Satan hates the name of Jesus. In 1935 the church in my hometown was revived, and we were all burdened to preach the gospel. Every night we went to the streets to preach. One night, as we were preaching on a street corner, a man about thirty years of age was very bold to scoff at the name of Jesus. A brother went up to him in a very nice way and asked if they could have a little talk. When he agreed, the brother asked, "Have you ever met Jesus?" He said, "No." Then the brother asked, "Have you ever heard of Jesus?" Again, he said, "No." After that, the brother said, "Has Jesus done something bad to you?" He said, "Never." Then the brother inquired, "You have never met Jesus, and He has never done anything bad to you. Why then do you hate Him?" He replied, "Although I've never met Him and although I've never been damaged by Him, I still hate Him." Then the brother asked, "Why don't you hate me?" The man answered, "I don't hate you; I hate Jesus." "Why?" inquired the brother. "I don't know," said the man. Then the brother asked, "Sir, may I relate a fact to you?" The man consented and the brother said, "Let me tell you, you do not hate Jesus. It is someone else who hates Jesus. Why? Because you have never met Jesus. It is not you!" When the man asked the brother who it was who hated Jesus, the brother answered, "It is the Devil within you who hates Jesus." By all this we see that Satan utilizes people to attack the name of Jesus (Acts 26:9).
As a believer, you probably have had the following experience. When you are about to talk to others about Plato or Abraham Lincoln, you do not feel ashamed; but whenever you talk to people about Jesus, a strange feeling comes over you. When the Chinese speak about Confucius, they feel glorious. We should also feel glorious whenever we speak to others about Jesus, but often we do not have a glorious feeling. Instead, we have a rather strange feeling. This is devilish! In this universe and on this earth there is a devilish element that is against Jesus. You have no problem as long as you are talking about the world situation, the economy, science, and so many things; but whenever you talk about the name of Jesus, you have a strange sense. This comes from the Devil. Because Satan and all his demons hate the name of Jesus, we must proclaim it all the more. We must be bold with this name and say, "Satan, Jesus is my Lord! Satan, stay away!" We need to shout the name of Jesus.
If you read the book of Acts, you will see that in the early days the religionists attacked the name of Jesus, forbidding the believers to preach or teach in that name (Acts 4:17-18; 5:40). The Pharisees warned Peter and John not to preach in the name of Jesus, not to do anything or say anything in His name. It was all right to preach the Bible, but not to preach in the name of Jesus. Satan hates the name of Jesus because he knows that God's salvation is in this name. The more we preach in the name of Jesus and the more we pray to Jesus, the more people will get saved. This is the reason Satan hates this name.
When the Apostles were persecuted, they rejoiced that they were worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus (Acts 5:41). Is this not wonderful? They even hazarded their lives for this name (Acts 15:26). Because Satan attacks the name of Jesus with all his evil power, we must learn to suffer for this name.
In Revelation 3:8 the Lord Jesus praised the church in Philadelphia because they did not deny His name. We should never deny the name of Jesus. We should deny every other name, but keep the name of Jesus. We must testify that we do not belong to any person or to any sect, but that we simply belong to Jesus. The name of Jesus is the only name we own.