The Difference between Jesus and Christ

Jesus, the man, went up into heaven and left behind the counselor, the promised Holy Spirit. What does that mean? This article explores.

Prolog

Several years ago I attended a revival meeting where the preacher got up and gave a sermon dealing with the topic here: The difference between the words "Jesus" and "Christ."

It was powerful. I never knew there was a difference between these two words, and oh, what a difference there is. Without a working knowledge of the difference between these two words it is impossible to understand the numerous New Testament scriptures where only one of these two words is used. It is also impossible to understand why, at times, the New Testament text uses these words in reverse order.

The difference between these two words has interpretive impacts across the spectrum of New Testament teaching. Sometimes a lack of understanding of the difference between these words matters little. But, more often than not, the difference in meaning between these words has a dramatic impact on the meaning of various Bible passages. Because the world is awaiting the return of Jesus, and not the Christ, I dare say it is nearly impossible to properly understand End-Times prophecy without a working understanding of the difference between these two words.

How Are Jesus and Christ used in Pop-Christianity?

Go visit a large gathering of Christians, say at a large suburban American church and listen to the people talking about Jesus. Ask yourself the question: How are these people using the words "Jesus" and "Christ". Is their use consistent with the Bible? For another example, listen to a call-in radio show on a Christian station and listen to the way callers talk about Jesus. Before reading more of this article, ask yourself the question: What grammar is being used and what does that grammar say about the fundamental understanding of people in these situations?

With rare exception, most Christians use "Jesus Christ" exactly like they would if they were using his first and last names. Jesus is like "Tom" and Christ is like "Smith." There is never any hint that there is any other meaning in these two words.

This is a shame because many Christians don't know enough about Jesus to know his father's name was Joseph and in the conventions of the New Testament era Jesus' last, or family, name was "son of Joseph." ¹ If this expression were converted into modern writing/naming conventions Jesus' last name would be "Josephson."

The Bible also uses a convention unknown to modern people where the city of origin is used very much as a type of family, or last, name. In the case of Jesus he is addressed as "Jesus of Nazareth" which grammatically acts like a formal name for Jesus. Indeed, most of the locations where Jesus is addressed this way are places were a legal connotation is explicit or implied. ^{2 3 4 5 6}

Something like "Jesus Joseph's son" or "Jesus of Nazareth" or a combined form ⁷ would have been entered into the census records at the time of his birth. Not "Jesus Christ."

You won't hear anyone in modern church contexts saying they follow "Jesus Josephson" and you will almost never hear anyone saying they follow "Jesus of Nazareth" yet this is all the more understanding they have of the man as evidenced by their use of of the English grammar.

As explained below" count=" the word, "Christ" popularly thought to be his last name has nothing whatsoever to do with his name. Before looking at "Christ" the more difficult of the two words, a look at "Jesus" is in order.

What does "Jesus" Mean?

Answering the question, "What does the word 'Jesus' mean?" involves looking up the word in a Greek to English dictionary. Most Christians don't have one of these readily available so the translators of most of the popular English Bibles place a foot note at the first occurrence of the word in Matthew chapter 1, verse 21. The popular NIV translation says this:

Jesus is the Greek ⁸ form of Joshua, which means YHVH Saves.

This answer begs more questions than it answers, but it does point in the right direction. Jesus is Greek for Joshua.

People who look for conspiracies point out that the word "Joshua" also appears in the New Testament, and it comes out as Joshua. ^{9 10} Why, for example, would Jesus' name be mangled in the Greek but not the other uses of the name Joshua? Saying simply that "Jesus" is Greek for "Joshua" is untrue. "Joshua" is Greek for "Joshua."

A check against the Aramaic New Testament suggests that the original New Testament texts simply called Jesus by his Hebrew/Aramaic name: Joshua. The word used for Jesus' name was introduced at the same time as when the New Testament was translated into the Greek language.

The name "Jesus" is different than what his family and the Apostles actually used when addressing him in person.

Most Messianic Jews and many other Christians recognize this perversion of his name and have switched back to the name "Joshua" instead of Jesus. The problem with this convention that most groups of Christian have not done this and people who have switched to his original name have trouble relating to people who still use Jesus.

This not a fight I have been called to here in the Bible Time project, but I'm starting to appreciate the use of an accurate name. At some point I may also find myself switching to Joshua. (Pronounced "Yah-Shoo-Ah");

Joshua: The LORD Saves

Knowing that Jesus is actually Joshua still doesn't fully explain what this word means. The reason is that most modern English translations use an English word "Lord" which is an artificial construct. The NIV, as well as many other translations, uses a strange mixed-height capitalization in order to clue in readers that something strange is still going on.

In order to really understand who saves, and therefore who Jesus is named after, requires a hunt through the front matter in the translation. The following is the explanation:

In regard to the Divine name YHVH, commonly referred to as the Tetragrammaton, the translators adopted the device used in most English versions of rendering that name as "LORD" in capital letters to distinguish it from Adonai, another Hebrew word rendered "Lord," for which small letters are used.

In order to unpack this note the capitalization in the footnote first given above must be checked. In this case it is all caps so the meaning of the word "Jesus" can be unpacked to yet another level:

Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means YHVH Saves.

This is the end of the matter if you know what "YHVH" means. For people who have only ever read English translations of the Bible, this is not helpful. What, you ask, is YHVH?

The NIV explanation is that this is the Tetragrammaton which is a name for God used in the Old Testament Hebrew. It is usually pronounced "Yaw-Way." It is also commonly transliterated into English as "Jehovah."

This word can also be looked up ¹¹ and the meaning is simply "he is" or "he was." This is a direct link back to the original call of Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

The difference between "I AM" and "HE IS" is only the perspective of who is speaking. Think about this carefully. If your name is "I AM" then when you speak about yourself you say "I AM" but anyone addressing you or talking about you would use "HE IS" as your proper name. Of course you would be addressed as "HE WAS" when someone was talking about you in the past. If you spoke about yourself in the future, you'd say "I WILL BE." There would be other forms depending on who was speaking and what tense was implied. This is great fun in the English. The Hebrew has fewer forms.

YHVH is the same name as God used with Moses when Moses was called. "I AM," that God, is the one who saves through the man born to Joseph and Mary.

Since this is a lesson on learning what the word "Jesus" means it is best to learn it in the most fundamental form. I mentally use "YHVH Saves" instead of Jehovah Saves, since YHVH is the purest form and will not need to be changed later. (Although you might want to try "HE IS Saves..." I wouldn't suggest it.)

Understanding the Naming of Jesus

Return now to the original passage in Matthew. This is where the angel explains about Jesus' name before his birth. The following is the full text.

By understanding the name "Jesus" it now makes sense to understand what the angel is saying. "He is who - saves" his people is a direct link to meaning of Jesus. Except for tense, the meaning of the word Jesus is used again as the angel explains the name. It is being given in this passage in the clear text so readers can know what this word means.

It is also key to understand that when Joseph is told the name that is to be given to the son whom Mary will bear, the name given to him is "Jesus" alone. There is no direction given to Joseph to include "Christ" as part of his name as so many people want to do today.

Jesus is the name of the man born to Mary. He had Joseph as his earthly step-father. He is the saving incarnation of "I AM" who sent Moses to bring the ancient Israelites out of Egypt.

This passage in Matthew goes on to explain that this name is the fulfillment of a specific Old Testament prophecy.

This explanation is inserted to show the name "Jesus" is a proper fulfillment of the prophecy regarding "Immanuel" even though the name given for Jesus was not, exactly, Immanuel. A simple read across the passage, especially the Old Testament prediction, and the exact name given to Jesus would appear to be incompatible. Why is "Jesus" the same as "God with us?"

The answer comes from understanding that the root word used in Jesus' name is "I AM" from the time of Moses. This is God's name. Jesus was named this way because he is, I AM. He is God with us.

Defining the word: Christ

A dictionary definition ¹² says...

Christ simply means The Anointed.

This is the same as the Hebrew equivalent word "Messiah" which also means "the anointed."

Defining Anointed

Knowing "Christ" means "anointed" begs another question. What does anointed mean? This is still in the religious jargon of the Bible. Nobody uses this term in everyday speech. (Except, perhaps, preachers.) What is the everyday meaning of this word?

The word itself is used several times before a clear definition is given to Moses when Moses is told how to prepare Aaron and his sons for priestly service.

There are other references¹³ that also confirm the meaning of the word "anoint" is simply "to pour on oil." In the case of Aaron there was a priestly formula for the specific mixture used to create the oil for anointing the High Priest. Other occurrences make clear that oils used for anointing can be of nearly any type.

This definition is the end of the textual definition, but it doesn't satisfy completely. What does it mean to pour on oil? There is clearly a symbolic meaning being employed. What is the oil that is poured on and what does this action have to do with Jesus? A good example of what this means is to look at a different anointing, the anointing of David by Samuel.

When Samuel poured oil on David, the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. This defines what the oil is symbolic of: The Spirit of the LORD. Remember, LORD is YHVH who is HE IS or I AM.

Oil is symbolic of the presence of the Holy Spirit. That Christ means The Anointed is essentially a synonym for someone, some place or some people (or anything else) on whom has been poured out The Holy Spirit.

Various endings and pronouns are added around the word "Christ" in order to convey degrees of meaning. A "Christian" is one person on whom the Holy Spirit has been poured. "Christians" are a group on whom the Holy Spirit has been poured. It is difficult to mentally substitute to this meaning only because there are not enough forms of the words dealing with Spirit and Anointing to fill in for all the uses of Christ throughout the Bible.

Unlike YHVH which includes the pronoun "he" as part of the meaning, the word "Christ" has no built in pronoun. Translators, indeed, anyone mentally translating the word "Christ" into English at times will need to add a pronoun. Do this only as a last resort because so much meaning rides on a pronoun that doesn't naturally exist as part of the original word "Christ."

Looking again at First Use

The first use of the pair "Jesus Christ" shows up just before the account of Jesus' birth early in Matthew. The following is the first occurrence in the New Testament.

This verse is at the start of the narrative explaining the details of the birth of Jesus. This verse uses both words, the two that are so intimately tied to Jesus. The first, and most obvious question is what does this mean? To translate the words Jesus and Christ, instead of transliterating as is done in all common English translations, the previous passage starts like this:

Now the birth of YHVH Saves The Anointed took place...

Like so many other names across the Bible, these two words in order are commonly used to refer to Jesus. This is the first such use. Since individually, these words have significant meaning, the two words in this order should also. Consider the two standing together but outside of a sentence like the one above.

... YHVH Saves ... The Anointed ...

These two words alone form a complete sentence. It is an expression explaining exactly who it is that gets saved by YHVH. Who is that? Those who are anointed. YHWY saves the anointed.

The saving (or salvation) that Jesus offers is conditioned. He saves those who are anointed. He doesn't save anyone else. He may also pour the anointing on people in a temporary act in order to achieve his various purposes. Saul was anointed this way. So some anointings don't fundamentally lead to salvation. But, without any anointing at all there is no eternal salvation.

How do people get anointed? John the Baptist explained this to his audience in the Judean wilderness.

Jesus himself pours on the oil of the Holy Spirit in an event that John the Baptizer called a baptism. Jesus is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, not John, nor anyone else. Other words for this pouring are possible, but a baptism in the Spirit is a good description of the event that marks the start of the oil being poured on.

Of course Jesus was the expected Messiah. Since Messiah means The Anointed there is a sense that Jesus was the special Anointed One. This pronoun is occasionally used in reference works to attempt to show that Jesus was the only one with the Holy Spirit. This is not true and it belies a better choice of pronoun.

Who is it that YHVH saves? Those whom He himself has anointed as per John the Baptist's testimony. With this understanding the best implied pronoun is "his" and the full expression means this:

YHVH saves his anointed.

Example of Christ, and Jesus used seperately

What is the Proper Grammar for "Christ?"

The word "Christ" or "The Anointed" is not unique. The Holy Spirit can be poured out on anyone. The Bible is full of examples of people on whom the Holy Spirit was poured. This includes Aaron, Moses, Saul, David, Peter, Paul and many others. The pouring can be temporary ¹⁴ or it can be permanent leading to eternal salvation. ¹⁵

Grammatically the word "Christ" behaves like a title or office held by anyone Jesus chooses to include through a Holy Spirit Baptism. He, himself, of course, carries this title too, since he is anointed. But, he confers it on anyone else he so chooses.

To understand this better, consider the office of President of the United States. The President is the one who is in charge and who runs the Executive branch of the United States Government. Because the president cannot do everything alone he hires other people to help. Anyone so hired operates under the authority of the President himself. This is called "agency" because anyone hired operates as an agent of the President. ¹⁶

Note that in the collection of people who work for the President, some operate with authority less than the president himself. His speech writer, for example, only has authority to write speeches. This is very much like having an "upon" form of Spirit Baptism. The authority, and power, of the President is conferred on the speech writer in a temporary act that allows the writer to get the speech written.

There are others, usually those who operate close to the President, who operate with essentially full presidential authority. This is seen most clearly when the President sends someone from his office on an overseas diplomatic mission. In this case, typically the Secretary of State, gets to fly in the Presidential Airplane and gets to use the Presidential Seal. A Secretary on such a mission also has full rights to negotiate with foreign powers on behalf of the President, acting in place of the President himself.

Note the President would only send someone on a diplomatic mission like this if his agent was fully trusted and knew the President well enough to make the same decisions that the President would make if the President were doing the job himself. This is like the "within" form of Spirit baptism. It is also why Christians must develop maturity before they are called to do Jesus' high level work in the world.

This analogy also helps show off the difference between the President, the man, and the President, the office. The Office, or authority, or Seal, of the President of the United States gives anyone holding it the same authority as the President himself. The two are nearly synonymous when dealing with the current President. They are not synonymous when all the work going on under the authority of the President is considered.

Jesus is the name of the man that runs the Kingdom of Heaven. This is his name. His reign is permanent. He reigns now. He always will. His office is called "The Christ" or "The Anointed" and includes anyone he should choose to "hire"¹⁷ or mark through the "Seal" of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ This seal is given through a baptism in the spirit. The Holy Spirit can be poured out in a temporary way, like it was with Saul, or in a permanent way like it was with Paul.

When Christians use the expression "Jesus Christ" they are naming the man and his office. Very much like the expression "President Bush" names the office and the man who fills it.

Anyone who as been baptized by Jesus into the Holy Spirit has been included in Jesus' office. Once we've gained his trust, like the secretary of state working for the President, Christians can move from low level jobs, like speech writer, into various high levels of service, like diplomat.

Some Example Scriptures

Taking the thought that Jesus is the man, and Christ is the Anointing, the office, that others can be part of, lets look at some Scripture passages and explain what they mean.

Who appeared in Noah's Day?

Peter is recording that Christ suffered sins once for all. When did that happen? When Jesus was crucified. We know this. Peter was there, or at least in town, when this happened.

By leaving off the word "Jesus" what does Peter mean?

Since all anointed Christians make up the "body" of Christ, Peter is emphasizing that everyone saved, all Christians, suffered once for sins. We are all brought to God through the cross. Flesh, Jesus' flesh and by substitution, ours, was put to death, and we are made alive through who? The Christ the anointing, which is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the result of a baptism, the result of a wider inclusion.

Peter then goes on to explain that "he," Christ, the spirit, but not Jesus, the man, also went and preached to the spirits in prison at the time of Noah. Did Jesus do this in his 30 years here on earth? No. But did the Christ, which is all Peter has referenced in this passage? Yes. The Holy Spirit, the anointing, has been active across all time.

Who appeared in Moses' Day?

Paul is using the same convention as Peter. He is writing about the spiritual events at the Exodus from Egypt under Moses. He leaves off the world "Jesus" the name of the man born 2000 years ago. He only uses the word "Christ" which is the anointing, the office, that all believers enter when they are baptized into the Holy Spirit. This office accompanied the Israelites as they left Egypt. Paul is making clear that this is the same as it is now.

Review Questions

Does Jesus live in your body? If not, what does?

Are we expecting Christ's return? If not, who?

Phil Stone
Written: 2008-10-02
Updated: 2008-10-24

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¹John 6:45   
²Matthew 26:71   
³Mark 1:24   
⁴Mark 10:47   
⁵Luke 4:34   
⁶Acts 26:9   
⁷John 1:45   
⁸Technically about 8 levels removed from the Aramaic name for Jesus. In any case it is still the same name as Joshua.   
⁹Luke 3:29   
¹⁰Hebrews 4:8   
¹¹A Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names, J. B. Jackson   
¹²A Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names, J. B. Jackson   
¹³Genesis 31:13   
¹⁴In an 'upon' form for specific action but not salvation.   
¹⁵In a 'within' form that forms Christian character. This is the proof of salvation.   
¹⁶Agency is a general principle in Employment Law.   
¹⁷Matthew 20:1   
¹⁸Ephesians 1:13