Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? --John 14:9-10a
I have written before in this space about someone being described as "the spittin' image" of someone else, usually a parent. I believe it is a derivation of "The Spirit and Image", a phrase that perfectly describes our Savior.
Today I want to show examples of men in the Bible who were known by their father's names. In modern American society, someone who carries the exact name (first, middle, and last name) of his Dad would be referred to as "Junior". We also might say that about someone who aspires to be like someone else, either intentionally or unintentionally. For example, we might say of an aspiring football coach that he was "Vince Lombardi, Jr." The phrase can also be negatively applied, as in calling a failed product an "Edsel, Jr." or "Son of Betamax".
In Jewish society in the New Testament times, the term used for "the son of" was not "Junior", but rather the term "bar". (In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word was "ben"; you may have seen the Charlton Heston movie "Ben-Hur", whose name was Judah, son of Hur. Readers of Robert Browning may recall a poem by the name of Rabbi Ben Ezra. You get the idea.)
One of Jesus's disciples was Bartholomew, which literally means "son of Tolmei". Today we might refer to him as Tomei Junior. This denotes familial connection. In the same vein, Mark 10:46 tells of a man Jesus encountered who was blind from birth. His name was Bartimaeus, or literally "son of Timaeus". Today we might call him Timaeus, Jr. or even Timmy. Again, there was a familial connection involved in these men's identities.
Honestly, I would like to be so identified with Christ that people would know me as "Jesus, Jr." In fact, that is what we are called. When Jesus ascended into heaven, His followers were called "followers of the Way." Acts 11:26 says it was in Antioch where they were first called Christians, meaning followers of Christ. Actually, it goes deeper than that: the Roman suffix attached to the Greek word meaning "Anointed One" actually denotes ownership. True Christians hold not only the name, but by making Him Lord they are true followers of Him, and by taking up their cross and following him "even unto death", they identify as slaves of Christ. There is not only a familial connotation (as in, we are called children of God), but also a sense of ownership, or Lordship, in that we have committed to follow and obey Him.
When I was younger, I was known as "Rusty". It was a reference to my fiery red hair. Another person might be known as "Shorty" because of their stature. Another example of a nickname using the Jewish "bar" (meaning son of) is when we are introduced to a man named Joseph who traveled with Paul. This man was not known as Joseph, but rather by a nickname "Barnabas", meaning "Son of Encouragement". (Acts 4:36). Rather than a familial connection, this use of the term "bar" denotes a characteristic by which someone is known. This man Joseph was known as being calm and unflappable, a source of comfort, consolation, and exhortation. In fact, the word translated "encouragement" in Acts 4:36 is the Greek word paraklesis. As a reference, when Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to his disciples in John 14:16, He said, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever." The Greek word for for "helper" or "comforter" is parakletos.
So we see that this Joseph, called Barnabas, was known by the root word that was used for the Holy Spirit. I, too, want to be so full of the Holy Spirit that I can be a comforter and an advocate for people. I would like to be known as an encourager, an exhorter, a consoler of His people. God give me that ability, that mind-set, that temperament. I could not be called by a better nickname. I would gladly trade "Rusty" for "Barnabas."
There are people that are so evil, so wicked that even their own family does not want to associate with them. These people might be disinherited by their fathers, so that they no longer represent the family name, and can not claim ownership to the family's possessions. One such man in the New Testament was known only as Barabbas. Literally, his name means "son of a father or master." He may have been a bastard son of a slave woman. What we do know is that he was a thief and an insurrectionist, maybe even a murderer. He was as guilty under the Law as any man could be. He is significant because when Jesus was condemned to be crucified, the Roman official called Pilate offered to release one of two people--either he would release Jesus, who referred to Himself as the "Son of Man" but was known by His followers as the Son of God (the Father); or, Pilate would release Barabbas, a convicted criminal, and one who was so wicked his own family disowned him. Yet Jesus died for this man as surely as He died for you and me.
Follow me here: we can identify with this nameless ne'er-do-well. As good as we try to be, we all know in our heart of hearts that "there is none righteous, no not one." (Romans 3:10). No matter how godly we aspire to be, "all our righteousness is as filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6). We are all sons and daughters of a father, the slave of a master called sin. Yet the very Son of God Himself became a substitute for our sinfulness. The Bible says, "He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21).
What word or phrase are you known by? Who do you identify with, to the extent that you are known by that name? O, that we would so identify with Christ that we are known by His Name. "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not now us, because it did not know Him." (1 John 3:1). Let us be known by Him, and by the world as His.
Amen!
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