What was the name of Christ? When people approached Him on the street, how did they address Him?

It is becoming more popular among fringe groups in the Christian movement to try to differentiate between the names “Jesus” and “Yeshua.” Such groups advocate using “Yeshua” over “Jesus” in a supposed effort to align more with the name His family and disciples used. However, their doctrine distracts from the Gospel and causes unnecessary division among Christians.

The thing to remember when it comes to this issue is that the culture in Israel during Jesus’ day was a multilingual culture. Aramaic was the language spoken by the Jews living in the Holy Land, while Latin was the primary language of most Romans occupying the area. However, the international language of the day was Greek, which was not only used by world travelers, but was often the language of the market place.

As is the case with multilingual societies, names are often spoken differently. Take the culture around the Texas border, for instance. A young man may be known by His Spanish-speaking neighbors as “Juan,” while being referred to as “John” by his English-speaking neighbors.

The name, “Jesus,” is the English pronunciation of the Greek name, “Iesus,” which is the Greek pronunciation of the Hebrew name, “Yeshua,” which, pronounced in English would be “Joshua.”

Similarly, “Jesus” in Spanish is pronounced, “Hey-SOOS.”

The pronunciation changes from language to language, but what remains the same is the Christ to Whom the name refers, and the meaning the name conveys.

In Matthew 1, Joseph was told to name Him “Jesus,” because “He shall save His people from their sins.” The name (in Greek, Hebrew, English and Spanish) means “The Lord is Salvation.” Salvation is the Lord’s mission, and it is the very essence of His character.

The Lord came to seek and save that which is lost. Furthermore, He came to redeem and restore us, preparing us to enter into His eternal Kingdom.

One of the great tragedies of the digital age is the temptation to take alternative viewpoints in an effort to differentiate ourselves from others. We all want to be the smartest person on the internet, and a thought leader in the faith.

To do this, we often feel that we have to find a deeper truth that no one else has noticed. Then, we must leverage that to build a following.

This is not only tragic, it is sinful. This is the same thought process employed by the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, as well as the same process employed by false teachers.

The tragedy of the whole thing is that the Gospel gets completely lost in the exchange. When we lose focus on the Gospel to leverage a lesser known (and often illegitimate) doctrinal stance, we deviate from the message Christ gave us. We miss opportunities to see souls saved, we miss the redemptive power of Christ. Worse, we fail to fulfill the mission of Christ.

Christians have referred to Christ as “Jesus” for hundreds of years. Had this been offensive to God, we would know by now.

So, don’t get caught up in the name game. Praise the Lord, and fully believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Embrace His redemption, and look forward to the day He returns and establishes His Kingdom on Earth. And help others to come to experience His salvation and redemption.