The Biblical Names of Jesus

Beautiful, Powerful Portraits of Christ

Paul Thigpen

• Publisher: TAN Books
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781505112849
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

From Alpha to Omega: An Examination of Christ in Scripture

Have you ever wondered why Jesus has so many names? It's not an accident. Each one is invaluable in helping us to understand, as best we can, the full nature of Jesus Christ.

Paul Thigpen dives deep into Scripture from Genesis to Revelation to illuminate the many names of Jesus found therein and explain how each one reveals something new and essential about Our Lord.

The Biblical Names of Jesus is like no other book. It is an engrossing trek through Scripture spanning the entire Bible, focusing on the typologies of Jesus through 18 of his unique names. You will come away with a deeper knowledge of Christ, and a fuller understanding of how the whole of the Bible points toward Jesus.

With his expert, yet accessible prose, Paul Thigpen will help you:

• Deepen your understanding of Jesus through his more familiar titles, such as Christ, Lord, Savior, Son of God, and Son of Man.
• Ponder the life-changing beauty and mystery of less-familiar names such as the Bride-groom, Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Dawn from on High, Alpha and Omega…and how they show aspects of Jesus' love for us, his Kingship, and His desire to lead us to heaven.
• Examine—like each brilliant facet of a diamond—the One who holds you in existence, and come to know Jesus better than ever before.

Uncover the types and prefigurements of Christ throughout Scripture…and take your personal relationship with Our Lord to a new level!

II

PORTRAITS OF JESUS:
HIS LIFE IN HEAVEN

5

KING OF KINGS

He is Lord of lords and King of kings.

REVELATION 17:14

The role of Messiah, as we have seen, is at its heart a royal role. The Christ is to be seated on King David’s throne as the promised ruler of Israel, whose rule will extend worldwide to judge the nations, and whose kingdom will last forever.

We might be able to envision such a king with a reign limited to human history: a kind of global emperor whose dynasty manages to survive with God’s help, generation after generation, until the very last generation of the human race. But we have seen that the kingship of Jesus Christ “is not of this world” (Jn 18:36). Titles of Jesus such as “King of kings,” “Lord of lords,” and “King eternal” press us to recognize that the Messiah’s reign is far beyond any kingdom possible for someone who rules only within human history.

To begin to understand Christ’s reign in its fullness, we must turn our eyes toward heaven.

THE MESSIAH’S GLORY

We have noted how, after his passion, death, and resurrection, Jesus tells his disciples that it was “necessary that the Christ should suffer these things.” But his sentence doesn’t end there. The Messiah had to suffer these things, he explains, “and enter into his glory” (Lk 24:26, emphasis added).

In New Testament Greek, the word translated here as “glory” (doxa) means “brilliance, splendor, radiance.” Often it is used to describe those who dwell in heaven (Heb 9:5; Lk 2:9; Acts 7:2; 1 Cor 15:43; Col 3:4; 2 Thes 1:9; 2 Pt 1:17; Rv 15:8; 19:1; 21:11, 23).

By extension, “glory” also refers to the magnificence, exaltation, praise, and splendor belonging to someone on account of his known excellence. In this sense, St. Augustine defines glory as “brilliant celebrity with praise.”

How did Jesus “enter into his glory”? We find glimpses of his glory even as he walks the earth, most notably in his brilliant transfiguration on the mountaintop, when “his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light” (Mt 17:1–8). But these are only a foretaste of the glory he enters when, after his resurrection, he ascends into heaven.

The Gospel of Matthew tells us that just before our Lord ascends, he tells his disciples that “all authority in heaven and on earth” has been given to him by God (Mt 28:16–20)—the ultimate exaltation and recognition. Then, according to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is “carried up into heaven” (Lk 24:51).

What happens there? The Gospel of Mark adds that after Jesus is taken up into heaven, he sits down “at the right hand of God” (Mk 16:19). In ancient times, to be positioned “at the right hand” of an enthroned sovereign means to assume a place of highest honor, and often a share in his rule. In ancient Israel, for example, the queen sat at the right hand of the king (2 Kgs 2:19; Ps 45:9).

In the book of Acts, we catch a glimpse of Jesus at the right hand of God’s throne. When the deacon Stephen is about to be stoned by a mob for preaching Jesus, he reports a vision of heaven. He sees “the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:54–56). In his exaltation, Jesus is once again sharing the glory of his Father: his magnificent splendor, and the adoring praise of all those in heaven.

A PORTRAIT OF CHRIST’S EXALTATION

The Apostle Paul speaks further of Christ’s exaltation to glory in heaven. He prays that the Christians in the city of Ephesus will be enlightened to understand more fully “the immeasurable greatness of [God’s] power in us who believe, according to the working of his great might which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come; and he has put all things under his feet” (Eph 1:18–23).

We should note that on his throne in heaven, Jesus is not simply reigning as King of the universe. He is also our advocate before God, as Paul reminds us: “Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us” (Rom 8:33; also Heb 7:25).

What a marvelous reality to ponder, bringing us powerful consolation. The Son of God incarnate retains his human nature forever; he did not cast it away when he ascended into heaven. The One who intercedes with the Father for us intimately knows our human plight. And this One who possesses all power and authority in heaven desires and seeks what is best for us.

KING OF GLORY

Christian commentators on Scripture have long viewed Psalms 24:7–10 as a foreshadowing of Christ’s ascension into heaven. He is the “King of glory,” a victorious warrior prince returning from battle, to whom the gates of heaven must open.

In ancient times, kings and military generals returning victorious from battle sometimes entered a great city in a grand, glorious procession to exult and to receive the praises of their people. The parade through the jubilant crowds often included enemy rulers and generals who were humiliated by being led around in chains. The spoils of war were also on display, to be distributed to the people as gifts.

Paul uses this imagery to speak of Christ’s ascension to heaven in triumphant glory. Echoing words from Psalm 68:18, he declares that “when he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men” (Eph 4:8). Similar imagery appears in his letter to the Colossians: “[Christ] disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them” (Col 2:15). The “captives” are the demonic powers that have oppressed God’s people; “principalities and powers” refers to hierarchical ranks among the demons. The “gifts” are the graces Christ bestows on the Church through the Holy Spirit.

Even so, the King’s conquest of his demonic enemies isn’t the only royal victory to be celebrated. The men who are driven by those dark powers to destroy the King’s people on earth must also be vanquished. Turning to the book of Revelation, we find that glorious triumph portrayed.

THE KING IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION

Imagine the dilemma of the earliest Christians. They know the truth about Jesus, as Paul and others have preached to them: He is the Christ, sent by God to care for his people, die for them, and rise again. He has ascended into heaven, far beyond their sight.

If they are to see him now, it must be with the eyes of faith. But with their bodily eyes, they see themselves surrounded by those who hate them for their faith. The Jewish religious authorities seek their expulsion. The Roman imperial forces hunt them down brutally to torture and murder them. The Emperor Nero has even crucified Christians and burned them alive to use as human torches for his garden parties.

What would it mean to these anguished souls to know that Jesus is the King of kings?

Our Lord’s victory and his reign in heaven must at times seem to them remote during these persecutions of the Church. The power of Rome appears invincible, and the empire’s hatred for Christ and his followers appears implacable. The political powers conspire to crush them utterly and without mercy. Is there any hope for the infant Church?

In writing the book of Revelation around the end of the first century, St. John answers that question with a thunderous yes! Jesus Christ—who died, rose again, and ascended into heaven—is himself their great hope! This is the overarching theme of the book. John reports his inspiring, consoling vision of their Lord enthroned with God the Father, and his prophecy of a glorious future for the holy ones who love him.

John’s great desire, at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, is to reassure his Christian brothers and sisters that even if they cannot see Christ, his power and authority are absolute. In the end, not just the Roman Empire, but every other empire, will fall before him.

Nowhere is this intention for writing more clear than in John’s descriptions of Jesus as a Warrior-King. In chapter 17, for example, he reports the words of the angel about the fate of those who “make war on the Lamb,” Jesus Christ: “The Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful” (Rv 17:14).

Listen to the visionary’s breathtaking description of our Lord leading the armies of heaven:

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems. … He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, followed him on white horses. From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to strike the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of lords.” (Rv 19:11–16)

And what about John’s terrifying portrayal of Jesus as Judge, one of his proper roles as King? John writes:

Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it; from his presence, earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done. … And if any one’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Rv 20:11–12, 15)

OUR KING, WARRIOR, AND JUDGE

Perhaps for many of us today, as we live in relative safety and comfort, these words seem chilling, even distasteful. We prefer democracies and republics to kingdoms. Worse yet, this Jesus is a fierce, blood-bathed Warrior-King. He strikes down nations and crushes them like grapes for making wine. With fire and a sword, he visits the wrath of God upon the world.

Doesn’t Scripture call Jesus “the Prince of Peace” (Is 9:6)? How can this possibly be the same Christ?

Yes, these portrayals of Jesus may strike many of our contemporaries as alien, harsh, brutal. But for the earliest Christians, who suffered such horrific injustice at the hands of evil and powerful men—men who styled themselves great kings and lords—these words bring comfort and hope. John writes as well of those Christian martyrs of his day, those who have been hunted down and tortured and gruesomely murdered. He says he hears them crying out from heaven for God to bring justice to the earth.

In the end, John tells them, Jesus Christ is the King of those evil kings and the Lord of those wicked lords. They must submit to his divine power. At the coming of his universal kingdom, their reign will collapse. When his sovereign lordship is revealed, their power will be shattered. In the end, he will set the world aright; he will vanquish evil; he will judge all people in justice; he will rule all things in peace.

The common notion of Jesus as simply a sweet, mild-mannered man urging everyone to be nice fails to take into consideration such biblical passages that portray him as a fierce King, Warrior, and Judge. Yet the full scriptural witness to our Lord’s identity and mission must be allowed to speak to us so that our portrait of him will not be seriously distorted by omissions that make us more comfortable—for now.

Should we interpret such passages as outdated excesses of a more brutish time and culture? We might as well ask: Is Jesus himself outdated and brutish? For in the Gospels, Jesus himself speaks of his role as judge in terms hardly less sobering.

Referring to himself as “the King,” he warns that in the final judgment of the human race, he will command those who failed to love their neighbors: “‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’ … And they will go away into eternal punishment” (Mt 25:41, 46).

DIVINE JUSTICE

In all these unsettling biblical statements, we see revealed an attribute of God that is praised throughout Scripture and must not be denied: his justice. We hear often of God’s mercy, and so we should. But his justice is no less a divine attribute. Holiness is not possible without justice, nor is peace. And final justice requires that the Judge have the power to overcome the wicked and to banish and punish them if they refuse to repent.

The ancient Jewish people understood this reality. Psalm 96 cries out in jubilation over the prospect of God’s rule and judgment of the world: “Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns!’ … he will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth!” (Ps 96:10–13).

The Church Fathers also understood this reality, and they emphasize that those who go to eternal punishment have brought it upon themselves. Commenting on Jesus’s warning about his role as Judge at the end of history, St. John Chrysostom (c. 347–407) observes: “To the others [on his left], Christ says, ‘Depart from me, you cursed.’ He does not say they are cursed by the Father, for the Father had not laid a curse upon them—their own works did it. … ‘I prepared the kingdom for you,’ he says, ‘but the fire I did not prepare for you—rather, I prepared it for the Devil and his angels. But you have cast yourselves into it. You have imputed it to your-selves’” (Gospel of Matthew, Homily 79.2).

The possibility of eternal damnation is terrifying. But some kinds of fear protect us. “Do n...