Titles | Knowable Word

The Titles of Jesus in the Gospels

January 15, 2024 By Ryan Higginbottom

Do you remember choosing your first email address or social media username? This was a heady experience for me—I was picking a word or phrase by which I would be known. And this was nothing compared to the pressure my wife and I faced when selecting names for our children!

Authors know a bit of this pressure. The ways that characters refer to each other carry a lot of meaning. Consider the following scenario. A man appears in a courtroom before a judge, and the judge asks if he would like to make a statement. Among many other possibilities, the man might begin his statement with “Your honor,” “Judge Perkins,” “Ms. Perkins,” “Barbara,” or “Honey.” In that setting, each of those addresses carries a different, significant meaning.

The writers of the New Testament Gospels, while inspired by the Holy Spirit, were human authors. They chose their words carefully, especially when referring to the central character of their work: Jesus of Nazareth. Therefore, we can learn a lot about the purpose of a Gospel as well as Jesus Himself by studying the ways that Gospel writers referred to Jesus.

I have made a small project of this study and I have listed the criteria I used for including a title or name in the first post of the series. I’ve also posted a link to the raw data on our Resources page so that interested readers might ask their own related questions.

Before listing the articles in this series, an important note is in order. The titles and names used for Jesus should not be considered apart from the context in which they are written. Just like the example of the man before the judge, the details of the setting, offense, and personal history of the characters involved matter a great deal. So while this current study can identify trends and tendencies, it is not definitive on its own. Each use of a name or title has its primary and most significant meaning within the historical and literary context in which it is used.

With that said, here are the eight articles in this series. I hope they will be of benefit to all who dive in.

Top 10 Titles of Jesus in the Gospels

The Titles of Jesus in Matthew

The Titles of Jesus in Mark

The Titles of Jesus in Luke

The Titles of Jesus in John

Jesus is the Christ

Jesus is the Son of God

Jesus is the Son of Man

December 18, 2023 By Ryan Higginbottom

eberhard grossgasteiger (2017), public domain

All authors employ names and titles to convey meaning. The biblical writers are no exception.

I’m nearing the end of a project examining the names and titles for Jesus in the Gospels. My first article laid out my methodology and looked at the top 10 titles of Jesus in the Gospels. I have written about the titles of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and I am wrapping up this project by studying three specific titles of Jesus used in the Gospels. I’ve written about Jesus being called “Christ” and the “son of God.” Today we will consider what it means for Jesus to be called the “son of Man.”

Old Testament Background

We may think of “Son of God” as the title of Jesus that points to his divinity and “Son of Man” as Jesus’s title which emphasizes his humanity. As I wrote previously, that’s a bit too simplistic.

In many Old Testament uses, the phrase “son of Man” does mean “human.” See, for example, Numbers 23:19, Job 16:21, Isaiah 56:2, Jeremiah 50:40, or Ezekiel 2:1. Most uses of this phrase in the Old Testament occur in Ezekiel as it is God’s preferred way to address the prophet.

However, when Jesus is called the “son of Man,” it is clear this is not just a stand-in for “person.” Jesus called himself the Son of Man scores of times, in ways that pointed beyond mere humanness.

As we explore additional Old Testament background for this title, we find an important passage in the book of Daniel.

I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
    there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
    and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
    and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
    should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
    which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
    that shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13–14)

In one of Daniel’s visions, great, terrible beasts have gained power until the Ancient of Days sits on a throne of judgment. Dominion was taken from the beasts and then, in this passage, given to “one like a son of man.” But we see from verse 14 that this is no ordinary human—this is an everlasting king with a worldwide dominion who seems to have a heavenly origin.

Daniel hears an interpretation of this vision, and the one like a son of man seems to be—in part—representative. Daniel is told that the “saints of the Most High” will receive and possess the kingdom (Daniel 7:18, 22, 27). What is given to the one like a son of man is eventually given to (or shared with) the saints.

By Jesus’s time, it seems that “Son of Man” had become a title with this passage as a large part of its background. In other words, “Son of Man” had distinct Messianic overtones.

Usage in the Gospels

By far, the person in the Gospels who most frequently refers to Jesus as the “Son of Man” is Jesus himself. I count 80 occurrences of this title in the Gospels, and 77 of them are spoken by Jesus. Additionally, this was Jesus’s favorite way to refer to himself—he used a title for himself a total of 131 times, with the 77 occurrences of “Son of Man” followed distantly by “Son” (23 times), “teacher” (6 times), and “Lord” (6 times).

Given the background discussed above, we should not be surprised to see the title “Son of Man” closely associated with authority, judgment, or a future coming of Jesus. (He also uses this title often when predicting his own suffering and death.) We don’t have the space for a complete list—see the data for yourself—but here are a few examples.

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—’Rise, pick up your bed and go home.'” (Matthew 9:6)
“For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:8)
“The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:41–42)
“As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.’ And they were greatly distressed.” (Matthew 17:22–23)
“Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Matthew 19:28)

Conclusion

Jesus’s title as the “Son of Man” points to his humanity, but it carries more weight. Jesus is the one who will be given all dominion and authority, and all people and all nations will serve him.

At this time of year, Jesus’s supreme reign might appear paradoxical. His path to the throne leads through the grave; he conquers by dying. And a crucial part of the story begins in the middle of history, as a baby is born to a humble young couple.

(Note: This was a helpful source as I prepared this article.)

Jesus is the Son of God

December 4, 2023 By Ryan Higginbottom

All authors employ names and titles to convey meaning in their work. The biblical writers are no exception.

I’m nearing the end of a project examining the use of titles and names for Jesus in the Gospels. My first article laid out my methodology and looked at the top 10 titles of Jesus in the Gospels. I have written about the titles of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I will wrap up this project by looking closely at three titles of Jesus that were used frequently in the Gospels. I’ve written about Jesus being called “Christ,” and today we’ll examine what it means for Jesus to be called the “son of God.”

Not Only Meaning “Divine”

Both “son of God” and “son of Man” are common titles for Jesus in the Gospels. For Bible readers familiar with the doctrine of the dual nature of Jesus—that he is both human and divine—it may be easy to file “son of God” as a claim to his divinity and “son of Man” as a marker of his humanity. However, this divide is not as neat as we might guess.

In fact, both titles point to both natures of Jesus.

Old Testament Background

Luke 3:38 identifies Adam as a “son of God,” so even within the Gospels that term cannot only connote divinity. Beyond pure biology, theologians point to the use of “son” in the Bible as capturing (among other things) both resemblance and obedience. The nation of Israel is also referred to as God’s son (Exodus 4:22–23), and the way that Jesus is identified with Israel (see Matthew 2:13–15) contributes to the meaning residing in this title.

However, one of the most influential Old Testament passages behind the title “son of God” is 2 Samuel 7. Here is an important excerpt.

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. (2 Samuel 7:12–14a)

In this passage, God promised David a descendent to rule on his throne. Solomon cannot be the ultimate fulfillment of this promise, because God promises to “establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (emphasis mine). From this we can see that “son of God” was connected tied to kings of Israel.

So, we should not be surprised when we see Jesus referred to as the “son of God” in close proximity to claims or questions about a king over Israel. We read this when Nathanael erupted in praise, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49). These titles are also linked when Jesus is taunted during his crucifixion (Matthew 27:40–43).

Usage in the Gospels

What we find in the Gospels is that “son of God” is used both with the Old Testament background in view—which has a decidedly human element—and to indicate that Jesus is divine, begotten of the Father. In other words, “son of God” can mean, depending on the context, either that Jesus is the royal, human, chosen representative of God, or that he is the divine Son. (Of course, some uses by the Gospel authors may have both meanings in mind!)

The Gospel authors use the title “son of God” in fascinating ways. Mark opens his Gospel with this title (Mark 1:1) and John closes his with the same, where he states his purpose for writing (John 20:31). A large number of appearances of “son of God” are in the mouths of either demons, those demon-possessed, or the devil himself (Matt 4:3; 4:6; 8:29; Mark 3:11; 5:7; Luke 4:3; 4:9; 4:41; 8:28).

Many of the uses of this title are linked to the title “Christ” (Matt 16:16; 26:63; Mark 1:1; 14:61; Luke 4:41; John 11:27; 20:31). “Son of God” also appears to be a title that comes out in worship or confession (Matt 14:33; 16:16; 27:54; Mark 15:39; John 1:34; 1:49; 11:27). Finally, appropriate to the Christmas season we will soon enter, the angel Gabriel told Mary that her child would be the Son of God (Luke 1:32, 35).

Conclusion

Jesus’s title as the “son of God” is rich and complex. While it indicates Jesus’s divinity, it also marks him as the king who has come to reign. This is good for us to remember as we confess Jesus as the Son of God—he is the second person of the Trinity, but he is also the good and gracious king to whom we owe obedience and worship.

(Note: these were two helpful sources for me in preparing this article: source 1, source 2.)

Jesus is the Christ

September 25, 2023 By Ryan Higginbottom

The Anointing of David – Veronese 1555, Creative Commons

All authors employ names and titles to convey meaning in their work. The biblical writers are no exception.

I’m nearing the end of a project examining the use of titles and names for Jesus in the Gospels. My first article laid out my methodology and looked at the top 10 titles of Jesus in the Gospels. I have written about the titles of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I will wrap up this project by looking closely at three titles of Jesus that were used frequently in the Gospels; today we’ll examine what it means for Jesus to be called “Christ.”

Not a Last Name

“Christ” is used so often to refer to Jesus in the modern church that it may be his title with which we’re most familiar. We use and hear the phrase “Jesus Christ” so frequently that we may think “Christ” is Jesus’s surname. (I’m fairly certain I thought this when I was young!)

“Christ” is the transliteration of the Greek word Christos, which means “the anointed one” or “the chosen one” (source). This is closely tied to the Hebrew word “Messiah,” and in the Gospel of John we see those terms identified (John 1:41, 4:25).

There are scenes in the Gospels where it is clear that the Jewish people were waiting for the Messiah—the Christ—to appear (John 10:24). It seems there was much debate over the lineage of the Christ and where he would originate (John 7:40–44).

The Old Testament Background

Anointing happens in the Old Testament when specific people are set apart for specific tasks. Aaron and his sons were anointed to be priests (Exodus 30:30). Isaiah and Elisha were both anointed to be prophets (Isaiah 61:1, 1 Kings 19:16). And both Saul and David were anointed to be kings over Israel (1 Samuel 10:1, 16:13).

In the Old Testament, God gave many promises to Israel of a Savior to come. The expectation of this coming Redeemer, and the understanding of the need for this person to be sent and designated by God for a special purpose, produced the anticipation for The Anointed One. This notion of Messiah was carried into the New Testament.

Usage in the Gospels

Matthew and Mark both open their Gospels by referring to Jesus as the Christ (Matthew 1:1, Mark 1:1). Luke writes that an angel appeared to the shepherds when Jesus was born, telling them of a “Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). John uses “Christ” not only as a title near the beginning of his Gospel but also when disclosing the purpose of his work (John 1:17, 20:31). All four Gospel writers are eager to introduce Jesus as the Messiah.

Further, Peter’s confession of Jesus—his response to the question, “But who do you say that I am?”—rests on this title. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (See Matthew 16:16, Mark 8:29, and Luke 9:20.) John also records Jesus referring to himself as “Christ” toward the beginning of his high priestly prayer, (John 17:3).

We also read of the connection between Jesus and the Messianic figure of the Old Testament. In Luke 4:16–21, Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1–2 and told those who were listening, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” This Old Testament passage describes a prophet “anointed” by God and sent with his Spirit. And while it is not in a Gospel, Peter and John identify Jesus as the Anointed One of Psalm 2 in Acts 4:26.

Conclusion

In the first century, the Jewish people were waiting for a Messiah. They knew that the Anointed One they sought would be sent and prepared by God for great things.

The title “Christ” is used for Jesus 35 times in the Gospels. These authors use this title to connect Jesus to all of the promises of God he fulfilled.

The Titles of Jesus in John

September 11, 2023 By Ryan Higginbottom

All authors employ names and titles to convey meaning in their work. The biblical writers are no exception.

I’m in the middle of a project examining the use of titles and names for Jesus in the Gospels. My first article laid out my methodology and looked at the top 10 titles of Jesus in the Gospels. I have written about the titles of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Today we turn to the Gospel of John.

Top 5 Titles

John uses 129 titles for Jesus, which is 29.1% of all such titles in the Gospels. Since John contains 23.3% of the verses in the Gospels, we might say John contains more titles than expected.

Here are the top 5 titles in John.

Lord (36 times)
Son (18 times)
Son of Man (11 times)
Son of God (9 times)
Christ (8 times)

The title “Son” is used here more than in any other Gospel, making up 18/30 uses in all of the Gospels. Fourteen of these times, Jesus claims this title for himself, and the other four times are by the Gospel author.

In general, the titles in John tend to be clustered. For example, while “Lord” appears most frequently as a title, 32 of these 36 occurrences happen in just five chapters (chapters 11, 13, 14, 20, and 21). Something similar is true for the title “Son”—15/18 of these uses happen in chapters 3, 5, and 17.

Titles Used by John

Of all the Gospel authors, John uses the most titles for Jesus. He wrote titles for Jesus 17 times, calling him “Lord” five times, “Son” four times, and “Word” four times, among others.

Unlike in Luke, none of these titles dominates the others.

Titles and John’s Purpose

As my co-blogger Peter Krol pointed out in his article about the feeding of the 5000 in John, this fourth Gospel leaves no doubts about its purpose.

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30–31)

All that John wrote was to convince his readers and hearers that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. How do the titles that John used reveal or support this?

John used both the titles “Christ” (8 times) and “Son of God” (9 times). However, the title “Son” (used 18 times) is also relevant here. In context, most of the time “Son” is used it is shorthand for “Son of God.” The title is put in context with “Father” when that title clearly refers to God. Here are some examples.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16–17)
“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:35–36)
“So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:19–24)

John walked with Jesus and wrote his words down, and Jesus was not ambiguous about his mission or his power. Anyone reading John’s Gospel honestly will see Jesus presented as the Son of God and Savior of the world.

John’s use of titles in his Gospel doesn’t just support his main point. John used the titles of Jesus as a tool to communicate his main point.

The Titles of Jesus in Luke

August 28, 2023 By Ryan Higginbottom

All authors employ names and titles to convey meaning in their work. The biblical writers are no exception.

I’m in the middle of a project examining the use of titles and names for Jesus in the Gospels. My first article laid out my methodology and looked at the top 10 titles of Jesus in the Gospels. I recently wrote about the titles of Jesus in Matthew and Mark, and today we turn to the Gospel of Luke.

Top 7 Titles

Luke uses 122 titles for Jesus. So while Luke contains 30.5% of the verses in the Gospels, it contains only 27.5% (122/443) of the titles.

Here are the top 7 titles in Luke. (I’ve included 7 instead of 5 because of equal numbers at the end of this list.)

Lord (35 times)
Son of Man (25 times)
teacher (13 times)
Christ (7 times)
Master (5 times)
Son (5 times)
Son of God (5 times)

Titles Used by Luke

Luke is notable in that he himself used titles for Jesus more than Matthew (10 times) or Mark (5 times). Luke referred to Jesus by a title 16 times. He called Jesus “Lord” 13 times, “Christ” two times, and “son (as was supposed) of Joseph” once.

Compared to the writers of the first two Gospels, it seems Luke had a favorite way of referring to Jesus. This is likely related to why that particular title is used so much by other characters in Luke’s Gospel.

Titles and Luke’s Purpose

Courtesy of my co-blogger Peter Krol, we have an abundance of resources on this website related to the Gospel of Luke. Most of these articles are linked from Peter’s Interpretive Overview of Luke.

Peter stated the main point of Luke this way.

The hope of Israel, God’s plan of salvation for the world, has arrived in Jesus.

Can we draw any connections between this main point and the titles of Jesus that Luke uses?

We must remember that Luke was a historian. He wrote these investigative accounts (Luke and Acts) to “most excellent Theophilus” so that he might “have certainty concerning the things [he has] been taught” (Luke 1:3-4).

In addition to being a historian, Luke was a companion of the apostle Paul. There are moments in the narrative of Acts (such as in chapter 21) where Luke’s account shifts from “they” to “we.”

I noted above that Luke himself used the title “Lord” for Jesus quite a bit in his Gospel (13 times). When I look at those occurrences, I can’t detect any trends or patterns. I can only conclude that “Lord” was simply a natural way for Luke to refer to Jesus.

And upon reflection, this makes sense, doesn’t it? Who better to write an accurate historical account of Jesus’s life and ministry—in addition to an account of his followers in the years after his death—than someone who called him “Lord”? Luke could masterfully write about God’s salvation for the world arriving in Jesus because that same salvation had come to him.

Luke was not a modern historian, writing in stuffy remove and objectivity. Luke wrote as an ancient historian—accurate, yes, but with an accuracy compelled by love of his subject.

The Titles of Jesus in Mark

August 14, 2023 By Ryan Higginbottom

Picture filled with name tag stickers containing different names — Travis Wise (2014), Creative Commons License

All authors employ names and titles to convey meaning in their work. The biblical writers are no exception.

I’m in the middle of a project examining the use of titles and names for Jesus in the Gospels. My first article laid out my methodology and looked at the top 10 titles of Jesus in the Gospels. I recently wrote about the titles of Jesus in Matthew, and today we turn to the Gospel of Mark.

Top 5 Titles

There are 61 titles used for Jesus in Mark, accounting for 13.8% of the titles used for Jesus in all four Gospels combined. As Mark contains 17.9% of the verses in the Gospels, we see that there are fewer titles in Mark than we might expect.

Here are the top five titles in Mark.

Son of Man (14 times)
teacher (12 times)
king of the Jews (5 times)
Christ (4 times)
Rabbi (4 times)

The title “Lord” is missing from this list, as it is only used twice in Mark compared to 23 times in Matthew. (“Lord” is the second most-used title in Matthew.) We see “the king of the Jews” only show up toward the end of Mark; it is used three times by Pilate, once by the Roman soldiers, and once on the inscription above the cross.

Titles Used by Mark

The author of this Gospel himself used a title for Jesus five times. He called Jesus the “Son of Man” twice and referred to him as “Christ,” “Son of God,” and “Lord” one time each.

We should not skip past these references simply because they are small in number, as two of these titles occupy a key position in the book. Here is the beginning of Mark’s Gospel.

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Mark 1:1)

As Peter Krol has shown in his interpretive overview of Mark, the two titles in this opening verse (“Christ” and “Son of God”) give a road map for the book. Mark aims to show his readers that Jesus is both the Christ (the Messiah) and the Son of God (the rightful king).

Titles and Mark’s Purpose

When writing about the titles of Jesus, I have emphasized that we cannot learn everything about a Gospel by looking at this small bit of linguistic accounting. And Mark’s writing provides an excellent example.

When Peter wrote about Mark for our feeding the 5000 and resurrection of Jesus series, he noted that Mark is more of a show you book than a tell you book. In other words, Mark uses narrative more than discourse to get his points across.

If this is true, then it shouldn’t be a surprise that Mark contains relatively few titles of Jesus. Many of the times when a character refers to Jesus by a title, it is in the context of a dialogue (often “Lord” in Matthew) or it precedes some extended instruction from Jesus (often “teacher” in Matthew). If Mark uses these narrative tools less frequently, then the use of titles will decrease as well.

But what about Mark’s main point? If he wanted to stress that Jesus is the king, wouldn’t we see more royal titles?

Again, Mark just doesn’t use titles very much. We have “king of the Jews” in the top five, but this is used questioningly or ironically each time.

I will write a separate post on this in the near future, but “Son of Man”—the most frequently used title in Mark—is a royal title. We often assume that “son of God” emphasizes Jesus’s divinity while “son of Man” emphasizes his humanity, but the difference is not quite this easy. Some scholars might even say that “son of Man” is the more exalted, divine title of the two.

While there are some interesting details to notice in Mark regarding the titles of Jesus, this book is a good reminder that titles were never meant to tell us everything. Names and titles are crucial observations to make when studying a passage, but we had better not stop there if we want to understand an author’s meaning!

The Titles of Jesus in Matthew

July 31, 2023 By Ryan Higginbottom

Photo of name tags attached to a chain link fence — Daniel Thomas (2019), public domain

The names we call others provide a snapshot of our relationship. It is drastically different, for example, to hear a child refer to an adult as “Mr. Smith,” “Officer Thomas,” or “Daddy.”

Names and titles matter throughout the Scriptures, and I’ve recently started a project examining the use of titles and names for Jesus in the Gospels. My first article laid out my methodology and looked at the top 10 titles of Jesus in the Gospels.

In this article we’ll consider the titles used for Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew.

Top 5 Titles

By my accounting, there are 131 titles used for Jesus in Matthew. There are 443 in all four Gospels, so the titles in Matthew account for about 29.6% of the all titles. (Matthew contains about 28% of the verses in the Gospels.)

Here are the top 5 titles in Matthew.

Son of Man (30 times)
Lord (23 times)
Christ (13 times)
teacher (10 times)
the child (9 times)

The next few entries on the list are also interesting: Son of David (8 times), Son of God (8 times), and Son (6 times). The top four titles used in Matthew are the same as the top four titles used in all the Gospels, just in a slightly different order.

Perhaps also of interest: the title “Lord” comes from Peter five times, and five of the 13 uses of “Christ” are by Matthew himself.

Titles Used by Matthew

Most of the titles used in the Gospels are put in the mouth of someone else by the Gospel author. But there are times when the author himself refers to a name or title of Jesus.

There are ten such occasions in Matthew. He refers to Jesus as “Christ” five times, as “the child” four times, and as the “Son of David” once. Nine of these occasions are found within the first two chapters of the Gospel; the other one (“the Christ”) is found in Matthew 11:2.

Old Testament References and “the child”

Matthew is the only Gospel writer who uses titles for Jesus within Old Testament quotations. He does this five times.

Immanuel (Matt 1:23)
ruler (Matt 2:6)
son (Matt 2:15)
servant (Matt 12:18)
beloved (Matt 12:18)

Another unique aspect of Matthew is that he is the only Gospel writer who uses the title/role “the child” to refer to Jesus—and he does this nine times. These all occur in the second chapter of Matthew, as we learn of the prophecy about the coming Messiah. This title is used by Matthew four times, by an angel of the Lord four times, and once by Herod.

Relation to Matthew’s Purpose

In my co-blogger Peter Krol’s series on the feeding of the 5000, he provided a nice overview of Matthew. In my article about the resurrection of Jesus in Matthew, I summarized Peter’s work this way.

Matthew wrote to convince his audience that Jesus was the king of the Jews. He spends much of his book explaining the kingdom of heaven and its subjects.

Given this purpose, it might be surprising not to find a title like “king” among the most-used in Matthew. (The title “king of the Jews” is only used four times in Matthew.)

We must remember, when looking at these titles of Jesus that I’ve compiled, that everything must be examined in context. We cannot draw any concrete conclusions by just counting occurrences or omissions. Further, different authors write differently—some might use titles more frequently, others might display Jesus as the king by showing him in kingly settings or performing kingly acts.

In what we have discussed so far, Matthew’s purpose is not hard to see. He is writing to a people who understood the Old Testament prophets, so references to “the child” (from Is 7:14) and other OT titles would situate Jesus within a rich, expectant tradition.

Matthew himself calls Jesus the “Son of David” once, and this title is used a total of eight times in this Gospel. (It is only used 12 times total in all Gospels.) We will explore these titles in a later article, but “Son of David,” “Son of God” (8 times), and even “Son” (6 times) are all royal titles. Even though the word “king” is not present, the first hearers of Matthew would have known Jesus was being described as the king.

Reading to Know Jesus

Looking at the titles used for Jesus can be interesting and illuminating, but let’s not leave it as a mere intellectual exercise. Matthew was not just writing to convey information; he wanted his readers to know that Jesus is the king of Israel.

By the titles he used, we know that Matthew did not just think of Jesus as a historical figure. He was the Christ, the promised Messiah, the one sent to save his people from their sins (Matt 1:21).

Top 10 Titles of Jesus in the Gospels

July 17, 2023 By Ryan Higginbottom

Names and titles are important in the Bible. They are one of the key features to observe about a passage, because an author uses names and titles of characters to convey meaning. Titles can even provide clues about the author’s main point of an epistle!

Like many of our readers, I have found my co-blogger Peter Krol’s research on the NT use of the OT valuable, and I thought a similar project involving the titles used for Jesus in the Gospels could be useful.

The Criteria

In order to make the project tractable, I needed to define my terms. What do I mean by a title of Jesus? To start with, I considered roles, job names, or honorifics. I also required that the reference in the text be explicit, not merely implied.

Finally, I decided to view the titles of Jesus through each Gospel author’s perspective. In other words, if the author saw something as a role, job, or honorific of Jesus, then I would include this in my count. (Many thanks to Peter for his help in nailing this down.)

What are the implications? I included all references made by Jesus to himself as the “Son of Man,” because the Gospel authors seem to want their readers to attach this title to Jesus. (Not everyone who heard Jesus refer to himself in this way knew what was going on!) Additionally, I did not include the metaphorical references by Jesus to himself as “the vine,” “the light of the world,” etc., in John, because while understanding these self-references is important, these are not roles, jobs, or honorifics.

Additionally, I have collapsed some of the titles for the sake of counting commonality. Though you may think of “good teacher” as a separate title from “teacher,” I have just listed the title as “teacher” for Mark 10:17 and Luke 18:18 to match the many other uses of that title.

Other people may conceive of the Titles of Jesus differently than me, and that’s okay! I had to draw the lines somewhere, and this is where I landed. You can see an exhaustive list of the titles of Jesus in this spreadsheet.

If you catch any mistakes I’ve made (and I’m sure there are plenty), please point them out. I’d love for this work to be as accurate as possible.

Top 10 Titles

With all this as preamble, here are the top ten titles of Jesus as they appear in the Gospels. Do any of these surprise you?

Lord (97 times)
Son of Man (80 times)
teacher (39 times)
Christ (35 times) — includes “Christ of God” and “Christ the Lord”
Son (30 times)
Son of God (30 times) — includes “Son of the Blessed,” “Son of the living God,” “Son of the Most High,” and “Son of the Most High God”
king of the Jews/Israel (22 times)
Rabbi (13 times)
Son of David (12 times)
Jesus of Nazareth (10 times)

In future articles, I will look at each Gospel writer’s use of titles for Jesus as well as some of the most common titles themselves.

Titles themselves are just words; they never tell a whole story without a proper look at the context. However, the way an author consistently refers to a character can reveal a lot about how the author wants the reader to view that character.

Repeated Words and Titles as a Clue to the Main Point of a Book

January 16, 2023 By Ryan Higginbottom

We’re big fans of observing repetition in the Bible. Just like in our emails and conversations, the words, phrases, and topics we dwell on most are usually at the center of our thinking. We’ve pointed out how this helps us find the author’s main point in a passage of Scripture.

The same is also true for books of the Bible! Since books of the Bible are really just long passages, maybe this isn’t that shocking. But I was a bit surprised how easy this was in the New Testament book of Titus.

Look at the Data

Titus is a short book, so we can read it several times without much effort and uncover the repetition. (For longer or more complicated passages, Bible study software might come in handy. We’ve pointed out the capabilities of both Logos and e-Sword to help in this regard.)

Titles of God

The title of God as “Savior” shows up six times in Titus. Combine that with one occurrence of “salvation” and one of “saved,” and we can see part of what occupies Paul as he writes.

Paul has been entrusted with preaching by the command of “God our Savior” (Titus 1:3).
Paul sends grace and peace “from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior” (Titus 1:4).
The submission of bondservants to masters will “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” (Titus 2:10).
The grace of God has appeared, “bringing salvation for all people” (Titus 2:11).
Living godly lives in the present age involves waiting for “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
The “goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared” (Titus 3:4).
God “saved us” (Titus 3:5).
The Holy Spirit was “poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:6).

The titles used to refer to anyone (especially God) are important details in a passage. So when a title is repeated this often in three little chapters, we should take note.

Good Works

The other repetition that jumped out at me in Titus was the idea of works or good works. I count eight occurences.

The unbelieving profess to know God but “deny him by their works” (Titus 1:16).
Because they deny God, these unbelievers are “unfit for any good work” (Titus 1:16).
Paul charges Titus to be a “model of good works” (Titus 2:7).
Jesus gave himself (in part) to purify a people “who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).
Titus is to remind his people to be “ready for every good work” (Titus 3:1).
God saved us “not because of works done by us in righteousness” (Titus 3:5).
Those who have believed in God should “devote themselves to good works” (Titus 3:8).
Paul wants “our people” to “devote themselves to good works” (Titus 3:14).

Putting Pieces Together

Noticing the repetition of these two ideas is not enough to produce a main point for the book of Titus. These data points are essential, but we have merely observed so far; it takes the additional work of interpretation to take the next step.

Epistles, more than other books in the Bible, sometimes contain a purpose or summary statement. This is not true of all epistles, just like it is not true of all our conversations or emails.

There are two short sections of Titus that involve one or both of our repeated ideas and which might function as a summary of Paul’s letter.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2:11–14)

The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. (Titus 3:8)

Stayed tuned, for in a future post I plan to use the observations here to produce an interpretive overview of Titus.