There is a growing controversy among Messianics about what name should be used when referring to our messiah, and it goes far beyond promotional items you can get on Messianic Web sites. As messianics, obviously, the Hebrew name of the messiah is the preferred usage. That means his name on this blog will usually be rendered as Yeshua.
And that is Yeshua, not Yehoshua; there’s no “hay” in the Messiah’s name, and therefore no “h” sound.
Among Messianics, preferring the use of messiah’s Hebrew name is not controversial. What is controversial, however, is whether it is legitimate to use His Greek name, rendered into English as Jesus.
Now, some congregations discourage the use of the name Jesus, out of sensitivity to their Hebrew attendees. However, it is one thing to prefer Yeshua and discourage the use of the name Jesus; it is entirely another to develop a sense of legalism around the issue.
Recently, I have heard some fellow Messianics say things as eye-popping as, “You are praying to a false god if you use the name Jesus!” Nothing could be further from the truth!
Speaking historically, there is nothing “false god worshiping” about using Messiah’s Greek name, nor its English equivalent. As a friend of mine recently pointed out, when Yeshua hung on the cross, his name was rendered in three languages, not just Hebrew. Latin and Greek were the other two languages.
