Do You Know His Name?
A dear friend of mine is about to have a baby! The proud parents have revealed her gender, but her name remains a secret. All their other children begin with the letter “J.” This has prompted some interesting dinner-table discussions (at times approaching competitive levels) as we attempt to guess the name while awaiting her arrival. Will she have a popular name – Jenny, Joy, Jean? Or will her name be more unusual – Jasmine, Jamimiah, or Jacoba? (yes, it’s real, just google “unusual J names for girls.”) Whether they choose a more common name or unusual one, I’m sure it will be beautiful!
Recently, I read about a guy who had a very unusual name – Bartimaeus. (pronounced: Bar-ti-MAY-us). He was a blind man and a beggar. (See Mark 10).
His short story goes like this. Jesus and his disciples left the city of Jericho. When Bartimaeus found out Jesus was passing his way, he called out “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The people present were not thrilled with his antics and basically told him to shut up! But Bartimaeus persisted, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and asked, “What do you want.”
“Rabbi, I want to see.”
Then Jesus, being the loving, compassionate Savior that He is, healed him on the spot.
That’s it. That’s the story. At first glance this looks like just one of the many miracles that showed Jesus’ power and awesome love. But what struck me when reading this was the names Bartimaeus used when he called out:
Jesus – which means “Savior”
Son of David – a Messianic title of the long-awaited Deliverer
Rabbi – meaning “Teacher”
How did he know all that about Jesus? It’s unlikely that they had ever met.
Bartimaeus had obviously heard about Him. Maybe someone else had encountered Jesus told Bartimaeus. Perhaps he had managed to get close enough to hear Him preach and teach. We don’t know.
What we do know is Bartimaeus, although blind, recognized Jesus as his Savior and Lord.
A lot of people today have also heard the name “Jesus” – maybe in a line of cuss words or seen on a billboard.
Many have heard the name, but don’t know the Man.
Many are even “blinder” than Bartimaeus was.
Some know Him as a prophet, a good teacher. A man who lived a moral life.
He certainly is all that, but He’s so much more.
He is the promised Messiah, Savior, and Risen Lord. The Bible has all sorts of names for Jesus.
Now, here’s the cool part. Even if you only know Jesus from billboards and expletives, He knows you and He knows YOUR NAME. He knows you because He made you and He loves you.
The Bible says in Psalm 139 – “You knit me together in my mother’s womb…my frame was not hidden from you.” (vs. 13/15).
He knows all about your life, your problems, your worries.
“You know when I sit and when I rise. You perceive my thoughts from afar.” (Psalm 139: 2)
He knows your past, your present and your future. The Bible tells us He even knows the number of hairs on your head! (Matthew 10:30)
He wants you to know Him, too.
He invites all of us to read His book, the Holy Bible, and learn about His life and what He’s done for the world. He wants to help us, be our friend, and bring peace through a living faith relationship with Him.
Do you know Him? Or do you just know about Him. If not, I invite you, like Bartimaeus, to call out His name.
If you do know Him, who in your life needs His healing touch? We need to share His name with everyone we meet!
Philippians 2:9-11 says “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 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
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