Jesus Son of God, son of man, saviour, messiah

As Jesus is baptised God shows his approval of Jesus by the vision of the Holy Spirit& declaring Jesus is his Son. Jesus is shown to be the most holy person - the one approved by God.

2. In the Transfiguration God again confirms Jesus is his Son. The words are similar to those at Jesus baptism, but now the voice says ‘Listen to him’. Jesus is seen in all his glory – he is seen to be who he really is.

3. The Trial before the High Priest. makes this very clear when Jesus says ‘Yes’ to the High Priest’s question if he is the Son of God.

4. Then finally as Jesus hangs on the cross, the centurion calls him ‘Son of God’. Now Jesus is fully seen to be God’s Son.

Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God – God the Son, God himself come to earth, the2nd person of the Trinity (Father, Son & Holy Spirit). God takes human form in Jesus – this is called the Incarnation.

Son of God passages The Baptism 1:9-11.....The Transfiguration 9: 2-8

at The Trial before the High Priest 14:61-62... at The Crucifixion 15:39

The term Son of Man can mean

a) an ordinary human being, b) an indirect way of saying "I"

c) a Messiah figure. In Daniel (ch. 7) the prophet sees a vision of God, and coming on the clouds of heaven there is ‘one like a son of man’.

Jesus used the term Son of Man very often to describe himself – especially his authority over evil and his suffering. Jesus prefers it to Messiah, which had a political meaning. Using the term Son of Man avoided trouble, giving him extra time to preach& teach his disciples.

Christians believe that this title shows that Jesus is truly a human being, and that in Jesus God becomes fully human so that he can save human beings, sharing their pain and sufferings.

The Son of Man passages:

The paralysed man 2: 1-12.......The prediction of the Passion 8: 31-33

The request of James and John 10:35-45...The Trial before the High Priest 14:61-62

Jesus/Saviour passages:

The Calming of the Storm 4: 35- 41...The feeding of the 5000 6:30-44

The Syro-Phoenician woman's daughter 7: 24-30

The title ‘saviour’ is not used in Mark, but Jesus is often seen as one who saves.

1. The apostles are caught in a severe storm, from which Jesus saves them by commanding the winds and the sea.

2. In the feeding of the five thousand Jesus has such power over nature that he can provide for people in need and rescue them from hunger.

3. Jesus often casts out demons. This is a sign that he can defeat the forces of evil.

In many ways, the word Saviour describes Jesus' life. Christians believe that Jesus saves mankind from sin and death. The Christian faith is that by dying he saved us by carrying our sins, and by rising from the dead he offers us the chance of eternal life, which we receive by being joined to him in baptism.

Most Jews at the time of Jesus hoped that God would send a great ruler, the Messiah. The word means the Anointed One, specially chosen. Kings were (and still are) Anointed. The Greek for Messiah is Christos, from which we get the word Christ. The Jews believed that the Messiah would be a descendent of David and would become king of the Jews. So the Messiah could be called Son of David, and this was a well-known Messianic title. He was a religious figure, but also a political leader.

Jesus was a very different kind of Messiah from the kind many were hoping for. He wanted to be a peaceful messiah who would establish a kingdom of love and forgiveness. He made friends with Romans.Many Jews saw the messiah as a glorious ruler, Jesus saw him as a suffering servant.

When people called Jesus Messiah or Son of David, he usually avoided the title or told them to be quiet.

At Caesarea Philippi Peter came to believe in Jesus as Messiah. Jesus allowed himself to be called Son of David when he came to Jerusalem (Blind Bartimaeus and Entry into Jerusalem). At his trial before the Sanhedrin he fully accepted the title. This gave the Jewish leaders the chance to get the Romans to execute him.

Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah who the Jews were waiting for – the one who fulfilled all the promises made by God. The Jews, though, still look forward to the coming of the Messiah.

Christ/Messiah/Son of David passages: Caesarea Philippi 8:27-30

Blind Bartimaeus 10: 46-52... Entry into Jerusalem 11: 1-11