Acts 2:14a, 22-39

            {Prayer}

            What’s in a name? Names reveal identity. They tell us who we are, and often, who we belong to. Today, on this Trinity Sunday, we celebrate the name that is above every name, the name of Jesus. A name that is revealed and lifted up by the Father, confessed by the Church, and made known through the power of the Holy Spirit. We’re not just talking about anyname, but the name into which we are baptized, the name that saves.

            We see how much names matter even in our everyday lives. As families travel about on vacation, kids are obsessed with wanting a souvenir of some sort. And it doesn’t seem to matter if you go the beach, the zoo, or any place with a gift shop … there are always those little keychain fobs. Unless your name is spelled a little differently, chances are you’ll find it and having found their name, kids are anxious to get their hands on it.

            But there’s one name kids never want to hear, especially when it’s said in full. Their middle name. When that name is spoken, fear instantly sets in. They know they’re in trouble. And running or talking backing … oh that is only going to make it worse.

            We use names in all kinds of ways … to mark places like Wrigley Field or the Empire State Building, to remember holidays like Christmas or Father’s Day, and even to honor people in stone, like with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

            But perhaps the most sobering place we see names is on a gravestone. A name carved in stone to mark the life, and death, of someone we loved. That name tells us who they were and reminds us of their story.

            Names matter. They matter because they speak to identity. And identity, yours and mine, is at the heart of what God is doing in Scripture.

            And speaking of Scripture, did you know that only one person gives Himself His own name?

            In Exodus 3, God is speaking to Moses through the burning bush. Moses is trying everything he can to not go back to Egypt and face Pharoah. He’s coming up with excuse after excuse. Finally, he says to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” (3:13). God says tell them, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ God also said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD’ {Yahweh} the God of your fathers has sent me to you’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation” (3:14-15).

            Fast forward to Matthew’s Gospel and we see how an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and says, “Mary will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (1:21). Mary and Joseph didn’t get to choose what they wanted to name their son. God had it already picked out because of what it means. Jesus, He will save His people from their sins. Jesus, He will save you from your sins.

            The Holy Trinity is about a name as well. Jesus tells the disciples before His bodily ascension into heaven, “go and make disciples of nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Our reading from Acts 2, it’s all about the names of Jesus.

            So, let’s look at these names.

            Peter says, “Listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know” (Acts 2:22). This Jesus of Nazareth … He’s the one who you, the people and religious leaders, mocked, beaten, made to suffer, and ultimately nailed to the cross. And why? What did He do? Peter will say later concerning Jesus, “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). And yet they did everything they could to get rid of Him. Why?

            Because Jesus said something shocking. “Before Abraham was, I am!” (John 8:58b). Why would the religious leaders pick up stones and try to stone Jesus there on the spot? It all goes back to Exodus 3. What name did God tell Moses to tell the Israelites? “I AM WHO I AM” (3:14). So essentially, Jesus is saying what? … That He is God. This is why the religious leaders wanted to get rid of Jesus. This is why the religious leaders would eventually arrest Jesus, torture Him, and crucify Him on the cross.

            But this Jesus, Peter says, “you with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing Him to the cross” (Acts 2:23b). And even though the leaders were able to successfully kill Jesus, they didn’t have time to etch His name into the gravestone. And why? Because “freeing him from the agony of death … God raised this Jesus to life” (Acts 2:24a, 32a).

            Jesus was raised from death, not only to defeat sin and break the bonds of death but to be lifted up, to ascend into Heaven and sit at the right hand of the throne of the Father so that the power of the Holy Spirit could come and dwell in the hearts and minds of all people.

            Peter says, “All Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). This Jesus God has exalted to the highest place and has given Him the name that is above all names.

            The Holy Trinity confesses Jesus’ identity as God.

            And this isn’t just comforting news, it’s also confronting. The apostle Paul writes in Philippians 2 “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” (2:10-11). All people will bow and confess that Jesus is Lord … even those who don’t believe in the name of Jesus as their Savior. The people Peter is preaching to realize this and ask, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).

            Peter says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (2:38). And here’s the good news … in baptism, God placed His name on you. Not just a title, not just a label, but the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. That name now defines who you are and whose you are. It’s your true identity as a child of God, redeemed by Christ, and filled with the Spirit.

            And because that name has been written upon your heart, it changes absolutely everything, even how we look at death. The name to be etched on your gravestone someday will not be the final word. That stone may mark your resting place, but the name that truly matters, the name of Jesus, it was written on you in baptism and cannot be erased. It’s the name that speaks a greater promise, a promise of resurrection, eternal life, and a place in the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns forever.

            So what’s in a name? When it’s His name … everything. Life. Salvation. Eternity.

            On this Trinity Sunday, we celebrate the God who reveals Himself not just as Creator, not just as Redeemer, and not just as the One who makes you holy, but as the God who names you as His own. The Father who claims you, the Son who saves you, and the Spirit who dwells in you.

            You don’t need a souvenir keychain to know who you are. You don’t need to fear the sound of your full name being called out. You don’t need to wonder if your name will one day be forgotten because the name of Jesus is upon you. That name shapes your story now, and it seals your place in eternity.

            So this week, live with that name at the center of your identity. Speak it with confidence. Trust it in hardship. Rejoice in it always.

            And remember this … His name is written on you … so your name is written in heaven. Amen.

            The peace of God that surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.