Jesus (Iesous) is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew name Yeshua meaning Yahweh (YHWH) saves. The name Christ, (Hebrew=Messiah), is not His last name but a title meaning Anointed One. So, His name is Jesus and He is the Christ. (See Matthew 1:1, John 1:41.) As we move through the Gospels, we see several specific names given to Jesus. Matthew refers to Him as the Son of David, which focuses on His right to the throne as our forever King. Mark refers to Jesus as the Son of God, focusing on His power as God. Luke’s favorite title for Jesus is the Son of Man. Luke highlights Jesus as being personal, caring for the sick and hurting, while living a perfectly sinless life as a Man. John spent his focus on making sure all understand that Jesus is God. Several key names given throughout the gospel of John are the Word (John 1:1,14), the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), along with the seven “I AM” statements. Jesus said I AM: the Bread of Life (John 6:35), the Light of the World (John 8:12), the Door to the sheep (John 10:7), the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25), the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6), the True Vine (John 15:1). These titles show us how Jesus is our sustainer, our guide, our protector, our caregiver, our life giver, our only way to the Father, and our means of living out the Christian life to the world around us. Beyond the gospels, Jesus is seen as our Sacrifice in Ephesians 5:2, our faithful High Priest in Hebrews 4:14-16, the Alpha and Omega and the King of kings and Lord of lords in Revelation 1:8 and 19:16 just to name a few. There are more. How many can you find and how do they describe Jesus? Grab your Bible and let the adventure begin.
