"Hallowed be your name." - Matthew 6:9b
When you are introduced to someone who has a unique name, you can't help but ask, "Where did you get your name?"
What's the story?
Sometimes, the story is funny. "My parents were watching this episode of Seinfeld…" Often, there is family significance. "I'm named after my grandfather, who…"
In Old Testament Israel, names held great significance. A name wasn't just a name. Often, names contained stories that represented more than met the eye.
Names had meaning that would reflect events surrounding the birth or embody, hopes the parents had for their child, or something potentially prophetic about their future.
For example, Abraham means "father of many" and Jacob is translated as "holder of the heel" or "supplanter."
In the Old Testament, God revealed his personal, covenantal name to Moses as Yahweh (YHWH, יהוה), which is translated most simply, "I am."
Even today, names are associated with one's identity.
For example, when we introduce a friend, we do not say, "This is a Mike," we say, "This is Mike."
It is the same with God's name.
Naming himself "I am" highlights the self-existence and self-sufficiency of the Lord. But it goes further. As the Creator-King in whom all truth, goodness, and beauty reside, as Yahweh, his name embodies the perfections of authority, wisdom, goodness, faithfulness, power, justice, mercy, grace, and love.
"I am truth. I am goodness. I am wisdom." Put in whichever descriptor you'd like. Yahweh embodies its perfection.
This is why, in teaching us to pray, Jesus reminds us to "hallow" God's name.
Contemporary ears may glance over what may feel like an archaic expression. Hallow? So we must pause here a moment to get our theological and devotional bearings.
English dictionaries define the verb hallow as "to show reverence, respect, and honor."
While that's a good start, the biblical meaning goes deeper, with a richness that's hard to describe in human language.
The original Greek word translated hallowed is hagiazō (ἁγιάζω), a verb that means "to set apart as holy." Of course, holy has two primary aspects. One is purity. The other is separateness. Thus, for God to be holy, he is both set apart for special honor as well as morally perfect in every attribute. We could say to "hallow" God's name is to place him above all else, as if he were in "a league of his own."
Therefore, praying "hallowed be your name" is not for God's ears as much as it is for our minds and hearts to be reminded of a critical spiritual reality: our Father is perfect in every way.
Is he wise? Perfectly.
Is he trustworthy as faithful? Perfectly.
Is he good? Perfectly.
Is he just? Perfectly.
Is he loving? Perfectly.
Is he merciful? Perfectly.
Is he sovereign? Perfectly.
The college my children attended has a motto: In All Things, Christ Preeminent.
Synonyms for preeminent include words such as ultimate, transcendent, and peerless. Each captures a nuance of what it means to set apart for special honor the name of God, which in the Old Testament was revealed as Yahweh and in the New Testament as Jesus.
Not only did Jesus apply the "I am" designation to himself, saying, "Before Abraham was, I am," he was given a name that tells a story.
In Matthew 1:21, the angel tells Mary's husband, Joseph, to name the child Jesus. Why? Because the name Jesus means, literally, "Yahweh (the LORD) saves."
In case Joseph missed the translation, the angel says to name Him Jesus, "for He will save his people from their sins."
Even as names are inextricably connected to identity, Jesus’ name is inextricably associated with the cross.
In view of the cross, the invitation of the Son echoes the heart of the Father: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Jesus is God in the flesh. Honoring God means worshipping Jesus and recognizing the Holy Spirit's work in our lives. This allows us to acknowledge Jesus as our Savior and Lord, and to cherish him as our greatest treasure, through whom we find redemption.
John Newton captures this sense of adoration in a well-known hymn,
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer's ear,
It soothes our sorrows, heals these wounds, and drives away our fear.
It makes the wounded spirit whole,
And calms the troubled breast.
'Tis manna to the hungry soul, and to the weary, rest.