Question:  Dear Greg,

            What does the name Christ mean?  Why was Jesus called “Jesus Christ”?  Was it a last name to distinguish him from other Jesuses?  When did the people start calling Jesus, “Jesus Christ”?

            D.Y.

Answer:  Dear D.Y.,

            Jesus Christ is a compound name.  Jesus refers to the man from Nazareth, Christ means anointed—a Greek word for Messiah.  The two names together identify the man from Nazareth as the long-awaited Messiah.  Acts 5:42 is one of the early references to Jesus the Christ, later the definite article “the” was dropped.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht