I love a good last name.  In the old days they were derived from the family business – like Shoemaker, Potter or Baker.   I once had a job tending 2 llamas. Would this make me Jimmy Llama-Keeper?

People can be quite creative with the first names they give their babies. Some name them after consumer goods like Nike and Infiniti.  I considered naming our son Liquid Plumber but my wife did not approve.

Some 2,000 years ago there was a young couple in Bethlehem that needed to name their baby.  It had to be a good one, because a person’s name was extra significant in their culture. 

To the Hebrews, a name was not just a tool to distinguish a person.  It was regarded as the equivalent to the person themselves.   Their name signified their worth, character, reputation, authority, will, and ownership. 

In ancient Israel to speak in “the name of” signified authority (I Kings 21:8-10).    To forget someone’s name was to forsake them (Jeremiah 23:26-27.)   To act in someone’s name was to represent them (Deuteronomy 25:6).  To blot out someone’s name was to destroy them (Deuteronomy 9:14) and to believe in the name of a person was to trust them (John 1:12). 

Mary and Joseph had to choose a name that would fit their newborn child.  This would be tough because their child was not just another manchild.  He was the very Son of God, and the eternal Son of God has always had a name. 

In the Old Testament He was known as the Captain of the Lord of Hosts; the Star of Jacob; Adonai; the Rose of Sharon; the Scepter of Judah; the Lion of Judah; Wonderful Counselor; Almighty God; Everlasting Father; Prince of Peace; the Son of David and the list goes on easily containing a hundred or more rich names – each one adding honor and a new dimension of understanding of the Son of God.

But the day came that the Son of God took on human flesh. This called for a new name.  The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary the mother-to-be and said, “You will… give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus – Luke 1:31.

The name “Jesus” meant “the one who saves.”  His name revealed His mission on this earth. 

Luke tells us when Jesus was given His name.  “At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb”-  Luke 2:21. It was the Jewish custom to postpone the naming of a male child until the day of His circumcision which took place 8 days after the day of his birth.  

This causes me to stand in even greater awe of my Savior.   When Christ became incarnate, He laid aside His rights and privileges as Deity.  He set aside the perks of being God.   The one who created the sea and the mountains would one day stumble up a hill called Calvary. 

He gave it all up – the power, the immunity from pain, the praise and adulation of the angels and eventually His very life.  But the one thing He was able to retain was His name.  He may have lost His privileges, but He was still somebody because He still had His name. 

And yet, He gave that up as well.  Eight days would elapse between the time of His birth and the time that His name would be officially bestowed. He existed 8 days without a name. He went from bearing the eternal title of Yahweh, to nameless obscurity.

Jesus gave up everything for us – everything – even His name.  He chose to be nameless, that we might be blameless. He gave it all up for us. 

So, what can we give to Him?  Perhaps this Christmas season we can remind our family and friends that Christmas is all about that baby boy who Joseph and Mary named Jesus.

A PRAYER: Lord thank you for giving it all up for me.  I praise Your most wonderful name!

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you always.

Scripture passages are from the NETBible ®