Islam recognizes Jesus (“Isa”) as a Prophet. This is correct – He is a Prophet – yet it leaves Jesus incomplete. As we unpack this we delve into Christianity at its most foundational.
If you ask the average Christian what it means to be a Christian, quite a few will struggle with a definition. We will try to do so simplistically here:
- What is a Christian?
= a follower of Messiah
- What does Christ mean?
= Messiah
- What does Messiah mean?
= anointed one
- Biblically, who were anointed?
= Prophet, Priest and King
So, Yeshua is a Prophet. But he is also Priest and King. In fact Jesus is not ‘just’ any old Priest – in truth He is the High Priest, the only One capable to enter the presence of God the Father, but lack of space prevents us from exploring this here. Yeshua is also Lion and Lamb, as our opening illustration reminds us. Praise Jesus!
The Islamic view abandons Jesus at just 33.33r % of His true self. It is an incomplete picture.
PROPHET, PRIEST, KING
The Islamic Jesus at 33.33r % never reaches a destination. It is, at 33.33r %, eternally incomplete. So why do Christians place their trust in Jesus? There are three profound reasons:
Prophet – Jesus tells us the truth about our position, and provides a complete answer to all our needs.
Priest – Jesus is the go-between Humans and God the Father. As a human He is our Kinsman Redeemer. As God the Son He is able to pay the eternal debt that we owe.
King – Jesus rules now, today. He rules in His Kingdom (remember that when Jesus gave good news it was good news about the Kingdom (e.g. Luke 4:43). Jesus rules in His Kingdom – and He will rule throughout eternity. This King is coming back to take His rightful place on His throne.
Life, Mission and Ministry of Yeshua
We should note, in passing, that the three titles mentioned above are not the only titles accorded to the Lord Jesus. We will explore some more in a moment. However first we should also note that we can “plot” graphically key elements of the life, death, resurrection, ministry, mission and return of Jesus the Messiah, as well as His future plans for Mankind.
God has a plan of peace, fulfillment and completeness. It is never the World’s plan for “peace” – which is doomed to failure. God’s plan is perfectly expressed in a clear and eternal pattern which says Jesus * 7. In your mind’s eye you can “map” God’s plan of peace in seven simple – but profound – steps:
We cannot explore this fully here, but these are the Moedim that speak so powerfully of Jesus. Interested readers will easily find more material on this subject (the above diagram is taken from Peter Sammons’ “The Messiah Pattern – The Biblical Feasts and How They Reveal Jesus” (Christian Publications International, 2017). Let us consider for a moment some other key titles of Jesus. There are more than 200 names and titles for Messiah Jesus found in the Bible. We explore below some of the more prominent ones, organized in three sections relating to names that reflect the nature of Messiah, His position in the tri-unity of God, and His work on earth on our behalf.
Titles of Jesus/Yeshua
The Nature of Messiah
Chief Cornerstone: (Ephesians 2:20) – Jesus is the cornerstone of the building which is His church. He cements together Jew and Gentile, male and female—all saints from all ages and places into one structure built on faith in Him which is shared by all.
Firstborn over all creation: (Colossians 1:15) – Not the first thing God created, as some incorrectly claim, because verse 16 says all things were created through and for Messiah. Rather, the meaning is that Messiah occupies the rank and pre-eminence of the first-born over all things, that He sustains the most exalted rank in the universe; He is pre-eminent above all others; He is at the head of all things.
Head of the Church: (Ephesians 1:22; 4:15; 5:23) – Jesus Messiah, not a king or a pope, is the only supreme, sovereign ruler of the Church—those for whom He died and who have placed their faith in Him alone for salvation.
Holy One: (Acts 3:14; Psalm 16:10) – Messiah is holy, both in his divine and human nature, and the fountain of holiness to His people. By His death, we are made holy and pure before God.
Judge: (Acts 10:42; 2 Timothy 4:8) – The Lord Jesus was appointed by God to judge the world and to dispense the rewards of eternity.
King of kings and Lord of lords: (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 19:16) – Jesus has dominion over all authority on the earth, over all kings and rulers, and none can prevent Him from accomplishing His purposes. He directs them as He pleases.
Light of the World: (John 8:12) – Jesus came into a world darkened by sin and shed the light of life and truth through His work and His words. Those who trust in Him have their eyes opened by Him and walk in the light.
Prince of peace: (Isaiah 9:6) – Jesus came not to bring peace to the world as in the absence of war, but peace between God and man who were separated by sin. He died to reconcile sinners to a holy God.
Son of God: (Luke 1:35; John 1:49) – Jesus is the “only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14). Used 42 times in the New Testament, “Son of God” affirms the deity of Messiah.
Son of man: (John 5:27) – Used as a contrast to “Son of God” this phrase affirms the humanity of Messiah which exists alongside His divinity.
Word: (John 1:1; 1 John 5:7-8) – The Word is the second Person of the triune God, who said it and it was done, who spoke all things out of nothing in the first creation, who was in the beginning with God the Father, and was God, and by whom all things were created.
Word of God: (Revelation 19:12-13) – This is the name given to Messiah that is unknown to all but Himself. It denotes the mystery of His divine person.
Word of Life: (1 John 1:1) – Jesus not only spoke words that lead to eternal life, but according to this verse He is the very words of life, referring to the eternal life of joy and fulfillment which He provides.
His position in the Holy Trinity
Alpha and Omega: (Revelation 1:8; 22:13) – Jesus declared Himself to be the beginning and end of all things, a reference to no one but the true God. This statement of eternality could apply only to God.
Emmanuel: (Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:23) – Literally “God with us.” Both Isaiah and Matthew affirm that the Messiah who would be born in Bethlehem would be God Himself who came to earth in the form of a man to live among His people.
I Am: (John 8:58, with Exodus 3:14) – When Jesus ascribed to Himself this title, the Jews tried to stone Him for blasphemy. They understood that He was declaring Himself to be the eternal God, the unchanging Yahweh of the Old Testament.
Lord of All: (Acts 10:36) – Jesus is the sovereign ruler over the whole world and all things in it, of all the nations of the world, and particularly of the people of God’s choosing, Gentiles as well as Jews.
True God: (1 John 5:20) – This is a direct assertion that Jesus, being the true God, is not only divine, but is the Divine. Since the Bible teaches there is only one God, this can only be describing His nature as part of the triune God.
His Work on earth
Author and Perfecter of our Faith: (Hebrews 12:2) – Salvation is accomplished through the faith that is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9) and Jesus is the founder of our faith and the finisher of it as well. From first to last, He is the source and sustainer of the faith that saves us.
Bread of Life: (John 6:35; 6:48) – Just as bread sustains life in the physical sense, Jesus is the Bread that gives and sustains eternal life. God provided manna in the wilderness to feed His people and He provided Jesus to give us eternal life through His body, broken for us.
Bridegroom: (Matthew 9:15) – The picture of Messiah as the Bridegroom and the Church as His Bride reveals the special relationship we have with Him. We are bound to each other in a covenant of grace that cannot be broken.
Deliverer: (Romans 11:26) – Just as the Israelites needed God to deliver them from bondage to Egypt, so Messiah is our Deliverer from the bondage of sin.
Good Shepherd: (John 10:11,14) – In Bible times, a good shepherd was willing to risk his own life to protect his sheep from predators. Jesus laid down His life for His sheep, and He cares for and nurtures and feeds us.
High Priest: (Hebrews 2:17) – The Jewish high priest entered the Temple once a year to make atonement for the sins of the people. The Lord Jesus performed that function for His people once for all at the cross.
Lamb of God: (John 1:29) – God’s Law called for the sacrifice of a spotless, unblemished Lamb as an atonement for sin. Jesus became that Lamb led meekly to the slaughter, showing His patience in His sufferings and His readiness to die for His own.
Mediator: (1 Timothy 2:5) – A mediator is one who goes between two parties to reconcile them. Messiah is the one and only Mediator who reconciles men and God. Praying to Mary or the saints is idolatry because it bypasses this most important role of Messiah and ascribes the role of Mediator to another.
Rock: (1 Corinthians 10:4) – As life-giving water flowed from the rock Moses struck in the wilderness, Jesus is the Rock from which flow the living waters of eternal life. He is the Rock upon whom we build our spiritual houses, so that no storm can shake them.
Resurrection and Life: (John 11:25) – Embodied within Jesus is the means to resurrect sinners to eternal life, just as He was resurrected from the grave. Our sin is buried with Him and we are resurrected to walk in newness of life.
Saviour: (Matthew 1:21; Luke 2:11) – He saves His people by dying to redeem them, by giving the Holy Spirit to renew them by His power, by enabling them to overcome their spiritual enemies, by sustaining them in trials and in death, and by raising them up at the last day.
True Vine: (John 15:1) – The True Vine supplies all that the branches (believers) need to produce the fruit of the Spirit— the living water of salvation and nourishment from the Word.
Way, Truth, Life: (John 14:6) – Jesus is the only path to God, the only Truth in a world of lies, and the only true source of eternal life. He embodies all three in both a temporal and an eternal sense.
Google!
Why not Google “names and titles of Jesus”? You may be surprised at the variety and profoundness – and the sheer number – of the names and titles of Jesus! Happy hunting!
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