JEEEESUS CHRIST !?@#?!?!?#

OK, so I have tried to be good and use the white bread Greek method of referring to the guy about whom the New Testament was written – Jesus Christ.

I can’t keep using this name to refer to Him for several reasons:

1) Jesus is some Greek bastardization of Yeshua or Yehoshua. Since his name would have been spoken and written in Hebrew and/or Aramaic, anything we come up with will be a transliterated approximation anyway, but anything is better than Jesus. Some have suggested that the name Jesus (particularly as Hispanics pronounce it) is related to the God Zeus. Be that as it may, I want to call Him something approximating what His friends called Him and they most assuredly did not call Him Jesus.

2) Christ is an anglicization of Christos which refers to one who is anointed. As I understand it, the Greeks anointed all kinds of people including wrestlers, temple prostitutes, etc. The Hebrew term Mashiach, from which we get the anglicized word Messiah, refers to a very special and unique Anointed One. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any confusion in my own mind or anyone else’s about who I am referring to when I talk about the Anointed One

3) I don’t know how it happened but when I drop something heavy on my toes I am often heard to exclaim Jeeesus Christ!!! I suppose the commonplace quality of that name has lent itself to being used for all kinds of inappropriate reasons. The Hebrews probably used their prohibition of uttering the Name of The Ancient of Days for the purpose of not letting God’s name become common and used for all kinds of common purposes. Fortunately, the majestic sounding name Yeshua Ha Mashiach has never become a part of common parlance and is thus nicely preserved for discussing The Son of Man.

4) While the Greeks achieved some remarkable things in this world, I think their language and world view are ill suited to discussing a first century, Hebrew speaking Jew from Israel. I think language affects understanding and perception profoundly and, while I love Greek flavor in my food, I much prefer a Hebrew savor to my Bible.

5) Hebrew is much more lyrical than Greek. The patterns and rhythms of Hebrew words are just inherently more beautiful. A songwriter I met who wrote most of his songs in Hebrew told me that he read Hebrew and melodies revealed themselves. If you listen to his melodies, (Shabbat Menucha is a good one to listen to) you will be astonished at their beauty.

6) Discussions can be had with Jewish people regarding Mashiach without having to argue about Jesus. Jews generally acknowledge that a Mashiach is to come and it is not really necessary to argue about whether he has been here before. Back when I used to think I was supposed to talk to my Jewish friends about Jesus, a good Jewish friend said to me:

When The Messiah comes I am going to ask him if he has been here before. If he says yes then you win. If he says no then I win.

One of the things I like best about this story is that it captures the fact that, in large measure, our desire to convert is about winning a personal victory. I have decided to try to win victories for the King of The Universe instead.

In the final analysis the name Yeshua Ha Mashiach has so much more power and poetry to it than Jesus Christ. I hope using it from now on won't be too confusing.