NAMES AND TITLES OF CHRIST
JESUS CHRIST
DR. JIM DIXON
MATTHEW 16:13-17; JOHN 11:21-27
FEBRUARY 23, 1997
Most of you have at least three names. You have a first name, which is your Christian name or your given name. Then you have a middle name or at least a middle initial. And then, as well, you have a last name, which is a surname or a family name. But in biblical times it was not like this. In biblical times people only had one name. You were Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. You were Peter, James, or John. You were Mary or Martha. You had one name, and you were distinguished from other people who had the same name by the city in which you lived or by your father’s name, so that Jesus, for instance, was Jesus of Nazareth or He was Jesus, son of Joseph.
Now, perhaps you’re thinking, “Well, didn’t Jesus have a last name? Isn’t Christ the last name of Jesus? Jesus Christ?” The answer is no, because Christ is not a name. Christ is a title. So technically it’s not Jesus Christ but it’s Jesus, the Christ. As we look at Jesus Christ this morning, we are looking at a name and a title.
First, then, we deal with the name Jesus. Jesus is actually a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name Yeshua or Joshua. The name etymologically is derived from the word which means “to save.” You see, that is why the angel in Matthew, chapter 1, verse 21, said to Joseph, “You will call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” When we think of the name Jesus, we should also think of one of the titles given to Jesus which is the title “Savior.” When we think of the name Jesus, we should think of mankind. We should think of men and women the world over who are desperately in need of salvation. You see, the Bible tells us that humanity is dead spiritually and dying physically and it’s all because of sin and that’s why we need a savior.
This morning I would like to draw a physical spiritual analogy. Last Sunday and Monday nights, there was a two-part movie on NBC called “Asteroid.” This movie was impressive in terms of special effects, perhaps less impressive in terms of plot and acting. But 50 million Americans tuned in. The newspapers tell us that there is a renewed interest in the subject of asteroids and the possibility that an asteroid could one day hit our world. Well scientists tell us that an asteroid will one day hit our world because many asteroids have hit our world in times past.
On the Discovery Channel this past week, there was a special and it showed the earth as viewed from the heavens and it showed the earth through computer graphics. It showed the earth with the oceans removed and with the vegetation removed. It showed a barren earth with the oceans and the vegetation taken away. It was an amazing thing to see because you could see that the earth is a cratered earth. With the oceans removed, with the vegetation removed, you could see that the earth is very cratered. Scientists have mapped, they have charted, the craters all over the earth and the earth is actually more cratered than the moon.
In so-called recorded history in the last 4,000 years, there has not been an asteroid hit with regard to this planet. ln fact, scientists tell us that the most recent asteroid hit took place 40,000 years ago. If you believe the dating system used by paleontologists and geologists, the most recent massive asteroid hit to this planet took place 65 million years ago and that asteroid hit brought about the death of the dinosaurs. This theory that an asteroid caused the death of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago is called the Cretaceous Tertiary Mass Extinction Theory because, between the Cretaceous and Tertiary Period 65 million years ago is allegedly when the asteroid hit.
Dr. Stephen J. Gould is a professor at Harvard University. He’s a professor of zoology and he is a professor of geology. He’s a leading expert in this field of asteroid hits. He has written 15 books and in his most recent book he claims that the Cretaceous Tertiary Mass Extinction Theory is no longer a theory. He claims it is now fact because it has been proven and he says that if you look in the geological column, if you look in the sedimentary layers of the earth between the Cretaceous and Tertiary layers, you will find an unusual amount of the element iridium. He points out that the element iridium is indigenous to the earth but rare, but plentiful in terms of asteroids. Asteroids contain plenty of iridium. So, the fact that the geological column between the Cretaceous and Tertiary layers there is this spreading out of iridium indicates an asteroid hit 65 million years ago.
There is also there, in the geological column, shocked quartz. Dr. Gould says that this also proves that the earth took a massive asteroid hit, but he says the smoking gun, the real proof, has just been discovered because he says they found the crater, this massive crater, near the Yucatan Peninsula. It is a crater that is almost 200 miles in diameter, a crater which is underneath the ocean, a crater which was formed 65 million years ago.
Dr. Stephen J. Gould claims that an asteroid, perhaps seven miles wide, impacted the earth with such incredible force, with force 10,000 times greater than the entire megatonnage of all the nuclear weapons currently stockpiled on the earth—10,000 times greater in force than the combined force of all of the nuclear weapons in the nuclear arsenals of the world. He said that this impact sent literally billions and billions, as Carl Sagan used to say, of tons of dust and rock and ice and debris heavenward and it formed a dust canopy which just enveloped the earth for months and perhaps for years, and this dust canopy blocked the surface of the earth from the life-giving light of the sun. This stopped the process of photosynthesis and plants underneath this dust canopy began to die. Then there was a chain reaction and the herbivores, the plant-eating animals, began to die, particularly the largest herbivores, the dinosaurs. Then ultimately, as the domino effect continued, the carnivores began to die as there were not enough herbivores to eat—particularly the larger carnivores, the dinosaurs, died. So, you have the Cretaceous Tertiary Mass Extinction Theory.
Spiritually, the Bible tells us, and God wants us to understand, that with regard to the world of humanity, a very similar thing has taken place. You see, spiritually the Bible tells us that a long, long time ago, something fell from heaven, and it was something hideous and it brought devastation to the earth. The Bible says in Ezekiel chapter 28 that Satan, who is the devil, was cast down from heaven as a profane thing. He has impacted this world, bringing sin with him. The Bible says he enticed men and women to sin in what theologians call the fall. Now, all of humanity is fallen and sin has spread to all of mankind. There is this canopy of sin that separates us from God, a canopy of sin that separates the world of man from God, a canopy of sin that envelopes your sou1 and your spirit, envelopes my soul and my spirit. We are cut off from the life-giving power of God and we are, therefore, spiritually dead, the Bible says, and physically dying.
Dinosaurs had no savior, no one to rescue them, no one to destroy that asteroid, no one to remove the canopy of dust that enveloped the earth. But the Bible promises that humanity does have a Savior. There is one hope, and that one hope is Jesus. He, too, has been sent from heaven. He has come down and He offers to remove the canopy of sin that surrounds your soul and your spirit. He offers to give you reconciliation with God. You see, God loves you. God has a purpose for you. God longs to bless you, but because of this canopy of sin, we are separated from God’s love, God’s purpose, and God’s blessing. But Christ came to pay the penalty for sin in substitutionary atonement. If we receive Him, if we believe in Him, He gives us life anew. As that canopy of sin is removed, we are washed whiter than snow and the life of God is given to us in rebirth. That’s why we have John, chapter 3, verses 16 and 17. “God loved the world so much He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved.” “You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.”
In Hebrews chapter 2 it says, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He himself likewise partook of the same nature, that by His death Jesus might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver those who, through fear of death, are subject to life-long bondage.” In Philippians chapter 2 the Bible says, “Though he was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God something to be clutched. But He emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man. Being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even unto death on the cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him, bestowed upon Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee would bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
Why is that? What is it that every knee will bow at the name of Jesus? Because Jesus means “Jehovah Saves,” and He came as Savior, and He is the hope of the world.
There is also the title Christ, and when we look at Jesus Christ, we see the name Jesus. We also see the title Christ, and this title Christ comes from the Greek word “christos,” which means “the anointed.” and it is the exact equivalent of the Hebrew word “messiah,” which also means “the anointed.” If you call yourself a Christian, if you take this label Christian and you apply it to yourself, that means you believe Jesus is the Christ. If you call yourself Christian, you are saying by that label Jesus is the Christ. And yet surveys show that 85% of the people in the United States of America do not know the meaning of this title Christ. How strange, because nominally 85% of the people in America call themselves Christians and yet do not know the meaning of this title Christ.
Christ means “the anointed,” but biblically we need to understand why Christ is anointed. You see, in Israel in the Jewish world, there were three anointed offices. There was the office of prophet and there was the office of priest and there was the office of king. All three of these offices were anointed of God. The prophets of Israel were called “the anointed of God,” as you see in Psalms 105:15 and in other places. The priests of Israel were called “the anointed of the Lord,” as you see in Leviticus 4. The kings of Israel were called “the anointed of the Lord,” “christos to kurio” in the Septuagint. You see that in 1 Samuel 2 and in 2 Samuel 1.
When you think of a prophet, what do you think of? To say that Jesus is “the anointed” means that He fulfills the office of prophet, priest, and king. When you look at prophet, what do you think of? I think when the world looks at prophesy, they think of someone who predicts the future. Perhaps they think of Nostradamus or maybe they think of a psychic hotline, because the world doesn’t understand biblically the meaning of prophesy. The word prophesy comes from the Greek word “prophetes.” It is the equivalent of the Hebrew word “nabi.” This word means “to speak for.” It also means “to speak forth.” A prophet is someone who speaks for God. A prophet is someone who speaks forth the word of God.
If you look at the minor and major prophets of the Old Testament, rarely do they predict the future. They simply speak for God. They simply speak forth the word of God. The word of God that they speak forth might have to do with the past or might have to do with the future. Normally it has to do with the present. They spoke forth the word of God, but they were flawed. They saw through a mirror dimly. They were imperfect and that’s why we have the prologue to the Gospel of John. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
Jesus Christ fulfills the prophetic office. He doesn’t simply speak forth the word of God. He is the very embodiment of the word of God. If you take the title Christian, you are saying you believe Jesus is the Christ and you are saying you believe He fulfills the prophetic office. He is the Word of God. If you live your life contrary to His Word, then you deny the very title by which you call yourself. That’s why Jesus said, “He who hears My words and does them, I’ll tell you what he is like. He’s like a wise man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain fell and the wind blew, and the floods came, and the house stood firm because it was founded on the rock. But he who hears My words and does not do them, I’ll tell you what he is like. He’s like a fool who built his house upon the sand. And the rain fell and the wind blew and the floods came, and the house fell down. And great was the destruction of it.” It’s a serious thing to call yourself a Christian. It’s a serious thing to say you believe Jesus is the Christ, that He fulfills the anointed office of prophet.
He fulfills the anointed office of priest. When you think of priest, what do you think of? Prophets represented God to people. Prophets represented the word of God to people. But the priest, in a sense, was the opposite because the priest represented the people to God. The priest represented the needs of people to God. Jesus fulfills the prophetic office and the priestly office because He is fully divine and He is fully human. He is Son of God, and He is Son of Man.
The greatest need of people before God is the need of forgiveness. That’s why in Israel you had the priestly office. That’s why they stood daily at their altars and that’s why the high priest on Yom Kippur, on the Day of Atonement, put his hand on the scapegoat and he vested the sin of the people onto that animal and he sent the animal into the wilderness, symbolically removing the sin of the people from them. That’s why on the same day, on Yom Kippur, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest went into the Holy of Holies beyond the holy place, beyond the veil, into the Holy of Holies where no one else could go, and sprinkled the blood of animals upon the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant, hoping to atone for the sins of the people.
The Bible says in the book of Hebrews, the 10th chapter, “The priests of Israel stood daily at their service, offering again and again the same sacrifices, none of which could take away sin.” But Jesus Christ offered for one time in a single sacrifice, the offering of His own blood, the Lamb of God, the High Priest. You see, all the animals who ever lived could not atone for your sin or mine, only Jesus Christ. The whole priestly system of Israel was just a foreshadowing of the High Priesthood of Christ, how He would come and die for you, die for me, pay the penalty for your sin, pay the penalty for my sin in substitutionary atonement, fulfilling the priestly office. When we call Him Christ, we say He is the Anointed Priest, the High Priest, the very fulfillment of the priestly office.
And then finally, He is the anointed king, the Christ. When you think of this title Christ, yes, it refers to prophets. Yes, it refers to priests. But primarily it refers to the kingship. Every Jew in Israel understood this. The Messiah, the Christ, would be king.
As the choir today was singing that song, “Ride on King Jesus,” in my mind, I was visualizing Palm Sunday as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the people spread palm branches on the road, saying, “Hosannah, blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Ride on!” I was also thinking of another passage in the book of Revelation, that apocalyptic passage that describes the second coming of Jesus Christ when He is portrayed as coming from heaven on a white steed, on a white horse, with a name emblazoned on his thigh, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” You see, He is king. He is the anointed king.
There were many kings of Israel—Saul, David, Solomon. There were the northern kings and the southern kings in Judah and Israel. They were all flawed, and their reigns were all transitory. But Jesus Christ reigns forever. He will one day rule the earth even now as He reigns in heaven.
l want to conclude with a little story. It’s a true story. It took place in 1909 in Vienna, Austria, at the Hofburg Museum. In the year 1909, there was a young man standing inside the Hofburg Museum looking through the glass at an exhibit. This young man was 20 years old. He was thin. He was pale. He was poorly dressed. In the exhibit, there were crowns made of gold and lights shining on them. But this young man was not looking at the crowns. He was looking at something else, something called the Spear or the Sword of Longinus.
Gaius Cassius Longinus was, according to tradition, the name of the Roman soldier who thrust his spear or sword into the side of Christ after the crucifixion. In John chapter 13, you’ll remember that blood and water poured out of Christ’s side. This spear, or sword, in the Hofburg Museum in Vienna, Austria, allegedly is that sword or spear. It was once owned by Constantine the Great. The first Christian emperor of Rome, who institutionalized Christianity had it.
This Sword of Longinus was then owned by Charles Martel, the ruler of France who drove the Arabs out of France in the 8th century. This Sword of Longinus was owned by Charlemagne, Charles the Great, who ruled the so-called civilized world. The Sword of Longinus was once owned by Frederic Barbarossa, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Now, this 20-year-old young man looking through the glass in the Hofburg Museum in Vienna, Austria longed to own that sword. His name was Adolph Hitler. Adolph Hitler was superstitious. He dabbled in the occult. He believed, as did others, that when Jesus Christ died, at least part of that anointing passed into the sword, into the spear that pierced His side.
And so it was that in 1938, when Germany annexed Austria, the first thing Adolph Hitler did was command that the Sword of Longinus be brought to him. And so it was that the Sword of Longinus was taken out of the Hofburg Museum in Vienna, Austria, on a special train, under special guard. It was brought to Nuremberg and there Hitler had the sword placed within the Nuremberg Cathedral in a special Nazi shrine. He had guards that he personally chose who were assigned to protect the Spear of Longinus 24 hours a day, day after day.
When the allies bombed Nuremberg, Adolph Hitler commanded that the Sword of Longinus be taken to the Nuremberg Castle and that it be taken down into the basements of lower regions of the castle and into the foundations. A vault was built. The Spear or Sword of Longinus was put into that vault, and again a special guard was appointed because Hitler believed that as long as he owned that spear, he would have power, royal power.
On April 30, 1945, allied forces invaded Nuremberg and allied forces stormed the castle at Nuremberg. They went down into the basements, the lower regions of the castle, and they found the vault in the foundations, and they opened that vault, and they took out the Sword of Longinus. Adolph Hitler would never know that because just two hours later on that same day, April 30, 1945, in a Berlin bunker, he took his own life, committing suicide. The Sword of Longinus was returned to the Hofburg Museum in Vienna, where it remains today.
What a strange story it is, because Adolph Hitler hated Christianity. He hated Christians almost as much as he hated Jews. He called Christianity a religion for weaklings, and he lived his life in blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. But somehow in his demonically twisted mind there was a small corner that still knew that Jesus Christ was Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Adolph Hitler would never bend the knee to Christ. He would never embrace His reign because he longed for his own reign, longed to establish his own sovereignty, but he thought maybe he could usurp some of the royal power of Christ, steal it, through this superstitious belief that the anointing had passed into the spear.
Of course, the anointing of Jesus Christ did not pass into the Sword of Longinus. The anointing of Christ did not pass into the wood of the cross. It did not pass into the Mandylion, or the Cloak of the Lion, or the Shroud of Turin. His anointing didn’t pass the night before into the Cup of Blessing, or the Holy Grail, because the anointing was His to keep. That’s why He rose from the dead in power and glory, and He lives and He reigns and He will one day rule the earth even as He reigns in heaven—King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Christ, the Anointed.
One day the Bible promises the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ and He will reign forever and ever. But as we close, there’s a strange, wonderful promise in the Bible for all who believe in Jesus Ghrist as Savior and King, for all who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed. It’s an incredible promise, and that’s the promise that when we place our faith in Him, He shares the anointing with us. That’s what the Bible says.
In 2 Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 21, the Apostle Paul writes that “all of us who believe in Jesus Christ have been anointed by Christ.” The Greek word is “chrio,” from which the title Christ comes. Then in 1 John, in that little letter, in the second chapter, in verses 20 and 27, we’re told that “all who believe in Jesus Christ have received the anointing.” The Greek word is “chrisma,” related to the word Christ. Everyone who believes in Christ has received the anointing because Christ has come into us. By the power of His Holy Spirit, He’s come to dwell within us. Christ has come within us, bringing His anointing. There’s a sense in which, with Him, we are prophets, priests, and kings. The Bible tells us that.
And you know, just setting aside the whole issue of kingship… because the Apostle Paul makes it very clear that we will not reign and rule with Christ until the life to come, when we will reign and rule with Him forever and ever. There’s a great mystery as to what that means. But in the Bible this much is clear, that right now in this age of the world, we who believe in Jesus Christ, through His indwelling presence through the anointing, are called to serve as prophets and priests. We are called to represent God to people, to represent the love of God to people, and the word of God to people. We are called as priests to represent people to God, to represent the needs of people to God in intercessory prayer.
If you take that title Christian, and if you call Jesus the Christ and you believe in Him, then you have been given these offices and we are called to take them very seriously day-by-day.
You know, this last week was my mom’s birthday. Mom was 84 on Wednesday and she’s doing well. I talked to Mom on Wednesday, and I talked to her again yesterday. I really thank God for my mom. I know that what I’m saying my brothers Greg and Gary would echo. I thank God for Mom because she believes that Jesus is the Christ, and she has been faithful to be a prophet and a priest in our lives. It was through Mom that I saw the love of God and heard the word of God. Mom continues to function as a priest, representing the needs of our family in intercessory prayer.
Mom said to me yesterday, “I’m praying for you.” I’ve never doubted that. My brothers have never doubted that. Our families have never doubted that because she takes the priestly privilege seriously. What’s true of Mom should be true of all of us who believe that Jesus is the Christ, that we would be faithful in prayer, faithful as priests to intercede for one another, faithful in this world in the prophetic office to take the love and the word of God to people. This call is great. It’s all bound up with this name and this title, Jesus Christ. His name is Jesus, for He saves His people from their sin. His title is Christ, the Anointed. He fulfills the prophetic and the priestly and the kingly offices and He calls us to share in His ministry. Let’s close with a word of prayer.