[Speak the Name] the Name of JesusSample

Powerful Prophecies

Jesus’ name is so unfathomably life-giving, so irrefutably powerful, so indescribably great, that we see it peppered all through the Scriptures. Most people would expect the name Jesus to be found only in the New Testament, but it is also found in the Old. In fact, it is found 1,176 times throughout the Scriptures.

There are dozens of descriptions of who Jesus is in the Old Testament, powerful predictions about who He is and what He came to do. The prophet Isaiah wrote about Jesus and who He was many years before Jesus was even ever born, before He came into the world as Immanuel, God with us. Every year, at Christmas, people quote or sing the Bible verses that say, “A Son is given to us, and the government shall be upon His shoulders.” And that Child, who was Jesus, Isaiah prophesied would be called a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace.

Isaiah said Jesus would be despised and rejected by humankind; that He would be a man of suffering, familiar with pain. If you don’t know that Jesus, that God, identifies with you in your suffering, see what Isaiah prophesied long before Jesus was born. He said Jesus would be someone from whom people hide their faces. Jesus knows loneliness and rejection. He knows what it feels like to be abandoned. It’s in Him and in His name that we can find healing for our hurts and our sickness.

Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would take up our pain and bear our suffering, yet we would consider Him punished by God. I believe this denial is a problem in the American church today: many don’t really hold the name of Jesus in high esteem, as high as it should be held. They think it is feckless and ineffective, when His name truly is the name that’s above all names. In Jesus’ name, we find meaning, truth, and life. There is no other name like it. Jeremiah 10:6 says, “No one is like you, Lord; you are great, and your name is mighty in power.” Jesus is mighty. The government will be upon His shoulders. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would have control and authority over all things. Let’s recognize Him for who He is: King of kings and Lord of Lords.

Jesus, help me give You the honor You deserve.