Jesus. The name above all names. Over two thousand years ago, He went to the cross for us and died a painful death so we could be reunited with God through faith.
Though Jesus is the name we are perhaps most familiar with from reading the Bible, Jesus is known by many other names that characterize all He is to us. We may know some of the names and titles Jesus is called, but what do they mean?
Collectively, all the names show us that Jesus is everything in our Christian faith and lives, embodying all we need to believe in and hope for while living in this fallen world.
Here are just a few names of Jesus that are presented in the Bible. What these names stand for will only show us more clearly how meaningful Jesus is in our lives.
The term shepherd is mentioned regularly in the Bible, but the Good Shepherd is associated most with Jesus. As He describes in John 10:11: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”
Jesus refers to Himself as Good Shepherd. Like a good shepherd watches over his flock and might sacrifice his life for the sheep to live, Jesus has done the same for us, His flock. He leads us in the way we should go and looks for us if we become lost. This verse connects well to the Parable of the Lost Sheep from Matthew 18:12-14, where the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to find the one lost sheep, rejoicing as much for the lost sheep being found as the ninety-nine who stayed with Him.
Mentioned in Revelation 5:5, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is detailed by the apostle John as he describes the opening of the scroll and removal of its seven seals. The scroll and seals define for us what will occur leading up to the Second Coming of Jesus and beyond.
Judah, one of the sons of Jacob, received blessings for himself and his descendants after he was redeemed for his wrongdoings against his brother Joseph. Judah’s blessing paved the way for God’s restoration of mankind to Himself through Jesus’s sacrifice and resurrection. Calling Jesus a lion comes from Genesis 49:8-12, when Judah is called a lion that conquers and is victorious, just as Jesus would be centuries later.
Many will recognize this name of Jesus from Luke 2:11, the famous verse where the angels say a Savior has been born in the city of David – Christ the Lord. Calling Jesus the Savior symbolizes His death on the cross to save us from the wrath of God over the sin we have committed. Jesus will always be our Savior, for He willingly died and was resurrected so that we would be reunited with God.
In John 6:35, Jesus refers to Himself as the Bread of Life, adding that “He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” Bread is a staple food around the world, something that sustains people when there is nothing else to eat.
However, in calling Himself the Bread of Life, Jesus means that while actual bread can feed you for a little while, He provides sustenance that will leave you full forever. The hunger mentioned here is not hunger for food but hunger for purpose, love, grace, and meaning in life, which Jesus alone can satisfy.
The book of Isaiah discusses several details of Jesus’ life and His arrival to be our Savior. Isaiah 7:14 says “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”
Immanuel, which means “God with us,” represents the fact that when Jesus came to dwell with us, die on the cross, and return to heaven, it was God with us through His Son. We should never forget that God is always with us, and Jesus is proof of that.
To connect with the abovementioned name, Son of God epitomizes Jesus as God’s son, as He was born from a virgin woman. The term “the only begotten Son” (John 1:18) also depicts this understanding of Jesus as God’s son, seeing Him as the rightful offspring of God and the only real representation of God.
A few names ago, we noted that Jesus is known as a lion, but He is also known as the Lamb of God. John 1:29 has John the Baptist naming Jesus when he sees Him, saying, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
Jesus is called a lamb because He is the perfect sacrifice to unite God and mankind together again. He is perfect and without blemish, just like the lambs people brought to sacrifice to God before Jesus was born.
Jesus has so many names, titles and traits, but one that several identify Him with is King of kings and Lord of lords. 1 Timothy 6:15 says “Which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Jesus is above all kings and lords that ruled before Him, both when He was on earth and after He has ascended to Heaven. No one will ever reign above Him because He is God, the creator of the earth and heavens.
The first time Jesus is called the Messiah is in the book of Daniel, when the prophet Daniel describes how long it will take to restore Jerusalem. He makes reference to Jesus as the Messiah when he says, “Messiah the Prince” (Daniel 9:25).
Jesus as the Messiah is also mentioned in the book of John when people state that they are awaiting the Messiah who will save them and that He has been found. Defined as “the expected king and deliverer of the Jews,” Jesus is truly the Messiah we have been waiting for!
The book of John opens by saying the Word was with God and was God (John 1:1). This then leads us into John’s account of Jesus’s life, sacrifice, and resurrection. In Revelation 19:13, the apostle John describes Jesus again as the Word of God, wearing a robe dipped in blood.
Being called the Word of God shows the Bible is Jesus’ life story. He came to earth to redeem mankind from Adam’s sin and bring us back into a relationship with our heavenly Father. He is the Word of God, from beginning to end.
Jesus is known by many names, but the truth remains the same: He is the one who willingly went to the cross out of love for us and a desire for us to be reunited with our Father in heaven.
He is a cross pendant.
He is engraved with a unique Number.
He will mail it out from Jerusalem.
He will be sent to your Side.
Emmanuel
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