I would like to give you some excerpts from Wikipedia on the “Etymology and origins” of the name Jesus. “The name Jesus used in the English New Testament comes from the Latin form of the Greek name ‘lesous,’ a rendition of the Hebrew ‘Yeshua,’ related to the name of ‘Joshua.’ The name is thus related to the Hebrew vert root which means ‘rescue, deliver’ and one of its noun forms ‘yeshua’ means ‘deliverance.’ There have been various proposals as to how the literal etymological meaning of the name should be translated, including ‘YHWH saves,’ ‘(is) salvation’.” (End of Quote)

This teaches me that the name ‘Jesus’ in the New Testament is equivalent to the name ‘Joshua’ (Yeshua) in the Old Testament and that they both convey the meaning of ‘deliverance’ or ‘salvation.’ The Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines the name ‘Joshua’ as ‘Jehovah-saved.’ This meaning fits in perfectly with what the angel told Joseph in Matthew 1:21, “And she (Mary) will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for HE WILL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS” (NJKV).

This meaning is consistent throughout the New Testament. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who BELIEVE IN HIS NAME.” In this blessed verse we learn the simple truth that the moment a sinner turns to Jesus Christ in true repentance and “believes in His name” (believes that He has saved them from their sins) he becomes a child of God. In other words, to “believe in the name of Jesus is to believe that Jesus is your Savior!”

In Acts chapter 3 the apostle Peter healed a lame in the name of Jesus. Verse 6 states, “Then Peter said, ‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” Later, in verse 16, Peter said: “And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know.” The enemies of Jesus and the apostles came to Peter and asked him, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” (Acts 4:7) Peter responded with these words, “Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that BY THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole….nor is there salvation in any other, for THERE IS NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN given among men BY WHICH WE MUST BE SAVED” (verses 10 & 12). Again, Jesus means “God is Savior” and Peter was proclaiming that wonderful truth in plain words that everyone could understand.

Has my reader BELIEVED IN THE NAME OF JESUS? Have you realized that “there is no other name under heaven…by which you must be saved?” If you are trusting in any other name (Allah, Buddha, Brahma, etc.) to save you from your sins, you will miss God’s salvation and be lost forever. Jesus said in John 8:24, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” Jesus was proclaiming Himself as the “Savior” in this verse and telling sinners, “If you don’t believe I am the Savior, you will die unforgiven.”

I would like to end this meditation by quoting a few lines of a hymn we sometime sing:

“JESUS! How much Thy name unfolds to every opened ear,

The pardoned sinner’s memory holds none other half so dear.

Jesus, the One who knew no sin, made sin to make us just;

Thou gavest Thyself our love to win—our full confiding trust.

The mention of Thy name shall bow, our hearts to worship Thee;

The chiefest of ten thousand Thou, whose love has set us free.” (286.5) (DO)