One of the aspects of Messianic Judaism that stands out the most is the fact we usually refer to the Messiah as Yeshua instead of Jesus. Here is why.

Yeshua is Hebrew for the word "salvation." Messiah is to be our salvation. The Word Yeshua is found a total of 158 times in the Tanach (the Old Covenenant; the Jewish Bible), and the Brit Chadasha (New Covenant). If you read Hebrew, the first occurrance of the word Yeshua is in Genesis 49:18 (translated in the NIV as "deliverance"), followed by Exodus 14:13 (again, translated in the NIV as "deliverance". The King James version, which is one of the versions of the Bible that remains truest to the original Hebrew, translates both instances listed here as "salvation."

In fact, Yeshua is throughout the Torah and the rest of the Jewish Bible. In fact, Miriam (Mary -- Jewish people in that day went by Hebrew names) was instructed by the LORD to call Him Yeshua, because He would be the salvation of His people (Matthew 1:21). Yeshua is the one promised by God throughout the Tanach.

When the Bible was translated out of the original Hebrew, it was translated into Greek and then into English. Since most of the people in the Old and New Covenants were Jewish, they went by Hebrew names. These names (like the aforementioned "Miriam" and "Mary") were eventually Anglicized. The name Jesus is more Greek than anything else. The same for the word Christ. Christ is the Greek word for Messiah, Moshiach in Hebrew.

Indeed, when the Bible was translated into English (which as we have established is a double translation in most cases) a lot of words and names changed. But one thing remains certain: whether you call Him Yeshua or Jesus, He is our salvation.

Copyright 2002