I have a colleague and confidant. His name is Steve. I call him Steve-o. One day he asked me the question, "What's in a Name?"
having a Hebrew perspective I responded, "Everything."
he added, "and nothing."
He was making a point, and I was making the same point on a larger scale. You see, Here in america, most people's names don't count for much. Perhaps some names are tied to a close or distant relative, fictional characters from classic literature, or heaven forbid a movie. Some names are drawn almost out of a hat. If you're an Immigrant, you're lucky if your name hasn't been changed entirely out of convenience to the person filling out the file on you (that is if you're a legal immigrant). But in most other places around the Globe, Names have significance.
In my friend Steve's case, He was named after two men that his father served with in the military. they were both killed in action. Steve's father preserved their memory by naming his son after them. Steve gave me the impression that as he grew up, he didn't think very highly of his name until the time that his father revealed the history behind his name. At that point he understood the importance of the name that his Father had bestowed upon him. I'm sure this had a dramatic impact on his character. So he asks me, "What's in a name? everything and nothing."
So why am I bringing this up? In Hebrew culture, naming a child has never been a subject to be taken lightly. In antiquity, many people's names included the name of our heavenly Father. and this tradition is still carried out today in certain families. This is still considered to be a great blessing to the Jewish culture. Although in rabbinic tradition it has become more common to name male children after the sages who contributed to Talmudic writings and doctrin.
I began to explain to Steve, that the word "J-sus" is a misnomer. It is a poor rendering of a Talmudic disparagement directed at the Jewish Messiah. being a little bit of a researcher in etymology I have worked on this name for a while. first of all the letter J did not come into existence until the fifteenth century, when it was first used in the king James Bible. it was created when typesetters of the time started putting descenders on the letter i at the beginning of sentences, so let's just get rid of that letter all together.
The word j-sus itself has no meaning in hebrew, so it cannot fufill any prophecy given about "emannuel" or Elohim who is with us. the word in Latin is spelled iesous. which is a poorly rendered translation of an acronym taken from the Jerusalem Talmud that means, "may his name be blotted out." (from the book of life) sad but true that such a disparagement be made, Elohim forbid.
The true name of the Jewish Messiah is— not was— IS Yahusha, spelled Yud, hay, vav, shin, ayin or יהושע. A rough translation of this word it means יהוה saves. may his name be blessed. It is the same name given to the servant of Moshe, the son of Nun. This name has such great depth and meaning and significance. Our heavenly Father was very deliberate in the choosing of the name of his first borne. There truly is no other name given under heaven by which men must be saved. So what's in a name? nothing or everything.
I was at the pet store buying accessories for my dog. A very nice gentleman noticed my tzitzith and asked if I was Jewish. I told him that I am Hebrew to be sure but that I did not know my lineage for sure. He asked me if I could translate the hebrew letters he had tattooed on his arm. I told him I would try. the word was spelled, יעזוס
I had to admit I couldn't figure it out at first and he told me it spelled J-sus . to which I was compelled to quire what inspired such a radical decision. He responded the J-sus asked him to do it. I thought, "whoa! that's deliberate." His words were, "I told Him (J-sus) I couldn't have a tattoo of anyones name on my body. and he said, 'not even for me.' "
I didn't flinch or scoff or discourage him in any way, but my mind was racing through thoughts of Mitvot and how far the sheep have strayed from the will of the good Sheppard.
I responded with an anecdote of sorts about my wife's friend and her husband—who when I met him was wearing a t-shirt that stated, "J-sus Loves me and my tattoos." and i can tell you he had no shortage of ink in his flesh. I pressed him for a justification of his statement. To which he resorted to the book of revelation and how Rabi Yahusha has a name written inside his thigh. I argued that no human hand would have inscribed that name in his flesh.
It gave him food for thought , though I'm sure it did not change his mind.
Charismatics, in my modest opinion, are wholly given over to all kinds of loose doctrine for a tingly sensation and a feel good sermon. So what's in a name?
