Let me take a shot at your Gospel related question.

Here's a Gospel related question that's probably a "well, duh!" but I haven't been able to figure it out. How is it that Jesus came to be called Jesus Christ? The name was prophesied long before he was born, but...well, it's not His last name. He was called Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus of Galilee, Joseph's son Jesus, and much more. But when did the name Christ begin to be used, and why, and how did He get it?

What the people called him - background material

In fact, the idea of a Savior was so pervasive that it became a common Hebrew boy's name: Joshua, Jehoshua, Yeshua, Jeshua, Hosea, Hoshea, these are all the same name. It means "helper of Jehovah," "Jehovah is help," or as some have translated it, "Jehovah is my salvation" — in brief, "Savior". (There's always been arguments about how things read in ancient Hebrew. Stay tuned.) It's still a common and popular name, and not only among the modern Jews: Salvador or Jesus in Spanish, Salvatore in Italian. Oh, and the Greek version of the name is Jesus.

The Hebrew (Aramaic) word for the Anointed One, or simply "Anointed", was "Meshach", or "Messiah". The Greek word is "Christos", or "Christ". It's not really a last name, it's more like a title, like "ELDER Newman" or "PRESIDENT Hinckley". Instead of "Jesus Christ", try saying "Jesus the Anointed" (hey! That's in the sacrament song "O God the Eternal Father", hymn 175!) or "Jesus the Messiah".

I haven't yet found any place in the Old Testament where "anointed" and "savior" occur in the same breath. Or maybe "anointed" and "servant", since "helper of Jehovah" can also mean "servant". Isaiah 61:1-3 comes close. In the New Testament, try Acts 4:27 for starters.

Use of the title "Messiah" in the KJV Old Testament

Use of the title "Savior" in the KJV Old Testament

Use of the title "Servant" in the KJV Old Testament

Use of the titles "Messiah" and "Savior" in the New Testament before Jesus was born:

In the Old Testament, you'll often find "LORD" or "GOD" in capital letters. (Examples: Isaiah 61:1 has both.) The Jews never wrote or spoke the name of their god, using substitute words instead, and most of the time they used the substitute word "Lord". The KJV scholars figured out where all the substitute words were, but out of deference to the Jews, they left the substitute words in the KJV Old Testament — but they capitalized them so you can tell where they meant "Jehovah" when they said something else. (See Exodus 6:3, 4 for an interesting mix of 'em all.) So if the Aramaic translation is accurate, even though it's the New Testament, you can see where "Savior", "Messiah" and "Jehovah" all come together in the name and title "Jesus Christ" — "God, my Savior, the Anointed One."

Okay, here's what I found. First a bunch of scriptures, then some discussion:

Luke 2:26 talks of Simeon, who was promised "that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ" — or "Jehovah's Anointed One," remember? These are Luke's words, though, not Simeon's.

In Matt 2:4, Herod demands of his wise men "where Christ should be born". This is in response to the wise men asking him "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? " Matthew is very loose in his usage of the term "Christ" in his narrative, so it's not clear whether he was quoting Herod, or just narrating. (See ch. 1 for several narrative instances of "Christ"). Maybe Herod didn't really say "Christ".

In John 1:41, John the Baptist (who was always having to deny that HE was the Christ), pointed out Jesus to some of his disciples. Two of them followed Jesus, figured out who he was, and one of them (Andrew) went and told his brother (Simon Peter), " 'We have found the Messias', which is, being interpreted, the Christ. " (If he'd been speaking Hebrew or Aramaic he would have said "We have found the Messiah". If he'd been speaking Greek, he would have said "We have found the Christ". Either way, this was VERY early in Jesus' ministry, and the cat was already out of the bag.)

In verse 45, Philip broke the same news to Nathanael. Although he didn't come right out and say "Christ", it was clear who he was talking about.

In Luke 4:41, the devils that he cast out of people acknowledged him as "Christ the Son of God". He told them not to tell anybody.

In John 4:25-26, Jesus told the woman at the well in Samaria that he was the Christ. In verses 29 and 42, the Samaritans testified that he was the Christ, so they also knew early.

John ch. 7 is a great argument between the Jews about whether Jesus is the Christ. Verse 41 sums it up nicely.

John ch. 9 is the story of the blind man who was healed. According to verse 22, the leaders had threatened excommunication on anyone who testified that Jesus was the Christ. But like Matthew, this account is third-person narrative, not a direct quotation, so we may have to ignore it.

In John 10:24-25, the Jews said "Look, stop playing games with us. If you're the Christ, tell us plainly." And he answered "I already did, but you didn't believe me."

In Matt 16:16, Peter answers Jesus' "Whom say ye that I am?" query with "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." First quoted usage. This is some time before his trial and crucifixion. Four verses later he warns his disciples not to tell anybody he's "Jesus the Christ".

In John 11:27, Mary and Martha testified that he was the Christ.

In Matt 22:42, he asks the Pharisees almost the same question he asked Peter: "What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he?" The ensuing response suggests that the Pharisees didn't know him as the Christ.

In Matt 26:63-68, in his trial before Caiaphas the high priest, Caiaphas asks him directly if he is the Christ. Jesus admits that he is, and they mock him because they don't believe him. (see also Mark 15:32; Luke 23:35, 39)

In Luke 23:2, the people take him before Pilate, and one of their accusations is that Jesus was "saying that he himself is Christ a King".

In Matt 27:17, the one I remember best, Pilate asks the people: "Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?" (emphasis is mine.) So Pilate was aware of the apellation. He used it twice (see verse 22), but he didn't say "Jesus THE Christ". He said "Jesus WHO IS CALLED Christ". Maybe he was aware that the Jews were using the title mockingly, not seriously. From their response ("Let him be crucified."), it looks like he was right.

So it looks like those who received a testimony of him knew right away that he was the Christ, and they called him by that title -- but only when he was around. It wasn't generally known. For most of them, he didn't say "I am the Christ." It was revealed to them.

Except somebody must have leaked it, because Caiaphas asked him outright if he was the Christ, and he acknowledged that he was. Even though the unbelievers heard him say he was, they didn't believe him, not being open to revelation from God, and so they used the term mockingly. They threw it at Pilate as an accusation against Jesus, and he reminded them of the accusation in the way he used the term. After his resurrection, the apostles used the term much more freely, as I Corinthians ch. 15 shows.

It's the same today as it was back then. Those who receive a testimony of him know without a doubt that he is the Lord's Anointed One, Jehovah, the Savior of the world. Those who don't receive the testimony, or refuse it, do not believe it and would not, even if Jesus Christ himself were to tell them.

Created by Ray Depew, 18 December 2001
Last edited by Ray Depew, 1 August 2007

© 2001 by Ray Depew. May be copied or reproduced for personal use only. Do not copy on paper or electronically for the purpose of wider distribution without the author's express permission. Do not sell copies.