Answering Jesus’ Questions – Part 7
“Jesus asked him,’ What is your name?’
‘Mob. My name is Mob,’ he said, because many demons afflicted him.”
Luke 8:30 MSG
I have kiddingly made the statement “It’s a good thing my parents named me Paul, because that’s what everyone has always called me!” But my parents didn’t name me Paul because they knew that’s what I’d be called… I was called Paul because that was my given name.
We’ve established that Jesus asks questions for a purpose, not because He doesn’t know the answer. This is one of the most important questions of Jesus because it speaks, not about just our past, but more importantly, about our future.
Names in Scripture meant very substantial things. And sometimes God thought they needed changing.
- Take Jabez (I Chronicles 4:9) for instance. His name meant “Sorrowful” but he asked God to bless him and God’s answer changed him into “the Son of the Right Hand” and he was blessed above his brothers.
- God changed Abram (Genesis 11:26 “high father”) to Abraham “Father of a Multitude” to go with God’s promises to him and his offspring.
- Jacob (Genesis 25-28) saw Jacob “supplanter/cheater” changed to Israel “having power with God.”
- In the New Testament God changed Simon to Peter (John 1:42) indicating the rock that Peter would become.
But now we come to ‘Mob’s story in Luke 8. He gave Jesus his rightful name because he was a victim of demons… a ‘mob’ of them. He lived in a cemetery, refused to wear clothes and scared the entire region. But ‘Mob’ wasn’t a proper name for a man who would be set free of the demons and become an evangelist.
So, what about you? What name do you carry that God might need to change?
- My name is ‘fearful’ but God changes it to ‘fearless.’
- My name is ‘anxious’ but God’s new name for you is ‘peace.’
- My name is ‘bitterness’ and God says, it’s now ‘forgiveness.’
- My name is ‘short tempered.’ Now you’re renamed ‘long-suffering.’
- My name is ‘addicted’ but your new name is ‘free.’
- My name is ‘pensive and sorrowful’ but God gives you a new name – ‘joy.’
Can you see the implications here? You don’t have to be the name chosen by your past or your present lifestyle. God can change names easily because He changes lives easily.
Let go of any name that doesn’t feel comfortable carrying into God’s presence.
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