01012023A – The Name of Jesus
This is kind-of-a-fun-one…
Different…to be sure…
A unique way of kicking off the new year…2023
Does anyone know what an “aptronym” is?
It’s a compound word consisting of the adjective “apt” meaning “aptitude” and the Greek word for “name.”
An “aptronym” is when someone’s name and occupation line up perfectly when what they’re called “describes” – “what they do.”
Here are some examples:
- Dr. Bowser, – the Veterinarian
Mr. Fillerup, – the Gas Station Attendant
- Roy Grout, – the Bricklayer
- Dan Druff, – the Barber
- Dr. Pullen, – the Dentist
- Otto Nogo, – the Mechanic
- Dr. Smiley, – the Orthodontist
- Sonia Shears, – the Hairdresser
- Dr. Whitehead, – the Dermatologist and,
• Dr. Smellsey, – the Podiatrist
You can’t make this stuff up…
Many parents spend significant time trying to decide what to name their children.
Why is that?
Because we know that a name is more than just what “someone goes by.”
Some of us are “very strategic and very specific” when it comes to the giving of names.
Others, not so much…
In Biblical times, a name stood for a person’s “reputation, their fame and their glory.”
Parents often gave children names that described their hopes and future “expectations” regarding that child.
The word translated “name” literally means “a mark” or “a brand.”
A study of Biblical names often reveals much about the personality of the people involved.
Come on, you Biblical scholars, help me out here: David means what?
For instance, David means “Beloved.”
Abraham means what?
Abraham means “Father of many.”
Come on, you’ve got this – what does Noah mean?
Noah means “Relief.”
For sure, you remember Jacob, brother of Esau…
Jacob means “Deceiver.”
And it only makes sense that Sara means…
Sara means “Princess.”
You remember when Abraham and Sara named their son, Isaac. What does Isaac mean? I know you know this…
Isaac implies “laughter or joke.”
Israel means “he who wrestles with God and survives…”
Moshe is an easy one. The name Moses means…
Moses means “to draw out, lead out, “guide out,” or pull out.”
And I know you have been a believer for many, many years, so of course, you know what the name Jesus means…
Come on, spit it out…
And Jesus means, “Yahweh saves,” or “Yahweh will save,” or “Yahweh is salvation.”
All of these people “proved true” to their names!
Going back about 700 years before the birth of Jesus, we already have a prediction of his coming…
It is from that famous passage from the Book of Isaiah, the great and mighty, “major prophet of old…”
I am thinking of the 9th chapter, verse 6 following…but be aware there is good stuff – both before and after it…
“For a child has been born for us, a son is given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…”
And also, from Isaiah and later from the gospel writer, Matthew, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”
The child was birthed in Bethlehem and the gift of the eternal Son is given to us.
“The Son wasn’t born, the Son eternally existed; the child was born, the Son was given.”
On top of that, the “government shall be upon his shoulders.”
This means that all the “expectations of the throne of King David” are prayerfully going to be fulfilled in this small newborn infant. Whoah – that’s a lot to put on a newborn baby…
The baby bundled in the straw holds the universe together.
The one nestled on Mary’s shoulders bears everything on his shoulders.
He is the “redeemer” and “ruler” of all.
That is a pretty “tough assignment” for a newborn or for anyone else, for that matter!
The most important part of Isaiah 9:6 is the first three words, “For to us.”
We actually see them repeated: “For to us a child is born, to us, a son is given.”
The gift of Christ is a personal gift from God to us.
From God to you.
A gift requires a response.
If I put a gift under your tree, you may acknowledge it, may admire it, may even thank me for it, but it isn’t yours until you open it and take it for yourself.
That’s what we need to be doing…
We need to accept this gift “as our own.”
Tour response is what will follow…after you have accepted the gift…
In this child, we find the essence of the living God. The creator of all that exists.
If ever a name was packed with significance, it is the name, Jesus.
The scriptures later go on to say, “That at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow…”
It is a name that is above every name…
I cannot think (for the life of me,) of another name that I would bow before…and perhaps, that is the point!
There is something about that holy name of Jesus. And every year, on January 1st, the church has us begin the new year…with the name of Jesus on our lips…
Not a bad way of beginning the new year, if I do say so, myself!
Amen.