The Titles of Jesus

 

1. General

Jesus’ disciples understanding of Him develops during the Gospel story. They did not understood  the full meaning of some of the titles until after Jesus’ resurrection.

 

2. Son of God

Used in the first sentence of the gospel, this is the Mark’s title for Jesus. ‘Son of …’ could just mean ‘someone like’. It could be used to describe any holy person, such as a prophet. It could be taken to mean Son of God in the sense of God’s only son.

As the Gospel continues the meaning of this title becaomes clearer and clearer.

1.     As Jesus is baptised God shows his approval of Jesus by the vision of the Holy Spirit and declaring that Jesus is his Son. Jesus is shown to be the nost holy person - the one approved by God.

2.     In the Transfiguration God again confirms that Jesus is his Son. The words are similar to those at Jesus baptism, but now the voice says ‘Listen to him’. Jesus is seen in all his glory – he is seen to be who he really is.

3.     The Trial before the High Priest. makes this very clear when Jesus says ‘Yes’ to the High Priest’s question if he is the Son of God.

4.     Then finally as Jesus hangs on the cross, the centurion calls him ‘Son of God’. Now Jesus is fully seen to be God’s Son.

Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God – God the Son, God himself come to earth, the second person of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). God takes human form in Jesus – this is called the Incarnation.

 

3. Son of Man.

The term Son of Man can mean

a)     an ordinary human being,

b)     an indirect way of saying "I"

c)     a Messiah figure. In Daniel (chapter 7) the prophet sees a vision of God, and coming on the clouds of heaven there is ‘one like a son of man’.

Jesus used the term Son of Man very often to describe himself – especially his authority over evil and his suffering. Jesus prefers it to Messiah, which had a political meaning. Using the term Son of Man avoided trouble and bought him extra time to preach and to teach his disciples.

Christians believe that this title shows that Jesus is truly a human being, and that in Jesus God becomes fully human so that he can save human beings, sharing their pain and sufferings.

 

4. Jesus/Saviour

The title ‘saviour’ is not used in Mark, but Jesus is often seen as one who saves.

1.     The apostles are caught in a severe storm, from which Jesus saves them by commanding the winds and the sea.

2.     In the feeding of the five thousand Jesus has such power over nature that he can provide for people in need and rescue them from hunger.

3.     Jesus often casts out demons. This is a sign that he can defeat the forces of evil.

In many ways, the word Saviour describes Jesus' life.

Christians believe that Jesus saves mankind from sin and death. The Christian faith is that by dying he saved us by carrying our sins, and by rising from the dead he offers us the chance of eternal life, which we receive by being joined to him in baptism.


5. Messiah/Christ/ Son of David

Most Jews at the time of Jesus hoped that God would one day send a great ruler, the Messiah. The word means the Anointed One, specially chosen. Kings were (and still are) Anointed. The Greek for Messiah is Christos, from which we get the word Christ. The Jews believed that the Messiah would be a descendent of David and would become king of the Jews. So the Messiah could be called Son of David, and this was a well-known Messianic title. He was a religious figure, but also a political leader.

Jesus was a very different kind of Messiah from the kind many were hoping for. He wanted to be a peaceful messiah who would establish a kingdom of love and forgiveness. He made friends with Romans. Jesus would have preferred converting the Romans to defeating them. Many Jews saw the messiah as a glorious ruler, Jesus saw him as a suffering servant.

When people called Jesus Messiah or Son of David, he usually avoided the title or told them to be quiet.

At Caesarea Philippi Peter came to believe in Jesus as Messiah. Jesus allowed himself to be called Son of David when he came to Jerusalem (Blind Bartimaeus and Entry into Jerusalem). At his trial before the Sanhedrin he fully accepted the title. This gave the Jewish leaders the chance to get the Romans to execute him.

Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah who the Jews were waiting for – the one who fulfilled all the promises made by God. The Jews, though, still look forward to the coming of the Messiah.

 

6. The Passages

Son of God

The Baptism                                1:9-11

The Transfiguration                                9: 2-8

at The Trial before the High Priest                                14:61-62

at The Crucifixion                                15:39

The Son of Man

The paralysed man                                2: 1-12

The prediction of the Passion                                 8: 31-33

The request of James and John                                 10: 35-45

at The Trial before the High Priest                                14:61-62

Jesus/Saviour     

The Calming of the Storm                                4: 35- 41

The feeding of the 5000                                6:30-44

The Syro-Phoenician woman's  daughter                                7: 24-30

Christ/Messiah/Son of David:       

Caesarea Philippi                                8:27-30

Blind Bartimaeus                                10: 46-52

Entry into Jerusalem                                11: 1-11

 

REVISION ACTIVITIES

·        Design a table with the following headings: Title, Passages, Meaning then, Meaning for Christians today. Complete the table for all each title and each passage.

·        Summarise each of the key passages – try to do each one in five bullet points.

·        Design a logo and motto which sums up the meaning of each group of titles