What's In A Name?

It's Saturday, New Years Eve-Eve. We are on the brink of another man-made landmark of time. Many people are making New Years Resolutions to change, lose weight, get in shape, make more money, spend less money, be a better person all around, go to church, change their church and so on. I have just finished my sermon notes (I usually do a few touch ups on Saturday to get refreshed and prepared for Sunday) and I am excited about sharing with you what God has laid on my heart.

To be perfectly honest we will be looking at some doctrines tomorrow that could launch 50 new sermon series. But we will only have a few minutes to get into them tomorrow. But if you are reading this tonight, befor the Lord's Day, I want to ask a question. What is in a name? More specifically, what is in Jesus Christ's name or names? What do they mean? Do they challenge us? Do they change us? Do they "wreck" us? Have you ever looked into what Jesus' names mean?

Names meant so much more to people in biblical times. When we choose names today it is usually from a baby book or internet page full of baby names. We try to match them with our last name and in some cases with our other children's names. Why did your parents give you your name? Have you ever asked them? My parents gave me "Daniel" which is from the Hebrew name which means "God is my judge". Boy, isn't that the truth. My son's name is Caleb Mark. We gave him the middle name to remember my younger brother, Mark, who was killed in a car accident in 1993. The funny thing is that Caleb and Mark are both the same name. Mark is the Greek name for Caleb meaning literally, "Mighty Warrior, Mighty Warrior". Think about Caleb's role in Israel's history. He and Joshua were certainly mighty warriors.

I say all of that to say this, think about Jesus Christ. Literally his name means, "Yahweh saves, the Annointed One". We often think of these names as a first and last name. But Jesus was probablly known as "Joshua". Jesus is a late adaption. "Christ" was a confession about Jesus. It was an announcement more than a name. To say "Jesus Christ" is to say, that the Son of God is the Messiah of God, the one who saves us from our sins.

Many say that they believe in Jesus or that they are a Christian. But unless we really believe this about Jesus, than we are using his name in vain. If we say we believe but have not a life that shows it, we use his name in vain. What do you believe about Jesus' name?