Title: God-given name
Contents
♡♥♡ Name given by God / John 1:35-42
*** Introduction
Everything in the world has its own name. At least the wind has a name, and even the invisible microbes have names. Because someone gives you a name. So, do you know what God's name is? Jehovah? God? God has no name. When God called Moses and sent him to the slaves in Egypt, Moses asked God. “If I go to the children of Israel and say, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' they will ask me, 'What is his name?' Said. At that time, God said, “I am who I am.” (I am who I am) “This is what you say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
So, what is ‘God’ or ‘Jehovah’? This is a commemorative title given so that people can call it. Hosea 12:5 says, “I am the LORD, the God of hosts. Jehovah is his remembrance title.” The reason there is no name is because “God does not belong to any place and exists by Himself.” Because a name indicates that you belong to something.
Today we too have names. So, you can easily guess which family you are from just by hearing the name. But those who believe in Jesus Christ have a special name. Its name is given by God. There are several names given by God Himself in the Bible. In the text, the name given to Peter along with the nickname for Jesus appears. In this time, we are going to look at the meaning of the nicknames and names that God has specially given us.
First, let's look at the overall background of the text.
The words of this text are part of the meeting between John the Baptist and Jesus. At the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus came to John to be baptized. When John saw Jesus coming to him, he said, “Look! I am the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” This is not because of worldly friendship, but because of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, confessing the Lord. Let's look at verses 33-34. “I did not know him either, but the man who sent me, 'Baptize with water,' said to me, 'When you see the Holy Spirit descending and abiding on anyone, know that he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' I have testified that you are the son of
The day after Jesus was baptized, while John was with two of his disciples, he saw Jesus walking around. John said to his disciples, “Look! It is the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard this and followed Jesus. The two disciples asked to show the dwelling place where Jesus was living, and after confirming the dwelling place, they became convinced that it was the ‘Messiah’ and became Jesus’ disciples. One of them was ‘Andre’. Andrew went first to his older brother Simon. We came to Jesus together, telling him, “We have found the Messiah.” When Jesus saw Simon coming, he said, “You are Simon the son of John, and you will be called Cephas.”
In this verse we see two names given by God. One is the “Lamb of God” given by Jesus as a nickname, and the other is the nickname “Ceba” given to Andrew’s older brother Simon. What do these names mean? Why did you give it this nickname?
1. It indicates that God is the leader of life history.
In John 1, the story that begins in verse 19 is connected with the words “the next day” in verse 29, “the next day” in verse 35, and “the next day” in verse 43. This is a special emphasis on the successive occurrence of the written Word. Why did it have to be shown as a sequence of events? In addition, John the Baptist called Jesus “the Lamb of God” and said to Simon, whom the Lord first encountered, “he will call him Cephas.” Then let's reconstruct the events in a row.
John the Baptist said to the people who had gathered in the wilderness, “He is the one who prepares the way for Jesus.” He said that his purpose was to prepare the way for Jesus, who would accomplish great things. And the very next day, Jesus came to John to be baptized. The day after Jesus was baptized, he accepted the apostles John, Andrew, and Simon as disciples. And on the third day after his baptism, he called Philip and Nathanael (Bartholomew), and performed the first miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee.
In a word, the history of life shows that God is in control. For 400 years at the end of the Old Testament era, God was silent, and he sent John the Baptist 400 years after the prophet Malachi. John the Baptist prepared people's hearts to accept Jesus. “The time has come” Jesus revealed Himself and began His official Messiah ministry. When he began the work of the Messiah, he also called the disciples whom God had prepared. All of this did not happen by chance. It is the fulfillment of the will of God. This fact is expressed in Galatians 4:4 like this: “When the time was fulfilled, God sent his Son, of a woman, born under the law.”
It is the work of God that you believe in Jesus Christ and that you are here now. These are the things God is doing to accomplish His will. There is nothing that God does without meaning. And God's work must have a purpose.
2. It indicates that God has given life a purpose.
Michelangelo, one of the world's greatest sculptors, saw his work in a single stone rolling in the garden. One day, I saw a stone dumped in the backyard of the cathedral. After looking at the stone for a while, Michelangelo suddenly exclaimed, “David is out!”
Michelangelo did not see a useless rock that had been thrown away, but a great sculpture made by a craftsman. He is said to have carved the ‘image of David’ from that stone.
God opened the eyes of John the Baptist so that he could see the “Lamb of God” through Jesus. And looking at Simon, Jesus expressed what God would do through Simon by putting it in his name. This shows the purpose that God will accomplish through that person.
What does the name “Lamb of God” mean? There are many words to describe Jesus, such as “Messiah,” “He who will save Israel,” and “King of the Jews.” Why did John the Baptist say “The Lamb of God”? Even when we hear the nickname “the Lamb of God”, we do not easily get a sense of it. But to the Jews, “the Lamb of God” is conveyed in an immediate sense. To the Jews, “the Lamb of God” is a “sin offering”.
In addition, on July 15, the Great Day of Atonement, two sheep are sacrificed to wash away the sins of all the people. The high priest puts his hand on the sheep's head and confesses the sins of the people. They imputed the sins of men to the sheep. And one is killed and offered as a sin offering, and the other is sent alive into the wilderness. He was the Lamb of God who took the sins of men and went to death. It is, as John the Baptist expressed it, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” In other words, Jesus came to this earth to pay for the sins of our people and die.
Jesus called Andrew's older brother Simon "Ceba." ‘Ceba’ is the ‘Aramaic’ name used by the Jews at the time, and when translated into Greek, it becomes ‘Peter’. The nickname given by the Lord, 'Peter', means 'rock'. The Lord said, “I will call you Guevara.”
One day, years later, the Lord called out to His disciples, “Who do people say I am?” The disciples respond individually, as they have heard, some say 'John the Baptist', some say 'Elijah', and some say 'one of the prophets'. Jesus asked, “Who do you say I am?” Then Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The Lord said to Peter, “You are Peter. On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
Even so, Peter was not a rock. Rather, on the day that the Lord was arrested, he cursed the Lord three times and said that he did not know. After the death of the Lord, he returned to his hometown of Galilee in disappointment and frustration. However, after meeting the resurrected Lord, Peter changed, and after being filled with the Holy Spirit, he became the rock of faith that led the early church until martyrdom.
God has given us the name ‘saints’. Not only that, but he has a purpose worthy of his name. Let's look at 1 Peter 2:9. “But you are a chosen people. They are royal priests. It's a holy country. a people of his own, that you may proclaim the goodness of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” It is a nickname that God has given us, and it is a purpose. Of course, there is also the will of God working for each individual.
The God who made you live and guided you to this day has a great plan for you. Like Peter, we fall and fall and go through a lot of ups and downs, but God always accomplishes His will. Do you think, ‘Why do I have to do this difficult job!’ or ‘Why do I have to work here, in this environment!’? God, who has a purpose for a sparrow and a grass of the field, doesn't it have a purpose for us, who he created in his image? We must believe in the Lord and obey Him.
It is now week 3 of Advent. Thinking of the Lord's coming, let's think deeply about the God who directs my life and the God who gave me the purpose of my life. Let us consider the purpose for which he gave me a special name. I hope this will be an opportunity for you to realize why I have to be here and what the will of my life is. Therefore, I pray that you will fulfill the blessed life of fully obeying God's will, enjoying the reward of life, and waiting for the coming of the Lord with the good fruits of life.