“And he sat down, and he called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be the first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.“
Mark 9:35-37
In the Name
In the spirit of truth, the purpose of this website, I want to dig deeper into a common phrase used in prayer: “in the name of Jesus.” I addressed this topic in more detail in one of my more recent videos, Freeing Jesus. Yeshua ha’ Mashiach or Jesus the Christ, as we have come to identify him, made specific assertions about things that he told his disciples they could accomplish “in his name.” I believe that much of the gospel of Christ has been lost in translation due to this misunderstanding.
More importantly, as the scripture above demonstrates, Christ often made deliberate efforts to give credit for his life and words to the Father. I believe this is crucial to understanding the life and messages of Christ who, in his prayer in John 17, acknowledged that the words he spoke were from the Father. Furthermore, yeshua in Hebrew means salvation!
His life and purpose of salvation was a continuation of the same salvation from captivity and death in Egypt where Passover was instituted. The “rite” we identify as communion was an extension or an elaboration of the Father’s salvation from the death that was punishment for Egypt, which brought about Israel’s salvation from captivity.
When we speak or act in his name, what salvation are we trying to bring about? Even the salvation of the children of Israel from Egypt was a process that included the enemies’ pursuit. Are our expectations and intentions truly a reflection of the Father’s gift of salvation? Let us examine ourselves and be sure of our motives and understanding when speaking in the name of Jesus.
