“What’s in a name?” That’s part of a famous quote from the popular play, Romeo, and Juliet, by William Shakespeare. The full quote says, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” I’ve heard the first part of that quote from time to time as long as I can remember. I’ve never really thought about it for more than a few minutes each time though, until recently.
It got me to thinking about all the names I’ve had over the years. Other than all the sweet names my wife calls me, I’ve been called Daddy, by my children, Fred, by my friends, Ted, Teddy, Teddy Ruxpin, Tetty Theodore, Bobby Q, Christopher, and occasionally, a few other names I’d rather not mention.
I’ve always been fascinated by names. Names have the ability to define us. In Bible days a name actually meant something. For example, Abraham means “Father Of Nations.” We see several examples of people having their names changed because of something they did. For example, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Simon’s name to Peter. We also see name meanings change to reflect something someone did, like Judas, which now means Traitor.
In thinking of all the names I’ve had over the years, I started thinking of all the names of Jesus we see in the Bible. It’s amazing how many names and titles he has.
I think “Jesus” is his most popular name in Christianity. The angel Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to the Son of God, and she was to call him Jesus (Luke 1:31). He also told Joseph to call the baby, Jesus and added: “because he will save his people from their sins” (Mathew 1:21). The name Jesus means “salvation.”
The New Testament writers often refer to him as Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus, and sometimes just Christ. The word Christ is the English translation of the Greek word Messiah. It means “Anointed One.” So saying “Jesus Christ” and “Jesus, the Messiah” is the same thing. Jesus is the Messiah.
In the New Testament, he is called the Son of God. He is also referred to as the Son in the Old Testament (Psalm 2:12). In Isaiah 9:6, he is called “Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Other names include Shiloh, Emmanuel, Lord, Master, Rabbi, The Word, the Lamb of God, The Son of God, the Son of David, The Son of Man, Savior, King of Kings, Rose of Sharon, Redeemer, and many more.
That’s a lot of names and titles, and each one reveals a different aspect of his character. So, what’s in a name? A lot, but no matter which name he is called, he is just as sweet.
———————————————–
My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com
© 2015 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved
My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6
The Journey 