Jesus in binary

The design shows five rows of ones and zeros. The small label under them is the Message Merch™ logo.

Those rows spell one name: Jesus.

How it spells a name

Computers do not store letters. They store numbers, written with only two digits, 1 and 0. Each row in the design is eight digits. That is one letter in ASCII, the standard code most computers use for plain text.

• 01001010 is a capital J.
• 01100101 is e.
• 01110011 is s.
• 01110101 is u.
• 01110011 is s again.

Read top to bottom, it says Jesus.

Why write his name in code

The Bible calls Jesus “the Word.” John opens his gospel this way: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” A few lines later he says, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”

A word is how one mind reaches another. God spoke, and the Word he spoke was a person. Jesus is how God made himself known.

The code in the design hides the name until someone reads it. Somebody has to ask.

What it does not mean

What to say if someone asks

Start with the name.

“It spells Jesus, in binary. Each row is one letter.”

If they ask why:

“The Bible calls him the Word. John says the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and lived among us. To me, that’s the name worth reading.”

If they want the place: John 1:1 and John 1:14.

messagemerch.org