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The names and titles of Jesus Christ by Chris Byworth
Jesus:
Jesus was a common first name for a Jewish man. Nine others of this
name are known at the time. It was the Greek version of three common
Hebrew names, Joshua, Jesoshua, and Jeshua. This was the name by which
Jesus was known in is lifetime, and it occurs nearly 600 times in the
Gospels. It's meaning was: ' The Lord (Yahweh) is my help- or ' Yahweh
rescues.' Later New Testamenr writers use the name rarely; only the
writer to the Hebrews uses it much. It stresses Jesus' humanity, as the
carpenter of Nazareth.
Lord:
Outside the Gospels, 'Lord' is Jesus' dominant title. Paul uses it 222
times, and 'Jesus is Lord' was the first creed for non-Jews. It was
used in worship too. All ancient gods were called 'Lord'. Even in the
Old Testament, 'lord' was read out instead of 'Yahweh', which was too
sacred to say. Although it could also be used simply to mean 'sir' it
chiefly expressed Christ's rule over all, a rule that one day the whole
world would recognize: 'All will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is
Lord.'
Son of man:
Son of man is a title found almost exclusively in the Gospels,
used by Jesus himself. This was his self-chosen title, which the early
church did not take up, since it was not easy to understand or
communicate. It's meaning is not obvious as the other titles. In the
Old Testament, it can simply be a way of saying 'a man'. In the book of
Ezekiel, 'son of man' comes ninety times and emphasizes Ezekiel's frail
humanity. But is was also used of a divine figure breaking in from
heaven, who the Jews increasingly came to expect. In the book of
Daniel, the prophet's vision portrays such a figure; but he also sees
the 'son of man' as a group, 'the saints of the Most High', who reign
only after suffering.
Jesus' sayings include both aspects. He is human: 'the Son of Man has
nowhere to lay his head', and in particular he 'must suffer many
things'. Yet he is divine too: 'You will see the Son of Man sitting at
the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.'
Seemingly Jesus took this vague title and gave it his own meaning,
stressing that his messiahship would involve rejection and death before
resurrection and final return.
It was this note of suffering linked to future glory that differed so
much from comptemporary expectations. Peter found it hard to accept,
and it provoked a sharp argument between them: Jesus began to
teach..."The Son of man must suffer much and be rejected..."
Peter...began to rebuke him... "Get away from me, Satan."'
I Am:
At the burning bush, God revealed his personal name to Moses as 'I am
who I am,' or simply 'I am'. In Hebrew this is 'Yahweh' (or 'Jehovah in
the older, inaccurate spelling).
In the New Testament, particularly in John's Gospel, we find Jesus used
this title when speaking of himself. He used the style of deity: 'I am
the vine'. 'I am the bread of life' and so on. He even used God's
personal name of himself at least once: 'Before Abraham was born, "I
am".' His Jewish opponents knew very well what he meant. Undestandably,
they tried to stone him for blasphemy.
Messiah:
Messiah was the main title given to Jesus by Jewish Christians. It is a
Hebrew word meaning 'anointed', and its Greek equivalent is 'Christ'.
At first it was a title, 'the Christ'. Later it became part of his
name: 'Jesus Christ'. Anointing was an act symbolizing that God had
chosen and empowered a person, particularly a king. In the Old
Testament the longing grew that God would make his people the top
nation. Sometimes they thought of God doing this in person. More often,
they hoped for another great king, like David, who would be their
'Messiah'. Later such political hopes faded and the longing grew for a
divine figure direct from heaven.
Many claimed to be politcal messiahs in Jesus' day, particularly in
Galilee. A Zealot group existed. and Jesus' disciple, Simon, was a
member. Many tried to force Jesus into fulfilling this revolutionary
role. Even Peter understood him in this way, and Jesus himself felt
this temptation, especially since he saw himself as the fulfilment of
all the varied strands of Old Testament hopes.
Misunderstanding was such a danger that Jesus preferred to keep his
messiahship a secret, unless formally challenged.
Son of God:
Son of God may well be the title most used but least understood today.
It was central to the first Chistians in stating their belief in Jesus
and expressing their worship of him. In the Old Testament, angels could
be called God's sons, as could Israel, and especially Israel's king.
In the New Testament, Christians are God's children. They have the
privilege of calling God 'Abba'--the closest family name, almost
'Daddy'. But Jesus is the Son of God. His sonship is different in
nature from his followers. Thus Paul is careful to say that Christians
are sons by adoption. And John's Gospel records Jesus speaking of God
as 'my Father and your Father'.
Jesus was aware from boyhood of this special relationship to God. It's
centrality for him stands out at his baptism, temptation,
transfiguration, trial and death. His most normal was of addressing God
was as 'Father', the one on whom he depended, and whom he obeyed. In
John, who expounds the title most, it expresses a uniquely close
relationship. In the Son, the Father can be seen with full clairty:
'Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.'
Son of David:
God had promised David that his throne would be established forever. So
the longing grew for the coming of 'great David's greater son'. This
was the kind of Messiah popularly expected in Jesus' day. In Matthew,
Jesus is called 'Son of David' six times, mainly by simple people. But
he only accepted it once, and then reinterpreted it. The first
Christians claimed that Jesus was indeed the Son of David, born in
David's city Bethlehem.
The Lamb:
The lamb is a title for Jesus used in the New Testament, but much used
by the church since! The lamb was the animal for sacrifice, and
especially for passover, when the blood of a young, pure male lamb
rescued God's people from death. Philip, Peter, Paul, John the Baptist
and supremely John the apostle saw Jesus thus, and especially in his
death. They particularly saw this in the light of a phrase in one of
Isaiah's 'servant songs', describing the servant as 'like a lamb that
is taken to be slaughtered'.
The book of Revelation uses a different Greekword and a new set of
ideas. Jesus is a lamb of power and authority, to be worshiped and
feared.
See also:-
Was
Jesus coming foretold
Was
Jesus genuine or false
Miracles
performed by Jesus |
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