The Holy Name of Jesus

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Recently, a young evangelist by the name of Paul Meyers passed away. He wanted everyone to know about The Most Holy Name of Jesus. What does the Bible say about the name of Jesus?
The name Jesus is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name Joshua; pronounced yeshua, which means salvation. It is, of course, of no coincidence that Jesus and Joshua share the same name. Joshua’s mission was fulfilled in the mission of Jesus.

Joshua was the successor to Moses way back after that exodus from Egypt. It is Joshua who actually led the people from their time of wandering through the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Jesus does the same. He leads us through the waters of Baptism into the Promised Land of Heaven.
So right away the name of Jesus is associated with Salvation and Heaven. There aren’t any other contenders out there, like Buddha or Mohammed, where you have to know their names to be saved or be enlightened. Others preach a message that is to be believed, Christianity preaches a Person.

And in Biblical times as well as today, names were associated with the person whom they represented. So much so that to say a person’s name was inviting them to be present. That is why God said that we aren’t to use His name in vain because to speak of His Holy Name is to ask Him to be present. His Holy Name is for Holy conversations or prayer, not occasions of great surprise, like certain websites advertise today.
What did Jesus say about his own name?

John 15:16 so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.

John 16:23-24 Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

What is happening here? Jesus is telling us that it is through his name that God the Father acts. Jesus name is associated with real power. Listen to Acts of the apostles.

Acts 3:2-6 And a man crippled from birth was carried and placed at the gate of the temple called "the Beautiful Gate" every day to beg for alms from the people who entered the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms. But Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. Peter said, "I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, (rise and) walk."
That miracle occurred because St. Peter called on the name of Jesus with faith. Consequently, look at what happens when we call on the name of Jesus without faith:
Acts 19:13-17 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, mastered all of them, and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear fell upon them all; and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.
So clearly, it is faith in the name of Jesus that brings fourth this Power. The early Christians even got persecuted because of the name Jesus.
That is right. After Pentecost and the Apostles receiving the Holy Spirit, they can’t stop talking about Jesus. This so offended the Jewish officials at the time that the Apostles were persecuted just for talking about Jesus.

Acts 5:40-41 So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
Today is no different, for some Catholics the name of Jesus is an embarrassment in public. We need to ask God for help in this area of our lives and be not afraid to talk about Jesus in public.

Matthew 10:32-33 So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
We need to be a people who not only confess the name of Jesus, but also have reverence for His Most Holy Name.

Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Now while we can’t be genuflecting every time we hear the name of Jesus, what can we do to honor His Name in a physical way?

This is what Paul Meyers wanted everyone to know. It is an old custom that has been kind of forgotten to bow our heads when we say or hear the name of Jesus. By doing this, we are honoring His Name and thus honoring Jesus himself.

This is a public witness to the Holiness, Power, and Salvation that is found in the name of Jesus. We are of course short on time, but I want to encourage everyone to get a little booklet by TAN publishers and share it with others. It is called, “The Wonders of the Holy Name.”


Also, please pray for the repose of Paul Meyers’ soul.
The Wonders of His Holy Name - Click Here