Whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it. John 14:13-14

Prepared by: Richard G. Pazcoguin UST Institute of Religion

Every name is a symbol. More than being a title by which someone is recognized, a name is a representation of its bearer. To praise a name is to praise the person who bears it. We even go to the extent of equating name with reputation or honor. To preserve ones honor is to preserve ones good name. When our Lord became man, he needed to be called by a name:

and you shall name him JESUS.

Luke 1:31

The name given to Our Lord was YESHUA. This was a late version of the Hebrew name Joshua or Yehoshua. She is to have a son and you are to name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:11 The name Yeshua means Yahweh saves or Yahweh is Salvation. This name was common during our Lords time, but when it became definite that Christianity was a separate religion from Judaism, the Jews stopped calling their children with this name.

JESUS OF NAZARETH (Jn.18:5)

JESUS THE CARPENTER (Mk.6:3)

JESUS BAR/BEN JOSEPH JESUS SON OF MARY (Luke 4:22; Mk.6:3)

The Greek word Christos means messiah (Hb. masiah) or anointed one. This title was given to Jesus by the early Church as a profession of what they believed about him He was the one whom God has anointed to bring peace and justice to the world by establishing Kingdom of God.

The description of the Suffering Servant is found in the Book of Isaiah. The Suffering Servant is the innocent victim whose unconditional obedience pleased God and whose suffering became the source of healing for wounded humanity. The early church, after witnessing Christs brutal execution and his glorious resurrection from the dead, realized that the suffering servant and the messianic king that they were expecting were one and the same person.

The Jews believed that the name of God was too holy to be pronounced by the human tongue. In their scriptures, they read Gods name (YHWH) as Adonai Lord. Therefore, in the religious context, the title Lord belongs to God. Calling Jesus Lord is an affirmation of his Divinity.

Looking into Daniels prophecy about the coming of the Son of Man (Dan 7:1314), the Son of Man is the person who will establish Gods kingdom at the end of time. Jesus is called by this title to emphasize his role as savior and ruler of the world.

In the Old Testament, the title son of God was used to designate the king or the angels. Jesus, however, is THE SON OF GOD. He is the unique Son of the Father for he partakes of the Fathers Divine nature.

A word is a representation of ones thoughts and of ones self. When a word is spoken, the one who speaks gives himself to the listener. God communicates to us through words. For example, creation is a word of God. We learn about God by looking into the Created world.

Jesus is THE WORD. He is the totality of Gods selfcommunication.

WORD OF GOD=REVELATION JESUS IS THE FULLNESS OF GODS REVELATION

The Messianic King, whose coming was awaited by the Jews, must be from the Davidic line.
Jesus Christ was from the tribe of Judah, the tribe of King David. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, King Davids hometown. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus was a descendant of David. Jesus was called Son of David as an affirmation that he indeed was the awaited Messiah.

The priest is the person who offers the sacrificial sin-offering on behalf of Gods people. Jesus Christ, by offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins, once and for all reconciled humanity with God.

As priest, Christ is THE MEDIATOR between God and humanity.

A lamb is a sacrificial animal. Jesus is THE LAMB OF GOD because like a lamb, Christ was slaughtered for the forgiveness of sins. His blood washed away this sins of the world.

These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Jesus is the beginning and the end of human history in whom we can find the meaning of everything.

The Greek word for fish (IXY) served as an anagram for a primitive Christian Creed. I Iesous X- Christos -Theou Y- Uios -Soter

This symbol is the monogram of the name CHRIST The Chi and the Rho are the first two letters of the Greek name for Christ:

This symbol is a monogram of the name JESUS. It is from the first two letters and the last letter of the Greek name of Jesus : IHSOYS It is from the letters of the Latin name for Jesus: IHESUS

The first Christians were not comfortable with representing Christ with a cross. This was because crucifixion was still being practiced as a method of capital punishment in the Roman Empire. The cross was a symbol of shame. Some of the early Christians represented the cross with an anchor.

When Emperor Constantine won the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, he attributed his victory to the Sign of the Cross. As he permitted Christianity to surface and flourish, the cross consequently became a sign of Christs victory rather than of shame.

In Greek, IC is the first syllable of Jesus. In Latin, I and C are the first letters of Jesus Christ

In Greek, XC is the first syllable of Christ. It is by the IC and XC that our Lord is identified in the icons of the Eastern Churches

CHRIST BECAME OBEDIENT FOR US EVEN TO DEATH, DEATH ON THE CROSS. BECAUSE OF THIS, GOD RAISED HIM ON HIGH AND GAVE HIM A NAME ABOVE ALL OTHER NAMES SO THAT AT THE NAME OF JESUS EVERY KNEE MUST BEND IN THE HEAVENS, ON THE EARTH, AND UNDER THE EARTH, AND EVERY TONGUE PROCLAIM TO THE GLORY OF THE FATHER:

JESUS IS LORD!
Phil 2:8-11

James Finley and Michael Pennock JESUS AND YOU: DISCOVERING THE REAL CHRIST Ind: Ave Maria Press, 1977 Joseph Fitzmayer A CHRISTOLOGICAL CATECHISM: NEW TESTAMENT ANSWERS NJ: Paulist Press, 1991