Jesus (The Lord Saves)

Salvation is Found in No Other Name

“What is perfection in love? Love your enemies in such a way that you would desire to make them your brothers ... For so did He love, Who hanging on the Cross, said ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ (Luke 23:34)”

-Saint Augustine

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The Linguistic Connection Between “Jesus” and “Joshua”

You might not know this, but in the Bible, Jesus and Joshua are essentially the same name. The reason they’re spelled so differently now has to do with the two main languages of the Bible, and how those original languages get transliterated into English. But the key point here is that Christians in the first century would have immediately made the connection between Joshua in the Old Testament and Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

The Old Testament is predominantly written Hebrew, with a few chapters that are Aramaic (which is very similar). The New Testament is exclusively written in Greek (except for a few phrases in the Gospels where the writers transliterate Aramaic expressions, that is to say—they spell out Aramaic words with Greek letters).

The original Hebrew name for Joshua was spelled Yehoshua, which means “The Lord is Salvation” or even “The Lord Saves.” The most famous Joshua in the Bible was Moses’ assistant, who succeeded Moses and led the people of Israel into the Promised Land. Joshua was one of the many men (and women) in the Bible whose names were changed. According to Numbers 13:16, Joshua was originally named Hoshea, which simply means “salvation.” When Moses changed Hoshea’s name to Yehoshua, he was asserting the theological truth that salvation comes specifically from the Lord YHWH.

The original Greek name for Jesus was spelled Iesous. The Greek and Latin alphabets lack the equivalent of the letter “J,” so whenever we encounter a New Testament name that starts with J, odds are the original started with “Ie” (which makes somewhat of a “Y” sound). A few centuries before Jesus was born, a group of scholars came together to translate the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek, a more common and widespread language of their time. Those scholars were experts in both Hebrew and Greek, and their work (called the Septuagint) became the predominant Bible that the early Christians used. When Peter and Paul quote from the Old Testament in their letters to the first century churches, they’re writing in Greek and quoting this Greek version of the Old Testament.

How We Know These Names Were Interchangeable

Here’s how we know Jesus (Greek, Iesous) and Joshua (Hebrew, Yehoshua) are the same name: When those scholars came to the Hebrew name Yehoshua in the Old Testament stories of Moses and Joshua, they translated it using the Greek name Iesous, the same the New Testament uses for Jesus Christ.

First-century Christians who read the book of Joshua and then the Gospels would have seen the same exact name front and center: Jesus. That means that if you walked up to a first-century Christian and asked them if they knew the story about “Jesus” leading God’s people to salvation, they might hesitate for a moment as they tried to figure out which “Jesus” you we’re talking about!

The Thematic Link Between Jesus and Joshua

Jesus and Joshua share a common name. But they also share a similar big-picture story. The conquest began when Joshua led the people of God across the Jordan River into the Promised Land. He led them into battle over and over again in the strength of the Lord. Through Joshua’s faithfulness to God’s call on his life, Joshua achieved victory and salvation for God’s people against a series of formidable enemies. By the end of the story, God’s people were at home in the land they were promised as their eternal inheritance.

Jesus’ story shares a lot of similarities. His ministry began when he was baptized in the Jordan River—the same one Joshua crossed in the Old Testament. Jesus fought against the dark power of sin, demon, and evil in the strength of the Lord. Through Jesus’ faithfulness to God’s call n his life, Jesus achieved victory and salvation for all people against the strongest enemy we will ever know. By the end of his story, God’s people were at home in the Kingdom they were promised as their eternal inheritance.

From that perspective, you can see how it’s the same story but at different times.

A Few Key Differences Between Jesus and Joshua

The obvious difference between the stories is the difference between the physical (Joshua) and the spiritual (Jesus).

Joshua defeated physical enemies occupying a physical land. Joshua was commanded by God to not leave anyone alive in the towns he conquered—the goal and expectation was total destruction (Deuteronomy 20:17). In many ways, that’s what the Jews were hoping for from their Messiah—someone to be a new Joshua who would lead a military revolution against the pagans (Rome) who were occupying God’s land.

Jesus, on the other hand, consistently refused to give into this pressure to be a conquering king. Instead, he taught his followers to turn the other cheek. The be peacemakers. To love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Jesus’ battle wasn’t one that could be won or lost with the sword, it would be won through the power of self-sacrifice on the cross.

And the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane (on the Mount of Olives) shows us the sharp contrast between Joshua and Jesus.

Luke 22:31-38—Grab Your Swords!

After the Last Supper, Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him. In the same breath, Jesus also predicted that Peter would return to him and be reconciled, and he called upon Peter to strengthen his brothers upon his return.

Then, Jesus says something somewhat unexpected—he tells his disciples to pack swords as they head off to the Mount of Olives to pray. What do you think Jesus had in mind by telling his disciples to bring weapons to a prayer meeting?

Luke 22:39-50—Shoot First, Ask Questions Later

After Jesus poured his heart and soul out to God in prayer (vv. 39-46), Judas approached with a band of soldiers to arrest Jesus. Here’s the dramatic scene that happened next:

49 When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Shoot first, ask questions later? The disciples asked if they should start fighting, but they didn’t even wait to hear Jesus’ reply before that started swinging! They must have made some quick calculations in the heart of the moment that went something like this:  Jesus told us to bring our swords, and here’s the soldiers trying to take Jesus away. This is obviously the moment our military revolution begins!

Luke 22:51-53—Jesus’ Response

51 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? 53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”

“No more of this!” When Jesus sees that the disciples are ready to fight, he calls them off. He is not Joshua leading God’s people into a military conquest. He is Jesus the Messiah leading God’s people in the way of love and compassion—even towards their enemies. The battle He stops his disciples from inflicting any more harm, then circles back to the man who was already wounded and heals his wounds.

So Then, Why Did Jesus Tell The Disciples to Bring Their Swords?

It’s possible that Jesus knew there were real dangers luring around every corner, and he wanted to make sure they group could make it to the Mount of Olives to pray in peace. Perhaps he wanted them to have protection in case something awful happened before Judas could arrive and set in motion the events that led to the cross.

But I think the more likely explanation is that Jesus wanted to draw a sharp contrast between Joshua in the Conquest and Jesus in the Garden. He wanted his disciples—and all of us—to understand in the depths of our soul that the Kingdom of God that we are a part of is not a Kingdom that deals with earthly battles and military might. The swords that so many people relied on for safety and security in the old world would have little-to-nothing to do with the new world of Christ’s Kingdom.

Jesus’ actions in the garden—and his prayer on the cross that his attackers would be forgiven—show us that he was serious about loving our enemies and showing compassion to those who persecute us.

Joshua and Jesus both led God’s people into a time of salvation. For Joshua it was physical, and for Jesus it is spiritual.

As disciples of Jesus, we’re not marching with Joshua into conquest, we’re walking with Jesus in the Garden. In the conquest the call is to fight, to dominate, and to take no prisoners. In the Garden, the call is to love our enemies as we love ourselves. That’s the defining ethic in the Kingdom of God.