Who is Yeshua?

You may be wondering who this ‘Yeshua’ person I refer to is. Yeshua is the true name of the Son of G-d. I know, you’ve always heard Him called Jesus. Well, how many Jews do you know named ‘Jesus’? Answer: None. That’s because there aren’t any.

One argument I have heard regarding using the name ‘Jesus’ is that G-d knows who we are talking about. Of course, you are right. But if someone were talking to you and called you by a name other than your own, you would correct him. Why? He’s talking to you. You know who he means, right? Of course you do. But it’s a matter of respect. Your name is your name and it should be used when people are speaking to you. The same is, of course, for Yeshua.

Do you know what Muhammed’s name is in Arabic? Answer: Muhammed. English? Answer: Muhammed. Hindu? Answer: Muhammed.

How about Budda? What’s his name in Hindu? Answer: Budda. English? Answer: Budda. Spanish? Answer: Budda.

Shall we keep going or do you get the point? We can continue this for every single “god”, “prophet”, or “holy man” from every religion EXCEPT worship of the G-d of Avraham, Yitzhak, and Ya’akov. In every single case, the name of the “god”, “prophet”, or “holy man” remains the same despite the language it is translated into. So why does the name of the Only and Unique Son of G-d change?

I believe it to be the Evil One attempting to hide Yeshua’s name from us. Acts 2:21 (CJB) says, “…whoever calls on the name of Adonai will be saved.” If people do not know the name of Adonai, the name of Yeshua, then how can they call on His Name?

Some of us call Him ‘Jesus’ because we have always done so and it is a habit. I can understand that to a point. But there comes a time when that is no longer a reason and simply an excuse.

It only takes a few weeks to break a habit, even a lifelong habit. I managed to quit smoking, something I did for over 12 years, in a single day. I had tried to quit time after time after time. The longest I ever made it was 6 months. Then, after I had an ultimatum laid down by my wife-to-be, I stopped smoking.

If you truly love someone, you will take the time to learn about them. You will learn their habits, their likes, their dislikes. You will learn, and use, their name.

Yeshua’s name (Hebrew: יֵשׁוּעַ) has meaning in itself. Indeed, all Hebrew names do. Yeshua means “salvation”. His name tells people what He is here to do. He is here to save us because He is Salvation!

But the name “Jesus” carries no such meaning. It’s etemology is actually rather odd and doesn’t always make much sense. “Jesus” is supposedly the English translation of the Greek word “Iesous” which is supposedly a translation of the Hebrew ‘Yeshua’. But that doesn’t actually make sense when you consider that proper names were not translated. Greeks had no trouble pronouncing “Yoseph” or “Yehoshua” or even “Sha’ul”. Why would they have had difficulty with “Yeshua”?

Another thing is that the pronunciation of “Iesous” is odd for it to be a translation of “Yeshua”. “Iesous” is pronounced “E-A-Zoos”. Could it be that someone was trying to hide the name Yeshua by substituting it with a convoluted form of “Zeus”? What better way to keep the Greeks from coming to know the true Messiah.

Yeshua’s name has been right there in text, waiting for us for all this time. It’s been hidden in plain site. And most of us were too blind to see it. What else is waiting there for us to discover?

Sha’alu Shalom,

Jason