The Names of Jesus
Week 3 of 6 in The Nature of God · next: The Names of the Holy Spirit
New, published 18 October 2026. What else is new
Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was, and the Bible answers with dozens of names. The prophets gave Him names centuries before He was born. He chose names for Himself. People with nothing left cried out names to Him, and He answered. Revelation gives Him the names He will wear when He comes back.
In one sentence: Jesus asked "Who do you say that I am?", and every name the Bible gives Him answers that He is the LORD Himself come as one of us: the names He took claim God's own titles, the names desperate people cried out to Him were answered on the spot, and the names Revelation gives Him He will wear when He returns to reign, so you may call on Him by name, and He answers.
This study is the second half of The Names of God, which follows the names God gave Himself in the Old Testament and ends where this one begins, at the name of Jesus. The Names of Jesus word cards teach the Old Testament names in Hebrew, one letter at a time, each beside the verse that gives the name to Jesus. The Names of the Holy Spirit is the third study in the series.
Key Takeaways
Types & Prophecy
- Prophecy. The Old Testament named the coming King before He came: the LORD's Anointed (Psalm 2:2), a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15), a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4), the Branch (Jeremiah 23:5; Zechariah 6:12), the star out of Jacob (Numbers 24:17), the one shepherd (Ezekiel 34:23), and the Servant who would be "high and lifted up" (Isaiah 52:13).
- Prophecy. Daniel saw "one like a son of man" given an everlasting kingdom (Daniel 7:13-14). "The Son of Man" became the name Jesus used for Himself more than any other.
- Type. Isaiah's Servant goes to death "like a lamb that is led to the slaughter" (Isaiah 53:7, ESV). John the Baptist names Jesus with amnos, the Septuagint's word for "lamb" in that verse: "Behold, the Lamb of God" (John 1:29, ESV).
Lessons about Jesus
- Jesus takes names that belong to God alone: "I am" (John 8:58), and "the first and the last" (Revelation 1:17), which the LORD spoke of Himself in Isaiah 44:6.
- Jesus answers when He is called by name. Blind Bartimaeus cried "Son of David, have mercy on me!" and received his sight (Mark 10:47-52). A dying thief said "Jesus, remember me" and was promised paradise that day (Luke 23:42-43).
- Jesus is a King who suffers before He reigns. Peter named Him the Christ, and at once Jesus taught that "the Son of Man must suffer many things" (Mark 8:29-31, ESV).
Memory verses
✝️ Matthew 16:15-16 (ESV)
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
✝️ Acts 4:12 (ESV)
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Be Transformed
- Think. Each name of Jesus is a promise God made and kept. When you read "Christ", read the Anointed King of Psalm 2. When you read "Lamb", read Isaiah 53.
- Attitude. Bartimaeus kept shouting when the crowd told him to be quiet (Mark 10:48). Call on Jesus the same way, by name and without embarrassment.
- Do. Answer His question, "But who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15, ESV), in words this week. Write down who you say Jesus is, using the names in this study, and pray them to Him.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are the Prophet we must listen to, the Priest who lives to intercede, and the King whose kingdom has no end. You are the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and You are coming again as King of kings. As You heard Bartimaeus and the thief, hear me now: have mercy on me, and remember me. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Study outline
- "Who do you say that I am?" The question at Caesarea Philippi, and Peter's two names for Jesus.
- Names promised before He came. The Old Testament's names for the coming King: the title that gathers them, the three offices, and three names no anointed man had filled: the Anointed · a prophet like Moses · a priest forever · Isaiah's four names for the King · the Branch, the star and the shepherd · the Servant · the rejected stone · one like a son of man.
- Names given at His birth. Jesus, Immanuel, Son of the Most High, and "a Savior, who is Christ the Lord".
- The name He chose: the Son of Man. Why His favourite name for Himself got Him condemned.
- "I am": seven pictures and one name. The seven sayings in John's Gospel, and the bare "I am".
- Names cried out in need. Bartimaeus, the Samaritans, the thief and Thomas.
- Names the apostles gave Him. The Word, the Lamb of God, Lord, the great high priest and the last Adam.
- Names He will wear when He returns. The First and the Last, the Lion who is a Lamb, and the rider of Revelation 19.
- The names answer His question. The names gathered into one answer, and the call to use them.
"Who do you say that I am?"
Jesus took His disciples north, out of Galilee, to Caesarea Philippi. The town had been called Paneas after the Greek god Pan, whose cave shrine stood there, and Philip the Tetrarch had renamed it for Caesar and for himself (ESV Study Bible, note on Matthew 16:13). There, among shrines to Pan and to Caesar, Jesus asked who He was.
✝️ Matthew 16:13-17 (ESV)
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
The crowds gave Him prophets' names. Peter gave Him two names. ὁ χριστός (ho christos, G5547) is "the Anointed", the King God promised. "The Son of the living God" sets Him beside the God who is alive, in a town full of shrines to gods who were not. Jesus said His Father had shown Peter this. God makes His Son known, and nobody works it out unaided.
Moses asked God, "What is his name?" (Exodus 3:13), and The Names of God follows the answer. At Caesarea Philippi the question turns around: God the Son asks His people what they call Him. Simon Peter follows the man who answered, and Take Up Your Cross follows what Jesus said next. The rest of this study gathers the Bible's answers.
Names promised before He came
The Old Testament named the King God would send, centuries before He was born. The Names of God covers three of those names: Immanuel, Mighty God, and "The LORD is our righteousness". The others begin with the title that gathers them, the Anointed. Then come the three offices Israel anointed men for (prophet, priest and king), and three names no anointed man had filled: the Servant, the rejected stone and the son of man. The Servant and the stone are both rejected by people and raised up by God (Isaiah 52:13; 53:3; Psalm 118:22).
The Anointed
"The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed" (Psalm 2:2, ESV). The Hebrew is מָשִׁיחַ (mashiach, mah-SHEE-akh, H4899), from the verb for pouring oil on someone's head. It occurs 38 times in the Hebrew Bible, mostly of anointed kings and priests. The Greek translators wrote it christos, and "Messiah" and "Christ" are the same word in two languages.
Psalm 2 says who this Anointed King is: "The LORD said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you'" (Psalm 2:7, ESV). God had promised David a son whose throne would last forever: "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son" (2 Samuel 7:14, ESV). Hebrews quotes both verses of Jesus and asks, "to which of the angels did God ever say" them? (Hebrews 1:5, ESV). Daniel's seventy weeks run "to the coming of an anointed one, a prince", and then "an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing" (Daniel 9:25-26, ESV); the NLT footnotes "Hebrew reads a messiah". Whether the two verses name one person is debated. This site reads both as the Messiah, which makes Daniel 9 a prophecy that the Christ would be killed, and Prophecy Events and Times works through the timing.
A prophet like Moses
✝️ Deuteronomy 18:15 (ESV)
15 "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—
A נָבִיא (navi, nah-VEE, H5030) speaks God's words: "I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him" (Deuteronomy 18:18, ESV). Peter told the crowd at the temple that Jesus was this prophet (Acts 3:22). On the mountain of the transfiguration the Father said it from the cloud: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him" (Matthew 17:5, ESV). "Listen to him" is Deuteronomy 18:15's command. Jesus is the Prophet whose every word is God's word.
A priest forever
David wrote a psalm about a King who is also a Priest:
✝️ Psalm 110:1, 4 (ESV)
1 The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." 4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."
Jesus put the first verse to the Pharisees as a question: "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" They answered, "The son of David." So He asked, "If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?" (Matthew 22:42-45, ESV). No one could answer Him (Matthew 22:46). The Christ is David's son and David's Lord. Hebrews joins the psalm's two oracles: the God who said "You are my Son" also said "You are a priest forever" (Hebrews 5:5-6). The word is כֹּהֵן (kohen, H3548). Judah's kings were barred from the priest's work, and King Uzziah was struck with leprosy for burning incense (2 Chronicles 26:16-21). A King who is also a Priest needed a new order. Jesus, Priest in the Order of Melchizedek studies it.
Isaiah's four names for the King
Isaiah gave the child born to David's house four names: "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6, ESV). The Names of God takes El gibbor, "Mighty God". The other three each say what kind of King He is.
- פֶּלֶא יוֹעֵץ (pele yoʿets, H6382, H3289), "a wonder of a counsellor". His counsel is beyond human wisdom. The Septuagint renders the name μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος, "Messenger of great counsel" (Brenton LXX, which numbers the verse 9:5).
- אֲבִי־עַד (avi-ʿad, H1, H5703), "father of perpetuity". The phrase names the kind of King He is. Isaiah uses "father" for a ruler who cares for his people: Eliakim "shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem" (Isaiah 22:21, ESV). This King cares for His people forever.
- שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם (sar shalom, H8269, H7965), "Prince of Peace", and "of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David" (Isaiah 9:7, ESV).
The Branch, the star and the shepherd
The Branch
Isaiah saw the royal line cut down to a stump: "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit" (Isaiah 11:1, ESV). Jeremiah and Zechariah made "Branch" a name, צֶמַח (tsemach, TSEH-makh, H6780). Jeremiah's "righteous Branch" is named "The LORD is our righteousness" (Jeremiah 23:5-6), which The Names of God studies. Zechariah's Branch is called "my servant the Branch" (Zechariah 3:8, ESV), and "the man whose name is the Branch" will build the temple of the LORD and "sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne" (Zechariah 6:12-13, ESV). The King and the Priest are one man again, as in Psalm 110.
The star out of Jacob
Balaam, hired to curse Israel, saw its King far off: "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel" (Numbers 24:17, ESV). The word is כּוֹכָב (kokhav, H3556). In the last chapter of the Bible Jesus takes the name: "I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star" (Revelation 22:16, ESV).
The one shepherd
After the shepherds of Israel had fed themselves and scattered the sheep, God promised, "I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them" (Ezekiel 34:23, ESV). The shepherd is רֹעֶה (roʿeh, H7473). Ezekiel wrote four centuries after David died, so "David" here is David's promised son. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11, ESV).
The Servant, high and lifted up
In the second half of Isaiah God speaks of "my servant", עַבְדִּי (ʿavdi, H5650): "Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him" (Isaiah 42:1, ESV). Matthew quotes this of Jesus (Matthew 12:17-18).
The fourth of these songs opens, "Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted" (Isaiah 52:13, ESV). "High and lifted up" is יָרוּם וְנִשָּׂא (yarum venissa, H7311, H5375). Elsewhere in Isaiah that pair of verbs belongs to the LORD: the throne Isaiah saw "high and lifted up" (Isaiah 6:1, ESV), the LORD who says "now I will lift myself up" (Isaiah 33:10, ESV), and "the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy" (Isaiah 57:15, ESV). Its other uses are the pride God brings down (Isaiah 2:12-14; 37:23) and the raising of a signal to the nations (Isaiah 13:2; 49:22). John read Isaiah this way. He quotes Isaiah 53:1 and Isaiah 6:10 together and explains, "Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him" (John 12:41, ESV).
Then the song goes down into suffering:
✝️ Isaiah 53:5-7 (ESV)
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
An Ethiopian official reading this passage asked, "About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" Philip, "beginning with this Scripture ... told him the good news about Jesus" (Acts 8:34-35, ESV). The Servant took the punishment His people deserved. The church's name for this is substitutionary atonement: "the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all".
The stone the builders rejected
"The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone" (Psalm 118:22, ESV). Jesus applied it to Himself in the temple (Matthew 21:42). Before the council that had condemned Him, Peter applied it to Jesus again and drew the conclusion: "This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders ... And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:11-12, ESV).
One like a son of man
The last Old Testament name is the one Jesus used most. Daniel saw four beasts, the kingdoms of the world, and then this:
✝️ Daniel 7:13-14 (ESV)
13 "I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
The Aramaic is כְּבַר אֱנָשׁ (kevar enash, H1247, H606), "like a son of man", a human figure. He comes "with the clouds of heaven", and the clouds are where the LORD rides (Psalm 104:3; Isaiah 19:1). All peoples "serve" Him, and His kingdom will never end.
Names given at His birth
Around His birth, God named Him through angels.
- Jesus. "You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21, ESV). Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous, G2424) is the Greek form of Yeshua, "the LORD saves". The Names of God traces it from Joshua. The name occurs 910 times in the SBL Greek New Testament.
- Immanuel. Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14 and translates it: "they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us) (Matthew 1:23, ESV). The Names of God studies this name.
- Son of the Most High. Gabriel told Mary, "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever" (Luke 1:32-33, ESV). That is 2 Samuel 7 and Psalm 2, promised to Mary's son.
- A Savior, who is Christ the Lord. The angel told the shepherds, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11, ESV). The Greek is three names in a row, σωτὴρ ὅς ἐστιν χριστὸς κύριος (sōtēr hos estin christos kyrios, G4990, G5547, G2962): Savior, Anointed, Lord.
The name He chose: the Son of Man
Jesus called Himself "the Son of Man", ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (ho huios tou anthrōpou, G5207, G444), more than by any other name. The phrase occurs 81 times in the four Gospels (SBLGNT: Matthew 30, Mark 14, Luke 25, John 12), and John 5:27 has it once more without "the". Each time it comes from His own mouth, or from someone repeating His words: the crowd (John 12:34) and the angels at the tomb (Luke 24:7). Outside the Gospels the full title, with "the", occurs once, from Stephen at the moment of his death: "I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56, ESV).
It sounds humble, and in part it is. "Son of man" in Hebrew and Aramaic means a human being. Jesus used it for His humility and His suffering: right after Peter's confession He "began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected ... and be killed, and after three days rise again" (Mark 8:31, ESV). As the Snake Was Lifted Up studies the Son of Man lifted up on the cross (John 3:14).
The name also carries Daniel 7. At His trial the high priest asked Him directly:
✝️ Mark 14:61-64 (ESV)
61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" 62 And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, "What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?" And they all condemned him as deserving death.
Jesus answered with Psalm 110:1 ("seated at the right hand") and Daniel 7:13 ("coming with the clouds of heaven"). The high priest heard a man claim the throne beside God, and called it blasphemy. So the name Jesus used most for Himself says two things. He is a real man who would suffer and die. He is also the One to whom God gives the everlasting kingdom. The Olivet Discourse studies His promise to come on the clouds.
"I am": seven pictures and one name
John's Gospel records seven sayings in which Jesus says "I am", ἐγώ εἰμι (egō eimi, G1510), and joins it to a picture. Each answers a need in front of Him and a promise the Old Testament had made.
| Jesus said | Where | The need and the promise | Studied in |
|---|---|---|---|
| "I am the bread of life" | John 6:35 | A crowd fed the day before, asking for the manna again (John 6:31; Exodus 16) | Bread of Life |
| "I am the light of the world" | John 8:12 | Said in the temple treasury (John 8:20), at the close of the Feast of Booths (John 7:37) | The Lampstand |
| "I am the door" | John 10:9 | Sheep kept from thieves; "he will be saved" | |
| "I am the good shepherd" | John 10:11 | Ezekiel 34's scattered sheep and one shepherd | Hurt by the Church |
| "I am the resurrection and the life" | John 11:25 | Spoken to Martha, with Lazarus four days in the tomb (John 11:17) | |
| "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" | John 14:6 | Thomas: "we do not know where you are going" (John 14:5) | The Way |
| "I am the true vine" | John 15:1 | Israel, the vine that bore no good fruit (Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:8) |
Each picture is something a person cannot live without: food, light, safety, a shepherd, life after death, a way home, a source of fruit. Jesus says He is each one. "Apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5, ESV).
He also said "I am" with nothing after it. "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58, ESV). Those are the Septuagint's words at the burning bush, and His hearers picked up stones. The Names of God and The Woman at the Well study this saying. Every other "I am" in John rests on it. The One who is the bread and the light is the God who told Moses "I AM WHO I AM".
Names cried out in need
The Names of God shows God giving His names to people with nothing left. In the Gospels the movement runs the other way. People with nothing left called Jesus by name, and He answered each one.
"Son of David", from a blind beggar
Bartimaeus sat by the road out of Jericho. "When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more" (Mark 10:47-48, ESV). "Son of David" was the King's name from 2 Samuel 7, and a blind man shouted it in public a few days before Jesus entered Jerusalem. "Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him'" (Mark 10:49, ESV), and Bartimaeus "immediately ... recovered his sight and followed him on the way" (Mark 10:52, ESV).
"Savior of the world", from Samaritans
Jesus spent two days in a Samaritan town because of one woman's testimony. Then the townspeople said, "we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world" (John 4:42, ESV). Jews and Samaritans did not mix (John 4:9), and the people whom Israel kept out were the first to give Him this name. The Woman at the Well tells their story.
"Jesus", from a dying thief
One of the men crucified beside Him said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:42-43, ESV). The thief had no time left to do anything. He called on the name, and that was enough.
"My Lord and my God", from a doubter
Thomas would not believe the others had seen Jesus risen. A week later Jesus came and showed him His wounds, and Thomas answered, ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28, ESV). Jesus accepted the words. John then says why he wrote his Gospel: "so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31, ESV).
Names the apostles gave Him
The Word
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1, ESV). ὁ λόγος (ho logos, G3056) is God's speech. God created by speaking (Genesis 1:3), and the Word "became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14, ESV). Jesus is what God says, and God has said it in a man.
The Lamb of God
"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29, ESV). The word is ἀμνός (amnos, G286), the Septuagint's word in Isaiah 53:7, where the Greek has the lamb silent before its shearer. It occurs only four times in the New Testament: John 1:29 and 1:36, Acts 8:32 quoting Isaiah 53:7, and 1 Peter 1:19 ("a lamb without blemish or spot"). John the Baptist was naming Jesus as Isaiah's Servant. Passover studies the Lamb and the feast.
Lord
κύριος (kyrios, G2962) can be a polite "sir". It is also the word the Septuagint uses for the name YHWH. Paul gives it to Jesus in the confession "Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2:11), quoting the LORD's own oath in Isaiah 45:23. The Names of God studies that passage.
The great high priest
"Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession" (Hebrews 4:14, ESV). He can "sympathize with our weaknesses", having been "tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15, ESV). So you may "draw near to the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:16, ESV).
The last Adam
"The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit" (1 Corinthians 15:45, ESV). Adam brought death to everyone who belongs to him. Jesus, the ἔσχατος Ἀδάμ (eschatos Adam, G2078), brings resurrection life to everyone who belongs to Him (1 Corinthians 15:22-23).
Names He will wear when He returns
The First and the Last
Through Isaiah the LORD named Himself: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god" (Isaiah 44:6, ESV). John fell at the feet of the risen Jesus "as though dead", and Jesus laid His right hand on him:
✝️ Revelation 1:17-18 (ESV)
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος (ho prōtos kai ho eschatos, G4413, G2078). Only God can say "besides me there is no god", and Jesus takes the title. He says it again at the end of the book: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (Revelation 22:13, ESV). The first thing He says with it is "Fear not."
The Lion who is a Lamb
In heaven no one could open the sealed scroll, and John wept. An elder told him, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered" (Revelation 5:5, ESV). John heard of a Lion, and then he "saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain" (Revelation 5:6, ESV). Revelation's word is ἀρνίον (arnion, G721), which occurs 29 times in the book, 28 of them of Jesus (the other is the beast with "two horns like a lamb", Revelation 13:11, ESV). The King of Judah conquered by being killed.
Faithful and True, the Word of God, King of kings
At the end of the age heaven opens.
✝️ Revelation 19:11-13, 16 (ESV)
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Four names in one vision. He is Faithful and True: every promise in this study will be kept. He has a name no one knows: after all these names, there is still more to know of Him. He is the Word of God, John's first name for Him (John 1:1). He is King of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation 19 puts His return before the thousand-year reign of Revelation 20, and this site reads that order as the order of events. The Son of Man Daniel saw will come with the clouds, and the kingdom given to Him will have no end.
The names answer His question
So the names answer His question. He is the Christ, the Prophet, the Priest and the King, the Servant who was pierced and the Son of Man who will reign. He is the LORD who says "I am" and "the first and the last". He heard Bartimaeus and He heard the thief. "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13, ESV). Call on Him by name.
Discussion questions
- The language. "Christ" is the Greek for the Hebrew mashiach, "anointed" (Psalm 2:2). What changes when you read "Jesus Christ" as "Jesus the Anointed King"?
- The text in its context. Jesus asked His question at Caesarea Philippi, a town named for Caesar and once for the god Pan (Matthew 16:13-16). Why might "the Son of the living God" have sounded different there?
- Christ. Isaiah 52:13 calls the Servant "high and lifted up", the words Isaiah uses of the LORD on His throne (Isaiah 6:1), and the next chapter has the Servant pierced and crushed (Isaiah 53:5). What does it tell you about God that the exalted One is the One who suffers?
- The hard part. At His trial Jesus answered with Psalm 110:1 and Daniel 7:13, and was condemned for blasphemy (Mark 14:61-64). Why do you think He chose the name "Son of Man" over "Christ" when He spoke of Himself?
- Christ. Jesus calls Himself "the first and the last" (Revelation 1:17), the LORD's own title in Isaiah 44:6. What does it mean for you that the first words He says with it are "Fear not"?
- Be transformed. Bartimaeus called Jesus "Son of David", the Samaritans "Savior of the world", the thief simply "Jesus", and Thomas "My Lord and my God". Which name would you call Him by today, and what would you ask Him for?
Group study sheet for a 40-minute group: two A4 sheets, or one with the guided path
The point, the passage, the questions and the response, from this study. Print on both sides of two A4 sheets, flipping on the long edge. While this block is open, printing the page prints the sheet; close it to print the study.
The Names of Jesus
Matthew 16:13-17The point Jesus asked "Who do you say that I am?", and every name the Bible gives Him answers that He is the LORD Himself come as one of us: the names He took claim God's own titles, the names desperate people cried out to Him were answered on the spot, and the names Revelation gives Him He will wear when He returns to reign, so you may call on Him by name, and He answers.
Ask: what comes to mind when you hear The Names of Jesus
? Hear a few answers before anyone reads.
Matthew 16:13-17 13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.
Also read:
The Names of Jesus
- "Who do you say that I am?" The question at Caesarea Philippi, and Peter's two names for Jesus.
- Names promised before He came. The Old Testament's names for the coming King: the title that gathers them, the three offices, and three names no anointed man had filled: the Anointed · a prophet like Moses · a priest forever · Isaiah's four names for the King · the Branch, the star and the shepherd · the Servant · the rejected stone · one like a son of man.
- Names given at His birth. Jesus, Immanuel, Son of the Most High, and "a Savior, who is Christ the Lord".
- The name He chose: the Son of Man. Why His favourite name for Himself got Him condemned.
- "I am": seven pictures and one name. The seven sayings in John's Gospel, and the bare "I am".
- Names cried out in need. Bartimaeus, the Samaritans, the thief and Thomas.
- Names the apostles gave Him. The Word, the Lamb of God, Lord, the great high priest and the last Adam.
- Names He will wear when He returns. The First and the Last, the Lion who is a Lamb, and the rider of Revelation 19.
- The names answer His question. The names gathered into one answer, and the call to use them.
The Names of Jesus
1The text in its context. Jesus asked His question at Caesarea Philippi, a town named for Caesar and once for the god Pan (Matthew 16:13-16). Why might "the Son of the living God" have sounded different there?
2The language. "Christ" is the Greek for the Hebrew mashiach, "anointed" (Psalm 2:2). What changes when you read "Jesus Christ" as "Jesus the Anointed King"?
3Christ. Isaiah 52:13 calls the Servant "high and lifted up", the words Isaiah uses of the LORD on His throne (Isaiah 6:1), and the next chapter has the Servant pierced and crushed (Isaiah 53:5). What does it tell you about God that the exalted One is the One who suffers?
4The hard part. At His trial Jesus answered with Psalm 110:1 and Daniel 7:13, and was condemned for blasphemy (Mark 14:61-64). Why do you think He chose the name "Son of Man" over "Christ" when He spoke of Himself?
5Christ. Jesus calls Himself "the first and the last" (Revelation 1:17), the LORD's own title in Isaiah 44:6. What does it mean for you that the first words He says with it are "Fear not"?
The Names of Jesus
6Be transformed. Bartimaeus called Jesus "Son of David", the Samaritans "Savior of the world", the thief simply "Jesus", and Thomas "My Lord and my God". Which name would you call Him by today, and what would you ask Him for?
- Think. Each name of Jesus is a promise God made and kept. When you read "Christ", read the Anointed King of Psalm 2. When you read "Lamb", read Isaiah 53.
- Attitude. Bartimaeus kept shouting when the crowd told him to be quiet (Mark 10:48). Call on Jesus the same way, by name and without embarrassment.
- Do. Answer His question, "But who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15, ESV), in words this week. Write down who you say Jesus is, using the names in this study, and pray them to Him.
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Matthew 16:15-16 (ESV)Lord Jesus, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are the Prophet we must listen to, the Priest who lives to intercede, and the King whose kingdom has no end. You are the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and You are coming again as King of kings. As You heard Bartimaeus and the thief, hear me now: have mercy on me, and remember me. In Jesus' name. Amen.
The Names of Jesus
Matthew 16:13-17Open Ask: what comes to mind when you hear The Names of Jesus
? Hear a few answers before anyone reads.
Read it aloud Matthew 16:13-17
1The text in its context. Jesus asked His question at Caesarea Philippi, a town named for Caesar and once for the god Pan (Matthew 16:13-16). Why might "the Son of the living God" have sounded different there?
2The language. "Christ" is the Greek for the Hebrew mashiach, "anointed" (Psalm 2:2). What changes when you read "Jesus Christ" as "Jesus the Anointed King"?
3Christ. Isaiah 52:13 calls the Servant "high and lifted up", the words Isaiah uses of the LORD on His throne (Isaiah 6:1), and the next chapter has the Servant pierced and crushed (Isaiah 53:5). What does it tell you about God that the exalted One is the One who suffers?
4The hard part. At His trial Jesus answered with Psalm 110:1 and Daniel 7:13, and was condemned for blasphemy (Mark 14:61-64). Why do you think He chose the name "Son of Man" over "Christ" when He spoke of Himself?
5Christ. Jesus calls Himself "the first and the last" (Revelation 1:17), the LORD's own title in Isaiah 44:6. What does it mean for you that the first words He says with it are "Fear not"?
6Be transformed. Bartimaeus called Jesus "Son of David", the Samaritans "Savior of the world", the thief simply "Jesus", and Thomas "My Lord and my God". Which name would you call Him by today, and what would you ask Him for?
- Think. Each name of Jesus is a promise God made and kept. When you read "Christ", read the Anointed King of Psalm 2. When you read "Lamb", read Isaiah 53.
- Attitude. Bartimaeus kept shouting when the crowd told him to be quiet (Mark 10:48). Call on Jesus the same way, by name and without embarrassment.
- Do. Answer His question, "But who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15, ESV), in words this week. Write down who you say Jesus is, using the names in this study, and pray them to Him.
The Names of Jesus
The point Jesus asked "Who do you say that I am?", and every name the Bible gives Him answers that He is the LORD Himself come as one of us: the names He took claim God's own titles, the names desperate people cried out to Him were answered on the spot, and the names Revelation gives Him He will wear when He returns to reign, so you may call on Him by name, and He answers.
References & Recommended Reading
- Greek text and counts. SBL Greek New Testament, via MACULA Greek (Clear Bible). Counts are for that text: Iēsous (G2424) 910; christos (G5547) 528; "the Son of Man" 81 in the Gospels (Matthew 30, Mark 14, Luke 25, John 12), plus John 5:27 without the article, with Acts 7:56, Hebrews 2:6, Revelation 1:13 and 14:14 outside them; amnos (G286) 4; arnion (G721) 30, 29 of them in Revelation and 28 of those of Jesus.
- Hebrew and Aramaic text. Westminster Leningrad Codex via MACULA Hebrew. Mashiach (H4899) 38; the pair rum + nasa (H7311, H5375) in one verse in Isaiah at 2:12; 2:13; 2:14; 6:1; 13:2; 33:10; 37:23; 49:22; 52:13; 57:15.
- Septuagint. Brenton's Septuagint (Isaiah 9:6, numbered 9:5 there; Isaiah 53:7).
- Study Bibles consulted. ESV Study Bible (Crossway), notes on Matthew 16:13-17; footnotes in the LSB and NLT at Isaiah 9:6 and Daniel 9:25.
- Translation. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible unless marked.
On this site
- The Names of God: the names God gave Himself, and how they meet in Jesus.
- The Names of Jesus word cards: the Old Testament names in Hebrew.
- The Names of God word cards: the same names in Hebrew.
- Simon Peter: the man who answered at Caesarea Philippi.
- Jesus, Priest in the Order of Melchizedek: Psalm 110 and Hebrews.
- As the Snake Was Lifted Up: the Son of Man lifted up.
- Bread of Life: "I am the bread of life".
- The Way: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life".
- The Woman at the Well: "I am" in John, and the Savior of the world.
- Passover: the Lamb of God.
- The Olivet Discourse: the Son of Man coming on the clouds.
- The Names of the Holy Spirit: the Spirit of Christ, the third study in the series.