JC Q&A

~ Things many don't know about Jesus the Christ ~

Q: What did Jesus' name mean?

A: Jesus is a translated form of Yesoo (Greek) and Yeshua (Aramaic), which was given to many Israelite men through their history, most notably the man we know as "Joshua" (the son of Nun), who led the conquest of Jericho in about 1400BC. Since "Jesus" was a common name among first century Jews, the Jesus we follow was often called "Jesus of Nazareth" — after the town in which his family lived.

"Christ" is not a name, but a designation of Messiahship. (Christ is from the Greek version of the Hebrew word for Messiah. Confusing, isn't it!) So when we speak of Jesus Christ, we are saying Jesus the Messiah, or Jesus the Christ.

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Q: Who is history’s most outspoken critic of hypocrisy in religion?

Matthew 6; 7:3-5; 15:7-9; 16:1-4; 23; Luke 12:1

If you’re against hypocrisy in religion, you’re in good company.
There wasn’t anyone more critical of it than the Son of God himself.

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Q: Who is history’s most prominent critic of institutional religion?

Matthew 23; 15:3-9

After about 1500 years of humans messing with Judaism, it was clearly in a bad state when Jesus stepped into history, and he did not mince his words when he denounced it. Today, after much more than 1500 years of humans messing with (what began as) Christianity, it's not hard to imagine what Christ would say about today's religious scene. (In Matthew 7:21-23, he actually foreshadowed what he will say when the day of reckoning comes.)

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Q: Whom did the religious establishment consider a threat to their own vested interests?

Matthew 27

Yes, the religious establishment got Jesus nailed to a wooden cross and hung up to die a torturous death, but their evil scheme went awry three days later, when Jesus rose from the grave, proving even death had no power over him. That bit of history is well-known, but it does surprise many that the religious establishment of subsequent centuries in lands like Europe carried out the same deadly degree of persecution against Christ's followers — and they claimed to be doing so "in the name of Christ"! But while he was still on earth, Christ warned his followers that a time was coming "when everyone who kills you will think that he is offering God a service" (John 16:2).

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