NAMES ARE IMPORTANT WHEN IDENTITY IS REQUIRED AND THE PERSON IS NOT PRESENT. Names Are Also Important For Purposes Of Taxation, Otherwise Why Would Sovereigns Care. Names are also important to everyone because we are known by our name.

Did Jesus have a last name?

Harry Riches, Answers 

 Like first names, last names are issues to do with identity. But more than a first name, or a given name, last names are to do with the seed from which one originates.

In Islamic countries the prefix "al" is attached to a name to indicate significance or royalty. Hence, the Egyptian born, Mohamed Abdel Moneim Fayed, who once owned Harrods of London changed his name to al-Fayed to signify his self-importance. Merely being known as Fayed, owner of Harrods of London was insufficient for him. He needed to be known as al-Fayed, the house of Fayed, a title that is given to princes in the Arab world. For instance, the al-Saud means the House of Saud. Those that carry that name belong to the ruling family of Saudi Arabia, but to claim to be an al-Saud, and not be a member, might not be conducive to longevity in Saudi Arabia.

Interestingly, when Joseph, the carpenter from Nazareth, had a dream, he was referred to as the son of David and not the son of Jacob in accordance with the genealogy of Matthew (Matthew 1:16). For we read:

• But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:20)

Now we know that Joseph's father is Jacob, not David. Yet in the dream the angel designates Joseph as the son of David. This indicates that Joseph must have understood himself as being a member of the royal family, even though he did not carry the name of royalty and King Herod reigned over Judea at the time. This could be compared to Queen Elizabeth II and the rightful King of England who lived in a country town in Australia, and worked as a forklift driver.

After Jesus had been baptized by John, he went back to Nazareth and read out of the Scriptures at the local synagogue. Because of the reported response by the people, one gets the impression that Jesus may not have done this before:

• And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:22)

Joseph obviously was well known and it appears that humility was a trait that was not only evident in Jesus but also Joseph. Often people were given additional names based upon their character, but not with Jesus. The fact that he was Joseph's son was sufficient for Him to be deemed insignificant (like a forklift driver). But the insignificance of being deemed Joseph's son does not stop there. We read an interesting exchange between Philip and Nathanael in the Gospel of John:

• Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” (John 1:44-46)

Here we find Jesus is not identified just as the son of Joseph but also from Nazareth. Not only is Joseph considered a lowly person by those who know him, but Nazareth is thought of poorly by outsiders. It appears that Jesus has come from the lowest of the low. Evidently, being called Jesus of Nazareth was sufficient for the rest of the Jews to understand that this was a man who was born among the lowest of the low, without the need for demeaning adjectives.

Capernaum is about 25 miles from Nazareth. While near there, Jesus told the people who he really was. We read:

• For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’? (John 6:38-42)

Actually, from what we read in the Old Testament, the Son of God possesses the same name as that of the Father (Proverbs 30:4). So to know Jesus is to know the Father (John 10:38; John 14:9). Jesus said that he has come to reveal the Father:

• All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. (Matthew 11:27)

If we do not know the name of God, how can we call upon Him? One thing is for sure, we know that the name of the God is not the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Yet this is the name that Jesus said for His disciples to baptize people into. Maybe Jesus was saying that His disciples were to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so they did. Because when we read the book of Acts, find this:

• And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)
• But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. (Acts 8:12)
• They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 8:16)
• And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days. (Acts 10:48)
• On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 19:5)

Evidently, the Apostles considered the name of the Father, Son and Holy to be Lord Jesus Christ. For they baptized into the name of Lord Jesus or Jesus Christ from what we can see when reading the book of Acts. When writing to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul explains to them how they have come to salvation,  reveals the name of the One who made it possible, and into Whom they were baptized:

• And such were some of you. But you were washed [baptized], you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)

From what we read in the Bible, when we consider that the Holy One and His Son are One, we have to conclude that the revealed name of God to us on Earth is Lord Jesus Christ. This name reflects the Lordship of the Father, the Son as Savior, and the Holy Spirit who anoints and made Jesus the Messiah. In which case, if we were to give a surname to Jesus, it looks like it would have to be Christ, the Anointed One. This, too is reflected in the New Testament, whenever we read of Christ. For instance:

• While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man—though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8).

Instead of using the name Jesus, or saying, the Lord, the Apostle appears to have used the last name, Christ.

When we say that Christ means "Anointed One" this really means the "Holy One". In the book of Proverbs the question is asked, What is the name of the Holy One and what is His Son's name? Well, now you know. His name has been revealed as Lord Jesus Christ.

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