What Is In a Name

This week we are looking at the sermon that Ps Mark Scholtz preached entitled ‘What’s in a Name’. In this ermon, we look at three significant Joshuas in the Old Testament who foreshadowed Jesus and were prophetic examples of who Jesus would be to us. Joshua, son of Nun (Joshua 1:1-2)Joshua led the Israelites out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. He also led the military to take possession of the land from the enemy that was holding it. Joshua brought God’s people into a new and better life.  ‘Joshua’ means ‘the Lord is salvation’.  Our Jesus took us out of the wilderness and led us into a better land as well and delivered us from the enemy. He saved us. Hosea (Hosea 3:1-2)Hosea obeys God and marries a prostitute. After his wife is unfaithful, Hosea buys his wife back. This is a prophetic picture and shows that God will remain faithful to us and rescue his people even when we have been unfaithful to Him. Jesus paid the price and bought us back. ‘Hosea’ means ‘salvation’ (In Hebrew, Hosea and Joshua are the same).Joshua, son of Jehozadak (Nehemiah 7) After the Israelites were in exile for 70 years, Joshua delivered God’s people from exile and supported the effort to rebuild the temple to reestablish God’s people back into the Promised Land. Joshua was a high priest.In Zech 6:11 we see that God instructs Zechariah to place a crown on Joshua signifying that he is not only a high priest but also a king. He was the only one to have this title until Jesus. Jesus is our high priest and king.So what can we learn from these three Joshuas?Like Joshua, son of Nun, Jesus brings us through the wilderness into the promised land and defeats our enemies when we give our hearts to Him for the first time.Like Hosea, Jesus not only saves us once but remains faithful to us even when we wander away and are not faithful to Him.Like Joshua, son of Jehozadak, Jesus has the power to keep us in the promised land through the Holy Spirit even when we wander away. When we speak his name, we are declaring him to be our Saviour. What a powerful Name. (Acts 4:12) (Romans 10:13)When we become saved, we become part of the family and the family name. We get a new identity as children of God and carry the authority of that Name. He is the name above all names.