THE NAMES AND TITLES OF JESUS

We often think of Christ as Jesus’ surname or second name, but this is a title, not a name. In the ancient world there were no surnames. People were named with their father’s name or biography (Joseph of Arimmathea) or by their vocation. Jesus’ name would have been Jesus bar Joseph, meaning “Jesus, son of Joseph.” Altogether there are some fifty names or titles for Jesus in the New Testament, among them Savior, Son of the Most High, Immanuel (“God with us”), Lord, Master (a title of respect), Teacher, Rabbi, Son of David (a messianic title), the Galilean, the Nazarene, the Carpenter, the Prophet, the Lamb, the Word, the Lion of Judah, the Great High Priest and the Alpha and the Omega. The three most common titles are the following:

Messiah - The title Messiah comes from the Hebrew word mashiah, meaning “one who has been anointed.” Israel’s expectation was that the Messiah - the Anointed of God - would come from the House of David and would, like David, lead Israel in the defeat of its enemies. The Greek word  for Messiah is Christos, thus the English “Christ.” Because of the word’s political connotation, Jesus himself seldom used the title Messiah. He came as a suffering servant to redeem humankind, not as a military leader to win a victory for Israel over Rome. Following his resurrection he is called Jesus Christ or  Christ Jesus, combining his name and his title. Paul merges the person and the work of Jesus into one term when he refers to Jesus as Christ or the Christ as when he says “we proclaim Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:23).

Son of Man - The term Son of Man is used by Jesus in referring to himself, as when he says, “The Son of Man came . . . to give his life” (Mark 10:45) and “The Son of Man [must be] lifted up” (John 3:14). Interestingly, no one else uses this term to refer to Jesus, that is, no one says, “There is the Son of Man.” Why did Jesus use this phrase to describe himself? Perhaps because it had no known or precise meaning,  as did the term Messiah. Or perhaps because of the use of the term in Daniel 7:13-14, where the prophet speaks about “a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven” (NIV) whose kingdom would have no end (see Mark 14:62), which many Jews interpreted as messianic.

Son of God - The term Son of God is used in the Gospels to express Jesus’ unique relationship to God and his true identity: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). This term did not require any special knowledge for Gentile readers, as did Messiah. The term Son of God is the title or designation used by the early church in referring to Jesus in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.

Source: A Handbook of the Christian Faith

by: John Schwarz pp. 64-89

PHARISEES - ARCHAELOGICAL BIBLE PP. 1,566

ZEALOTS AND ESSENES - PP. 1576

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