Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
“Jesus” (iēsous) was and is today a common name. It derives from the Hebrew Joshua (yᵊhôšûa) and was used by many a Jewish parent to charge their son to achieve the same level of courage that Joshua demonstrated in his many victories. In fact, some Greek texts and English translations include the full name of the notorious prisoner released by Pilate as “Jesus Barabbas” (See Matthew 27:16 NIV).
“Jesus” is not the name referred to by this passage. The name higher that all names in Hebrew is “LORD (Yᵊhōvâ) or in Greek kyrios (via the Septuagint):
Exodus 3:14-15
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
That is why we are told in today’s passage that “Jesus Christ is Lord”. He is the self-existent, unchanging, and eternal God.
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