JC's surname?

Question

If Jesus's name was Jesus Christ, does that mean "Christ" was his surname? If so, is his father called God Christ ?

Answer 1

No. Christ is a title meaning "anointed one" or "Messiah."

Jesus' full name was Jesus of Nazareth. About 2,006 years ago, people didn't have surnames. They were either [first name] + "son of [father]" or [first name] + "of [region they were from]."

Answer 2

In the time of Jesus, surnames were not fixed as they are now in most of the world. A person might be called by a name referring to his father (Jesus bar Joseph, as Joseph was his "social" father and the one known to the public). Or he might be called by the town he came from (Jesus of Nazareth; he was born in Bethlehem, had early childhood in Egypt, but was apparently known as a Nazarene). Or he might be called by a descriptive nickname. "Simon the Rock" (Peter) is distinguished from "Simon the Zealot." There was another famous Jesus at the time, Jesus bar Abbas (son of the Father? what Father? I don't know.), the insurrectionist.
Although some people saw Jesus as the Messiah (Christ) before his crucifixion, after the resurrection this became the common surname or title: Jesus the Christ.
Incidentally, in Iceland it is still customary that a person's surname references his or her father's given name; e.g. Ivarsson or Ivarsdottir

Answer 3

Being the Son of God; Jesus Christ; Jesus of Nazareth; Jesus, King of the Jews; did not need a surname. However the secualr laws of the day would have had Jesus take the name of Joseph, his "Step-Father".

Answer 4

If you remember, Jesus was born Jewish. At that time, and still today in certain parts of the world, a person's last name is his fathers first name. In Judiasm, his father (Joseph) would have been called Yousef. The word for "the son of" is ben. So he would be Jesus ben Yousef. Another example is in Russia, to this day a mans middle name means, "the son of." So, if Boris's father was Ivan and his last name was Karloff. His name would be Boris Ivanovich Karloff. Boris, the son of Ivan, Karloff.

Answer 5

It is always fascinating and enriching to bring the Hebraic cultural context into understanding the most important, basic words that Christians use. One of the most important is the word "Christ". What implications does it have for us to say that Jesus is the "Christ"?

First of all, the word "Christ" comes from "christos", a Greek word meaning "anointed". It is the equivalent of the word "moshiach", or Messiah, in Hebrew. But what does that mean? To be anointed is literally to have sacred anointing oil poured on one's head because God has chosen the person for a special task. Kings were anointed during their coronation rather than receiving a crown. Even though prophets and priests were anointed, the phrase "anointed one" or "the Lord's anointed" was most often used to refer to a king. So, the main picture of the word "Messiah" or "Christ" as the "anointed one" was of a king chosen by God. Even though we tend not to pick up on the cultural pictures, the gospels tell us many times that Jesus is this great King who has come. During Jesus' trial, the main question that He is asked is "Are you the King of the Jews?", and He answers affirmatively:

And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King." So Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And He answered him and said, "It is as you say." (Luke 23:2-3)

The fact that Jesus' disciples and others who believed in Him referred to Him as "Lord" also suggests that they were giving Him great honor, with the understanding that He is the Messianic King. To use the word "Lord" displays an attitude of obedient submission to a greater power. Jesus seems even to expect that those who call Him Lord obey Him - He said to His listeners, "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46). To call him Lord or to call Him Jesus Christ is to say that He is the King that God has sent who has a right to reign over us!

This has implications about the basic understanding of what a Christian is. We tend to define ourselves by our statements of belief, but the very word "Christ" calls us to more than that. If "Christ" means King, a Christian is one who considers Jesus his Lord and King; and he submits to His reign!

Answer 6

no in jesus' day they didn't need surnames. surnames are for identification if i say GOD theres not 2 so he dosen't need a surname.


i aprechate some people belive there is more than 1 God however in this question it is refuring to the cristain relioon in witcg there is 1 God anyone who disigres plz e-mail me.

Answer 7

His name would have been Jesus bar Joseph-bar being the aramaic word for son.

Answer 8

"Christ" is not a name but a title, meaning "anointed."

Yeshua would have been known as Yeshua from Nazareth or Yeshua of Yoseph (or Mariam if you insist on the virgin story).

Answer 9

I thought it was Jesus The Stoner.

Answer 10

Whatever you want to call Him, He's Lord of Lords. He's God almight...