Bearing God's Name

by Carmen Joy Imes

  And then it’s over. As quickly as it started, Moses and Elijah are gone. Jesus rouses his disciples from their trembling face plant and they return down the mountain. But what they saw they will not soon forget.

  Before we leave this mountain, we must ask what it means for followers of Jesus today. New Testament scholar Michael Kibbe recently wrote that the story of the transfiguration is not just about a revelation of Jesus’ divine identity, it’s also about us. The key to this connection is Jesus’ shining face. Perhaps you remember Moses’ experience on the mountain: “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD” (Exodus 34:29). Each time Moses meets with Yahweh, his face glows as he relays Yahweh’s message to the people.

  Paul reflects on this in his second letter to the church in Corinth. He says, “He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). Paul goes on to compare his ministry with the ministry of Moses in chapter three. Moses’ radiance gradually faded and needed constant renewal. For that reason, the glory Moses experienced pales in comparison with Jesus’ glory, which never fades. But here’s the payoff: “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Instead of fading, our glory gets brighter and brighter.

  Moses’ face shone when he saw Yahweh, but he veiled it because the Israelites could not bear to look at it (Exodus 34:29-35). Our faces also reflect God’s glory, and we experience transformation so that we look more and more like him. Jesus’ transfiguration offers us a preview of our own transfiguration: It points to the new creation.

  Jesus’ resurrection is the first glimpse we get of new creation. He’s called the “firstborn from among the dead” (Colossians 1:18). He is not simply resuscitated, as Lazarus and Talitha and others are, for those others will die again. Not Jesus. Jesus is raised to a different kind of life. He can eat and drink, but he’s also able to walk through walls. His body will no longer decay. He will never die. Jesus is the first to enter the renewed creation. His bodily resurrection is our assurance—proof positive—that we will be raised to that kind of life as well. As we gaze at him, we begin to reflect that new creation glory.

  Kibbe explains, “If the light of the gospel has shone in our hearts, we are responsible to make that light as visible as possible to those around us.”13 Jesus shines, not so that we can soak it in for ourselves, but so that we can reflect the glory to others.

  DIGGING DEEPER

  *Richard Bauckham. Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other Studies on the New Testament’s Christology of Divine Identity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.

  R. T. France. The Gospel of Matthew. NICNT. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007.

  Richard B. Hays. Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2016.

  *Michael Harrison Kibbe. “Our Future in the Face of Jesus.” Christianity Today. July/August 2017, 66-69.

  Related videos from The Bible Project: “God,” “Messiah,” and “Heaven and Earth.”

  9

  BLOB TAG

  The Mission of Jesus

  NO OTHER NAME: JESUS, NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES

  I once babysat a four-year-old boy who refused to answer to his given name, Steven. If I wanted his attention, I had to call him “Darkwing Duck.” So complete was his obsession with Darkwing Duck that he learned how to read a clock and memorized the TV schedule. Missing an episode would have been worse than missing dessert. He loved to “fly” around the house in a cape, jumping off couches and announcing, “I am the terror that flaps in the night. I am Darkwing Duck!” Coming from a kid who was not yet fully potty trained, this was even more amusing than his cartoon hero’s notoriously lame entrances. Although he insisted on the name Darkwing Duck, he didn’t fool anyone. He was still Steven.

  Names are important. To change a name indicates a change of identity. Although we’ve seen evidence of Jesus’ self-understanding as one who bears Yahweh’s name, the early church elevated the name of Jesus. From its earliest days, the church uses Jesus’ name in ways reminiscent of the Old Testament’s use of Yahweh’s name. Reverence transferred seamlessly from Yahweh to Jesus, without explanation or apology. Here’s a prime example: on the day of Pentecost, Peter declares that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit witnessed by the crowds fulfills Joel’s prophecy and signals that the “latter days” have arrived. Peter’s extended quotation from Joel 2 concludes with the words, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord (kyrios) will be saved” (Acts 2:21; cf. Joel 2:32). In Joel, that name is Yahweh, signified in our English translations by “the LORD” in all caps. For Joel, Yahweh brings salvation to the remnant. Since kyrios is the Greek word that normally translates Yahweh in the Old Testament but also designates the “Lord” (or “master”) Jesus in the NT, the significance of Peter’s quotation is not immediately evident. Is Peter saying that those who call on Yahweh will be saved? Or those who call on Jesus?

  Later in the narrative Peter clarifies by healing a lame man “in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 3:6) and declaring, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Appearing so soon after his quotation of Joel, Peter’s statement presents a paradox: no other name but Yahweh and no other name but Jesus. The salvation available only to those who called on Joel’s kyrios, Yahweh, is now found exclusively in Peter’s kyrios, Jesus. Peter is convinced that Jesus of Nazareth is Yahweh in the flesh, “God with us.”1

  Elsewhere in the book of Acts people call on Jesus’ name (9:14, 21; 22:16), are baptized in his name (2:38; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5; cf. Matthew 28:19), perform healing in his name (4:7-10), teach in his name (4:18; 5:28), do signs and wonders in his name (4:30), proclaim his name (8:12), have faith in his name (3:16), and receive forgiveness in his name (10:43). The shift in focus from the name of Yahweh to the name of Jesus is maintained through the rest of the New Testament. Remarkably, none of the New Testament apostles teach otherwise. Let’s look at three sample texts—from Philippians, Hebrews, and Revelation—to show the pervasiveness of the practice of elevating Jesus’ name in the early church. Later we’ll consider how it relates to the theme of bearing Yahweh’s name.

  The hymn of Philippians 2 ascribes to Jesus the “the name that is above every name” (v. 9).2 Significantly, it also echoes Isaiah 45:23, one of the most important monotheistic texts in the Hebrew Bible. Yahweh had announced, “I am God and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22), adding, “Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear” (45:23). In Philippians 2:9-11, Paul applies these words to Jesus (emphasis added):

  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

  and gave him the name that is above every name,

  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

  in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

  and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

  to the glory of God the Father.

  Here Jesus is drawn into a role that Yahweh himself was expected to fulfill. Bearing Yahweh’s name (the “name above every name”), Jesus receives worship that belongs to God alone, and yet somehow God the Father is still glorified. As explained earlier, kyrios stands for the proper divine name, Yahweh, throughout the Greek Old Testament and into the New Testament. Therefore, the “name above every name” is not “Jesus.” Rather, he is given “the name” LORD (kyrios), which is Yahweh. Knees will bow at the name that belongs to Jesus, that is, Yahweh.3

  The author of Hebrews applies a string of Old Testament quotations to Jesus to attest his superiority to the angels, explicitly because of his superior name (1:4), a name he subsequently proclaims (2:12). Hebrews 1:8-9 quotes Psalm 45:6-7, where the king is call
ed elohim, or god, meaning that he is considered a resident of the divine realm. The king governs on God’s behalf, so his rule has other-worldly implications. Speaking to the anointed human king, the psalmist says in verse 6,

  Your throne, O god, will last for ever and ever;

  a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

  However, the Psalm also attributes blessing and anointing to the king’s God in verse 7:

  You love righteousness and hate wickedness;

  therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions

  by anointing you with the oil of joy.

  Quoting this psalm is an ideal way for the author of Hebrews to emphasize Jesus’ divine status without implying Yahweh’s replacement.4 Hebrews highlights Jesus’ exalted messianic kingship (1:5), the call to worship him (1:6), his dominion (1:8-9), and his status as creator (1:10-12).

  Finally, John’s visions in the book of Revelation reveal a man called “Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11) and “Word of God” (19:13). His thigh is inscribed “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (19:16) and he exercises the dominion of Yahweh (19:15; cf. Psalm 2:9). The man wore many crowns inscribed with a secret name (Revelation 19:12), reminiscent of the high priestly diadem inscribed with Yahweh’s name (Exodus 28:36-37).5 Thus John’s vision presents a vibrant image of Jesus as one whose character and reputation were identical to Yahweh’s, who bore the unique name of the Father, and carried out his will among the nations.

  The New Testament clearly and consistently portrays Jesus as bearing the name above all names. Jesus, wearing the invisible tattoo of a covenant member that marks him as belonging to Yahweh, models for his followers what it means for them to bear Yahweh’s name as well. But he alone receives the worship due Yahweh because he is Yahweh in the flesh.

  The early church arrived at this conclusion for a variety of reasons. We saw some of them in the previous chapter, with his authority as paramount. Jesus’ authority is most clearly seen in his instructions to his disciples. Believers are sent in his name into all the world to do God’s will.

  SENT: SAUL’S COMMISSION

  Last year I was asked to organize onsite registration for a conference. We were expecting as many as 1,000 people in attendance, so I could not do it on my own. Although it was my responsibility to ensure a smooth check-in process, I would need the help of several other volunteers. I decided to recruit more people than was strictly necessary so that I would not need to sit at the registration table myself. This freed me up to oversee the process, visit with participants, and count how many were in attendance. When the volunteers arrived, I gave them a brief orientation as to their duties and then released them to carry out our mission.

  Jesus understands that he has a job to do. He commits himself to bring honor to the Father’s name. But he is not under the impression that it is all up to him to accomplish this. As my pastor, Alvin Beuchert, said in a recent sermon, “Jesus finished all the work God gave him to do, but he did not finish all the work.”6 Just as he was sent to do the Father’s will, so he sends his disciples into the world. They are commissioned to carry out his mission (Matthew 10:1-20; John 13:20).

  Acts 9 contains one of the most explicit and surprising references to bearing the name in the New Testament. Saul is a Jewish leader committed to stamping out the worship of Jesus.7 In fact, when we join his story, he’s on his way to Syria to find followers of Jesus and take them as prisoners. Along the road, Jesus appears to him in a blinding vision, knocking him to the ground. Meanwhile, the Lord tells a disciple of Jesus in Damascus named Ananias, one of those in Saul’s crosshairs, to seek him out and pray for his eyesight to be restored. Ananias is understandably nervous (Acts 9:13-14). However, the Lord assures him, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to bear my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15).8 Saul’s destiny is to suffer for the sake of Jesus’ name (Acts 9:16). As Jesus had predicted before the transfiguration, his disciples must take up their cross (Matthew 16:24-25). That’s exactly what Saul goes on to do—experiencing persecution, and ultimately expressing a willingness to die for Jesus’ name (Acts 21:13; see 9:29). Saul is sent.

  IN JESUS’ NAME

  Jesus calls on his followers to lose their lives for his sake (Matthew 16:25) and to leave home for the sake of his name (Matthew 19:29; Mark 10:29). He delegates authority to them over sickness, demons, and even death (Matthew 10:8; 28:18-19; Mark 3:13-15; 6:7; Luke 9:1; 10:17-20; 22:28-30), promising to do what they asked in his name (John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:23-26). As a result of their obedience, they suffer for his name (Acts 5:41; 9:16), just like he did. He has passed the baton.

  However surprising this is, Saul’s commission as Christ’s ambassador is not unique. He expects believers to imitate him the way he imitates Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:1; Ephesians 5:1), saying that they are children of God (Romans 1:6-7). Belonging to Christ is expected to result in behavior consistent with a profession of faith (2 Timothy 2:19).

  Why would there be any connection at all between believers’ behavior and Jesus’ name? Because they bear his name. Christ’s coming had ushered in a new era of redemption, but the mission was the same: while Israel’s task had been to bear Yahweh’s name among the nations, the church is now to bear Jesus’ name among the nations.

  BLASPHEMING GOD’S NAME

  Paul is not alone in teaching that believers represent Jesus. Other New Testament writers also highlight this. James, for example, reminds believers that those exploiting them blaspheme “the noble name of him to whom you belong” (James 2:7). The awkward Greek sentence (“the noble name which is invoked over you”) mirrors the Hebrew phrase so often used to describe the Israelites as those called by his name (see Deuteronomy 28:10).9

  When Christians fail to live uprightly, it has the same effect as Israel’s disobedience in the Old Testament—the name is blasphemed. Paul urges his Jewish listeners in Rome not to boast that they possess the Torah while breaking it and causing the name to be blasphemed (Romans 2:24). Similarly, he warned those who participated in communion “unworthily” (1 Corinthians 11:27), or who failed to persevere in their faith (1 Corinthians 15:2; 10:36; 2 Corinthians 6:1). Christians were not even to associate with a so-called “brother” who acted rebelliously (1 Corinthians 5:11). Instead, they were to represent God through their testimony (1 Corinthians 15:15) and through their behavior (2 Corinthians 4:11), shining like stars in an ungodly generation (Philippians 2:14-15). Paul prays that the Thessalonians will walk worthy of their calling so that Jesus’ name may be glorified (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12). Throughout the New Testament, believers’ behavior affects Jesus’ reputation.

  Israel’s task had been to bear Yahweh’s name among the nations, the church is now to bear Jesus’ name among the nations.

  Jesus’ last words to his disciples underscore his own authority to send them as his emissaries. They also sound a lot like Moses’ commission of Joshua (see Deuteronomy 31:23 and Joshua 1:1-9).10

  All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20, emphasis added)

  What are they sent to do? Make more disciples by baptizing others in the name and teaching them to obey. Faithful obedience, as always, is key to the mission. Once baptized, these new followers will also bear his name, and they will also be watched. As Jesus’ representatives, they are promised his presence (“with you always”) while they live out their vocation. New Testament scholar Richard Hays points out, “In Matthew’s concluding commissioning scene, Jesus assumes the roles both of Moses (authoritative teacher departing) and of God (continuing divine presence).”11

  Jesus finished all the work God gave him to do, but he did not finish all the work. He sent his disciples to do it, and he never promised it wou
ld be easy.

  TOUGH GOING: SUFFERING FOR JESUS’ NAME

  It should come as no surprise that Peter tells followers of Jesus to expect suffering. He’s the one who opposed the idea so fiercely in the first place and was rebuked by Jesus for it (Matthew 16:21-28). On that occasion, Jesus explained, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Belonging to God does not guarantee that things will be easy. In fact, it guarantees the opposite. The logic is simple: Jesus suffered. We follow Jesus’ example. Therefore we’ll suffer. Suffering is part of the pathway to glory.

  Peter encourages us in spite of the pain:

  Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. (1 Peter 4:12-14, emphasis added)

  But don’t be an idiot, Peter warns:

  If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. (1 Peter 4:15-16, emphasis added)

  We can’t be a jerk and then claim that we’re suffering for Jesus when consequences come. Those to whom Peter was writing suffered in part due to the radically countercultural nature of Christianity at that time. Believers living faithfully for Christ today in cultures that have had a Christian presence for many centuries may not encounter suffering for their faith in the same ways.12 But if we do, we’re in good company.