Titles of Jesus

Dr. Reginald Fuller

Dr. Owen Thomas

Dr. Richard Norris

     Jesus is referred to by New Testament communities in a number of ways as they tried to comprehend his life and ministry. Son of Joseph of Nazareth acknowledges Jesus' full humanity, that he was one of them. At that time Lord was a title of deepest respect. Christ is the Greek rendition of the Hebrew "Messiah," which was reserved for God's expected "Anointed One." Rabbi, also a title of high respect, then meant "master" or "teacher." Son of God "...does not mean that some sort of metaphysical divinity is being ascribed to Jesus. In a Jewish context, it meant that like the kings of Israel Jesus was chosen for a unique role in history."* However, in the context of Christ's resurrection, "Son of God" also implied an extraordinary relationship, the closest filial communion, with God - indeed the enfleshment of God's Word. After the biblical period, the early church furthered the theological understandings of "Son of God." (See "God The Son" in the Episcopal Prayer Book Catechism, pp. 849f.) Son of Man is an expression still debated among biblical scholars; it might refer to Jesus' humanity, his messianic role, and/or his special bond to God. These and other titles contribute to the New Testament portraits of Jesus primarily as they signify his acts. The Hebrew mind was not concerned with a philosophical analysis of Jesus' person, but with what God was doing through him as God's disclosed, creative purpose for humanity. Thus, the various New Testament titles of Jesus remain powerful signs of the acts of his ministry rather than exhaustive explanations of his essence.

     [*R. Fuller, "Jesus Christ" in The Oxford Companion to the Bible (1993), p. 361. Other sources include R. A. Norris, Understanding the Faith of the Church (1979), pp. 159f.; O. C. Thomas, Introduction to Theology (1983), pp. 155 & 171; The Cambridge Companion to the Bible (1997), pp. 460 & 539; "Son of God" in The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (rv. ed., 1996), pp. 1051ff.]