THE NAME OF JESUS

By Clinton White

Some of you, reading this now, are deeply troubled. You are upset, anxious or lonely. Some are in pain. Others are in shock or bewilderment over the loss of a loved one--it seems like a huge gap has been brutally ripped out of your life, leaving a wound that will never heal up.

There is so much suffering, so many burdens: A parent grieving over a teenager who has become rebellious, almost wild; a wife living with an alcoholic husband who has made her life a torture chamber; a husband crushed inside because the wife he loves so much has been having an affair with another man. Guilt, poverty, tension and pressure. Pressure, pressure, pressure.

This is the kind of world we are living in right now, and I want every one of you deeply troubled ones to stop for a few minutes. Just stop, for I want to share something with you. This message can help you no matter what your problem is, because I want to tell you about Jesus. Not religion, not a sermon full of platitudes and pat answers . . . but Jesus.

I am not going to give you a discourse on how to think just right so your troubles will vanish and go away. No, instead, I want to tell you about a Person--Jesus--and if you will think about Him as you read this, something will happen within you. It always does. There is a power about that Person, about that name. There is something about Jesus, about the mere mention of His name, that does something inside a person who will listen.

He only lived a very few short years almost two thousand years ago, but the world has never been the same since. Hope came into the world then. It just wasn't available before, but it came into the world at that time, and it has never left. Men have focused their thoughts on Jesus, and the mist of gloom has vanished for them. They have listened to His word and great waves of anxiety inside them have become still. For centuries, men have been moved in their souls at the mention of His name. You could speak other names, great names, a thousand other names, ones that conjure up glorious visions in your mind. You could speak military names, names that carry with them the sound of battle, the meaning of bravery, conquering and victory. You could speak political names, names of great leaders. Respect might find its way into your heart at the mention of these names: educators; scientists; inventors; explorers; and names of men who have brought a lot to the world in the field of religion.

Many fine thoughts might come as these names parade their great accomplishments through your mind, but when the name of Jesus comes along, your soul leaps and your heart quickens. The name of Jesus means something to your soul, to your inner being, something that no name in history can bring: the hope of eternal life.

Jesus died for our sins. He was the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. The name of Jesus speaks of freedom, pardon and everlasting life. He rose from the dead. It really happened. The stone rolled away from the tomb. This was without any doubt the most significant event in all history. All other things pale before this. The stone rolled away from that tomb, and Jesus came out alive, triumphant over death.

This is why the hearts of men for centuries have taken hope at the name of Jesus, because this name speaks of a way out, another shore, an answer, eternal life. This is why your soul recognizes this name.

Suppose you were lost in a dark canyon. You had no food and water. The cliffs were too shear to climb. You were cut on thorns and the bushes were filled with poisonous snakes. You were in a hopeless state. No one knew where you were. There was absolutely no way out. You were facing sure death. Then, suppose you heard a voice calling your name, telling you not to fear, he would be there soon and rescue you. Wouldn't your heart leap when you heard this? Of course it would!

Well, this is why your soul responds to the name of Jesus, because the name of Jesus means rescue to your soul. Your soul is lost and it knows it. It cries out. It makes its cry felt in your mind. Your mind becomes troubled and anxious. You wonder why you cannot rest. You think something is the matter with your mind, but this anxiety comes from your soul. Your soul was made for God. Away from God it is as lost as that man in the canyon. When your soul hears the name of Jesus, it takes hope. He is the way to God, the way to salvation. The Bible says in Acts 4:12, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

I can remember when I was a boy, about twelve years old, I heard a joke that I thought was funny, and in that joke the name of Jesus Christ was taken in vain. I had never taken that name in vain, but, in order to tell this joke, I did. My knees grew weak, a strange sensation went all through me, the words all but caught in my throat, but I said them and regretted it instantly. A dark cloud settled on my mind. I had a sense of having done something very bad, and I never did it again.

This might not be unusual in some ways, but if you have heard my life story, you would know that I was far from a saint. I was an alcoholic and later became a drug addict. I lived at the very bottom of life. There was very little I would not do, but, strangely enough, I never took the name of Jesus Christ in vain. There was something in me that realized the awesome power of that name.

When I was converted to Jesus, when I received pardon from God and my soul rested in Him, I realized that it was through the power in that name that I had received this wonderful experience; and that night I said, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." I said it over and over again; it sounded so wonderful, so beautiful. I said it as a prayer, as praise, as thanksgiving. I called on God with that name, and His power went all through me. That name brought me hope, peace, realization of the love of God, and healing . . . and the assurance of eternal life. I don't think many people realize what that name means in Heaven, the authority behind that name. Here on earth men knock on a door and say, "Open up in the name of the Law!" or "Open up in the name of the Crown!" and the door comes open. But the name of Jesus opens up heavenly doors; it is an entrance into spiritual things. The name of Jesus summons spiritual help for the weakest, tiniest person who will use it in faith.

A wealthy man can sign a check and you can take it to the bank. They will give you cash for that check, not because of who you are but because of who he is. It is his name that opens the vaults for you and brings out the gold. It is like this with the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus means something in Heaven. This is why Jesus told us to pray in His name: "And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it" (John 14:13, 14).

Perhaps you have not realized that God has provided an answer to your problems, and the answer is couched in the name of Jesus. It is going to prayer in that name, because of what He did, because of who He is. Come with me into the pages of the Bible; I want to show you the power in that name, the blessings that come to you through that name.

John 16: 23, 24 says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." Is it sin or guilt that troubles you? Ask for forgiveness in that name and you will get it. The Bible says in Acts 10:43, "To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name, whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins." And, again, the Bible says, "It shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21).

John 1:9-12 says, "That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." This is all possible because Jesus has purchased something for you. This purchase is claimed by asking for it in His name.

Go back to a governor's palace almost two thousand years ago. See a group of soldiers throw a robe over the body of Jesus and place a crown of thorns on His head. See them blindfold Him and begin to mock and laugh. One spits in His face and roars with laughter. Another slaps Him in the face as hard as he can and says, "Alright, prophet, who was that who struck you?" Jesus was silent. The soldier may hear the words on Judgment Day, "It was you!" But for that moment, Jesus remained silent.

They plucked His beard and had more laughs, made more jokes. Then they brought Him to a stone wall with two rings on it. They attached His wrists to those rings with leather thongs. They disrobed Him. A sadistic Roman soldier came into the room. He had a scourge in his huge hand. A scourge was a dozen leather lashes coming from a main stem. Tied to those leather lashes were bits of bone and metal. The object was used to whip a man nearly to death, as close to death as you could and still leave him alive. And the soldier began his grim work.

His muscular arm reached way back, then burst forward with all its strength. The scourge whistled and then slammed into the flesh of Jesus Christ. His back and side were sliced open. Blood leaped forth. The arm went back again and again, and again and again. Flesh actually hung from His body in tatters. Wounds were open to the ribs. Pieces of entrails could be seen through the lacerations below the ribs. Finally it was over. Who could describe the pain and the cruelty . . . and this was only the beginning.

Then, they made Jesus walk up a hill with a heavy wooden beam on His bleeding back that was already on fire with pain. He could not do this. He fell. They roughly picked Him up and threw the beam across His shoulders, but He fell again and again. Then they picked a man from the crowd to carry the beam. They pushed and prodded Jesus to the top where they laid Him out, flat on that beam. A man came with a mallet and spikes, and there was a dull thud as the mallet drove those spikes through the flesh of Jesus into the wood of the cross.

When He was secured to the cross, they lifted Him up and there He hung, bleeding and suffering until He died. The Bible says, "Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Is.53:4-6).

Salvation, peace and healing--this was purchased, somehow made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus. He paid the price. We claim what He bought by asking for it in His name. And you can do this today. Go to God with your needs, your heartaches, your loneliness, your pain, your guilt. Go. Ask in the name of Jesus, and, I tell you, Heaven will respond!