It makes me cringe when I hear the name of Jesus Christ used as a curse word. In something I read by NT Wright he pointed out that this might be seen as a backhanded compliment of sorts – as it points to the huge cultural impact Christ has had on this world. While we may not curse using the name of our Lord, do we as believers give the name of Jesus the honor it deserves? Since this post will definitely be some “thinking out loud” on my part – your thoughts will be very welcome.
Several years ago I read an antique (late 19th century) book by Sir Robert Anderson entitled “The Honor of His Name.” I recently got the book back out and was reviewing it. He expresses concern for the lack of honor given to the Lord Jesus (even by Christians) in how they refer to Him, and then he expositionally looks through the New Testament Scriptures for guidance.
He gives a few examples of his concern. In a book warehouse, one of the employees was high on a ladder, and another employee yelled up “Throw me down a Blood of Jesus” (title of a book). He was horrified to see the name of Jesus used so lightly and then decided that this was not an appropriate name for a book. (You’ll notice the name of his book is the carefully chosen The Honor of His Name, and does not even have the name of Jesus in the title.) Or he’d recently seen an advertisement for a series of lectures on Jesus, and the ad stated they would look at what Saint Mark and Saint Peter had to say about Jesus. Note it is SAINT Mark and Peter, but just plain old Jesus. If you are giving Mark and Peter the respectful title of saint, shouldn’t Jesus also be referred to as Lord or Christ?
And that is the core argument of his book – that referring to Jesus as plain Jesus is not giving Him the honor due His Name. He very carefully makes a Scriptural defense for his view, and I was fascinated by some of the things he pointed out.
The simple name Jesus is primarily used in the narrative accounts of the Gospels. In the New Testament Epistles, with a few exceptions, the plain name Jesus is not used and rather it is Lord Jesus, Christ Jesus, etc. He notes that even in the Gospels, although the simple name Jesus is used narratively, when the disciples are talking to or about Jesus, they usually refer to Him with a title of reverence. I thought it was interesting that the Gospels record at the Last Supper “Jesus took bread”; but in 1 Corinthians 11 when Paul looks back to this he states “the Lord Jesus took bread.” Take note of Paul’s opening of his letter to the Corinthians – in only 10 verses, Christ is repeatedly referred to with high honor – Christ Jesus, Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ our Lord.
That brief paragraph does not due justice to what he presents in the book. But I think he has valid observations that should give us pause. What do you think? Is this much ado about nothing?
I tend to agree with the author. While it may be okay to simply say Jesus at times depending on the circumstance, it seems we have things reversed from the Bible. Outside of the narrative Gospel accounts, Jesus is overwhelmingly referred to with titles of reverence or honor – yet we more typically today just say plain Jesus. (With chagrin, I note the title of my blog series is “It’s about Jesus.”)
I can’t help but wonder if this has anything to do with what I consider an evangelical weakness. Modern evangelicalism has done a great job emphasizing the immanent aspect of God – it is true that God came near and we can have a relationship with Him. Yet we seem to have neglected God’s transcendence. We’ve lost a reverence or healthy fear of God. [See this post: Problems with saying you have a “relationship with God”…maybe we need new terminology? or the relationship with God category section.]
– Could this be a reason why we typically call him Jesus without a title of reverence along with it? Balance is needed for the biblical tension between God’s immanence and transcendence. We can think of and relate to Jesus as a friend, but unlike our earthly friends, Jesus is also Lord, Christ, and the almighty Creator and Ruler of the universe. Perhaps a little more honor is due His Name?
Enough Light 
An alternative way to look at the Lord’s given name is that standing by itself it should bring to mind a sense of honor and praise and wonder and awe. As the old Gaither song says, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there’s just something about that name.” For me, the name Jesus is no more casual than Christ, Messiah or Lord.
In Philippians 2:9-11, Paul seems to acknowledge tacitly that the name Jesus standing alone is due the same reverence as the name joined with a title, and he presents the name both ways there:
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.
You got me thinking again, Laura!
Tim
Thanks for the feedback Tim! I was hoping for some. While the author had good arguments, I can agree with you also that the simple name Jesus has become a unique name (we all know who it is!) and reverence is implied. Since Jesus was a common first name back then, there was also a need to distinguish which Jesus it was. But that is not the case today!
By the way, the author did address some passages like Phil 2:9-11. His take is: He notes this is an exception. And emphasizes that the name Jesus in this passage is in the middle of a highly honoring exaltation of Christ section. So he uses it to further his point to avoid using the simple name Jesus. But, as you say, I think the passage can be argued the other way too – Jesus has become a name above any other name!
Hi Laura, what an interesting post! You got me thinking too.
I definitely agree that we need to accord Jesus the highest honor possible – the question is: what does that look like?
Here are my few uncollated thoughts:
* the book of Hebrews is an interesting study in this. For one thing, it is the only letter which deliberately and continuously refers to Jesus as “Jesus”, as opposed to “Christ” or “Christ Jesus”. Hebrews can hardly be accused of not giving due honor to Him, so it is worth pausing to consider why he is called “Jesus” so specifically and often in that epistle.
* Also interesting in Hebrews is chapter 1, which makes no mention of Jesus’ name or official titles, but makes the observation that the “highest name” which he inherits is that of “Son”.
* As far as the suggestion of calling him “Jesus Christ” or “Christ” alone, in lieu of simply “Jesus”, I would want to proffer this thought: I made the comment on your last post that the gospel in its simplest form is the statement that “Jesus” (the person) IS “the Christ” (the promised Messiah). His death for our sins, and our salvation by belief in him are critical, but are in my view implications of the gospel proclamation rather than the gospel itself. The evidence which the apostles continually lay out in Acts, and which Paul is (in my view) at pains to lay out in his letters is that the Jesus they saw and knew in Nazareth – the one whom everyone knew did miracles and signs and wonders, the one whom everyone knew died and rose again – THAT Jesus was God’s Christ. The resurrection was the proof of it. And so the Gospel heralds are effectively charged with running like ones with “beautiful feet bringing good news” – proclaiming that Jesus is God’s promised King. If that is a fair understanding of Paul’s gospel, then I think it sheds some light on his (and the very early church’s) emphasis on referring to Jesus as Jesus CHRIST, or just CHRIST – they wanted people to connect the Jesus of (very recent) history with the Christ they believed was coming according to the scriptures: i.e. I believe they had their own first century challenge for people to see the Jesus of history as being one and the same as the Christ of their historic faith. Hence Paul’s emphasis.
But maybe, for the Hebrews, or the believers in Philippi who knew this and were already singing hymns about him, the reference to “Jesus” was honor enough?
I am all for a better Christian understanding and usage of the word “Christ” – I think it is a term RICH with meaning and, properly understood, adds much depth to my wonder of him. However, I’ll own that I meet very few Christians who know what the New Testament means when it calls Jesus “Christ”, and so by adding that to their designation of him, would it really be showing any increased sense of worship or honor?
I don’t have answers – just lots of random thoughts. Thanks for a very interesting post!
Thanks for these thoughtful comments Bronwyn! I think a good point you bring out is that how we refer to Jesus depends on cultural context – as you mention some of the unique first century situations. And what is honoring in one situation/time/place may not be in another (and vice versa). I agree.
The author of this book did address Hebrews. He noted that the plain name Jesus is used in only 8 passages in all 13 Pauline epistles, but in Hebrews plain Jesus is used 8 times. That is a lot for Hebrews and a contrast. In all the cases in Hebrews, the plain name of Jesus is used either in reference to the lowly, suffering humanity of Christ or the historic facts of his ministry on earth. So he uses this to further his argument. (I only mention that so you don’t think the author was ignoring certain texts or had a sloppy argument.)
Thinking about it…I don’t think I typically have much rhyme or reason as to whether I say Jesus or Christ or Lord Jesus or Jesus Christ. I think it just depends on the sentence or context. When I pray, for example, I usually say Lord Jesus – just a habit? I named this series “It’s about Jesus” really just because it sounded better or smoother for a title. Etc.
I really appreciated your random thoughts – which actually weren’t that random! : )
I take the “low” view on this. Jesus said he calls his disciples “friends” and we should call God “Father” or “Dad”. He said he was more interested in our actions than our words – it is easy to give deference insincerely.
I think we give him much more honour by living in a sacrificial way, serving others and allowing him to guide us, than by the words we use. We in the rich west find that much harder!
Thanks for commenting unkleE! I guess I have both a “low” and “high” view, as I say at the end of my post: “We can think of and relate to Jesus as a friend, but unlike our earthly friends, Jesus is also Lord, Christ, and the almighty Creator and Ruler of the universe.” I see it as one of several different “tensions” in the Scriptures.
I agree that we need to honor Jesus in how we live. The way we live can bring great honor or great shame to the Faith. Thanks for bringing in this challenge.
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