Names for God: Devotions From Time of GraceSample

Jesus

Over the years I’ve wondered why God so often chose to communicate with people through dreams. For instance, it was in his sleep that a young carpenter named Joseph discovered that his fiancée Mary was going to become the mother of the Savior of the world. Maybe God chose the means of a dream video so that Joseph would believe it. After all, everything is possible in our dreams, even the incarnation of God himself. The last thing God wanted was a wide-awake Joseph arguing with him (as had Zechariah the priest) that his magnificent plan was not possible.

The angelic night messenger even provided Joseph the name the royal baby was to be given: “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” (Matthew 1:21). Interestingly enough, this was not a new name, minted for this unique occasion. In Hebrew it is the same as that of Moses’ successor. Jesus’ name in Hebrew was Yehoshua, a variant of Joshua. Its splendid meaning: “The LORD saves.”

The great composer Johann Sebastian Bach would often put the initials J.J. at the top of a manuscript for a new composition (Jesu Juva, Latin for “Help me, Jesus.”) That name to him represented not only his salvation from hell but also the One who would help him from day to day.

May the name of Jesus always sound sweet to your ears.