Jesus' Identity

Jesus' Identity

To discover the essence of Jesus' identity we have to study the

different titles and look into the relevance of each one. Jesus'

titles show many aspects to his character and hold a lot of

significance. I feel that to understand the identity of Jesus I have

to discuss and understand his titles. His main titles are:

1. Son of God- This title is used no more than eight times in Mark's

gospel and it is used to emphasise the special relationship

between God and Jesus.

2. Son of Man- This is a very ambiguous title in the sense that it

can be interpreted to mean two very different things.

3. Messiah / Christ /Anointed One- These three titles have the same

meaning. Jews most often used this title.

4. Saviour- this title is used to show the authority that Jesus has

over sickness, demons and the forces of nature.

5. Son of David- This title shows Jewish authority as the Jews

expected that their Messiah would be a descendant of King David.

I am going to start by discussing the title "Son of God."

Son of God

==========

Mark begins the gospel by referring to Jesus as the "Son of God." This

title is used eight times throughout the gospel, which is relatively

less than the uses of the other titles. Each time this title is used

it is used at a significant and important part of the gospel. In the

Old Testament, we can understand the meaning of "Son of God" by saying

that it is used to describe a person who was close to God, and had a

special relationship with him. When we refer to Jesus as the Son of

God we have an idea that he has a special relationship with God

be...

... middle of paper ...

...

King of the Jews

----------------

This title is only used during the trial of Jesus before Pontius

Pilate and at the Crucifixion. This title was used by the Jews to

tease Jesus. When Jesus is about to be crucified the soldiers jeer at

him:

---------------------------------------------------------------------

""Long live the King of the Jews!""

(Mark Chapter 15 Verse 18)

In conclusion: all the titles that Mark uses contribute to us being

able to understand the character of Jesus and his mission on earth. I

feel that the most effective title that is used to describe Jesus is

"Son of God", because this emphasises the most on the special

connection between God and Jesus and this acts as a powerful tool to

help Christians to follow in Jesus' footsteps and see him as an

example of goodness.