The Names of Jesus - Elmer Towns

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THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE Alone with His disciples on the last night of His life here on earth, Jesus revealed two additional Jehovistic titles. The first of these is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The Greek word hados literally means “road” or “highway.” In the context of the language of a journey, Jesus is the highway to Heaven. Further, He is the only highway to Heaven. The New Testament consistently teaches an exclusiveness with respect to Christ as the only Saviour. Christ claimed to be the only Saviour (John 14:6), and the disciples acknowledged it also (Acts 4:12). This description of Christ was so characteristic of the nature of New Testament Christianity that followers of Jesus were described as being “of the way” or “this way” (Acts 9:2; 19:23; 22:4; 24:14,22). Christ was not only the way but also the truth in its most absolute nature. He is the fountain and standard of truth. This was important to the Jews. One Jewish legend reports a group of rabbis were praying in order to determine the essential nature of God when God sent a scroll down from Heaven with the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet on it. These three letters spell the Hebrew word for “truth.” Although the story is no doubt apocryphal, it does serve to illustrate the importance of truth to the Jews, especially as an attribute of God. And Jesus is the life. He is unique among men in that He has life in Himself. He is described in the context of His resurrection as a “quickening” or life-giving spirit (I Corinthians 15:45). Life is fundamental to His being and is described early in the fourth Gospel as the life which was the light of all men (John 1:4). THE TRUE VINE The second Jehovistic title Jesus revealed that night in the Upper Room was “I am the Vine” (John 15:1,5). Vineyards were so plenteous in Israel that the vine became a national symbol. A golden vine had been engraved over the temple-gate area, and it had been used on coins minted during the Maccabean revolt. Throughout the Old Testament, God had used the image of a vine or vineyard to describe the nation (Psalm 80:8; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 2:21; Ezekiel 15; 19: 10; Hosea 10:1) . When Jesus called Himself the true vine, He was obviously drawing a parallel between Israel and Himself. The Greek word alethine, meaning “true,” is repeatedly used in the Gospel of John to distinguish the reality and genuineness of Jesus in contrast to that which is false and unreal. Although in the Old Testament God often talked of Israel as a vine, the image always appears in a negative sense. In contrast, Jesus is the real or genuine vine, a vine that is cared for and carefully pruned by the husbandman and a vine characterized by consistent fruit-bearing. Israel was never a vine like this; the nation was a spurious vine that produced sour grapes. IAM...IAM The Greek expression ego eimi is used in the context of each of the above Jehovistic claims of Jesus. Simply using the verb eimi would have been enough if Jesus had wanted only to draw a parallel between Himself and something else, but the addition of ego to this expression draws attention to emphasis. On several occasions Jesus used the expression which includes an
emphatic subject and verb but failed to supply the predicate (cf. John 4:26; 8:58; 18:5,6,8). This was not a failure on the part of Christ to complete a sentence but, rather, an affirmation of His being Jehovah (cf. Exodus 3:14). On at least one occasion His statement was understood by those who heard it in this light, for they responded by picking up stones to kill Jesus for blasphemy (John 8:58-59). On another occasion, the uttering of this name was apparently accompanied by a revelation of His glory, which caused the soldiers who had come to arrest Him to fall back under His power (John 18:5-8). Jesus used this expression not just to assert His claims to be like Jehovah but to demonstrate that He was Jehovah. CONCLUSION Jesus is the Jehovah of the Old Testament. All of the names of Jehovah in the Old Testament, therefore, may be applied legitimately to Him (see appendix). He is the eternal contemporary who meets our every need. G. Campbell Morgan once suggested that we could better understand experientially the name Jehovah, I Am, if the verb “to be” were translated “to become.” The significance of this name is that Jehovah (Jesus) is and will become to us exactly what we need when we feel that need. In this sense, it is an intensely personal and subjective name of Jesus. What has Jesus become to you recently? For Discussion: 1. What is important about the I AM's of the eight Jehovistic titles of Christ? How do they reflect His deity? 2. What is the purpose of bread? How does Christ fulfill this purpose for believers? 3. What did Christ mean when He described Himself as light? 4. Relate the function of a door to Christ's ministry. What does it mean to go in and out? 5. How is Christ a good shepherd? 6. What twofold promise is extended because of Christ's title of Resurrection and Life? 7. When Christ said “I am . . . I am,” what did He imply? What do we know about Christ because of these Jehovistic titles?
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THE NAMES OF JESUS Over 700 names o
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INTRODUCTION CONTENTS PART ONE: OUR
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5. THE NAME OF THE LORD (JEHOVAH) I
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CHAPTER ONE THE NAME OF JESUS “An
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One who made this world and created
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has certainly inspired its share of
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THE MEANING OF THIS NAME In calling
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Lordship means surrender. In a meet
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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 and 26: 2. How did Christ fulfill His offic
Page 27 and 28: Isaiah 11:1, was choter, this refer
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: THE DOOR When Jesus identified Hims
Page 73 and 74: members of His body, retain an inde
Page 75 and 76: Because Jesus is the vine and we ar
Page 77 and 78: CHAPTER TWELVE THE APOCALYPTIC NAME
Page 79 and 80: The second of these three titles in
Page 81 and 82: to be encouraged that he was in the
Page 83 and 84: The second name John records in thi
Page 85 and 86: A-21 APPENDIX THE NAMES AND TITLES
Page 87 and 88: A Cleft of the Rock (Exodus 33:22)
Page 89 and 90: A Friend that Sticketh Closer than
Page 91 and 92: The Horn of David (Psalm 132:17) Th
Page 93 and 94: Lord Also of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28
Page 95 and 96: An Owl of the Desert (Psalm 102:6)
Page 97 and 98: A Rock of Offense (Romans 9:33) The
Page 99 and 100: A Strength to the Needy in Distress
Page 101 and 102: Y-2 The Yokefellow (Matthew 11:29-3
Page 103 and 104: Thou Who Saveth by Thy Right Hand (
Page 105 and 106: Hamelech Jehovah - The Lord the Kin
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The Names of Jesus - Elmer Towns

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