The Early Years

HAVE YOU PICKED OUT A NAME YET?

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of 
David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their 
sins."

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him 
before he had been conceived (Mt. 1:20-21; Lk. 2:21).

Is your name really "Leslie"?  I was asked that very question last week.  And it's not the first time I've responded to such 
an inquiry.  When I was in college, all of my mail from the university came addressed to "Ms. Leslie Chapman;" even 
though I was living in a "men's dorm."  I have repeatedly had to correct those who thought all "Leslies" must be female.  
Some day in the future I will finally forgive my parents for naming me Leslie, but not quite yet!

Names are important.  They create first impressions.  They maintain continuity with the past (i.e., Jr. or the III).  They 
reflect expectations of future accomplishments by the one so named.  They identify WHO WE ARE!  And never was that 
more true than when the one, born King of the Jews, was named.

As important as names are today, they were even more important in Bible times.  They often were theological in nature as 
when the first man was named "Adam"—meaning "dirt," because he was taken from the earth.  Sometimes names were 
prophetic as when God changed Abram's name to Abraham—which meant "father of many."  At other times they were just 
descriptive as with "Nabal"—a name that means "a fool"—and what a fool Nabal was.

However, when it came to the name of God's one and only Son, our Heavenly Father did not leave it up to chance or the 
passing whims of Mary and Joseph.  As with so many of the details surrounding our Lord's birth, this one was specifically 
planned by God.  In his dream, Joseph is instructed to give the baby Mary would deliver the name JESUS!

Have you ever wondered why God chose the name JESUS?  At first glance, other names would seem more appropriate.  
For example, "Joel" is an incredible Old Testament name.  It literally means "Yahweh is God."  Since Jesus would be God-
incarnate, Joel would seem to demonstrate that truth in a very simple way.  One also might wonder why God did not 
choose the name "David."  Since David was the greatest of the Israelites kings; since he was the man after God's own 
heart; and since the Messiah was even called "the son of David," one might expect God to choose that Jewish of Jewish 
names.  Others that come to mind include names like Israel, Josiah, or even Daniel.  But God didn't choose any of these 
names.

I also wonder why God did not choose a name never used before.  Every name once was a name being used for the very 
first time.  Surely God could have given our Lord a name whose meaning was a mystery, known only to the inhabitants of 
heaven.  But God chose otherwise.

I wonder if God struggled as much as my wife and I did in choosing the names of our children.  We considered several 
different names before settling on "Robert" and "Kyle."  The only thing I knew for sure was that they would NOT be named 
"Leslie," after their dad.  I would never burden my children with a life-time of "Yes, that's my name!"

Somehow, I suspect God knew from the beginning what He would name His Son.  His instructions to Joseph were simple 
and prophetic—"You are to give him the name YESHUA."  We pronounce it JOSHUA or JESUS.  While it surely 
resurrected memories of that great hero of the Old Testament, I suspect God's choice had to do more with the meaning of 
the name than the legacy of the hero.  You see, YESHUA or JESUS means "Yahweh saves."  Jesus' name would be a 
constant reminder of who he was and what his mission was all about.  No wonder that he would later proclaim, "For the 
Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost" (Lk. 19:10).

What's in a name?  I guess it all depends on whose name you're talking about!

See you next week!