Who was Jesus?
“And you are to give him the name JESUS; because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matt. 1:21, capitalization added). Thus the angel of the Lord informs Joseph about Jesus, His name and His mission. Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name “Joshua” meaning “Jehovah is salvation.” Jesus means “Savior,” aptly describing His work of saving men from their sins (Luke 19:10). The title Christ or Messiah means “anointed one.” It designates Jesus as the fulfilment of the Messianic hopes of the Jews in the Old Testament. The name Jesus Christ means that He is the Messiah who came to earth to save lost mankind. I. Jesus, the Son of God The logical question that follows is, Who is this Jesus, this Messiah? Many answers have been given. Some of the Jews thought Him to be Mary and Joseph’s son (Mark 6:3; Matt. 13:55). Others called Him a “deceiver” (Matt. 27:63). Still others thought Him to be a prophet (John 6:14). Some people today say that He is just a man except that He lived