Some of the names of the Savior are descriptive of his attributes and other names reflect his role in our lives. Unlike our names today, the various names of Christ express both what and who he was, who he now is and who he is to become.
One of the three purposes of man on the earth is to begin to attain the attributes of deity (the other two are to gain a body and to be tested). Joseph Smith enumerated the six principal attributes of God as Knowledge, Faith or Power, Justice, Judgement, Mercy and Truth (Lectures on Faith, pp 41-42)
“Jesus the Christ”
The name “Jesus” is derived from the Hebrew name Yeshua/Y’shua, which is based on the Semitic root y-š-ʕ (Hebrew: ישע), meaning “to deliver; to rescue.”
The title, “Christ” meaning “anointed,” is synonymous with the Hebrew word, “messiah,” refers to the choosing of Christ by God Himself. An “anointed one” refers to a person who has received a special calling from God. Priests and kings alike, in the Old Testament, were anointed with oil to signify God’s blessing upon them. Christ was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38), chosen to be God’s vessel of salvation to His people.
And He Shall Be Called —–
Table of contents:
Author and Finisher of our faith. 4
Lion of the Tribe of Judah. 10
Shepherd and Bishop of Souls. 17
The Resurrection and the Life. 21
Advocate (1 John 2:1)
He is our advocate with the Father. An advocate is one who pleads for another. These pleadings are described in Proverbs 31:8-9 as opening one’s mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such spirits who are appointed to destruction and commands. “Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”
Christ advocates for us in three ways: 1. He advocates for us before a righteous God so we can be saved (1 Tim. 2:5-6); 2- He can plead our case form his own personal experience of suffering (Heb. 4:15); 3- He advocates for us by helping us grow through the ministrations of the Holy Ghost (John 14:16).
Alpha and Omega (Rev 22:13)
They are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet (Greek became the dominant language among Jews and Gentiles in the 1st century; also spoken were Hebrew, Latin and Aramaic; Jesus likely spoke principally a Galilean dialect of Aramaic. Matt 27:46 “Eli, Eli” is Aramaic). The Greek letters Alpha and Omega are the beginning and the end, essentially the most important features. In modern-day terms, we’d say “a to z” or everything.
Anchor (Heb. 6:19)
An anchor secures a ship so it cannot slip or break down. It represents safety. Christ is the sure hope for our soul to enter within the veil of the temple. The anchor must be connected to the ship in order to stabilize it; likewise we have to be connected to Christ for him to act as an anchor to our souls.
Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2)
An author is a writer of a book, article or report. Christ originated the basis of our faith with gospel truths and understandings.
Christ is also the “finisher” or completer of our faith. He is the perfector of our faith (in greek, the “finisher,” the “completer.”) This was accomplished with his atonement, death and resurrection and its promise to all mankind of a universal resurrection and to the faithful a glorified life called “eternal life,” or the type of exalted life God lives.
Branch (Isaiah 11:1)
The branch refers to Messiah coming from the almost extinct royal line of David (the first king). David lived in 1000 BCE and was the first to set up the ancient United Kingdom of Israel. Christ was both the legal heir to David (through his son Solomon, tribe of Judah) by his adoption by Joseph and a physical descendant of David (through his son Nathan) through his mother Mary.
Bread of Life (John 6:35)
This bread is regarded as a source of spiritual nourishment. God provides us life-sustaining spiritual provisions both in this life and the hereafter. This bread of life never perishes, spoils or runs out. Jesus had fed the hungry multitudes but they returned, not for spiritual understandings but to fill their bellies. They didn’t understand the metaphor of spiritual nourishment and began to grumble. He then told them of “manna” which foreshadowed the bread of life, indicating the “daily” need to feast on the word of God.
Bridegroom (Matt. 9:15)
The bride is the church. The groom (it’s a contraction of bridegroom) is the spouse who is Christ. The bridegroom was a man just married or about to be married. The virgins represent members of the church. The time will come when the bridegroom (Christ) will be taken from the church (apostacy). John makes the interesting insight that the friends of the bridegroom rejoice upon hearing his voice (John 3:29).
Bright Morning Star (Rev. 22:16)
It’s the brightest star in the sky at dawn (planet Venus). It symbolizes hope and guidance. Christ is the central point of reference in a dark age. He brings the promise of a new day, new beginnings.
Carpenter (Mark 6:3)
The original greek word (tekton) means one who works with his hands, a builder, a laborer or a craftsman. it isn’t specifically a “carpenter” as we know the profession today. His step-father, Joseph, was also a “tekton.” (Matt. 13:54-55)
Chief Cornerstone (Eph 2:20)
The cornerstone is traditionally the first stone laid for a structure, with all other stones laid in reference to it. The spiritual “house of God” is built upon Christ as the savior, truth-teacher, redeemer and atoner.
(Other types of stones: A “capstone” is a protective stone set along the top of a masonry wall to throw off water and create a finished look; a “keystone” is a wedge-shaped stone at the center of a masonry arch to evenly distribute the weight down the sides)
Counselor (Isaiah 9:6)
The Hebrew word for counselor is (yoez) which means “to advise, counsel, devise, purpose.” Christ can counsel us because of his 1- Dual nature of being both God and Man, 2- He is the source of all wisdom (Isaiah 11:2), and 3- He is our comfort and helper (Psalm 54:4, Isaiah 41:10)
This title of Christ (Counselor) is often expanded to be “wonderful counselor” as in Isaiah 9:6. The Hebrew word for “wonderful” is pele which means “a miracle, a marvel, a wonder” which indicates “something extraordinary, incomprehensible, inexplicable.” All of the instances of wonderful in the King James version of the Bible are used to mean “astonishing” and not “extremely good.” Thereby Christ is known as our “astonishing counselor.”
