You're right to point out the historical issue with the letter "J" and the name Jesus! Here's the breakdown:
* The "J" is relatively recent: The letter "J" as we know it only developed in the late Middle Ages (around the 15th century) as a distinct letter from "I." Before that, the same letter was used for both the "I" and "J" sounds.
* Jesus' original name: Jesus was a Jewish man living in Roman-occupied Palestine. His name was originally *Yeshua* (יֵשׁוּעַ) in Hebrew. This name is a shortened form of *Yehoshua*, which translates to "Yahweh [God] is salvation."
* Greek Translation: The New Testament was written in Greek. *Yeshua* was translated into Greek as *Ἰησοῦς* (Iēsous).
* Latin Translation: The Greek *Iēsous* was then transliterated into Latin as *Iesus*. Notice that there is no "J" in the Latin version.
* The Development of "J": Over time, as the "J" sound developed, the Latin *Iesus* gradually became *Jesus* in languages like English.
In summary:
1. Jesus' original name was *Yeshua* (Hebrew).
2. This was translated to *Iēsous* (Greek).
3. Then, it became *Iesus* (Latin).
4. Finally, with the development of the letter "J," it became *Jesus* in English and some other languages.
So, while the *name* "Jesus" with a "J" might be relatively recent, the *person* Jesus existed long before the letter "J" was invented. The name has simply evolved over time through different languages and alphabets.