Jesus
is Yahweh (Jehovah)
Jesus is Jehovah. Thomas confessed to the resurrected Christ,
“My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Jesus accepted that confession of faith in
Him.
“No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy
Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). In deed, no one can become a Christian unless he confesses
“with his mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believes in his heart that God raised
Him from the dead” (Rom. 10:9).
In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, the Septuagint
(LXX), the word kurios is the regular word used to translate the Hebrew name for
God: Yahweh, Jehovah, or LORD. The word Lord (kurios) was the equivalent of the
name of God. At least 150 times in the New Testament it is used of God. The Old and New
Testaments alike constantly use kurios for God. This is why most of our English
Bibles do not use the name Yahweh or Jehovah but have the LORD or Lord instead. The
disciples and the early church knew that great name of God and therefore did not hesitate
to declare that Jesus is Jehovah, Yahweh or Lord.
The divine name Yahweh (YHVH) is usually translated in the KJV, RV,
RSV, NEB, NASB, and NIV as “LORD” and as “Jehovah” in ARV and ASV. The
Hebrew name Adonai is translated “Lord” in the Old Testament. In the New
Testament the Greek name kurios is translated “Lord.”
The apostle Paul declared that there is one God who is one with Jesus
(1 Cor. 8:6). “There is but one God, the Father, from whom all things come and of
whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and
through whom we live.” The parallelism in this statement makes the identification
between God the Father and Christ plain.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the angels proclaimed that it was
“Christ who is the Lord” who was born (Lk. 2:11).
Jesus quoted Psalm 110:1 and asked the religious leaders, “What
do you think about the Messiah, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of
David.” Jesus asked them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit
calls Him Lord? . . . If then David calls Him
Lord, how can He be his son?” (Matt. 22:41-46). David called the Messiah
“Lord” because the Messiah was more than just one of his physical descendents;
He is the divine Messiah—“Jesus is Lord.”
Jesus is given the “name that is above every name”—the
name “Lord” (Phil. 2:8-11).
In the first Christian sermon delivered by Peter at Pentecost,
Jesus’ lordship is made central to salvation (Acts 2:21, 36).
Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. That is the greatest testimony
anyone can ever give. Has He become your Lord and Savior?
The creed of the early church was “Jesus Christ is Lord”
(Phil. 2:11). The test of salvation is that Jesus Christ is Lord (Rom. 10:9). Only the
Holy Spirit can lead a person to say that Jesus Christ is Lord (1 Cor. 12:3). The early
church preached Jesus Christ is Lord (2 Cor. 8:6). There is only one Lord Jesus Christ (1
Cor. 8:6; Eph. 4:5). Therefore there is only one name given among men by whom you can be
saved (Acts 4:12).
These words are the most powerful words in the universe, and they are
also the words that have brought hostility, persecution and martyrdom to Christians for
2,000 years. To Jewish minds the title had messianic overtones of deity, kingship and
authority (Lk. 20:41-44). To the politically minded Romans, Caesar claimed the title
“Lord.”
The Roman Empire used the words “Caesar is Lord” to embody
the Roman Empire in one man, the Emperor. Caesar worship became compulsory throughout the
Empire. It held the Empire together. Every man had to go to an Empire shrine and burn a
pinch of incense to the image of the Emperor and say, “Caesar is Lord.” It was a
test of loyalty to the Roman Empire. After the person did that, he could go away and
worship any god he so chose. However, he had to prove his loyalty by declaring,
“Caesar is Lord.” That is precisely what the Christians refused to do. For them
only Jesus Christ could be Lord. Nothing could force them to say, “Caesar is
Lord.” They chose to die the most terrible, agonizing deaths imaginable for their
faith in Jesus Christ who is the Lord.
The aged Bishop of Smyrna refused to yield to the demands of the
Empire and paid the ultimate price on February 22, A.D. 156. Two city officials pleaded
with Polycarp to comply with the demand to declare, “Caesar is Lord.” They said,
“What harm is there in saying, ‘Caesar is Lord,’ and burning a little
incense . . . and saving yourself?” As the fires were lighted at his feet and began
to rise up around his body he declared, “For 86 years I have been Christ’s
slave, and He has done me no wrong: how can I blaspheme my king who saved me?” The
reason Polycarp refused to call Caesar Lord was because “Lord” (kurios)
meant God, and there can be no other god in the life of the Christian. Jesus Christ alone
is Lord!
It is significant that the emphatic, insistent form is used in the
declaration, “King of kings and Lord of lords” at a time of the demand for
Caesar worship under Domitian (Rev. 17:14; 19:16).
Is Jesus Christ your Lord?
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
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