The Names of Jesus - Elmer Towns

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CHAPTER FOUR THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETIC NAMES OF JESUS “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph “ (John 1:45). “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them, in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). It often has been said that the Old Testament is Christ concealed and the New Testament is Christ revealed, and yet, the Old Testament was the Bible by which the early church preached the gospel of Christ to a lost world. Hidden in the pages of law, history, poetry, and prophecy is a wealth of revelation concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. He is revealed in every book through types, metaphors, analogies, and indisputable titles. Although it would be impossible for us to consider every title in a single chapter, we shall discuss in this chapter several of the principal titles of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. Some important Old Testament names are omitted here because they are covered in later chapters. SHILOH One of the earliest of the titles the book of Genesis applies to the coming Messiah in the Old Testament is “Shiloh.” As Jacob was blessing his sons and prophesying concerning the twelve tribes of Israel, he said: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Genesis 49:10). The name Shiloh means “peace maker” and closely relates to one of Isaiah's birth names for Jesus, “the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). This prophecy affirms that Shiloh would come from the royal tribe of Judah, wield a temporal scepter, and possess a sovereignty of a different character. PROPHET The great prophet in the history of Israel was Moses, although before he died, he prophesied of a future Prophet that the Jews came to understand to be the coming Messiah. “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken” (Deuteronomy 18:15). This prophet would speak as a forthteller, preaching a message; as a for-teller, preaching for God; and as a fore-teller, predicting things to come. The preaching of Jesus conformed to each aspect of this prophetic preaching. THE BRANCH Our English Bible translates three Hebrew words “branch” as a name or title of Jesus. The first word, tsemach, literally refers to a green shoot or sprout growing out of an old stump. A similar word, netser, was used of a small, fresh green twig. A third word, translated “rod” in
Isaiah 11:1, was choter, this refers to a shoot growing out of a cut-down stump. These three words describe Jesus as “the Branch.” This title of Christ had both positive and negative connotations. A puzzling verse in Matthew refers to an Old Testament prophecy to the effect, “He shall be called a Nazarene” (Matthew 2:23). To be called a Nazarene by those living outside Nazareth was insulting, for the town had a reputation as the city of garbage. Even one of Jesus' first disciples asked, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). But the puzzling thing about this verse is that no verse in the Old Testament identifies Nazareth as the home of the Messiah. Most commentators argue that Matthew was here alluding to one of the Branch prophecies, having noted the similarity of sound between netser and Nazareth. Isaiah did use the word netzer in a negative sense when he said of the king of Babylon, “But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch” (Isaiah 14:19). Here the word describes a useless shoot cut off a tree and left to rot. Although Isaiah's use of the word in this context does not specifically refer to Christ, it does demonstrate how Matthew could have understood a Branch prophecy to imply that Jesus would have to live with the reputation of being a Nazarene. Positively, these words for “Branch” are used in four ways corresponding to the four Gospels in the New Testament. First, Christ is the King Branch. This corresponds to the Gospel of Matthew, which emphasizes the life of Christ as the King of the Jews. Jeremiah noted, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth” (Jeremiah 23:5). This title specifically applies to the coming kingdom of God during the millennial reign of Christ. Jesus is also spoken of as a Servant Branch. This corresponds to the Gospel of Mark, which portrays Jesus as the Servant of the Lord. The prophet Zechariah announced, “Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant, the BRANCH” (Zechariah 3:8). Jesus was not only a king but a servant. Several passages in Isaiah more fully describe this One who is the Servant of Jehovah. This Branch is described as a man. This corresponds to the unique emphasis of the Gospel of Luke, which eighty times refers to Jesus as the Son of man. Again, it was the prophet Zechariah who announced this aspect of the Branch. “And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord” (Zechariah 6:12). The final aspect of the Branch is that the Lord Himself is the Branch. This corresponds to the emphasis of the Gospel of John, which begins with a statement as to the deity of Jesus the Word. “In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for those who are escaped of Israel” (Isaiah 4:2). Again, this name specifically applies to the millennial reign of Christ still to come.
Page 1 and 2: THE NAMES OF JESUS Over 700 names o
Page 3 and 4: INTRODUCTION CONTENTS PART ONE: OUR
Page 5 and 6: 5. THE NAME OF THE LORD (JEHOVAH) I
Page 7 and 8: CHAPTER ONE THE NAME OF JESUS “An
Page 9 and 10: One who made this world and created
Page 11 and 12: has certainly inspired its share of
Page 13 and 14: THE MEANING OF THIS NAME In calling
Page 15 and 16: Lordship means surrender. In a meet
Page 17 and 18: 4:29). CHAPTER THREE THE OFFICE OF
Page 19 and 20: There are no fewer than five design
Page 21 and 22: The Anointed Priest A second anoint
Page 23 and 24: THE CHRIST IN THE NEW TESTAMENT Man
Page 25: 2. How did Christ fulfill His offic
Page 29 and 30: While I served as President of Winn
Page 31 and 32: CHAPTER FIVE THE SALVATIONAL NAMES
Page 33 and 34: Thirdly, he will be saved at the re
Page 35 and 36: story line. And when the book is co
Page 37 and 38: CHAPTER SIX THE BIRTH NAMES OF CHRI
Page 39 and 40: life on earth. As the light of the
Page 41 and 42: But in the New Testament, that rela
Page 43 and 44: Thirdly, that which is wonderful is
Page 45 and 46: functions of this One called alongs
Page 47 and 48: 5. How and when does Christ counsel
Page 49 and 50: The first of these is John 1, in wh
Page 51 and 52: who influences or guides a student
Page 53 and 54: for our failings. His defense rests
Page 55 and 56: CHAPTER EIGHT THE SONSHIP NAMES OF
Page 57 and 58: The name “only begotten Son” (J
Page 59 and 60: CONCLUSION Jesus was not only the S
Page 61 and 62: 3. The Word has active and personal
Page 63 and 64: Jesus is called “mine elect” (I
Page 65 and 66: 2. What does “accepted in the bel
Page 67 and 68: 7. I AM the True Vine John 15:1,5 8
Page 69 and 70: THE DOOR When Jesus identified Hims
Page 71 and 72: emphatic subject and verb but faile
Page 73 and 74: members of His body, retain an inde
Page 75 and 76: Because Jesus is the vine and we ar
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CHAPTER TWELVE THE APOCALYPTIC NAME
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The second of these three titles in
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to be encouraged that he was in the
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The second name John records in thi
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A-21 APPENDIX THE NAMES AND TITLES
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A Cleft of the Rock (Exodus 33:22)
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A Friend that Sticketh Closer than
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The Horn of David (Psalm 132:17) Th
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Lord Also of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28
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An Owl of the Desert (Psalm 102:6)
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A Rock of Offense (Romans 9:33) The
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A Strength to the Needy in Distress
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Y-2 The Yokefellow (Matthew 11:29-3
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Thou Who Saveth by Thy Right Hand (
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Hamelech Jehovah - The Lord the Kin
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The Names of Jesus - Elmer Towns

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