Moses said to God: “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you and they ask me what is His name? What shall I tell them?” God said to Moses: “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites. I AM has sent me to you.”

Exodus 3:13-14

What is in a name? January 1st for most of us is New Year’s Day. But in the Church year, it is Holy Name Day, or the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus, when he was given the name of Jesus, which is the Greek for Jesua or Joshua. Remember the angel told Joseph to give the child to be born of God and Mary the name of Jesus, which is a combination of the name God gave in the burning bush and the Hebrew verb “to save.”

What is God’s name? In the Hebrew text, which has no vowels, it comes out as YHWH. Later, vowels were added and it becomes Yahweh. It is apparently derived from the Hebrew verb “to be.” What does that mean? God is the Eternal Present. He does not exist as past, present, and future. He is always the Eternal Present. He is always the Eternal Being, the source of all being in the universe. That is a lot to understand if we can even understand it. God is so much more than we are or is so different from us, who live in time, who are born, live, and die. God was never born and never dies; He always is!

Now on one occasion Jesus Himself said to the Pharisees and scribes: “I tell you the truth before Abraham was born, I AM. At this, they picked up stones to stone Him” (John 8:58-59). Why did they want to stone Jesus? Because He identified Himself with the God who spoke to Moses in the burning bush and said His Name was “I AM.” In other words, Jesus said He was and is God! If it is not true, He is guilty of blasphemy and should be stoned to death.

This is the wonder or miracle of the Incarnation: Emmanuel, God with us. So the name of Jesus is immensely important, and so the Church celebrates His Name on January 1st, eight days after His birth when He was circumcised and given His Name. “This is the Name above all Names, the only Name under Heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Phil 2:9-10, Acts 4:12).

John Newton, who wrote “Amazing Grace,” also wrote another hymn: “How sweet the name of Jesus sounds  in a believer’s ear! It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds, and drives away our fear.” It is number 455 in the 1940 Hymnal and 644 in the 1982 Hymnal. Read it, sing it, love that Name. The Precious Name of Jesus that saved you and me. To Him be all the glory. Amen.

Blessings,
John Dixon

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