Good morning! There’s an old hymn titled, “Jesus is the Sweetest Name I Know.” What makes His name so sweet to the Christian?

His name means “God saves,” and comes from the same derivation as the name Joshua. As God used Joshua to lead His people into the Promised Land, thus securing their “salvation” from the tyranny of Egypt (finishing what God used Moses to begin), so this served as a picture of how Jesus would be the ultimate Joshua in saving His people from their sin (Matthew 1:21).

Jesus Christ’s name is a name above every name, at whose name every knee will bow and every tongue confess (Philippians 2:9-10). Yet, we know that this name divides. Most in our culture adhere to “God” in some form, but Jesus clarifies and convicts. Taken at His Word, there is no ambiguity in what He teaches. “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). For some, Jesus’ name is sweet, for others it is sour.

Is Jesus’ name sweet or sour for you? May He be the sweetest name you know.