The time of the establishment of this kingdom, throne and king was prophesied in Daniel  2:44 “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.”  From this we gather that the kingdom, the throne, and the king was to come in the days of the Roman Empire, which of course is when Christ came.   

Moreover, the genealogy in Luke chapter 3 shows that Christ was of the seed of David and the genealogy in Matthew chapter 1 shows that Christ was of the kingly lineage to be qualified as the king of Israel.  

The kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, the throne is an everlasting throne, and the king is an everlasting king.  Thus, the kingdom of God is with us today and Christ sits as king in this kingdom and sits on the everlasting throne of judgment.   

Peter affirmed on the day of Pentecost that Christ was the promised king promised by Nathan to David in 2 Sam. 7:12-17 as recorded for us in Act 2:29 “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”