Yeshua aka Jesus
My friend, Justin Bond, has a great explanation of why he uses Yeshua, Jesus’ Hebrew/Aramaic name, a lot. His description describes well the reason why I us Yeshua, a lot. I would only add that I like to use it because it seems a little more personable and I just personally like to use Yeshua. I do use Jesus in most circles. I do not believe it is bad to use Jesus, pagan, sin, or that Jesus is a different person than Yeshua. However, I do believe using Yeshua helps put my mindset in the proper context that He walked the earth, as a 1st Century Jew.
Justin’s description is below from his blog http://messiahconnection.wordpress.com/yeshua-aka-jesus/.
Yeshua aka Jesus
“She will give birth to a son, you will call his name Yeshua (Jesus), for he will save his people from their sins” Matthew 1:21
Yeshua is the real Hebrew/Aramaic name of Jesus. It is the masculine form of the Hebrew word for salvation yeshu’ah. It is also closely related to Y’hoshua (Joshua) which means “YHVH is salvation” or “YHVH saves”. The name Jesus is the English transliteration of the Greek Iesous (pronounced ee-ay-sus) which was transliterated from the Hebrew/Aramaic Yeshua. On a side note, I still use the name Jesus interchangeably with Yeshua. A lot of this depends on who I’m talking to or what setting I’m in. If I think the issue of the name may become an initial stumbling block for someone who is unfamiliar with the name Yeshua over/against what He has purchased by His blood and Resurrection, then I relate the name Jesus. I personally do not believe there is anything inherently wrong or pagan in using the name Jesus, though I do think there is much learning for the body of Messiah in the overall Hebraic context of our faith. For most of the world, Jesus is the only name they know our Messiah by, and I believe it is more important to know Who He is and What He has done (that is the function of His name verses the form of His name). Once that weighty truth is understood, then we can move on to additional revelation.
