Larger Catechism – Day 18 of Lent
Question 41: Why
was our mediator called Jesus?
Answer: Our mediator was called Jesus because he saves his people from
their sins.
Question 42: Why
was our mediator called Christ?
Answer: Our mediator was called Christ, because he was anointed with the
Holy Spirit beyond all measure. Consequently, he was set apart and completely
equipped with all authority and power to execute the offices of prophet, priest,
and king of his church, in both his humiliation and his exaltation.
The name Jesus is a rendition of the Hebrew Yeshua (related to Joshua). The
name is a combination of YHWH (Yahweh) which is the name of God and Hosea (which means “to save”). Literally, the name Jesus means Yahweh
saves. There is no name more fitting for
our mediator than the name Jesus!
The title “Christ” comes from the Greek Christos, which means “anointed.”
Christos is a translation of
the Hebrew “Messiah.” The Messiah is the
anointed one that would set God’s people free.
Jesus came to be called “Jesus Christ”, meaning “Jesus the Christos”—Jesus the anointed one/Messiah.
Questions 41 and 42 remind us that it is God who saves and that
Jesus is the one who was anointed by God to save his people.
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