In Acts 3, after the apostles Peter and John performed a miracle, they took the opportunity to preach Jesus. In Acts 3:13-18, they referred to Jesus in a variety of ways. Notice what the text says below.
“The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of Life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.
Jesus is referred to as…
- God’s servant.
- Holy
- Righteous One
- Prince of Life
- His Christ
These terms or titles are significant. They help us to learn more about who Jesus is.
This post is all about learning and appreciating the titles given to Jesus. This will help us to get to know more about Him. Before we proceed, if you would like to catch up on the previous posts, click one of the following below.
For Post #1 (Introduction to this series) Click HERE.
For Post #2 (The Certainty of these things) Click HERE.
For Post #3 (Some Facts about the gospels) Click HERE.
Now let’s proceed and consider some more the titles of Jesus.
In Matthew 1:21 it says, “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” This passage helps us to see that the name “Jesus” means Savior or Jehovah is salvation.
In Matthew 1:1, the apostle says, “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Jesus is referred to Messiah. The term Messiah is the same as “Christ” which means Anointed One.
In Matthew 1:23, as the apostle quoted from the prophet Isaiah he said, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name IMMANUEL, which translated means, GOD WITH US.”
Mark began his gospel by saying, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” That phrase “Son of…” is found frequently in the scriptures. We see Matthew using it as he spoke about King David and Abraham. It refers to the nature of someone, or to their offspring.
The Psalmist in Psalm 89:22 said, “The enemy will not deceive him, nor the son of wickedness afflict him.”
In Luke 20:34, Jesus said, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.” He was describing the men of that time.
So, what is the significance of Jesus being referred to as the Son of God? It’s helping us to see His nature.
In Luke 1:32, Jesus is referred to as the Son of the Most High. This is essentially the same as Son of God.
Jesus is also referred to as the Son of Man. While this certainly points to His humanity, there also seems to be a connection to what was said in the Old Testament about the coming Messiah (see Daniel 7:9-14).
In the gospel of John, Jesus is referred to as the WORD. John 1:1-4 says,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”
In the John 1:29, the prophet named John the Baptist (and cousin of Jesus) said this:
“The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'” Jesus would become the sacrifice to deliver mankind from our sins.
By considering a few of these examples of the titles given to Jesus, we can learn more about Him.
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