Below is a song by a talented group called Voices of Lee, from Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. When you see the group move toward the front of the church and onto the platform, you may wonder what the member off to the right is doing. You’ll soon discover he is one of those who can use his mouth to make himself into a human percussion instrument.  Some of the members of the group have competed on American Idol  and The Voice and have finished well. Though some of their names may have become well known, in this video they are singing about the name that is above every other name—the name of Jesus Christ. Click on the video to see and hear their presentation.

Why is the name of Jesus so beautiful to us? One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Isaiah 61:1-2.   As with many Bible prophecies, God masterfully planned for the same prophecy to be fulfilled more than once. The earlier fulfillment sometimes foreshadows a fulfillment with a far greater impact. Such is the case with this passage. The prophet Isaiah was prophesying about the Jews who would be released from captivity in Babylon. But there was another much more far-reaching and beautiful fulfillment later.

Luke 4 records that at the very beginning of Jesus’ public ministry He went to the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth one day. In Luke 4:18-19 it is recorded that He stood up and read the passage in Isaiah 61:1-2. It has been translated from the New Testament writings in this way in the NIV version: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

After Jesus read the passage, He made a startling statement. Luke 4:21 records that He said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” At first the people said positive things about the gracious words they had heard from this man who was only the son of a carpenter, Joseph. Perhaps they thought He was predicting freedom from the Roman oppression they were suffering at the time. However, Jesus then made comments predicting their rejection of Him as a prophet, compared it to Israel’s rejection of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, and implied that their rejection would result in the Gentiles (non-Jews) getting the blessings. The people became furious. How dare this carpenter’s son call Himself a prophet, criticize them, and imply their blessings would be given to the Gentiles? They ran Him out of town and would have run Him over a cliff if He hadn’t escaped through the crowd.

I read Matthew Henry’s commentary to gain more insight into this passage, and I discovered something very interesting. In the synagogues of that time there would be seven readers of Scripture on every Sabbath, their holy day of worship on Saturday. First a priest would read, then someone from the Levite tribe, then five other Israelites who were members of that particular synagogue. Jesus was apparently one of the five that day. The Scripture He read was not of His choosing, according to Matthew Henry. It would have been the passage prescribed to be read in the course of their study. It must have been in God’s providence that Jesus would be assigned to read that particular passage.

When Jesus read that passage, He had recently been baptized by John the Baptist as an example of doing what is right for all those of faith. At His baptism, the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. This was the sign of His Father’s anointing for His ministry. Although Jesus was divine, He had willingly confined Himself to a human body. He would need the help of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus would “preach the good news to the poor.” The good news was that “the kingdom of God was near.” His death on the cross would open the door for the New Covenant to go into effect. Because He would replace the animal sacrifices offered by the priests with the sacrifice of His own blood, all those with faith in Him would be able to approach God directly. (See Hebrews 9:11-14; 4:16). It is the poor who are humble enough to realize their need for a Savior. The rich often feel self-sufficient. It’s possible for some of the rich to be “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3), which is believed to mean humble in realizing  spiritual poverty.

Jesus would “proclaim freedom for the prisoners.” Under the New Covenant of Jesus’ blood, the Holy Spirit could reside within every believer. Every believer could have the power of the Holy Spirit to break the chains of their captivity to their sinful nature. (See John 4:16-17, 4:26; John 16:5-11; Galatians 5:16-24.)

Jesus would proclaim “recovery of sight to the blind.” Not only would He heal some who suffered from physical blindness, but He would bring light to all those in spiritual darkness. His teachings and example would give light to the world. In John 1:9 the Apostle John wrote of Jesus’ coming, “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” Jesus called Himself “the light of the world” in John 8:12.

Jesus was sent to “release the oppressed.” We were crushed by the weight of our sin. But by Jesus death on the cross, we were set free from our guilt and the expectation of punishment. Instead, by faith in Jesus’ horrific death in payment for our sins, we could look forward to a life of friendship with God while on earth and eternity in Heaven rather than punishment in Hell. The beloved evangelist Billy Graham, who recently went to claim his eternal inheritance, once said this: “Sin’s masterpiece of shame and hate became God’s masterpiece of mercy and forgiveness. Through the death of Christ upon the cross, sin itself was crucified for those who believe in Him.”

Lastly, Jesus would “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” In the original fulfillment of the passage in Isaiah, the “year of the Lord’s favor” is considered to be what was called the “Year of Jubilee.” In that year, all debts were cancelled. What a great picture of the favor that Jesus would proclaim. Through His death on the cross, our sin debt would be completely cancelled if we would turn away from our sin and believe in Him.

The Sacred Name of Jesus

Although the name of Jesus is something very sacred, I fear many of us who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus have become careless about the use of His name. He is the Son of God—the second person of the Trinity. Social media has helped us become desensitized to misuse of God’s name since OMG has become one of the most popular expressions used. I have even heard a couple of people on a Christian network say, “Oh, my God!” It’s become so commonplace that I don’t know whether they even realized they were saying it. Then one day I realized that I thought nothing of saying “Oh, Lord!” Is that really any better than saying, “Oh, my God”?

What About the Word “Holy”?

I even started thinking about the fact that the word “holy” is a very special word. In Revelation 4:8 the Bible tells us that the “four living creatures” in Heaven continually say “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty . . .” “Holy” is also part of the Holy Spirit’s name. And “holy” is what God wants believers to strive to be. Many people say “Holy cow!” (Actually, it’s sad that cows really are considered holy in some countries of the world. I recently heard someone on television tell of an instance of seeing a malnourished little girl in another country walking past a fat “sacred cow” with a plate of beautiful fruit to offer to a god made of human hands, who could do nothing for her.) Maybe you say, “Holy” something else! Fill in the blank. “Holy  _​?_!”  I guess it’s kind of a “gray area” since the Bible doesn’t specifically forbid using the word “holy” carelessly. But for myself, I think I will feel better if I am careful how I use that word. Remembering God’s great love for us in sending His only Son to die for us and Jesus’ great love in willingly suffering the horrible death of the cross, I want to be more careful about being respectful with my words.

Below is another song about the sacredness of the name of Jesus. This might be a good time to think about all that is embodied in His name.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM  Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.TM