Issue 1245 – The Sweetest Sound _ Names and Titles 2 – September 11, 2023
Dale Carnegie, a motivational speaker and author from a couple of generations ago, once famously said, “Names are the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”
We love hearing our names and are flattered when people remember them. I serve as a greeter at our local assembly for a couple of weeks a month. Our greeters are more than just smiling hand-shakers. Our role is to get to know the people who attend and connect them with others or with church programs wherever possible. Even on the weeks, we don’t “do the door”, our greeters tend to continue to work by mingling and connecting people to learn more about them.
With my brain injury, I have difficulty recalling names, but not faces. I simply tell people that I have difficulty remembering names but that it is important, so I will keep asking them until I get it right. It might take a few attempts, but there comes a Sunday when I can greet them by name. On that day, you can see their faces light up. I have remembered them by name, and they feel recognized and blessed.
Never underestimate the importance of knowing someone by name.
Yet, with all respect to Mr. Carnegie, I believe the sweetest sound is not our name, as much as we love to hear it. The sweetest sounds are the name we use for our spouse and that of the Lord who loves and saves us.
Yesterday, we began an intermittent series on the names and titles of God. It will run periodically as the muse hits and Spirit leads. Today, I want to look at one of the names of Jesus in the gospel of John. For some background, I am drawing on a recent post on Knowable Word, a blog I highly recommend.
Ryan Higgenbottom has been studying and writing on the name and title of Jesus in the New Testament. He comments on the five most common titles for Jesus used in John’s gospel.
- Lord (36 times)
- Son (18 times)
- Son of Man (11 times)
- Son of God (9 times)
- Christ (8 times)
It often strikes people as odd that Christ appears on a names and titles list. Given how we use the name “Jesus Christ,” it seems Christ is his surname.
In the culture of Jesus’ time, surnames were typically the “son of” or the “daughter of.” That means he would have been Jesus Bar (son of) Joseph. We should say Jesus the Christ (when I write that, my spelling and grammar checker instantly want to change it back). Christ is his title. Conventions of the Englis language make that awkward, so we opt for Jesus Christ instead.
Christ – the anointed one or chosen one. When we speak of Jesus Christ, we really say “Jesus – the chosen (or anointed) one of God.”
At the end of his gospel, John makes it clear why he has written it.
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31
We could paraphrase part of that to say, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,” or perhaps “Jesus Christ, Son of God.”
In referring to Jesus as the Christ, John clarifies that Jesus was no ordinary man. He was God’s chosen, anointed Messiah, sent to save the world.
Praise God for the Christ who saves.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
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All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2023 KF “Kevin” Corbin Gleanings From The Word.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV).
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