²⁶ “… and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Thirteen times in the Upper Room the “Name” is mentioned, eight of those times in reference to Jesus Himself, and five times (all in the prayer of Jesus) referring to the Father. Of all the words in Scripture, this one arguably is the most important one, for it refers to the very character and nature of God.

Of paramount significance is the identification of the Name of the Son with the Name of the Father: “Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are” (John 17:11b). Our unity as believers with each other is rooted in the unity of the Father and Son, which unity goes even to the sharing of “the name.”

We have seen that the name of God is revealed in Exodus 3:14-15. The meaning there is closely associated with “I Am.” The Hebrew concept of being is not one of static, or as philosophers would use the term, ontological. Rather, the name of God signifies God’s phenomenal being, that is, His active presence among His people. He is present for them (and for us) in the way we need Him to be, in whatever may be our situation. To use today’s vernacular, He is always there for us. In the evangelical terminology of the 1970’s, “Jesus is the answer,” no matter the question.

This answers the question of who Jesus is; He is the God in Exodus 3:14, speaking out from the bush. He makes the Father’s “name known to them” by revealing Himself through His miracles, His teachings and soon His perfect sacrifice on the cross. The good news, the Gospel, has to do with God revealing Himself in Jesus. Jesus is the one who is there for us. He is divinity ready and willing to act on our behalf whatever the need. Not for our selfish desires, but for our real needs, so that we can line up with His purpose and mission. For that is why we were created, as it were, in the image of God.

Jesus accomplished this mission and continues to “make it known,” that the world may know about the love of God. God so loved the world (John 3:16), the Father sent the Son, in His name as the “I Am” (see John 8:24, 28, 58). The Jews understood when Jesus used the name in that way, but they missed the significance that God had come upon them to save them from their sins. We, on the other hand, have believed and are saved by His loving sacrifice.

Lord, words can never express my appreciation for Your unremitting love for me, a sinner. How could I have ever said “No” to Your grace?!