The first time we read the name ‘Jesus’ is in the first verse of the New Testament.  We read in Matthew 1:1, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”  After this first time, we read the name ‘Jesus’ over 900 times in the New Testament.  The word ‘Jesus’ comes from the Greek word, ‘Iēsoûs’.  It is derived from the Hebrew name “Yeshua,” meaning “Yahweh is salvation.”  In fact, we read in Matthew 1:21, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” 

It’s not that the name ‘Iēsoûs’ was changed to ‘Jesus’, but that ‘Jesus’ is the English translation of the name ‘Iēsoûs’.  Does it matter that we have translated this name to Jesus?  I don’t think so…not at all.  Let’s consider what happened on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:4-6, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE.”  On this day, the first day of the church, the Holy Spirit came down and filled every believer.  They began to speak with other languages, but everyone heard them speak in their own language.  What an incredible event!  In this we see the Lord wants to speak to everyone, and the best way to do that is to speak to everyone in their own language.  To translate a Greek name into an English name is normal.  The original scriptures were written mainly in Hebrew, Arabic, and Greek. 

I recently read that the complete Bible (the Old and New Testaments) has been translated into over 700 languages, the New Testament into more than 1,800 languages, and portions of Scripture into over 4,000 languages.  Of course, in those different translations, the word ‘Iēsoûs’ has been changed into the language that readers can understand. 

While some insist we use the name of the original language, the Lord is more interested in us reading His Word, understanding it, and obeying it.  We have lost nothing to call upon the Lord’s name in the language we use and understand.  (CC)  (733.6)