BSN: JESUS + CHRIST

  • The New Testament does not tell us how the words “Jesus” and “Christ” came to be combined as a single name. The Gospels have no record of anyone talking to or about Jesus using this combined name during His earthly life. The Gospel writers themselves rarely used this combined name, but it was commonplace – and all over the place – in Acts through Revelation.
    • The earliest recorded instance of these two names being combined was John 17:3 when Jesus used the term in His prayer the night before He died. Obviously, Jesus must have spent sufficient time in the forty period between His resurrection and ascension drilling the importance of this combined name. I say this because of the frequency with which it is used in Acts through Revelation, beginning on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38).
    • All other occurrences of this combined term in the Gospels:
      • Matt 1:1 “Jesus the Messiah” (identical Greek to Matt 1:18) – Matthew writes it.
      • Matt 1:18 “Jesus Christ” (identical Greek to Matt 1:1) – Matthew writes it.
      • Mark 1:1 “Jesus Christ” – Mark writes it.
      • Luke – no occurrences
      • John 1:17 “Jesus Christ” – John writes it.
      • John 17:3 “Jesus Christ” – Jesus speaks it.
    • Earliest occurrences in Acts –
      • Acts 2:38 “Jesus Christ”
      • Acts 3:6 “Jesus Christ the Nazarene”
      • Acts 3:20 “Jesus the Christ”
      • Acts 4:10 “Jesus Christ”
  • The point of all this is to appreciate what the bringing together of these two names – Jesus + Christ – into one name – Jesus Christ – means.

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