Eve of the Circumcision and Name of JESUS

Numbers 6:22-27

December 31, 2025

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In Numbers 13, Moses lists the names of the twelve men he sent as spies into the land of Canaan. Each represented one of the twelve tribes of Israel. After each man is listed, and the name of his father, then we get this interesting detail. There is no explanation or elaboration, it’s just dropped there, like a little Easter egg waiting to be discovered:

“These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua” [Num 13:16]. The name Hoshea is Hebrew for “salvation” or “deliverance.” Joshua, or Yashua, adds “Yah” to the name, short for YHWH. The name thus means “YHWH saves” (or, “YHWH is salvation”).

What’s happening here doesn’t show up in our English Bibles, and that’s because our Bibles, the responsible ones, are translated directly from the original language into English. Most of the OT is written in Hebrew, while the NT is written in Greek.

Names change a little bit when moving between languages. John, Juan, Jean – they’re all the same name, but in English, Spanish, and French variations. The same thing happens with Yashua. It becomes in Greek Iesous. Yashua becomes Joshua in English, while Iesous becomes Jesus. The point is, Joshua and Jesus are the same name.

So when Moses changes the name of Hoshea, he’s changing it to the name Jesus. It’s tempting to think of that as just a coincidence. But listen to what that great father of the church, St. Irenaeus, said about this:

And when they were near to the land, which God had promised to Abraham and his seed, Moses chose a man from every tribe, and sent them to search out the land and the cities therein and the dwellers in the cities. At that time God revealed to him the Name which alone is able to save them that believe thereon; and Moses changed the name of Oshea the son of Nun, one of them that were sent, and named him Jesus: and so he sent them forth with the power of the Name, believing that he should receive them back safe and sound through the guidance of the Name: which came to pass.

Did you catch that? This man Oshea (or Hoshea) now bears the Name, the holy name of Jesus. The Name of Jesus gives him power, protection, and guidance.

We’ve seen several name changes in the Bible already: Abram becomes Abraham, and Jacob becomes Israel. But this is on another level. This man, who goes on to be a man of war and bring the people into the land of promise, foreshadows the one whose Name he bears.

But before we get to that, look at the liturgical rubric given to Aaron and the Priests. It’s recorded in tonight’s first reading. You’re familiar with the words, as we use them at the close of every Divine Service: “The LORD bless you and keep you,” etc.

Now what lies behind our English term Lord is the same sacred name of God that’s part of the Name JESUS: YHWH. So it’s really “YHWH bless you and keep you, YHWH make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; YHWH lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

The threefold repetition of YHWH indicates the Holy Trinity. But mark what happens when the priests use the prescribed liturgy: “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” The priest speaks, but it is YHWH who acts. His name is put upon them. He blesses them.

This is the self-same thing that happens when the Lord JESUS institutes the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. As Hoshea was sent into battle with the divine Name put upon him, to guide and protect, so the newly baptized are given the Name. We saw this just last Sunday, as Joseph Patrick was baptized into the name, as Jesus commanded: “Going therefore make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name [singular!] of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

So the divine Name was put upon you, in your baptism, and you are marked, like Hoshea, as belonging to YHWH. The name “YHWH Saves” guards you, protects you, guides you as you walk faithful to Him.

Now this is no spell, where the mere utterance of words conjures some magic. The utterance of the name is the action of faith, as you look outside yourself to the One who saves.

Before the birth of Jesus, the angel said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” [Mt 1.20f]. The name announces the work. The Child of Mary saves us from sin. And since the wages of sin is death, the forgiveness of sins brings life and salvation.

This is why St. Peter preaches in Acts 4:12, “There [is not] salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved,” but “the name of Jesus Christ” [4:10].

This name is your salvation. Tonight, on the cusp of a new secular year, we remember the naming of the son of Mary as JESUS. But it is more than remembrance of the history. Into the new year we carry the name with us. As Moses sent Hoshea into battle with the Name, so you go into battle with Name. Jesus is your Jesus. YHWH is salvation, and YHWH is your salvation.

Arm yourself with the Name every morning. At every moment of fear, at every moment of pride, name the NAME. Call upon the name of Jesus. By this Name the demons are put to flight. By this Name sins are absolved. By this Name the fearful gain courage. By this Name the downcast are lifted up. By this Name shall you live. By this Name shall you die. And in this Name you shall gain entrance into the kingdom of God.

The Name of JESUS guard and keep you in every battle this new year!

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