FAITH AND FASTING

Another day, another moment to marvel over God, His Word, His ways and plans. And, in my tradition, yet another day to shake my head over why in five decades of faith I’m just now discovering this hugely significant piece of evidence from ancient Jewish prophecy! A prophecy which points a giant finger squarely at Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah, reveals His very name.

Let’s get into the details and be in awe together. Because, God is amazing! He never intended to make this hard. He didn’t hide the identity of Messiah, He blasted it into the cosmos. He loves the world, and He WANTS His Son found!

Fair warning, I get a little nerdy about this sort of topic. If I share too many details and overwhelm you, I apologize. In an instance such as this, I prefer more evidence to less.

And, I don’t know about you, but I’ve come to realize, when you know the facts, it takes less faith to believe than it does to disbelieve Jesus is Messiah. As an adult with access to infinite libraries of information, to deny Him, we must choose to stay ignorant. Don’t read, don’t research, reject what we’ve never studied, and refuse to listen.

Or, maybe we choose comforting traditions over truth. Maybe we only trust what we’ve been taught by, sadly, blind teachers over centuries, a few of whom may have lied, conspired, and covered up a myriad of prophecy and evidence.

So, to combat the centuries-old misinformation, and in order to KNOW and be grounded in His identity, let’s briefly dive into the name of Jesus from the languages of the Bible. With that foundation under us, then we’ll take a look at the writing of ancient Hebrew prophet, Zechariah, and uncover a truly amazing treasure of Messianic prophecy.

By the end of this study, I hope you will join me in proclaiming confidently, Simon Peter (Jewish disciple/apostle of Jesus) was right about Jesus when he wrote:

“This is the Stone which the builders rejected, which has become the chief Cornerstone. Neither is Salvation found in any other, for there is no other NAME under heaven by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12

Word Study: Name of Jesus in Biblical Languages

From the Greek, “Iesous” came the Latin and Anglicized version: JESUS. As you already know, most of the English and Latin world still use this version today.

Obviously, Jesus (of Nazareth) was not His given name at the time of His birth. In their native language over 2,000 years ago, Mary and Joseph would have been told by the angel to name their baby, “Yehoshua”. This is His Hebrew name. A shortened version is Yeshua, or even shorter to Yesu. Most in Jewish Christian or Messianic circles still call Him Yeshua.

Finally, the English version of the Hebrew name Yehoshua/Yeshua is JOSHUA. So, to show the name based on origin and historical order:

Hebrew to English: Yehoshua = Yeshua = Joshua
Hebrew through Greek, Latin to English: Yehoshua = Yeshua = Iesous = Jesus

To reiterate, Joshua is the English translation from the Hebrew, and Jesus is the English translation from the Latin/Greek. But all are the SAME name.

Further, no matter which language you speak or version you use, the definition of the name is this: Yahweh is SALVATION.

One name across multiple languages and millennia can be hard to follow and confusing, but it is important to understand how much the multi-lingual translations of Scripture have somewhat hidden a prophetic gem from many people.

Before we continue, let’s refresh on the use of one more ancient Hebrew term applied to Messiah in prophecy: BRANCH. Hundreds of years after King David lived, Hebrew Prophet, Isaiah, prophesied a “Branch” who would come from the lineage of David and be a Redeemer to Israelites and beyond.

And there shall come forth a rod (sprout) out of the stem of Jesse (father of King David), and a Branch shall grow from his roots: and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; Isaiah 11:1-2

Over a century after Isaiah, God again spoke of the Branch through Hebrew prophet, Zechariah.

…behold I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH…. Zechariah 3:8b

The Gemstone – Name of Messiah – YEHOSHUA/JOSHUA/JESUS – Revealed in Zechariah

What a beautiful gem of Truth we unearth in Zechariah 6, the thing I just discovered for the first time:

11 Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown, and set it on the head of JOSHUA the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying:
“Behold, the Man whose NAME is THE BRANCH!
 From His place He shall branch out, 
And He shall build the temple of the Lord;” ’ Zechariah 6:11-12 New King James Version (NKJV)

God literally revealed the first name of the coming Messiah through Zechariah! Now, compare the same passage in a couple more versions/languages of Scripture. This next one is my favorite… WAIT FOR IT…..

The Anglicized Greek Septuagint version below brings the NAME to the most commonly known lingo (for Latin or Western people):

11 And thou shalt take silver and gold, and make crowns, and thou shalt put upon the head of JESUS the son of Josedec the high priest;
12 and thou shalt say to him, Thus saith the Lord Almighty; Behold the man whose NAME is THE BRANCH; and he shall spring up from his stem, and build the house of the Lord.
Zacharias 6:11-12 The Greek Septuagint (LXX) (Zechariah was translated around mid-2nd Century, B.C.E.)

Next is a Christian Orthodox version of the Jewish Bible. It contains Yiddish and Hasidic expressions, and the notes in brackets are theirs. Notes in parens are mine, did my best to provide some close translations for the Yiddish or Hasidic. The importance: this shows us some, perhaps many, have known this mystery!

11 Then take kesef and zahav (silver and gold), and make atarot (crowns), and set them upon the rosh (head of) YEHOSHUA ben Yehotzadak…
12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os (Lord Almighty or Lord of hosts): Hinei Ish (Behold), TZEMACH (the Branch) Shmo; and out of his place yitzmach (he [Moshiach] shall sprout up, Yeshayah (Isaiah) 53:2), and he shall build the Heikhal Hashem (house of God).
[Yehoshua is said to be the namesake of the coming Moshiach Ben Dovid (Messiah, son of David); see Ezra 3:8 for the Aramaic translation of Yehoshua’s name, Yeshua; see Jer 23:5; 30:9; 33:15; Ezra 3:8; Zech 3:8; Mt 2:23; Isa 4:2; 9:2-7; 11:1-12; 53:2, 11; Moshiach the new “Joshua” Isa 49:8].];
Zecharyah 6:11-12 Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)

Another prophet besides Zechariah hinted at the future name of Messiah! Listen to Isaiah 49, also in the Orthodox Jewish Bible:

6 And He said, It is too small a thing that Thou shouldest be Eved (servant) to Me to raise up (only) the Shivtei Ya’akov (tribes of Jacob), and to bring back the Netzurei Yisroel (Preserved of Israel, the She’erit); I will also give Thee for Ohr Goyim (a light to the Gentiles), that Thou mayest be MY YESHUAH (SALVATION) unto the ketzeh ha’aretz (end of the earth, or whole world). Isaiah 49:6

Friends, God outdid Himself, made it so plain and easy for those paying attention, to follow the blatant breadcrumbs to the Savior of the world: YESHUA/JOSHUA/JESUS.

And, like Peter said, there is “SALVATION in no other NAME”…

So, please, don’t be deceived when anyone, no matter how trustworthy or important they appear, tells you we are all going to Heaven, that we can get there multiple ways outside of faith/trust in Christ.

Paul said, “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are (now) clearly seen… so that they are without excuse (who do not believe).” (Romans 1:20)

Believers, please share this precious prophecy of the very NAME of Jesus through the prophet, Zechariah, with anyone needing reassurance regarding Messiah’s identity!

And, seekers, will you trust Him today? You won’t regret it. A God who took such loving care to help us find Him is worth knowing.