Jesus or Yeshua
If you are like me and learned about Jesus in the Western world, or one of the many other places where "Jesus is Lord", you are probably wondering why you see the name "Yeshua" come up here or on other sites. You may also hear it referred to as Yahshua, Yahushua or Y'shua.
Matt 1:21
And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their
sins."
NKJV
Yeshua (יהשׁע) is the original Hebrew name of Jesus. There are variations depending on who you talk to. Hebrew names give definition to the person. Just as Abraham meant "Father of many nations", the name Yeshua in Hebrew means "Yahweh's (God's) salvation". Joshua (Moses aid who eventually took Jericho) basically had the same name. Joshua was a type (shadow) of the coming Messiah. But Joshua is translated straight from Hebrew. Below, Peter is talking to the Jewish leaders about "Yeshua".
Act 4:12
“And there is no deliverance in anyone else, for there is no other Name under the
heaven given among men by which we need to be saved.”
The Scriptures
The New testament was translated into Greek. Greek was the common language, but
Greek is not the language that the common Israelite spoke.
From Hebrew to Greek we get "Iesous" (ee-ay-sooce’). The "J"
was non existent until the 1600's. Then it
was changed again into Jesus. There is no meaning (definition) to the name of
Jesus or Iesous.
Aramaic was the more
common language (among non-Greeks), but it is believed that the Jews still spoke Hebrew. I don't
meet too many people that are now citizens of America that do not hang onto
their native language and teach their children to use it.
The Hebrew name
"Yeshua" is what the Son of God was referred to by those
who followed him and by his family. Below is a link to a site that goes into very good detail about the story
behind the name.
What you refer to our Savior as is up to you. Here in America or other
English speaking countries, we know him as Jesus. And I have seen people healed
and delivered of demons by the name of Jesus. But I
wonder if He would not prefer the name given him by his father. There is
Glory and honor in the name of Yeshua.