Two names and a variety of titles are used to refer to

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

. In Christianity, the two names Jesus and

Emmanuel Immanuel or Emmanuel (, "God swith us"; Koine Greek: ) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the House of David. The Gospel of Matthew ( Matthew 1:22 –23) interprets this as a prophecy of ...

that refer to Jesus in the New Testament have

salvific Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

attributes.''Bible explorer's guide'' by John Phillips 2002 page 147''All the Doctrines of the Bible'' by Herbert Lockyer 1988 page 159 After the

crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion of Jesus was the death of Jesus by being crucifixion, nailed to a cross.The instrument of Jesus' crucifixion, instrument of crucifixion is taken to be an upright wooden beam to which was added a transverse wooden beam, thus f ...

the

early Church Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and bey ...

did not simply repeat his messages, but focused on him, proclaimed him, and tried to understand and explain his message. One element of the process of understanding and proclaiming Jesus was the attribution of titles to him.''Jesus: a Gospel portrait'' by Donald Senior 1992 pages 145-147 Some of the titles that were gradually used in the early Church and then appeared in the New Testament were adopted from the Jewish context of the age, while others were selected to refer to, and underscore the

message A message is a unit of communication that conveys information from a sender to a receiver. It can be transmitted through various forms, such as spoken or written words, signals, or electronic data, and can range from simple instructions to co ...

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

and teachings of Jesus. In time, some of these titles gathered

Christological In Christianity, Christology is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would be in the freeing of ...

significance. Christians have attached theological significance to the

Holy Name of Jesus In Catholicism, the veneration of the Holy Name of Jesus (also ''Most Holy Name of Jesus'', ) developed as a separate type of devotion in the early modern period, in parallel to that of the ''Sacred Heart''. The ''Litany of the Holy Name'' is ...

.''Outlines of dogmatic theology'', Volume 2 by Sylvester Hunter 2010 page 443''Jesus: the complete guide'' by Leslie Houlden 2006 page 426 The use of the name of Jesus in petitions is stressed in John 16:23 when Jesus states: "If you ask the Father anything in my name he will give it you." There is widespread belief among Christians that the name Jesus is not merely a sequence of identifying symbols but includes intrinsic divine power.''Theology of the New Testament'' by Georg Strecker, Friedrich Wilhelm Horn 2000 page 89''Spiritual theology'' by Jordan Aumann 1980 page 411

Names

Jesus

In the New Testament the name Jesus is given both in the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke is the third of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It tells of the origins, Nativity of Jesus, birth, Ministry of Jesus, ministry, Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Resurrection of Jesus, resurrection, and Ascension of ...

and the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

, and

only in Matthew. In Luke 1:31 an angel tells Mary to name her child Jesus, and in Matthew 1:21 an angel tells

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

to name the child Jesus. The statement in Matthew 1:21 "you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" associates

attributes to the name Jesus in Christian theology.''Matthew'' by Thomas G. Long 1997 pages 14-15''The Gospel of Matthew'' by Rudolf Schnackenburg 2002 page 9 Although the precise difference between a 'name' and a 'title' may be open to interpretation, 198 different names and titles of Jesus in the Bible are listed in

Cruden's Concordance ''A Complete Concordance to the Holy Scriptures'', generally known as ''Cruden's Concordance'', is a concordance of the King James Bible (KJV) that was singlehandedly created by Alexander Cruden (1699–1770). The ''Concordance'' was first publi ...

, first published in 1737, and continuously in print ever since. The first index of the book (following the royal dedications and author's preface) is entitled "A collection of the Names and Titles given to Jesus Christ", with 198 names listed, each accompanied by a biblical reference. During his lifetime, when the need for specificity arose, a

patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, ...

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

would be added to his given name. These forms of address have been translated into English as "Jesus son of Joseph," "Jesus of

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

" and "Jesus the Nazarene."

Etymology

There have been a number of proposals as to the origin and etymological origin of the name ''Jesus''. The name is related to the

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew ( or ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite languages, Canaanitic branch of the Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Isra ...

form ''Yehoshua`''(), which is a

theophoric name A theophoric name (from Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or a god's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that d ...

first mentioned in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

in referring to one of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

' companions and his successor as leader of the Israelites. This name is usually considered to be a compound of two parts: ''Yeho'', a theophoric reference to

YHWH The TetragrammatonPronounced ; ; also known as the Tetragram. is the four-letter Hebrew-language theonym (transliterated as YHWH or YHVH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four Hebrew letters, written and read from right to left, a ...

, the distinctive personal name of the

God of Israel In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious faith, faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a Deity, god is "a spirit or being believed to have creat ...

, plus a form derived from the Hebrew

triconsonantal root The roots of verbs and most nouns in the Semitic languages are characterized as a sequence of consonants or " radicals" (hence the term consonantal root). Such abstract consonantal roots are used in the formation of actual words by adding the vowel ...

''y-š-ʕ'' or י-ש-ע "to liberate, save". There have been various proposals as to how the literal etymological meaning of the name should be translated, including:Strong's Concordanc
H3091
/ref>Philo, ''De Mutatione Nominum'', §21Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius, Hebrew and English Lexicon With an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic (Hendrickson, 1985), . Cf. ''Blue Letter Bible''
H3442
/ref> :*YHWH saves :*YHWH (is) salvation :*YHWH (is) a saving-cry :*YHWH (is) a cry-for-saving :*YHWH (is) a cry-for-help :*YHWH (is) my help This early Biblical Hebrew name (''Yehoshua`'') underwent a shortening into later biblical (''Yeshua`''), as found in the Hebrew text of verses Ezra 2:2, 2:6, 2:36, 2:40, 3:2, 3:8, 3:9, 3:10, 3:18, 4:3, 8:33; Nehemiah 3:19, 7:7, 7:11, 7:39, 7:43, 8:7, 8:17, 9:4, 9:5, 11:26, 12:1, 12:7, 12:8, 12:10, 12:24, 12:26; 1 Chronicles 24:11; and 2 Chronicles 31:15—as well as in

Biblical Aramaic Biblical Aramaic is the form of Aramaic that is used in the books of Daniel and Ezra in the Hebrew Bible. It should not be confused with the Targums — Aramaic paraphrases, explanations and expansions of the Hebrew scriptures. History During ...

at verse Ezra 5:2. These Bible verses refer to ten individuals (in Nehemiah 8:17, the name refers to

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

son of Nun). This historical change may have been due to a phonological shift whereby guttural phonemes weakened, including Usually, the traditional theophoric element ''Yahu'' was shortened at the beginning of a name to '' o-', and at the end to '' yah'. In the contraction of ''Yehoshua`'' to ''Yeshua`'', the vowel is instead fronted (perhaps due to the influence of the ''y'' in triliteral root ''y-š-ʕ''). During the post-biblical period, the name was also adopted by

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

and Greek-speaking Jews. By the time the

was written, the

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

had already transliterated ישוע (''Yeshua`)'' into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

as closely as possible in the 3rd-century BCE, the result being (''Iēsous''). Since Greek had no equivalent to the Semitic letter '' shin'' h it was replaced with a σ ''

sigma Sigma ( ; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; ) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as an operator ...

'' and a masculine singular ending swas added in the nominative case, in order to allow the name to be inflected for case (nominative, accusative, etc.) in the grammar of the Greek language. The

diphthong A diphthong ( ), also known as a gliding vowel or a vowel glide, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of ...

al vowel of Masoretic ''Yehoshua`'' or ''Yeshua`'' would not have been present in Hebrew/Aramaic pronunciation during this period, and some scholars believe some dialects dropped the pharyngeal sound of the final letter (''`ayin'') which in any case had no counterpart in ancient Greek. The Greek writings of

Philo of Alexandria Philo of Alexandria (; ; ; ), also called , was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his representation of the Alexandrian Je ...

Philo Judaeus, De ebrietate in Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt, ed. P. Wendland, Berlin: Reimer, 1897 (repr. De Gruyter, 1962)vol. 2:170-214, Section 96, Line 2. and

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

frequently mention this name. It also occurs in the Greek New Testament at Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8, referring to Joshua son of Nun. From Greek, (''Iēsous'') moved into

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

at least by the time of the

Vetus Latina The ''Vetus Latina'' ("Old Latin" in Latin), also known as ''Vetus Itala'' ("Old Italian"), ''Itala'' ("Italian") and Old Italic, and denoted by the siglum \mathfrak, are the Latin Bible translations, translations of biblical texts (both Old T ...

. The morphological jump this time was not as large as previous changes between language families. (''Iēsous'') was

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

to Latin ''IESVS'', where it stood for many centuries. The Latin name has an irregular declension, with a genitive, dative, ablative, and vocative of ''Jesu'', accusative of ''Jesum'', and nominative of ''Jesus''.

Minuscule Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally '' minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing system ...

(lower case) letters were developed around 800 AD and some time later the U was invented to distinguish the

vowel A vowel is a speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract, forming the nucleus of a syllable. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness a ...

sound from the

consonant In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract, except for the h sound, which is pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Examples are and pronou ...

al sound and the J to distinguish the consonant from I. Similarly, Greek minuscules were invented about the same time, prior to that the name was written in

capital letters Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally ''#Majuscule, majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally ''#Minuscule, minuscule'') in the written representation of certain langua ...

: or abbreviated as: with a line over the top, see also

Christogram A Christogram () is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a Christian symbolism, religious symbol within the Christian Church. One of the oldest Christograms is the C ...

Modern English Modern English, sometimes called New English (NE) or present-day English (PDE) as opposed to Middle and Old English, is the form of the English language that has been spoken since the Great Vowel Shift in England England is a Count ...

'' derives from Early Middle English ''Iesu'' (attested from the 12th century). The name participated in the

Great Vowel Shift The Great Vowel Shift was a series of English phonology, pronunciation changes in the vowels of the English language that took place primarily between the 1400s and 1600s (the transition period from Middle English to Early Modern English), begi ...

in late

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

(15th century). The letter J was first distinguished from 'I' by the Frenchman Pierre Ramus in the 16th century, but did not become common in Modern English until the 17th century, so that early 17th century works such as the first edition of the

King James Version of the Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, b ...

(1611) continued to print the name with an I.

"Jesus" forms

"Jesu" is a remnant in modern English of the

declension In linguistics, declension (verb: ''to decline'') is the changing of the form of a word, generally to express its syntactic function in the sentence by way of an inflection. Declension may apply to nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and det ...

and use of grammatically inflected

case ending A grammatical case is a category of nouns and noun modifiers (determiners, adjectives, participles, and numerals) that corresponds to one or more potential grammatical functions for a nominal group in a wording. In various languages, nominal ...

s with some proper nouns in

, which persisted into

Early Modern English Early Modern English (sometimes abbreviated EModEFor example, or EMnE) or Early New English (ENE) is the stage of the English language from the beginning of the Tudor period to the English Interregnum and Restoration, or from the transit ...

to around the time of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

. The form Jesu is often a

vocative In grammar, the vocative case (abbreviated ) is a grammatical case which is used for a noun that identifies a person (animal, object, etc.) being addressed or occasionally for the noun modifiers (determiners, adjectives, participles, and numeral ...

, "Jesu!", but may also stand for other cases, such as

genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

, as in Latin. The form "Jesu" was preserved in hymns and poetry long after it had fallen out of general use in speech, for example in poet laureate

Robert Bridges Robert Seymour Bridges (23 October 1844 – 21 April 1930) was a British poet who was Poet Laureate from 1913 to 1930. A doctor by training, he achieved literary fame only late in life. His poems reflect a deep Christian faith, and he is ...

' translation of Johann Schop's wording for the English translation of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

's cantata, ''

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" is the popular English title of the chorale from the 1723 Advent cantata ''Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben'' (Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life), BWV 147, by Johann Sebastian Bach. The chorale occurs twice in the ca ...

'' and in T. S. Colvin's hymn, ''Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love'', based on a song from northern

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. During the late 19th century, as ''Jesu'' was increasingly seen as antiquated, some churches attempted to update the wording of hymns containing "Jesu" to "Jesus". In modernizing hymn texts the use of "Jesu's" or "Jesus'" could cause problems where the

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

only allowed two

syllable A syllable is a basic unit of organization within a sequence of speech sounds, such as within a word, typically defined by linguists as a ''nucleus'' (most often a vowel) with optional sounds before or after that nucleus (''margins'', which are ...

s, "Je-su's".

Significance of the name

Christians have attached theological significance to the name of Jesus from the earliest days of Christianity. Devotions to and feasts for the

exist both in

Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

and

Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Protestantism, Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the O ...

. The devotions and venerations to the name Jesus also extend to the IHS monogram, derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

word for Jesus ΙΗΣΟΥΣ.''Christian sacrament and devotion'' by Servus Gieben 1997 page 18''The Continuum encyclopedia of symbols'' by Udo Becker 2000 page 54 The significance of the name of Jesus in the New Testament is underscored by the fact that in his Nativity account Matthew pays more attention to the name of the child and its theological implications than the actual birth event itself. Reverence for the name of Jesus is emphasized by

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

in Philippians 2:10 where he states: "That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth". The use of the name of Jesus in petitions is stressed in John 16:23 when Jesus states: "If you ask the Father anything in my name he will give it you." Many Christian prayers thus conclude with the words: "Through Our Lord Jesus Christ". There is widespread belief among Christians that the name Jesus is not merely a sequence of identifying symbols but includes intrinsic divine power, and that where the name of Jesus is spoken or displayed the power of Jesus can be called upon.

Emmanuel

Matthew 1:23 ("they shall call his name Emmanuel") provides the name '

' (meaning ''God is with us'').''Who do you say that I am?: essays on Christology'' by

Jack Dean Kingsbury Jack Dean Kingsbury (born 1934) is the former Aubrey Lee Brooks professor of theology at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, now an emeritus professor. He is a scholar of the New Testament, specializing in the Book of Matthew and th ...

Mark Allan Powell Mark Allan Powell is an American New Testament scholar and professional music critic. New Testament scholarship Powell was Professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio until his retirement in 2018. He is editor of ...

, David R. Bauer 1999 page 17 'Emmanuel', which is taken from Isaiah 7:14, does not appear elsewhere in the New Testament. The name 'Emmanuel' (also ''Immanuel'' or ''Imanu'el'') of the Hebrew ''עִמָּנוּאֵל'' "

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

swith us" consists of two

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

words: אֵל ( ’El, meaning 'God') and עִמָּנוּ (ʻImmānū, meaning 'with us'); Standard Hebrew ''ʻImmanuʼel'',

Tiberian Hebrew Tiberian Hebrew is the canonical pronunciation of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) committed to writing by Masoretic scholars living in the Jewish community of Tiberias in ancient Galilee under the Abbasid Caliphate. They wrote in the form of Tib ...

''ʻImmānûʼēl''. It is a

theophoric A theophoric name (from Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or a god's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that de ...

name used in the

in Isaiah 7:14 and . Some interpreters see Matthew 1:23 providing a key to Emmanuel

Christology In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...

in the New Testament, with Matthew showing an interest in identifying Jesus as "God with us" and later developing the Emmanuel theme at key points throughout his Gospel.''Matthew's Emmanuel'' by David D. Kupp 1997 pages 220-224 The name Emmanuel does not directly appear elsewhere in the New Testament, but Matthew builds on the motif in Matthew 28:20 to indicate that Jesus will be with the faithful to the end times. According to

Ulrich Luz Ulrich Luz (23 February 1938 – 13 October 2019) was a Swiss theologian and professor emeritus at the University of Bern. Early life He was born on 23 February 1938 in Männedorf. He studied Protestant theology in Zurich, Göttingen and Basel u ...

, the Emmanuel motif brackets the entire Gospel of Matthew between 1:23 and 28:20, appearing explicitly and implicitly in several other passages, setting the tone for the salvific theme of Matthew. Some Christians see the same meaning in Matthew 28:20 ("I am with you always, even unto the end of the world") indicates that Jesus will be with the faithful to the end of the age.

Titles

Christ

The title "Christ" used in the English language is from the

(''Christos''), via the

''Christus''. It means "anointed one".''Blue Letter Bible''
G5547
/ref> The Greek is a loan translation of the Hebrew ''mashiaħ'' (מָשִׁיחַ) or Aramaic ''mshiħa'' (מְשִׁיחָא), from which the English word ''

messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'' is derived. "Christ" has now become a name, one part of the name "Jesus Christ", but originally it was a title ("the Messiah") and not a name; however its use in the phrase "Christ Jesus" is a title.''Jesus God and Man'' by Wolfhart Pannenberg 1968 pages 30-31 The Greek-language

version of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' (Another Greek word, ''Messias'', appears in Daniel 9:26 and Psalm 2:2.)''Jesus the Christ'' by Walter Kasper 1976 pages 104-105 The

states that the long-awaited Messiah had come and describes this savior as ''the Christ''. In Matthew 16:16, the Apostle Peter—in what has become a famous proclamation of faith among Christians since the first century—said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."''Christianity'' by Donald W. Ekstrand 2008 pages 147-150 In John 11:27 Martha tells Jesus "you are the Christ", just before the

raising of Lazarus Lazarus of Bethany is a figure of the New Testament whose life is restored by Jesus four days after his death, as told in the Gospel of John. The resurrection is considered one of the miracles of Jesus. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Lazarus ...

. In the

Pauline Epistles The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest ext ...

the word ''Christ'' is so closely associated with Jesus that it is apparent that for the early Christians there is no need to claim that Jesus is Christ, for that is considered widely accepted among them. Hence Paul can use the term ''Christos'' with no confusion as to whom it refers to, and as in First Corinthians 4:15 and Romans 12:5 he can use expressions such as "in Christ" to refer to the followers of Jesus. Canonical biblical texts lack any account of a formal literal anointing of Jesus as "Christ" with the traditional oil (or

chrism Chrism, also called ''myrrh'', ''myron'', ''holy anointing oil'', and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Catholic Church, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian C ...

thought may interpret the

baptism of Jesus The baptism of Jesus, the ritual purification of Jesus with water by John the Baptist, was a major event described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament ( Matthew, Mark and Luke). It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghta ...

in water by

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

(Matthew 3:16) as a metaphorical anointing carried out in the light of Isaiah 61:1 – "the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings". Early followers of Jesus, who soon became known as "Christians" () after the title ''Christos'', developed symbols for representing Christ (i.e. Christograms) – for example, the ''

Chi Rho The Chi Rho (☧, English pronunciation ; also known as ''chrismon'') is one of the earliest forms of the Christogram, formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters—chi (letter), chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek (Romanization of ...

'' symbol, formed by superimposing the first two Greek letters in "Christ" ( Greek : "Χριστός" ):

chi __NOTOC__ Chi may refer to: __NOTOC__ Greek *Chi (letter) (Χ or χ), the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet Chinese * ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter *Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon * Chi (surname) ...

= ch () and

rho Rho (; uppercase Ρ, lowercase ρ or ; or ) is the seventeenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 100. It is derived from Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician letter resh . Its uppercase form uses the same ...

= r (), to produce ☧.

Lord

Christogram with Jesus Prayer in Romanian

Early Christians viewed Jesus as "the Lord" and the Greek word ''

Kyrios ''Kyrios'' or ''kurios'' () is a Greek word that is usually translated as "lord" or "master". It is used in the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament) about 7000 times, in particular translating the name YHWH (t ...

'' (κύριος) which may mean

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

or master appears 775 times in the New Testament, referring to him.''Mercer dictionary of the Bible'' by Watson E. Mills, Roger Aubrey Bullard 1998 pages 520-525''The Christology of the New Testament'' by Oscar Cullmann 1959 pages 234-237 In everyday

, ''Mari'' was a very respectful form of polite address, well above "Teacher" and similar to

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

. In Greek this has at times been translated as Kyrios. While the term Mari expressed the relationship between Jesus and his disciples during his life, the Greek Kyrios came to represent his lordship over the world.''The Christology of the New Testament'' by Oscar Cullmann 1959 page 202 Pauline writings further established the various theological consequences of the Lord/Kyrios concept among early Christians, and emphasized the attributes of Jesus as not only referring to his eschatological victory, but to him as the "divine image" (Greek ''eikōn'') in whose face the glory of God shines forth. In Romans 10:9–13 Paul emphasized the

value of the title, and stated that confessing by mouth (''homologeo'') the belief that Jesus is Lord (''Kyrion Iesoun'') signifies one's salvation. The high frequency of the use of the term Kyrios in the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...

indicates how natural it was for

early Christians Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and bey ...

to refer to Jesus in this way. This title persisted among Christians as the predominant perception of Jesus for a number of centuries.''Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity'' by Larry W. Hurtado 2005 pages 113 and 179 The use of the ''Kyrios title'' for Jesus is central to the development of New Testament Christology, for the early Christians placed it at the center of their understanding and from that center attempted to understand the other issues related to the Christian mysteries.''Christology: Biblical And Historical'' by Mini S. Johnson, 2005 pages 229-235 The question of the deity of Christ in the New Testament is inherently related to the Kyrios title of Jesus used in the early Christian writings and its implications for the absolute lordship of Jesus. In early Christian belief, the concept of Kyrios included the

pre-existence of Christ The pre-existence of Christ asserts the existence of Christ prior to his incarnation as Jesus. One of the relevant Bible passages is John 1 () where, in the Trinitarian interpretation, Christ is identified with a pre-existent divine hypostasi ...

for they believed that if Christ is one with God, he must have been united with God from the very beginning. The title, even in the Greek form, continues to be widely used in Christian

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

, e.g. in the

Kyrie ', a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of ('' Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the ( ; ). In the Bible The prayer, , "Lord, have mercy" derives from a Biblical phrase. Greek , ...

eleison, Christe eleison combination (i.e. ''Lord have mercy'', ''Christ have mercy''), where Jesus is referred to as Lord in one case, and as Christ immediately thereafter.

Master

The Greek word ''

Epistates An (; plural ) in ancient Greece was any sort of superintendent or overseer. In the Hellenistic kingdoms generally, an is always connected with a subject district (a regional assembly), where the , as resident representative of the king, exerci ...

'' (''Epistata'' in the

vocative case In grammar, the vocative case (abbreviated ) is a grammatical case which is used for a noun that identifies a person (animal, object, etc.) being addressed or occasionally for the noun modifiers (determiners, adjectives, participles, and numeral ...

) is used only in Luke's gospel, where it occurs six times. Robert O'Toole argues that the word relates to Jesus' power over the material world rather than his teaching. Some commentators suggest that in Luke 5, Peter progresses from seeing Jesus as "Master" (v. 5) to seeing him as "Lord" (v. 8).

Logos (the Word)

John 1:1-18 calls Jesus the ''

Logos ''Logos'' (, ; ) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric, as well as religion (notably Logos (Christianity), Christianity); among its connotations is that of a rationality, rational form of discourse that relies on inducti ...

'' (Greek ), often used as "the Word" in English translations. The identification of Jesus as the Logos which became

Incarnate Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used to mean a god, deity, or Divine Being in ...

appears only at the beginning of the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...

and the term Logos/Word is used only in two other

Johannine Johannine literature is the collection of New Testament works that are traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, John the Evangelist, or to the Johannine community. They are usually dated to the period , with a minority of scholars, including ...

passages: 1 John 1:1 and Revelation 19:13. It appears nowhere else in the New Testament.''The Christology of the New Testament'' by Oscar Cullmann 1959 page 258''The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia'' by Geoffrey W. Bromiley 1988 page 106''Mercer dictionary of the Bible'' by Watson E. Mills, Roger Aubrey Bullard 1998 page 520 The series of statements regarding the Logos at the very beginning of the Gospel of John build on each other. The statement that the Logos existed "at the beginning" asserts that as Logos Jesus was an eternal being like God. The statement that the Logos was "with God" asserts the distinction of Jesus from God. The statement that the Logos "was God" states the unity of Jesus with God the Father, thus stating his divinity as God the Son.''A Complete Introduction to the Bible'' by Christopher Gilbert 2009 page 216 In 1 John 1:1 the arrival of the Logos as "the Word of life" from the beginning is emphasized and 1 John 5:6 builds on it to emphasize the water and blood of incarnation. With the use of the title Logos, Johannine

consciously affirms the belief in the divinity of Jesus: that he was God who came to be among men as the Word Incarnate. Although as of the 2nd century the use of the title Logos gave rise to debate between the Alexandrian and Antiochian schools of thought regarding the interaction of the human and divine elements in the

Person of Christ In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...

, after the

First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea ( ; ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I. The Council of Nicaea met from May until the end of July 325. This ec ...

in 325 and

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; ) was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia (modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey) from 8 Oct ...

in 451 the Logos and the second person of the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

were often used interchangeably.''A concise dictionary of theology'' by Gerald O'Collins 2004 pages 144-145''Mercer dictionary of the Bible'' by Watson E. Mills, Roger Aubrey Bullard 1998 page 146

Son of God

The title "Son of God" is applied to Jesus in many cases in the New Testament. It is often used to refer to his divinity, from the beginning in the

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

up to the

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

. The declaration that Jesus is the Son of God is made by many individuals in the New Testament, on two separate occasions by

God the Father God the Father is a title given to God in Christianity. In mainstream trinitarian Christianity, God the Father is regarded as the first Person of the Trinity, followed by the second person, Jesus Christ the Son, and the third person, God th ...

as a voice from Heaven, and is also asserted by Jesus himself. The Son of God title, according to most

Christian denominations A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

Trinitarian The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

in belief, refers to the relationship between Jesus and God, specifically as "

God the Son God the Son (, ; ) is the second Person of the Trinity in Christian theology. According to Christian doctrine, God the Son, in the form of Jesus Christ, is the incarnation of the eternal, pre-existent divine ''Logos'' (Koine Greek for "word") ...

". For thousands of years, emperors and rulers ranging from the

Western Zhou dynasty The Western Zhou ( zh, c=西周, p=Xīzhōu; 771 BC) was a period of Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended in 7 ...

(c. 1000 B.C.) in China to

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

in Greece have assumed titles that reflect a filial relationship with

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

.''Introduction to the Science of Religion'' by Friedrich Muller 2004 page 136''China : a cultural and historical dictionary'' by Michael Dillon 1998 page 293 At the time of Jesus, Roman Emperor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

exploited the similarity between the titles

Divi filius ''Divi filius'' is a Latin phrase meaning "son of a god", and was a title much used by the emperor Augustus, the grand-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar. Octavian On 1 January 42 BC, nearly two years after the assassination of Julius Caes ...

(son of the Divine One) and "Dei filius" (Son of God) and used the ambiguous inscription "DF" to refer to himself to emphasize the divine component of his image. J. D. Crossan argues that early Christians adopted this title. The

Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Mark is the second of the four canonical Gospels and one of the three synoptic Gospels, synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from baptism of Jesus, his baptism by John the Baptist to his death, the Burial of Jesus, ...

begins by calling Jesus the Son of God and reaffirms the title twice when a voice from Heaven calls Jesus "my beloved Son" in and .''Who do you say that I am?: essays on Christology'' by Jack Dean Dean Kingsbury, Mark Allan Powell, David R. Bauer 1999 pages 246-251 In Matthew 14:33, after

Jesus walks on water Jesus walking on the water, or on the sea, is recorded as one of the miracles of Jesus recounted in the New Testament. There are accounts of this event in three Gospels— Matthew, Mark, and John—but it is not included in the Gospel of Luke. ...

, the disciples tell Jesus: "You really are the Son of God!"Dwight Pentecost ''The words and works of Jesus Christ'' 2000 page 234 In Matthew 27:43, while Jesus hangs on the cross, the Jewish leaders mock him to ask God help, "for he said, I am the Son of God", referring to the claim of Jesus to be the Son of God.''The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia'' by Geoffrey W. Bromiley 1988 page 571–572 Matthew 27:54 and include the exclamation by the Roman commander, "He was surely the Son of God!", after the earthquake following the Crucifixion of Jesus. When, in ,

Apostle Peter An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

states, "You are Christ, the Son of the living God", Jesus not only accepts the titles, but calls Peter "blessed" and declares the profession a divine revelation, unequivocally declaring himself to be both Christ and the Son of God in Matthew 16:15-16.''One teacher: Jesus' teaching role in Matthew's gospel'' by John Yueh-Han Yieh 2004 pages 240–241 In the New Testament, Jesus uses the term "my Father" as a direct and unequivocal assertion of his sonship, and a unique relationship with the Father beyond any attribution of titles by others, e.g., in Matthew 11:27, John 5:23 and John 5:26.''The Person of Christ'' by Gerrit Cornelis Berkouwer 1954 page 163 In a number of other episodes, Jesus claims sonship by referring to the Father, e.g., in Luke 2:49, when he is found in the temple, a young Jesus calls the temple "my Father's house", just as he does later in in the

Cleansing of the Temple In all four canonical gospels of the Christian New Testament, the cleansing of the Temple narrative tells of Jesus expelling the merchants and the money changers from the Temple in Jerusalem. The scene is a common motif in Christian art. In thi ...

episode. In Matthew 1:11 and , Jesus allows himself to be called the Son of God by the voice from above, not objecting to the title. Of all the

titles used in the New Testament, Son of God has had one of the most lasting impacts in Christian history and has become part of the profession of faith by many Christians. In the mainstream

context, the title implies the full divinity of Jesus as part of the

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

, Son and the Spirit.''Christology and the New Testament'' Christopher Mark Tuckett 2001 page 22 However, the concept of God as the father of Jesus and Jesus as the one and only Son of God is distinct from the concept of God as the Creator and father of all people, as indicated in the

Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". "Its title is first found c.390 (Ep. 42.5 of Ambro ...

.''Symbols of Jesus: A Christology of Symbolic Engagement'' by Robert C. Neville 2002 page 26 The profession begins with expressing belief in the "Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth" and then immediately, but separately, in "Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord", thus expressing both senses of fatherhood within the Creed.

Son of man

The term ''son of man'' appears many times in all four gospel accounts, e.g. 30 times in Matthew. However, unlike the title ''son of God'', its proclamation has never been an article of faith in Christianity.''Jesus and the Son of Man'' by A J B Higgins 2002 pages 13–15 While the profession of Jesus as the son of God has been an essential element of Christian creeds since the

Apostolic Age Christianity in the 1st century covers the formative history of Christianity from the start of the ministry of Jesus (–29 AD) to the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles () and is thus also known as the Apostolic Age. Early Christianity ...

, such professions do not apply to son of man. Yet, the Christological analysis of the relationship between the two terms has been the subject of much research. In modern biblical research the occurrences of son of man in the

Synoptic gospel The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical wording. They stand in contrast to John, whose ...

s are generally categorized into three groups: those that refer to his "coming" (as an exaltation), those that refer to "suffering" and those that refer to "now at work", i.e. referring to the earthly life.''The Son of Man'' by Chrys C. Caragounis 1986 page 145–147 The presentation in the Gospel of John is somewhat different from the Synoptics and in John 1:51 he is presented as contact with God through "angelic instrumentality", in John 6:26 and 6:53 he provides life through his death and in John 5:27 he holds the power to judge men. The first chapter of the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

refers to "one like unto a son of man" in Revelation 1:12–13 which radiantly stands in glory and speaks to the author. In the Gospel of John Jesus is not just a

messianic In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach' ...

figure, nor a prophet like Moses, but the key emphasis is on his dual role as

son of God Historically, many rulers have assumed titles such as the son of God, the son of a god or the son of heaven. The term "Son of God" is used in the Hebrew Bible as another way to refer to humans who have a special relationship with God. In Exo ...

and son of man. Although the son of man is distinct from the son of God, some gospel passages equate them in some cases, e.g. in Mark 14:61, during the

Sanhedrin trial of Jesus In the New Testament, the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus refers to the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin (a Jewish judicial body) following his arrest in Jerusalem and prior to the trial before Pontius Pilate. It is an incident reported by all thr ...

when the high priest asked Jesus: "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus responded "I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."''The 'Son of Man' as the Son of God'' by Seyoon Kim 1983 pages 2–3''Who Is Jesus?: An Introduction to Christology'' by Thomas P. Rausch 2003 pages 132–133 This builds on the statement in Mark 9:31 that "The Son of man is delivered up into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he shall rise again." In the parable of

the Sheep and the Goats The Sheep and the Goats or "the Judgement of the Nations" is a pronouncement of Jesus recorded in chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew, through which Jesus strongly encourages his followers to take action to help those in need. With this speech ...

, the returning son of man has the power to judge, by separating men from "all the nations" into distinct groups, in Matthew 25:31–46. For centuries, the Christological perspective on son of man has been a natural counterpart to that of son of God and in many cases affirms the humanity of Jesus just as son of God affirms his divinity.''Christian Theology: An Introduction'' by Alister E. McGrath 2010 page 270 In the 5th century,

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman province), Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced th ...

viewed the duality of son of God and son of man in terms of the dual nature of Christ in

hypostatic union Hypostatic union (from the Greek: ''hypóstasis'', 'person, subsistence') is a technical term in Christian theology employed in mainstream Christology to describe the union of Christ's humanity and divinity in one hypostasis, or individual perso ...

, in that the son of God became the son of man through the act of

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the Conception (biology), conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used t ...

and wrote: "Since he is the only Son of God by nature, he became also the Son of Man that he might be full of grace as well." Geza Vermes has argued that "the son of man" in the Gospels is unrelated to these

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

—''bar nash/bar nasha''. Based on his study of Aramaic sources, he concludes that in these sources: (1) "Son of man" is a regular expression for ''man'' in general. (2) It often serves as an indefinite pronoun ("one" or "someone"). (3) In certain circumstances it may be employed as a

circumlocution Circumlocution (also called circumduction, circumvolution, periphrasis, kenning, or ambage) is the use of an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea. It is sometimes necessary in communication (for example, to work around lexical ga ...

. In monologues or dialogues the speaker can refer to himself, not as 'I', but as "the son of man" in the third person, in contexts implying awe, reserve, or modesty. (4) In none of the extant texts does "son of man" figure as a title. James E. Talmage, a prominent writer and leader in

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

argued that the definitive article used in the New Testament makes the title "the Son of Man" a distinguishing appellation exclusive to Jesus. Talmage supports the view of Vermes, but adds to it the additional meaning that Jesus is the son of an exalted man, subscribing to the Church's doctrine of Exaltation. In this sense, too, the title is unique to Jesus, as he is the only literal physical offspring of God the Father. No discussion of the title "Son of Man" (בר אנש) is complete without reference to the appearance of the term in the seventh chapter of the biblical book of Daniel. Daniel 7:13-14 in the English Standard Version reads,

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

In the context of this vision, Daniel is troubled and approaches someone standing there with him observing this bequeathal of kingship at the Throne of the Ancient of Days. The heavenly by-stander explains the import of the vision in the following words:

And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him (Daniel 7:27, ESV).

Here the term son of man is explained in three distinct ways: 1) as "the people of the saints of the Most High," 2) as a single entity in the words "''his'' kingdom" and "serve and obey ''him''," and 3) as "the Most High" Himself where it says "the Most High; his kingdom." Furthermore, the passage presents a contextual time frame for the events envisioned—the time of the "fourth kingdom on earth" (Daniel 7:23). The most traditional and widespread view is that the fourth kingdom represents the Roman governmental system. With the establishment of Christianity under this Roman governmental system, the Christian Churches came to identify the son of man in Daniel 7 as Jesus the Christ. The Apostle Paul describes the corporate nature of the Son of Man envisioned in Daniel 7 when he writes to the Church at Corinth, saying,

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ (First Corinthians 12:12, ESV).

The Pauline epistles depict Christ as the Head of His people the Church (Ephesians 1:15-23; Colossians 1:13-18). The New Testament identifies Jesus the Christ as the Most High, Whose Name is above all names (Philippians 2:9-10). The Gospel of Mark, often claimed by modern scholarship to be the first and earliest of the Four Gospels, identifies Jesus Christ as the LORD God of Israel by reference to the Tetragrammaton at the beginning of his Gospel:

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight’” (Mark 1:1-3, ESV).

From the context, it is evident that Mark is identifying "my messenger" as John the Baptist, sent to prepare the way of Jesus Christ. The Sender of the messenger is God. When it says "before your face, who will prepare your way," the context confirms Mark as speaking of the face of Jesus Christ and of preparing Jesus Christ's way. The most striking element of this passage, however, is the equivalency Mark draws between the way of Jesus Christ and "the way of the Lord" (τὴν ὁδὸν Κυρίου). The implication is that Jesus Christ is the Lord (Κύριος). This reference to the way of the Lord is taken from the prophet Isaiah 40:3:

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God (ESV).

In the Hebrew texts, "the way of the LORD" is "the way of Y-WH," using the Holy Tetragrammaton, the Divine Name of the God of Israel revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 3:13-15). In this way the Gospel according to Mark identifies Jesus as both Messiah and the LORD God of Israel. Likewise, the most Jewish Gospel of Matthew, held to be the first Gospel according to the tradition of the Christian Church, identifies Jesus Christ as "the Son of Man" and "the Son of the Living God" (Matthew 16:13), the Son of the Virgin and as God with us (Matthew 1:23). So in Orthodox Christian theology, Jesus Christ is both Most High and Son of Man, whose mystical Body is the Church, and "of His Kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:33; Nicene Creed). According to Christian theology, the faithful of Christ will reign with Him over sin, death, and corruption both in this life and in the next (Romans 5:17; 2 Timothy 2:12). This unfolding kingdom is held by Christians to be the fulfillment of the Son-of-Man vision recorded in Daniel 7.

Son of David

The title "Son of David" indicates Jesus' physical descent from

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

, as well as his membership of the

Davidic line The Davidic line refers to the descendants of David, who established the House of David ( ) in the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. In Judaism, the lineage is based on texts from the Hebrew Bible ...

of kings, establishing the claim of Jesus Christ to the Davidic Throne based on the promises God made to King David through Nathan the prophet when David was hoping to build God a house, or temple:

Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever (2 Samuel 7:11-16).

This promise assures King David of an ongoing royal lineage forever that cannot be thwarted or annulled through human sin. The Promised Offspring par excellence will build a House for God, will reign on an Eternal Throne, will be called the "son" of God, and will be chastened with beating should he commit iniquity. One might well ask what would be the result for humankind if a Son of David who is sinless were to be beaten with "the stripes of the sons of men." Would it result in Divine judgment or Divine mercy? The Apostle Paul seems to answer this question in his Epistle to the Romans:

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 1:1-7, ESV).

According to the Apostle Paul, the unjust death of the Son of God and His resurrection from the dead result in grace, peace, and an increasing faithful obedience among all nations through the proclamation of the Gospel. The Kingdom of the Son of David, Jesus Christ, is portrayed in the New Testament as being current as He reigns at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 8:1; Revelation 2:26-27; 20:4-6). It should be no surprise to anyone familiar with the Scriptures that the Throne of the LORD is the same as the Throne of David because these are equated in First Chronicles 29:23. The Messianic vision of Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 11 is envisioned in the New Testament as spreading gradually toward a final culmination (Matthew 13:33; Luke 17:20-21). The phrase "Son of David" is used a number of times in the

gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

. It appears in Matthew 1:1 to introduce both the

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

and the gospel. It is found on the lips of the blind men healed in Galilee ("Have mercy on us, Son of David", ), the crowd who are amazed at Jesus' healing of a blind, mute and demon-possessed man ), the Canaanite woman whose daughter is exorcised ("Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me," ), and the blind men healed near Jericho ("Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us", ). It also forms part of the shout of the crowds when Jesus enters Jerusalem: "Hosanna to the Son of David" (Matthew 21:9). Other references with the same use include and . A variant of this title is found in , where Jesus refers to himself as "the Root and the Offspring of David". According to Anglican Bishop

Charles Ellicott Charles John Ellicott (25 April 1819 – 15 October 1905) was an English Christian theologian, academic and churchman. He briefly served as Dean of Exeter, then Bishop of the united Episcopal see, see of Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, Glou ...

, "Son of David" was "the most popular of all the names of the expected Christ".

Son of Joseph

Jesus was referred to as the Son of Joseph in the genealogy accounts of Matthew and Luke.

Lamb of God

The title ''Lamb of God'' (

Agnus Dei is the Latin name under which the "Lamb of God" is honoured within Christian liturgies descending from the historic Latin liturgical tradition, including those of Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism. It is the name given to a spec ...

) only appears in the Gospel of John, with the exclamation of

: "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" in John 1:29, the title reaffirmed the next day in John 1:36.''The Lamb of God'' by

Sergei Bulgakov Sergei Nikolayevich Bulgakov (, ; – 13 July 1944) was a Russian Orthodox theologian, priest, philosopher, and economist. Orthodox writer and scholar David Bentley Hart has said that Bulgakov was "the greatest systematic theologian of the tw ...

2008 page 263 The second use of the title Lamb of God takes place in the presence of the first two

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

of Jesus, who immediately follow him, address him as

with respect and later in the narrative bring others to meet him. These two proclamations of Jesus as the Lamb of God closely bracket the Baptist's other proclamation in John 1:34: "I have borne witness that this is the Son of God". From a

perspective, these proclamations and the descent of the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

as a dove in John 1:32 reinforce each other to establish the divine element of the

. In Johannine Christology the proclamation "who takes away the sins of the world" begins the unfolding of the

theme of the redemptive and sacrificial death of Jesus, followed by his resurrection, which is built upon in other proclamations such as "this is indeed the Saviour of the world" uttered by the Samaritans in John 4:42.

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

refers to "Christ, our Passover lamb" in 1 Corinthians 5:7; however, nothing in the context of this passage directly implies that Paul refers in that specific wording to the death of Jesus using the same theme. The

includes over twenty references to a lion-like lamb ("slain but standing") which delivers victory in a manner reminiscent of the resurrected Christ.Glabach, W. E.
''Reclaiming the Book of Revelation''
2007 pages In the first appearance of the lamb in Revelation ( 5:1-7) only the lamb (which is of the tribe of Judah, and the root of David) is found worthy to take the judgment scroll from God and break the seals. In Revelation 21:14 the lamb is said to have twelve apostles. The theme of a sacrificial lamb which rises in victory as the Resurrected Christ was employed in early Christology, e.g. in 375

wrote: "Why a lamb in his passion? For he underwent death without being guilty of any inequity. Why a lion in his resurrection? For in being slain, he slew death." The Lamb of God title has found widespread use in Christian prayers and the ''Agnus Dei'' ("Lamb of God who take away the sins of the world have mercy on us; Lamb of God who take away the sins of the world grant us peace") is used both in

and as a form of

contemplative prayer Christian mysticism is the tradition of mysticism, mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative pr ...

. It references the concept of a scapegoat, where people put their blame on others, however with the interpretation of Jesus taking on Christian's sins.

New Adam / Second Adam / Last Adam

Just as the Gospel of John proclaims the universal relevance of the Incarnation of Jesus as

, the Pauline view emphasizes the cosmic view that his birth,

and

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

brought forth a new man and a

new world The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

. Paul's

eschatological Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negative world ...

view of Jesus counter-positions him as a new man of morality and obedience, in contrast to

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

. Unlike Adam, the new man born in Jesus obeys God and ushers in a world of morality and salvation.''Systematic Theology, Volume 2'' by Wolfhart Pannenberg 2004 0567084663 ISBN pages 297-303 In the Pauline view, Adam is positioned as the first man and Jesus as the second and last Adam ( 1 Corinthians 15:45), the first having corrupted himself by his disobedience, also infected humanity and left it with a curse as inheritance. The birth of Jesus, on the other hand, counterbalanced the fall of Adam, bringing forth redemption and repairing the damage done by Adam.''An exposition of the epistle of Saint Paul to the Philippians'' by Jean Daille 1995 pages 194-195 The theme is reiterated by Paul, in Romans 5:18-21, when he states:

Therefore just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification* leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In the 2nd century

Church Father The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...

Irenaeus Irenaeus ( or ; ; ) was a Greeks, Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christianity, Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the development of Christian theology by oppos ...

continued this tradition and stated: "so that what we had lost in Adam - namely to be according to the image and likeness of God- that we might recover in Christ Jesus."''An introduction to the early history of Christian doctrine'' by James Franklin Bethune-Baker 2005 page 334''A History of the Christian Church'' by Williston Walker 2010 pages 65-66 Irenaeus also used the analogy of "second Adam and second Eve" and suggested the Virgin Mary as the "second Eve" who had set a path of obedience for the second Adam (i.e. Jesus) from the

Calvary Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...

. The tradition continued in the 4th century by

Ephrem the Syrian Ephrem the Syrian (; ), also known as Ephraem the Deacon, Ephrem of Edessa or Aprem of Nisibis, (Syriac: ܡܪܝ ܐܦܪܝܡ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ — ''Mâr Aphrêm Sûryâyâ)'' was a prominent Christian theology, Christian theologian and Christian literat ...

and later by

in his '' Felix culpa'', i.e. the happy fall from grace of

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

. Later, in the 16th century,

John Calvin John Calvin (; ; ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French Christian theology, theologian, pastor and Protestant Reformers, reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of C ...

viewed the birth of Jesus as the second Adam one of the six modes of atonement.

Light of the World

Jesus is called a light in seven instances in the New Testament and

Light of the World "Light of the World" ( ''Phṓs tou kósmou'') is a phrase used by Jesus to describe himself and his disciples in the New Testament.''Names and Titles of the Lord Jesus Christ'' by Charles Spear 2003 page 226 The phrase is recorded in the Gosp ...

only in the Gospel of John. The terms "Bread of Life" and "Life of the World" are also applied by Jesus to himself in John's Gospel in the same

sense. In John 8:12 Jesus applies the title to himself while debating with the Jews, and states:''Names and Titles of the Lord Jesus Christ'' by Charles Spear 2003 page 226 :I am the light of the world: he who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Jesus again claims to be Light of the World in John 9:5, during the miracle of healing the blind at birth, saying: ''New Testament christology'' by Frank J. Matera 1999 page 235 :When I am in the world, I am the Light of the World. This episode leads into John 9:39 where Jesus metaphorically explains that he came to this world, so that the blind may see. In the Christological context, the use of the title "Light of the World" is similar to the use of the title " Bread of Life" in John 6:35, where Jesus states: "I am the bread of life: he who comes to me shall not hunger.''Christology in Context'' by Marinus de Jonge 1988 page 147 These assertions build on the Christological theme of John 5:26 where Jesus claims to possess life Just as the Father does and provide it to those who follow him. The term "Life of the World" is applied in the same sense by Jesus to himself in John 6:51. This application of "light compared with darkness" also appears in 1 John 1:5 which applies it to God and states: "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." Jesus also used the term Light of the World to refer to his disciples, in Matthew 5:14: The term "Light of the World" is related to the parables of Salt and Light and Lamp under a bushel.

King of the Jews

Ellwangen St Vitus Vorhalle Kreuzaltar detail2

In the

, Jesus is referred to as the '' King of the Jews'' on three occasions, coming at the beginning of his life and at the end. Both uses of the title lead to dramatic results in the New Testament accounts. In the account of the

Nativity of Jesus The Nativity or birth of Jesus Christ is found in the biblical gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew and Gospel of Luke, Luke. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, in Herodian kingdom, Roman-controlled Judea, th ...

in the

, wise men (called the

Magi Magi (), or magus (), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Per ...

) who come from the east call Jesus the "King of the Jews", causing

King Herod Herod may refer to: Members of the Herodian dynasty Members of the Herodian dynasty, named after Herod the Great, in chronological order: * Herod the Great (born c. 74 BC, ruled 37–4 BC or 1 BC), client king of Judea who expanded the Second Tem ...

to order the

Massacre of the Innocents The Massacre (or Slaughter) of the Innocents is a story recounted in the Nativity narrative of the Gospel of Matthew ( 2:16– 18) in which Herod the Great, king of Judea, orders the execution of all male children who are two years old and u ...

. In the accounts of the

Passion of Jesus The Passion (from Latin , "to suffer, bear, endure") is the short final period before the death of Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy Week. The ''Passion'' may include, amo ...

in all four

Canonical Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sense ...

s, the use of the "King of the Jews" title leads to charges against Jesus that result in his Crucifixion.''The Gospel of Matthew'' by R. T. France 2007 page 1048''Studies in Early Christology'' by Martin Hengel 2004 page 46 The title "King of the Jews" is used only by the gentiles, namely by the

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; ) was the Roman administration of Judaea (AD 6–135), fifth governor of the Judaea (Roman province), Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official wh ...

and the Roman soldiers. In contrast the Jewish leaders in the Passion accounts prefer the designation "King of Israel", as in Matthew 27:42, Mark 15:32. The use of the term "King" in the charges brought against Jesus is central in the decision to crucify him. In John 19:12 Pilate seeks to release Jesus, but the Jews object, saying: "If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend: every one that maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar" bringing the power of Caesar to the forefront of the discussion for the assumption of the title King implies rebellion against the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. The final use of the title only appears in Luke 23:36-37. Here, after Jesus has carried the cross to

and has been nailed to the cross, the soldiers look up on him on the cross, mock him, offer him vinegar and say: "If thou art the King of the Jews, save thyself." In the parallel account in Matthew 27:42 the Jewish priests mock Jesus as "King of Israel", saying: "He is the King of Israel; let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him."

Rabboni and Rabbi

In John 20:16, when

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

encounters Jesus shortly after the Resurrection, she calls him Rabbouni (''ῥαββουνί'') literally ''my great ne' or (more extensively) ''my Teacher''. For those who do not speak

the Gospel of John translates this as "teacher", a

being a Jewish teacher, or master.''The Gospel according to John'' by Colin G. Kruse 2004 page 378 In the New Testament, the term ''Rhabbouni'' is only used by the Magdalene here in John 20:16 and in Mark 10:51 by the blind man Bartimaeus in the account of the miracle of

healing the blind near Jericho Each of the three Synoptic Gospels tells of Jesus healing the blind near Jericho, as he passed through that town, shortly before his passion. The Gospel of Mark tells of the curing of a man named Bartimaeus, healed by Jesus as he is leaving Je ...

. The

title is used in several New Testament episodes to refer to Jesus, but more often in the Gospel of John than elsewhere and does not appear in the

at all.''Great Themes of the Bible, Volume 2'' by Sarah S. Henrich 2007 page 18 In Matthew's account of the

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...

( Matthew 26:22-25) when Jesus says that he will be betrayed by one of his Apostles, one after another the Apostles say "Surely it is not I, Lord" but

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; ; died AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of sil ...

says "Surely it is not I, Rabbi", using the term Rabbi instead of Lord.''The place of Judas Iscariot in Christology'' by Anthony Cane 2005 page 35 The Iscariot again calls Jesus Rabbi in Matthew 26:49 when he betrays him in the

Kiss of Judas The kiss of Judas, also known as the Betrayal of Christ, is the act with which Judas identified Jesus to the multitude with swords and clubs who had come from the chief priests and elders of the people to arrest him, according to the Synoptic ...

episode, heavily implying he may never have acknowledged, believed, or understood the divinity of Jesus. In , Jesus affirms the term Rabbi and Father are not to be used for any man, but only for

and for Christ. Jesus is called Rabbi in conversation by

in Mark 9:5 and Mark 11:21, and by Judas Iscariot in Mark 14:45 by

Nathanael Nathanael is a biblical given name derived from the Hebrew נְתַנְאֵל (''Netan'el''), which means "God/ El has given" or "Gift of God/ El." Nathaniel is the variant form of this name and it stands to this day as the usual and most common s ...

in John 1:49, where he is also called the

Son of God Historically, many rulers have assumed titles such as the son of God, the son of a god or the son of heaven. The term "Son of God" is used in the Hebrew Bible as another way to refer to humans who have a special relationship with God. In Exo ...

in the same sentence. On several occasions, the disciples also refer to Jesus as Rabbi in the Gospel of John, e.g. 4:31, 6:25, 9:2 and 11:8.''Prophet and teacher: an introduction to the historical Jesus'' by William R. Herzog 2005 page 15 Intimating that the title Rabbi was used by status-seeking

Pharisees The Pharisees (; ) were a Jews, Jewish social movement and school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. Following the Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70), destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, Pharisaic beliefs became ...

(who "sit on the seat of Moses") and use the title as a sign of authority, in Matthew 23:1-8 Jesus rejected the title of Rabbi for his disciples, saying: "But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren". The role of teacher is also referred to the

Paraclete ''Paraclete'' (; ) is a Christian biblical term occurring five times in the Johannine texts of the New Testament. In Christian theology, the word commonly refers to the Holy Spirit and is translated as 'advocate', 'counsellor', or 'helper'. E ...

, mentioned by Jesus for the first time on the night before the Crucifixion. Talmudic Scholar herira Gaon(c. 906 CE to c. 1006 CE) wrote that the title Rabbi did not exist until at least 50 CE. Thus, the New Testament references to rabbi are anachronisms.

Other names and titles

The

uses several titles to refer to Jesus. However, some terms that are commonly used in the Christian tradition rarely appear in the New Testament, e.g. the exact term "Savior" appears only once, and is uttered by the Samaritans in John 4:42. The title " Nazarene" applied to Jesus has been also used to designate Christians in Syriac and Arabic traditions. The title "Chosen one" or "Elect one" is used twice in Luke's gospel: ''eklektos'' is used in 23:35 when the rulers mock Jesus, while ''eklelegmenos'' is used in 9:35 when Jesus is transfigured.

James R. Edwards James R. Edwards (born 1945) is an American New Testament scholar. His primary research interests include Biblical studies and the history of the History_of_Christianity#Early_Christianity_(c._31/33–324), early church, with secondary interests i ...

notes that the phrase is used repeatedly in

1 Enoch The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch; Hebrew: סֵפֶר חֲנוֹךְ, ''Sēfer Ḥănōḵ''; , ) is an ancient Jewish apocalyptic religious text, ascribed by tradition to the patriarch Enoch who was the father of Methuselah and the great-gran ...

, but was associated in Jewish thinking with triumph and glory, rather than with suffering. Christian theologians such as

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

have produced significant arguments analyzing various names and titles for Jesus. In John 8:58 Jesus says: "Before Abraham was born, I am." The phrase "

I am I Am or I'm may refer to: Language and literature * "I Am that I Am", a common English translation of the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for His name ** I am (biblical term), a Christian term used in the Bible * "I Am" ( ...

" (εγω ειμι in Greek) was considered a name for Jesus by Aquinas who considered it the most proper of all divine names, for Aquinas believed it to refer to the "being of all things". One of the titles preceded by an "

" assertion of Jesus is the "Bread of Life" title in John 6:35: "I am the bread of life: he who comes to me shall not hunger." The

Bread of Life Discourse The Bread of Life Discourse is a portion of the teaching of Jesus which appears in chapter 6 of John's Gospel ( verses 22–59) and was delivered in the synagogue at Capernaum. The title "Bread of Life" (, ''artos tēs zōēs'') given to Jesus ...

takes place in the Gospel of John shortly after Jesus feeds the crowds with five loaves of bread and two fish. In the

Epistle to the Hebrews The Epistle to the Hebrews () is one of the books of the New Testament. The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle; most of the Ancient Greek manuscripts, the Old Syriac Peshitto and ...

, Jesus is called an "Apostle" and a "High Priest" in 3:1, the preparation for the two titles being the preceding text of Hebrews 2:5-18 which present the two functions of Jesus: as an Apostle he represents God to humanity and as a High Priest he represents humanity to God. While John's Gospel emphasizes Jesus as the Son of God, the

depicts him as a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

above all else, attributing that title to Jesus more often than even Mark.''Themes of St. Luke'' by John Navone 1970 page 132 A prophet is not someone who merely preaches, but claims divine revelation through God. In Luke 4:24, following his hometown rejection, Jesus remarks that as a prophet he is not welcome in his own hometown. Elsewhere, in Luke 7:39 the Jews again doubt that Jesus is a prophet. The view of Jesus as a prophet is used in the concept of

threefold office The threefold office () of Jesus Christ is a Christian doctrine based upon the teachings of the Old Testament of which Christians hold different views. It was described by Eusebius and more fully developed by John Calvin. The doctrine states t ...

which sees his three roles as "Prophet, Priest and King".''Evangelical Dictionary of Theology''. Ed. Walter A. Elwell. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001). 858 While during

early Christianity Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...

there were people claiming to be prophets, there are no records of anyone else claiming to be a prophet during the life of Jesus.''The Gospel according to Matthew'' by Leon Morris 1992 page 270 In John 14:16 Jesus said he will ask the Father to send "another"

paraclete ''Paraclete'' (; ) is a Christian biblical term occurring five times in the Johannine texts of the New Testament. In Christian theology, the word commonly refers to the Holy Spirit and is translated as 'advocate', 'counsellor', or 'helper'. E ...

, i.e. comforter.''The Bible knowledge background commentary'' by Craig A. Evans 2005 page 128 The term paraclete only appears in

Johannine literature Johannine literature is the collection of New Testament works that are traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, John the Evangelist, or to the Johannine community. They are usually dated to the period , with a minority of scholars, including ...

and apart from the four uses in the Gospel of John it appears only in 1 John 2:1. Given that 1 John 2:1 views Jesus as a paraclete, the reference in John 14:16 states that Jesus sends a second paraclete to continue the life of the Church after his departure. The statement regarding the paraclete is made within the "farewell discourse" during the

of Jesus and the Apostles.''John'' by Gail R. O'Day, Susan Hylen 2006 page 148 The paraclete is thus a link between the

ministry of Jesus The ministry of Jesus, in the canonical gospels, begins with Baptism of Jesus, his baptism near the River Jordan by John the Baptist, and ends in Jerusalem in Christianity, Jerusalem in Judea, following the Last Supper with his Disciple (Chri ...

and the future life of the Church. Some titles of Jesus are unique to the

. He is referred to as "Faithful and True" in Revelation 19:11, the " Alpha and Omega" in Revelation 22:13 and elsewhere, and the "Morning Star" in Revelation 22:16.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Names And Titles Of Jesus In The New Testament * Christianity-related lists

Language and mysticism New Testament words and phrases New Testament-related lists