Christ Jesus

Identity

Christ Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the Word who was with God and was God (John 1:1), made flesh and dwelling among us (John 1:14). The Church confesses Him as fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, dead, buried, risen the third day, ascended into heaven, and coming again in glory.

Name and titles

'Jesus' is the Greek form of the Hebrew Yeshua, meaning 'The LORD saves' — given by the angel to Joseph, 'for he shall save his people from their sins' (Matthew 1:21). 'Christ' is Greek for the Hebrew Messiah, 'the Anointed One.' Scripture gives Him many other names — Emmanuel, 'God with us' (Matthew 1:23); the Lamb of God (John 1:29); the Good Shepherd (John 10:11); the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6); the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 22:13); King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16).

Historical period

• c. 6-4 BC — Born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:1-7). The exact year is debated because of Herod's death date.
• c. 4 BC-AD 6 — Hidden years in Nazareth of Galilee after the return from Egypt (Matthew 2:19-23; Luke 2:39-40).
• c. AD 8 — Found in the temple among the teachers at the age of twelve (Luke 2:41-52).
• c. AD 26-27 — Baptised by John in the Jordan; forty days of temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 3-4; Mark 1; Luke 3-4).
• c. AD 27-30 — Public ministry in Galilee, Judaea, Samaria, and the Decapolis. Twelve apostles chosen. Sermon on the Mount preached (Matthew 5-7).
• c. AD 30 or 33 — Passion Week in Jerusalem — the triumphal entry, the Last Supper, Gethsemane, trial, Crucifixion at Golgotha, burial, and Resurrection on the third day (Matthew 21-28; Mark 11-16; Luke 19-24; John 12-21).
• Forty days after Easter — Post-resurrection appearances in Jerusalem, Emmaus, Galilee, and to more than five hundred brethren at once (1 Corinthians 15:6).
• Ascension — Ascended from the Mount of Olives into heaven; the two angels promise His return in the same manner (Acts 1:9-11).

Scripture appearances (a chosen few)

• Isaiah 7:14 (KJV) 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel' — the prophecy of His coming.
• Isaiah 53 (KJV) The suffering Servant — 'he was wounded for our transgressions' — read in the Church as the fullest Old Testament portrait of the Passion.
• Matthew 1-2 (KJV) The Nativity, the wise men, the flight into Egypt, the return to Nazareth.
• Luke 2 (KJV) The birth in Bethlehem, the shepherds, the presentation in the temple, the finding among the teachers.
• Matthew 5-7 (KJV) The Sermon on the Mount — the Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer, the Golden Rule.
• John 6:35 (KJV) 'I am the bread of life' — the first of the seven 'I am' sayings in John.
• Luke 23-24 (KJV) The Crucifixion and the Resurrection.
• John 20 (KJV) The empty tomb, Mary Magdalene, Thomas the doubter.
• Acts 1:9-11 (KJV) The Ascension and the promise of His return.
• Revelation 22 (KJV) 'Behold, I come quickly' — the last word of the Bible.

Connected Places

• Bethlehem — the town of His birth.
• Nazareth — the town of His hidden years.
• Jordan River — the river of His baptism.
• Sea of Galilee — the sea of the calling of the twelve.
• Capernaum — the town called "his own city" (Matthew 9:1).
• Jerusalem — the city of the Passion.
• Mount of Olives — the mount of the triumphal entry, the agony, the ascension.
• Gethsemane — the garden of the agony.
• Golgotha — the place of the skull, where He was crucified.
• Emmaus — the road of the first resurrection meal.

Connected People

• Mary — His mother.
• Joseph of Nazareth — His guardian and legal father.
• John the Baptist — His forerunner.
• Peter — the chief of the apostles.
• Paul — the apostle to the Gentiles.
• David — His ancestor after the flesh.
• Moses — the lawgiver whom He fulfils.

Salvation history role

• The fulfilment of every promise made to Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets (Luke 24:27; 2 Corinthians 1:20).
• The second Adam who undoes the fall of the first Adam (Romans 5:15-19; 1 Corinthians 15:22).
• The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
• The great High Priest who has passed into the heavens (Hebrews 4:14).
• The King who sits at the right hand of the Father until His enemies are made His footstool (Psalm 110:1; Matthew 22:44; Hebrews 1:13).
• The Judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42; 2 Timothy 4:1).
• The Bridegroom of the Church, His Bride (Matthew 25:1-13; Ephesians 5:23-32; Revelation 21:2).

Christian tradition

• The four Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — are the Church's four eye-portraits of His life.
• The Church has confessed His two natures since Chalcedon (AD 451): fully God, fully man, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.
• The seven councils of the undivided Church all defended some aspect of who He is.
• Every Sunday of the Christian year is a small Easter, celebrating His resurrection.
• The liturgical year — Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost — is the year-long walking of His life.

Household reflection

In this house Christ is not one voice among many. He is the one voice the household listens to before any other. Before we open a book, we open His book. Before we ask a machine, we ask Him. Before we hear an opinion, we hear His word.

Teach the little ones His name early. Say His name in the morning. Say His name at meals. Say His name at night. The name of Jesus is the first word we hope every child learns to love.

Room connections

Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.

• Read (Library) — Read the four Gospels here — the direct testimony of the eye-witnesses.
• Pray (Chapel) — Every prayer in this house ends 'through Jesus Christ our Lord' — because He is the way to the Father.
• Family (Kitchen Table) — At the family table, break bread the way He broke bread — with thanks, and with the poor invited.
• Sing (Choir Room) — Sing His name in the hymns — 'Jesus, Name above all names', 'How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds.'
• Learn (Workshop) — Study Him: read the Fathers, the Catechism, and the councils that defended who He is.

Further reading

The four Gospels in the King James Version — Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.

Athanasius, On the Incarnation (fourth century).

The Nicene Creed and the Chalcedonian Definition.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part One, Section Two (on Christ), and the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

Elsewhere in the Atlas

• Mary, mother of Christ
• Joseph of Nazareth
• Bethlehem
• Jerusalem
• Psalm 23 — the Shepherd Psalm
• Matthew 5 — the Beatitudes
• John 3 — Nicodemus
• John 6 — Bread of Life
• Luke 15 — Parables of Mercy
• Matthew — the apostle called from Capernaum
• Jonah — the sign of the Son of man (Matt 12:40)
• Solomon — 'a greater than Solomon is here'
• Romans 8 — the assurance chapter
• Revelation 21 — the new heaven
• Return to the atrium — the Atlas's main room.