He shall be called a Nazarean
In the Gospel According to Matthew, the Savior is to be known as “Emmanuel,” which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). This is not His Personal name, it is a descriptive name identifying who He is to us. He is “God with us,” Emmanuel! Also, “He shall be called a Nazarean” (Matthew 2:23, Nazarene), however, His Personal name is by revelation and is a specific name (Matthew 1:21).
Matthew 2:23 “And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, ‘He shall be called a Nazarean.’”
Question: Where did the prophets in the Old Testament prophesy, “He shall be called a Nazarean”?
Answer: There is no prophet in the Old Testament, who prophesied, “He shall be called a Nazarean”!
Question: Well then, do we know what His Personal name truly is?
Answer: The angel of the Lord said, “...you shall call His name…” (Matthew 1:21). This is a commandment, which makes the actual revealed name given to the Savior of utmost importance. Most would say that the Savior’s name is “Jesus.” Unfortunately, this name was never revealed by God, nor did God authorize the name Jesus.
Question: So it goes, did the angel say the name, “Jesus?” This is what we need to know.
Answer: No. Historically, the name Jesus has only existed in its present form since the 17th century. A change was made that caused the Savior’s supposed name to become Jesus, which was never authorized by God. In the 1611 KJV of the Bible, we find the name “Iesus.” Pronounced “ee-sus” changed to Jesus, “gee-sus,” after the year 1632. No angel gave the commandment from God to the disciples of Christ allowing them to call Christ by the name, “Jesus.” Therefore, the name Jesus is a substitute name. Iesus comes from Iesous, which is a transliteration of the name Yeshua. Because the name of the Savior is a revealed name, this kind of linguistic evolution is not honored by God, which defies His revelation and commandment. To accept a substitute name is to reject the very name revealed by God. More specifically, substitute names, such as Jesus, Iesus, or Iesous are in reality a rejection of the true revealed name of the Savior.
Question: Why does it matter what name we use, after all, I speak English so I say, “Jesus.” And someone else speaks Spanish, so they say, “Hey-zeus.” or another speaks Arabic, and they say, “Isa.” So there are many names for Christ, right?
Answer: God knows all things, but He also knows that the name that was revealed by Him was rejected for a substitute name not authorized by Him. The following Scriptures prohibit the use of any other name but the revealed name from Heaven. YAHSHUA is the revealed name commanded by God to be given to the Savior. It is an exclusive name and not to be changed. Acts 4:8 “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, 10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of YAHSHUA the Messiah of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Therefore, choose this day that you will accept the one name given among men by which we must be saved! From these three names, Jesus, Iesus, and Iesous come all the substitute names unauthorized by God around the world. The essence of the Gospel tells us we stand condemned if we reject the revealed name of the Savior by accepting a substitute name instead. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Matthew 1:20 “But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name YAHSHUA, for He will save His people from their sins.’” Consider the prophet Isaiah, who wrote, “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation’” (Isaiah 12:2 NKJV, which accurately translates from the Hebrew). Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, by His name Yah, and rejoice before Him” (Psalm 68:4 NKJV). YAH is the essential name for our salvation as expressed in the name YAHSHUA, YAH=I AM, and shua=salvation.
Question: How do we know for sure that our Savior’s one and only true name that was given for our salvation is the name YAHSHUA?
Answer: Throughout the Hebrew and New Testament Scriptures, Christ our Savior is the LORD YAH (Isaiah 44:6-8, Christ is the Rock, 1 Corinthians 10:1-4). YAH means “I AM” (Exodus 3:13-15). YAH (I AM) is the name which is above every name (Philippians 2:9). Christ told the Jews that He is YAH, as in “I AM” (John 8:58). The apostle Paul encounters Christ on the Road to Damascus, and asks “Who are you Lord?” Christ replies in Hebrew His name (Acts 26). Paul identifies in the letter to the Philippians 2:9, “He has the name which is above every name.” An angel of the LORD comes to Joseph in a dream, and says, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name YAHSHUA, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). YAHSHUA means “I AM Salvation.” The apostle Paul was very clear that in every language His name is to be the same, “and that every tongue should confess that YAHSHUA the Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11). Hebrew names very often consist of two elements: a verb and the name of God, in this case, יה (YAH), which is short for יהוה; YHWH or YaHaWaH, the living God of Israel. This name given to Moses means YAH=I AM, hawah=to be, as in ever-present, and so God’s name means I AM Ever-present.
Question: Where in the Hebrew Scripture does any of the prophets say, “He shall be called a Nazarean?”
Answer: It could not be found anywhere in the Scriptures that a prophet said, “He shall be called a Nazarean (or Nazarene). Therefore, we must take a closer look at the name Nazareth, and we found the following: Nazareth, isolated, generally supposed to be the Greek form of the Hebrew netser, a "shoot" or "sprout,” or “branch.” Matthew is telling us that He, Christ, is “the Branch,” as the prophets foretold. When we take a closer look at the word Nazarean (Nazarene) we find a meaning, a Hebrew meaning. This is what Matthew was telling us, that YAHSHUA is the Branch as spoken by the prophets. Isaiah 4:2 “In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing for those of Israel who have escaped.” Isaiah 11:1 “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
Jeremiah 23:5 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord {YAH}, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: ‘THE LORD {YAH} OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’ 7 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord {YAH}, “that they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord {YAH} lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 8 but, ‘As the Lord {YAH} lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land.” Jeremiah 33:14 ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: 15 ‘In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. Zechariah 3:8 ‘Hear, O Yeshua, the high priest, you and your companions who sit before you, for they are a wondrous sign; for behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH. Zechariah 6:12, Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: “Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place, He shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the Lord; 13 Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne; So He shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’
Therefore, the apostle Matthew was correct, “And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, ‘He shall be called a Nazarean.’” He shall be called the Nazarean, which means He is the Branch, YAHSHUA the Nazarean! Rev. Steve Marlowe
