What Are the Names of Jesus? | Exploring the Names of Jesus and Why They Matter

Jesus is called by so many different names in the Bible, but there is a purpose for each one of them. Learning about the names of Jesus helps us understand His character better, and can help us draw nearer to Him. Discover how the Names of Jesus can help you focus on Jesus during the Christmas season and year-round. Learn how the names of Jesus can help you grow in your faith and in your relationship with God today.

Being the sentimental sap that I am, I enjoy the anticipation and "looking forward" to Christmas about as much as I enjoy Christmas day itself. I love experiencing the traditions and events leading up to Christmas just as much as I love Christmas itself. And that's probably a little bit odd, right? 

But this got me thinking about how as Christians, this life is the appetizer, and not the main course. This life is the prequel to the main event of meeting Jesus face-to-face. And as much as I do love this life and want to live it as long as God lets me, I know that I need to be more excited about the main event than I am the about the prelude.

It frustrates me that I find it so easy to hold onto this world, when I know that being with Jesus is infinitely better. I should be more excited about Jesus than the twinkling lights, delicious food, and awesome presents, but I so often get caught up in the visible and the now, that I forgot to dwell on the invisible and on the future. 

I think that the problem is often that we forget to look at Jesus. And when I say "look", I mean to stare at Him and gaze upon Him. I mean to be in awe and be amazed by who He is. That's a lost art for a lot of people, and it's certainly a neglected art in my life.

But if we take the time to know who Jesus is, we will began to see why He is the main attraction of our lives. We will see why He is worthy of our full attention, and why it's worth it to lay down our selfishness and submit to Him each day.

One of the ways we can focus our attention on Jesus is by getting to know who He is. One of the ways we can do that is through studying the names He is called in the Bible. This is because the names of Jesus show us His character, His personality, and His goodness. They show us that He is far more interesting and brilliant than anything we will experience in this opening act called life. And they show us why we can trust in Him when all else is failing.

What Are the Names of Jesus?

A well-know passage that comes to mind when I think of the names of Jesus says this:

"The Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Emmanuel (which means "God is with us")." Isaiah 7:14

And then again in Isaiah 9:6 we read:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

In those two passages alone, Jesus is called by the following names:

• Emmanuel (God with us) 
• Wonderful Counselor
• Mighty God
• Ever-lasting Father
• Prince of Peace

To have God, the creator of the universe, come in the flesh and be with us while also being everlasting, our counselor, mightier than anyone else, and the prince of peace is incredible. Just in those names, we find more than we could find in any other person. No one else is God in the flesh. No one else is ever-lasting (immortal). No one can give perfect peace or be the epitome of peace. No one else can be as good of a counselor as the Son of God, who experienced the trials of life as we have, yet never sinned. And no one is as mighty as Him - the One who overcame death itself!

But there is more to learn from each of those names, so let's dive in!

Emmanuel | God with Us

Jesus was called Emmanuel, which means "God with us". This literally means that in Jesus, God was on earth and with us. He was God in human form; physically with us. He lives among us through the Holy Spirit, now, but Jesus - Emmanuel - was the physical representation of God on the earth.

This quality - being "God with us" - is important because it shows the humility of Christ through His willingness to come to earth even though He had formerly been dwelling on a throne and ruling. But in humility, Jesus didn't worry about His status. He didn't think about what He was entitled to. He wasn't thinking about Himself.

"Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name" Philippians 2:6-9

Seeing Christ's humility not only shows His incredible love for us, but it also gives us an example of how we should live.

Wonderful Counselor | Jesus the Ultimate Counselor

The Bible says that Jesus is our counselor. Counselors help to calm the distressed. They help work through and feel better about the issues that we struggle with in our lives. But counselors don't just tell us what we want to hear - that would be a terrible counselor. Rather, a good counselor will calm us down, help us feel better, and tell us the truth. A good counselor will give us the wisdom that we need whether it's what we want to hear or not.

Jesus is the same way. He absolutely comforts us and he absolutely calms us down, but more importantly, He also puts truth at the forefront and gives us wisdom when he sees that we need it. He counsels with ultimate truth, perfect discipline, and real wisdom.

Mighty God

God is mighty in power and he wins every battle. We are weak, but he is strong. And when we are at our weakest, he often shows up in full strength to help us.

Everlasting Father

Jesus (who is God) is our Eternal Father. He has been here from he beginning and he will never end. He will continue to stick with us for all of eternity.
God really is a Fatherly figure- the perfect one, actually. He disciplines, he teaches, and he corrects us, but he also loves us. And even in the midst of his sternest of disciple, he still loves us with an ever-lasting, complete love.
He is a father to all his children. So whether you experienced a fantastic earthly father, or a pretty crappy one, God is still there. He is the perfect father.

Prince of Peace

As someone with anxiety, peace is a big issue for me. I rarely feel at peace, even when nothing is wrong. But praise God that he stands beside me as the Prince of Peace. Even when I don't understand what is going on with my life, Jesus is there and offering me peace- peace that comes through knowing him!

Peace is there when we don't understand our situation. Peace is there when we have been deeply hurt. Peace is there when everyone else has abandoned us. We just have to reach out and grab it.

Friends, Jesus is the main attraction- not just at Christmas, but in all of life. We can (and should) try to enjoy the holiday season and all the traditions and fun that comes with it. And we should enjoy this life (all the ups and the downs). But when it's all said and done, the most important and beautiful thing in the world is still Jesus and his love.

Merry Christmas, Friends!