Jesus, the Christ
By Joe Keim
May 1, 2025
Mat 1:16 says,
“And Jacob begat Joseph the hus-band of Mary, of whom was born JESUS, who is called CHRIST.”
JESUS was His human name (Son of Man).
CHRIST was His God name (Son of God).
JESUS was a reasonably common name in His day. Often, the name Jesus came with a qualifier so the reader would understand which Jesus was be-ing spoken of. The apostle Paul writes about another man, “Jesus, which is called Justus...” (Col 4:11).
When JESUS said to His followers, “…I am the bread which came down from heaven…” His followers replied, “…Is this not JESUS, the son of Jo-seph?...” (Jn 6:41, 42).
When Judas was getting ready to betray JESUS, JESUS asked,
“…Whom seek ye?” And they an-swered, “…JESUS of Nazareth…” (John 18: 4, 5).
The phrase "Son of Man" is used eighty-four times in the New Testa-ment. Except for one instance, it refers to JESUS in his human form.
JESUS was His human name (Son of Man).
CHRIST was His God name (Son of God).
When JESUS asked his disciples,
“..Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?” They said, “…Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets” (Mtt 16:13, 14).
But then JESUS asked His disciples,
“…But whom say ye that I am?” Simon Peter spoke first and said, “…Thou art the CHRIST, the Son of the living God” (Mtt 16:15, 16).
“Then, charged He His disciples that they should tell no man that He was JESUS the CHRIST” (Mtt 16:20).
When Satan approached Jesus at the end of His fast, he asked,
“…If thou be the Son of God, com-mand that these stones be made bread” (Mtt 4:3).
John wrote,
“And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God” (John 1:34)
Luke wrote,
“And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God…” (Luke 4:41).
When JESUS cried out with a loud voice and gave up the ghost, the veil of the temple was split in two from the top to the bottom. It was then that the Cen-turian said,
“…Truly, this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39).
What was it like for JESUS to be the CHRIST in the flesh?
As JESUS—the Son of Man—, we are told,
“And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wis-dom...” (Luke 2:40).
As JESUS—the Son of Man—we are told,
“…they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions” (Luke 2:46).
As JESUS—the Son of Man—we are told,
“And JESUS increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).
As both JESUS and CHRIST, He had the ability to function as either the Son of Man or the Son of God. That being understood, He mainly chose to func-tion as the Son of Man.
To gain a deeper understanding of this concept, let’s take a look at when JE-SUS was on the verge of being be-trayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. In this instance, it seems obvious that JE-SUS could have acted as the Son of God and avoided death.
However, Matthew writes:
“Then said JESUS unto him … Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve legions (72,000) of angels?” (Mtt 26:52-53).
It was as if JESUS, the Son of Man, had an unlimited credit card account. At any given time, He could have switched to CHRIST, the Son of God, and ended the scoffing, spitting, whip-pings, the crown of thorns, and being hung on the cross.
Let’s consider who died and rose again: Was it JESUS or CHRIST? Think about it and then read Mark 8:31:
“And He began to teach them, that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the el-ders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
In John 9:35–38, JESUS asked the blind man to make a commitment.
“JESUS … said unto him, Dost thou believe in the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him? And JESUS said unto him, Thou hast both seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped Him.”
In Acts 8:37, the Ethiopian eunuch wanted to be baptized. Philip said,
“…If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he an-swered and said, I believe that Je-sus Christ is the Son of God.”
Peter proclaimed,
“And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:69).
“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God...” (1 John 5:1).
“She (Martha) saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world” (John 11:27).
We will end with 1 John 5:12-13, where John writes,
“He that HATH the Son [of God] HATH life; and he that HATH NOT the Son of God HATH NOT life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is anti-christ, that denieth the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22).
“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” (1 John 4:3).
The author invites you to text or call with questions or comments! (419) 651-6813
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