Who Is Yeshua?
His Name Tells the Story.
Yeshua is the Hebrew name of Jesus—the Jewish Messiah at the center of the Christian faith. His name reaches back into the language, promises and story of Israel.
The Name
A Hebrew name.A story of salvation.
The name Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) is a Hebrew name closely related to the older form Yehoshua (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ)—the name we know in English as Joshua.
Yehoshua incorporates the name of the God of Israel and is connected with the Hebrew idea of saving, rescuing or delivering. Yeshua is a later, shortened form of that same name. That is why it is often expressed in English as “YHWH saves” or “the LORD saves.”
The form Yeshua was not invented for Jesus. It appears in the Hebrew Scriptures and was used among Jewish people in the centuries surrounding His lifetime.
The New Testament was written in Greek, where His name appears as Iēsous (Ἰησοῦς). Through Greek and then Latin, that name came into English as Jesus. Jesus and Yeshua are not two different people or competing names. They are forms of the same name across different languages.
Matthew makes the meaning especially important: “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” — Matthew 1:21
His name isn’t a brand.His name is a message.
The Jewish Messiah
Yeshua was born a Jew. He lived as a Jew. He is Israel’s Messiah.
To understand Yeshua, we have to begin where His story begins. Not in Rome. Not in medieval Europe. Not in modern Western Christianity. In Israel.
Yeshua was born into the Jewish people. He was circumcised according to the Torah. He worshiped in synagogues. He went to Jerusalem. He celebrated the biblical feasts. He quoted Israel’s Scriptures, taught from them and spoke about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
His first followers were Jewish. His apostles were Jewish. The earliest proclamation that He was the Messiah emerged from within the story and hope of Israel.
The title Messiah comes from the Hebrew Mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ)—“anointed one.” The Greek New Testament uses Christos, from which we get the title Christ. So when Christians say Jesus Christ, they are saying something much closer to: Yeshua the Messiah.
The Story
Lived. Died. Rose. Reigns.
The Kingdom of God.
Yeshua walked the land of Israel proclaiming the Kingdom of God. He taught people to love God and neighbor, called people to repentance, healed the sick and called men and women to follow Him.
He gave His life.
Yeshua was crucified under Roman authority. His followers understood His death as far more than an execution: that He willingly gave His life for others and opened the way for reconciliation with God.
The tomb was empty.
His disciples proclaimed that God had raised Him from the dead. The New Testament proclaims the crucified and risen Yeshua as Lord and Messiah and says that He will return.
Why His Name Matters
There is salvation in His name.
After Yeshua’s resurrection, His followers carried His name into Jerusalem and eventually throughout the Roman world.
Peter declared: “There is salvation in no one else.” — Acts 4:12
The earliest believers weren't simply spreading a philosophy, a moral system or a new religious institution. They were proclaiming a person. They were proclaiming Yeshua.
The New Testament says that God exalted Him so that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. — Philippians 2:10–11
That is why His name matters to us. And that is why we put it where people can see it.
One Name. One People.
A greater purpose.
The story of Yeshua begins within Israel, but it does not end there. From the beginning, God promised Abraham that through him all the families of the earth would be blessed. The prophets envisioned God's salvation reaching beyond Israel to the nations.
The New Testament describes people from the nations being brought near to the God of Israel through Messiah—not replacing Israel or erasing its story, but sharing in the blessing God promised long ago.
The God of Israel. The Messiah of Israel. Salvation reaching the nations.
The Conversation
Maybe you came here because of a hat.
Maybe you saw these Hebrew letters somewhere. Maybe they were embroidered on a hat. Maybe you asked someone: “What does that say?”
And they answered: “Yeshua.”
Maybe that was the first time you had ever heard the name Jesus spoken that way.
That's why The Yeshua Movement exists.
We put His name into the world because a name can create a question. A question can begin a conversation. And a conversation can introduce someone to Yeshua.
Now you know the name.
The conversation doesn’t have to end here. If you want to know who Yeshua is, one of the best places to begin is with the accounts of His life preserved in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Don't begin with everything people have said about Him. Begin with His story.
His name speaks of salvation. His story changes everything.
MAKING HIS NAME KNOWN.