People using “Jesus Christ” as a curse is so common in our culture that it seems normal, yet it is truly bizarre. You don’t hear anyone blurting out “Adolph Hitler!” or “Mahatma Buddha!” when things go south. Why would so many people who have no relationship with Jesus use His name in such a vile way? What did He ever do to them?
I’m sure they don’t think much about it. Most likely these unbelievers feel the need to curse and Jesus’ name simply leaps to their mind and lips. It seems perfectly natural to them. Buy why? Once the anger passes, they usually aren’t carrying on as haters of Jesus—they don’t even believe in Him! Yet His name feels to them like a worthy curse, as if He were the perfect Person to blame for what just went wrong.
Here’s my suggestion: Why not curse by using the name “Julius Caesar”? The initials are the same; the syllables are about the same; they both lived about the same time; and they both left a huge legacy. But where Jesus merely launched a religion of peace, Caesar turned the Roman Republic into an empire that crushed its foes with unparalleled violence and enslaved whole populations—the most famous person ever to turn a democracy into a world conquering dictatorship. Caesar certainly fits the bill. Why not curse by his name?
The only answer to this riddle that has ever made any sense to me is that the demons absolutely hate Jesus and His name, hate us and hate God. They make Jesus’ name feel like a great word to use as a curse (just as they make crack cocaine seem like a great substance to desire and unforgiveness seem like the right thing to do). We go for the bait and the rest is history: The demons get us—God’s beloved, lost children—to use His own dear Son’s name as a favorite curse. They laugh while the angels weep.
Maybe there’s an opportunity for evangelism here. We could rightly ask, “Why curse a Man you think is dead? Do you secretly believe that He lives? Actually, He does! And He’s not even mad at you for blaming Him for your trouble, even though He’s innocent. In fact He wants to be the greatest Helper to you that you’ve ever known. Why not call on Him instead of curse Him?” Most likely they would turn and curse us for being smart alecks, but you never know. Just might catch a few fish that way…
There is so much more to Jesus’ name than this! Dig deeper into the power it conveys to those who believe with “The Name of Jesus” at our website.
About the Author: Steve Evans
For over a decade Steve Evans and Healing Streams have been helping people recover inner peace and freedom. Through Forerunners4Him he has been showing how we can be saved for heaven and teaching the way to live a Spirit filled life on earth. Go now to receive a completely free primer, Getting to Heaven and/or an introduction to Living in the Spirit at forerunners4him.org. 
