In the Name of Yeshua

To many Christians, the name Yeshua is alien to them. They think it is weird for someone to call Jesus Yeshua. Really it isn't weird at all, because it is exactly the name His Jewish mother Miriam gave Him.

The name Jesus came about as the New Testament was written in Aramaic & translated to Greek where Yeshua became Iesous, or Jesus. But believe me, no one called Him Jesus when He was walking around in Israel because the point of His birth is captured in the name He was given, Yeshua means salvation.

I was reminded of this as we gathered with Tony's mostly Catholic family on "Easter" Sunday and a boyfriend of one of the granddaughters (new to our family holidays) got a quick giggling explanation after Tony ended the food blessing with, "In Yeshua's name."

Years ago, it was probably 1992 or so, when Tony and I associated ourselves with a local Messianic Jewish congregation. That was when we began to transition from calling Him Jesus, to calling Him Yeshua. It was for a very simple reason: because as weird as it sounds to Christian ears to hear Him called Yeshua, it is even weirder for Jews to hear Him called Jesus. That is because the history of anti-Semitic persecution that distances Jews from realizing He is one of them.

In their mind, Jesus is the god of the Gentiles, not a Jewish man born in Bethlehem, traversing Israel healing the sick, casting out demons and speaking of how to enter the kingdom of God.

Tony and I made the transition from calling Him Jesus to calling Him Yeshua, and it has become natural to us. It isn't anything we put on.  Sometimes when I'm talking to a Christian who has no understanding of Messianic Jews in the plan of God, I will use the name Jesus, but I have to consciously choose to call Him "Jesus" instead of His real name, Yeshua.

For years at the family gatherings, Tony has always been the one who prayed over the food, and he does it in the name of Yeshua just like he does over our evening meals. It is as natural to him to say Yeshua instead of Jesus as it is for me, even though I am the one who carries the vision for the salvation of the Jewish people which the LORD gave me long, long ago.

We use the name that His parents gave Him — Yeshua. Not to be "accurate" but because we desire for the Jewish people to be able to see that He really is one of them. It is out of sensitivity, not out of some legalistic reason. 

Also, I want readers to know that I do not share this to pressure anyone to change from using the name of Jesus. It is only an explanation why my husband and I use the name Yeshua.  — Donna Diorio