Christology 101 (Pt. 1): What’s in a Name?

More than you may think.

In the ancient world, names often were ripe with meaning.

For example, before his name change, the Hebrew meaning of Abram’s was exalted father, which seemed a tragic irony in that he was old and had no children.

However, in the LORD’s covenant with Abram, he receives a name change to reflect the sovereign kindness of God. Abram becomes Abraham, which is a compound name comprised of two Hebrew words, av (אַב), which means father, and raham (רָהָם), which means many. Put them together, and you have Av-raham, father of multitudes.

In English, it’s just Abraham. But the original meaning of the name is theologically rich.

The same is true for Moses, which also is comprised of two Hebrew words, me (מֵ), which means out of and sheh (שָׁה), which means drawn. When combined they mean “drawn out of,” which perfectly describes how Me-sheh, or Moses, was rescued from the Nile by Pharaoh’s daughter.

The name Jesus has the deepest, richest, most significant theological meaning of all.

The English name Jesus is a transliteration of the original Greek form of his name, Iēsous (Ἰησοῦς), which is the…