What is the real name of Jesus?
I want to quote two passages of scripture to answer your question. We shall see that He has two names; one that He had from all eternity, and the other that He took when He became a man.
Luke 1:35 says, “And the angel answer and said to her (Mary), ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called THE SON OF GOD.’”
Matthew 1:20-21 reads, “But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.’”
Before Jesus was born He was the “Son of God.” That was His name. He is one of the three Persons who make up the Holy Trinity, as we see in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the NAME of the FATHER and of the SON and of the HOLY SPIRIT.” In love and grace the Father sent the Son into the world to be the “savior of the world.” This is taught clearly in John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world that He gave His ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send HIS SON into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in THE NAME OF THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON.” Because He is THE SON, the angel told Mary that He should be called THE SON OF GOD.
Jesus is the Name given to the Son of God as a Man. One of the greatest truths in the Bible is the “Incarnation of the Son of God.” We see this amazing truth in John 1:14, “And the Word BECAME FLESH and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of THE ONLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER, full of grace and truth.” In short, it means that the Son of God is not only GOD, but He is true MAN. He took HUMANITY into union with His DEITY. Matthew 1:23 bears this out, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call HIS NAME IMMANUEL, which is translated, ‘God with us.’” Another verse that echoes this truth is 1st Timothy 3:16, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh.” So, in the Incarnation of the Son of God, He never ceased being GOD, but He became a TRUE MAN. I believe we can rightly call Him the God-Man, for He was one Person with a DIVINE nature and a HUMAN nature.
Let’s close this meditation by focusing on why the Son of God had to become a Man and why His name was called Jesus. We already saw the answer in the last few words of Matthew 1:21, “You shall call His name JESUS, for He will SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS.” As we said earlier, God sent His Son to be “the savior of the world,” and in order for Him to “save sinners” He had to become a true Man. Why? So, He could take man’s place on the cross and suffer for their sins. Hebrews 2:9 declares, “But we see JESUS, who was made a little lower than the angels, for THE SUFFERING OF DEATH…that He, by the grace of God, might TASTE DEATH FOR EVERYONE.” As God He could not die, so the Son of God willingly, in obedience to the Father and in love for you and me, became a Man so He could suffer the death that we deserved because of our sins (see Romans 6:23a). The NAME He took teaches us this, for JESUS means SAVIOR. Is He your Savior, dear friend? If He is not your Savior, you can make Him your Savior right now by believing on Him. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, to THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN HIS NAME” (John 1:12). (407.3) (DO)