“Why do Christians call the Christ “Jesus”?”

December 2023 – Grace & Truth Magazine

QUESTION: Why do Christians call the Christ “Jesus”?

ANSWER: Actually, Christians are not the ones who first called Him “Jesus.” God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary and told her that she “shall call His name Jesus” (Lk. 1:31 NKJV ). Also Gabriel said to Joseph that he “shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21).

The name “Jesus” in the Hebrew language is derived from two words, meaning “the Lord who saves.” Jesus is the Lord who saves because Christ came to this world to be the Savior of mankind. The Bible says that God sent Him that the world may be saved through Him (Jn. 3:16-17). It also tells us that there is no salvation in any other (Acts 4:12).

The prophecy about His birth was also mentioned by Isaiah, when he said, “The virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14). That name literally means “God with us” (Mt. 1:23). When Christ came to this earth, God came to us. In this way we knew God better because God was “manifested in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16).

It is generally known that one of the titles of the Lord Jesus Christ is “the Word of God” (Jn. 1:1). The Word expresses thought and knowledge; Christ is the One who reveals the very thought and the full knowledge of God. The Bible says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (v.14).

Therefore, before anyone else, God called Him “Jesus,” because He is the Lord and Savior – the only Savior.

Answered by Rafique