Archpriest Vladimir Dolgikh answers.
I think that many have encountered a situation where people who call themselves Christians claim that it is enough to believe in God, but going to church is too much.
In such cases, questions are constantly on the tip of my tongue: “What God do you believe in? Who is Christ? Why did He come to earth, suffer, die and Resurrect? Why is Jesus Christ called Savior? etc. So it turns out that, without having the opportunity, at least for themselves, to answer these questions, “Christians” generally believe in someone unknown, and in this case there is really no need to go to church. Faith is not some kind of abstraction, not a matter of tastes or aesthetic preferences, it must be concrete, definite. One of the most important questions directly related to the eternal destiny of man is the question: “Why is Christ the Savior? Why is Jesus Christ revered as Savior? What did He save us from? The answer to them shapes our worldview and directly affects the transformation from “Christians” to Christians.
Why is Jesus called Christ? Origin of the name
During his lifetime, Jesus' name was Yeshua ha-Nozri. Yeshua of Nazareth (in Hebrew ישוע הנוצרי). The name Yeshua translated from ancient Hebrew means “God is our salvation.”
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John provide accounts of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ. These works were written in Greek, so the name Yeshua acquired a Greek sound and was transformed into the name Jesus.
Christ
“Anointed One” translated from ancient Greek
Subsequently, Christians translated the Gospel into different languages of the world, and the name Jesus became firmly entrenched in Christianity.
Why is Jesus called Christ? Christ from the ancient Greek Χριστός means “Anointed One.”
Thus, Jesus Christ: “Savior”, “Anointed One”, “Messiah”.
The image shows a papyrus with handwritten text of the Gospel of Matthew, it is written in ancient Greek
Sermon of Peter and Stephen
Then Stephen came, who was filled with the Holy Spirit. He performed great wonders and signs among the people.
As Stephen preached, the leaders looked at Stephen's face, and it shone like the face of an Angel.
The age of the law began with a man with the shining face of Moses and ended with a man with the shining face of Stephen.
The leaders of the law boasted about the law. Stephen said: “None of you fulfilled it.” The Bible says that they became angry and were ready to kill him on the spot.
(Acts 7:55)
Stephen, being filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said: Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.
He saw not only Jesus, but also the glory of God.
Why did Stephen see Christ standing?
The Bible says that Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, rose from the dead and sat down at the right hand of the Father.
Here He stood because the Kingdom was still being offered to Israel. Israel was very close to experiencing the return of the King—Jesus. When Jesus returns, there will be a perfect life on earth. This will be heaven on earth, not only for Israel, but for all the nations of the world. There will be no more hospitals, courts and children will no longer die, there will be no more death.
The King will reign in His Kingdom. The Kingdom of God will cover the entire earth. So Jesus stood up, ready to return.
If the leaders would say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” He would come back. That's why He stood. That's how close His coming was.
Instead, they covered their ears like children, then grabbed Stefan. They took him out of the city, threw him on the ground and took off his clothes, because they had hard work ahead of them. They laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. Saul approved of Stephen's murder. God made of this the greatest lawyer, the greatest apostle of grace that ever walked the earth.
In the following chapters the conversion of individuals occurs
(Acts 8)
appeal of the Ethiopian eunuch.
(Acts 9)
Paul's appeal. (Saul) on the road to Damascus.
(Acts 10)
Cornelius' appeal. Centurion of the Roman army.
How many sons did Noah have?
Ham. Sim. Japheth. Noah's three sons populated the earth.
After the death of Stephen in chapter 8, the mystery of the Church began. The coming of the Kingdom of God has slowed down. And so the secret of the Church began to be revealed. This mystery was in the heart of God. He always had a desire to have people who would form the body of His Son. The prophets of the Old Testament never knew about the Church, because the Church is a mystery.
- The Ethiopian eunuch turned to faith and accepted salvation. He is from the family of Ham.
- In the next chapter, Saul became Paul, accepted salvation. He is a Simite, from the clan of Shem.
- The Roman Cornelius is from the family of Japheth.
So Ham, Shem, Japheth are all saved in these three chapters.
Today there are no descendants of Ham, Shem, or Japheth. We are all in Christ. There are no more ethnic differences.
The Bible says that God, after raising Jesus from the dead, placed Him far above all authority.
If medicine has a name for your disease state, the name of Jesus is above that name. Before the name of Jesus, every disease bows.
Jesus Christ is the God-man and savior of mankind
After the fall of Adam and Eve, God rejected man and made him mortal. The souls of dead people went forever to places where divine light and divine love did not reach. This was the case before Jesus Christ appeared on earth.
Jesus is a real person, with a vulnerable body and a vulnerable soul. He was given birth to by an ordinary earthly woman. Like all people, he felt hunger, thirst, pain and fatigue.
God the Father endowed him with the best qualities that a person can possess: deep faith, love for one’s neighbor, compassion, piety, purity of thoughts.
The Savior united in himself two principles: divine and human.
Jesus taught by example and word how to live in love for God and others.
Satan tempted him more than once. Jesus Christ could use his divine gift to acquire earthly goods and unlimited power. But the Savior resisted sin.
Nevertheless, people declared Christ a sinner for equating himself with God, and executed him.
The Lord sent his son to earth to accept the terrible death of a martyr in the name of saving people.
By His death, Christ atoned for the sin of mankind, saved man from the eternal torment of hell and returned man to God.
Christians, in their prayers and appeals to Christ, call him Savior. He came to earth so that those who believed in him would receive spiritual rebirth and eternal life.
The Positive and Negative Sides of the Atonement
The indicated understanding of atonement is, one might say, its negative side, but not in the sense that it is of some kind of negative nature, but in the fact that it only points to the replenishment of what was lost, the removal of obstacles. The positive side of redemption, according to many holy fathers and modern theologians, is that, in addition to the ransom, the Lord also reconciles a person with Himself, adopts us. This is an act of God's boundless love for man. At St. John Chrysostom has wonderful words on this matter. He says that thanks to the saving feat of Christ, the Lord will not only not punish us for the fall, but will also reward us with such gifts as if we had done a large number of good deeds.
Ancient prophecies about the coming to earth, the life and death of the Savior
The appearance of Jesus Christ on earth was predicted by the prophets and foreshadowed by certain events.
300 prophecies
In the Old Testament about the coming, life and death of the Savior
The first mention of the upcoming arrival of the Mission is contained in the writings of the prophet Moses, 1500 years before the birth of Christ. In the Old Testament there are over 300 prophecies about the coming, life and death of the Savior.
Below are just a few of the prophecies that have come true.
| Prophet Micah VIII century BC | And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, are you small among the thousands of Judah? from you will come to me one who is to be ruler in Israel and whose origin is from the beginning, from the days of eternity |
| Prophet Malachi 5th century BC | Behold, I send My angel, and he will prepare the way before Me, and suddenly the Lord, whom you seek, and the Angel of the covenant, whom you desire, will come to His temple; Behold, He comes, says the Lord of hosts |
| Prophet Zechariah 6th century BC | Rejoice with joy, daughter of Zion, rejoice, daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your King is coming to you, righteous and saving, meek, sitting on a donkey and on the colt of a donkey, the son of the yoke. |
| Prophet David 10th century BC | Even the man who was at peace with me, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, lifted up his heel against me |
| Prophet Isaiah 7th century BC | The Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son. |
| He was tortured, but He suffered voluntarily and did not open His mouth; like a sheep He was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth | |
| Your God... will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will jump up like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will sing | |
| Prophet David XI century BC | A crowd of evil ones surrounded me; they pierced my hands and my feet. |
It turns out that God, long before the birth of Christ, spoke to people through the prophets and prepared humanity for the coming of the Mission.
In the image of the mid-4th century, the prophet Isaiah, who predicted the coming of Christ the Savior
Proverbs
Every parable has a purpose.
1st Parable of the Kingdom
(Matthew 13:1)
That day he left the house...
In Scripture, "house" always represents Israel. Even Jesus' movements have meaning. In the Bible, every detail contains Divine meaning.
(Matthew 13:1)
Jesus sat down by the sea.
The sea in Scripture always represents the peoples of the world.
The Bible says that Jesus was crucified on the cross, the One who knew no sin. But on the cross He became an offering for sins, for our sins. The clouds cleared, the storm subsided, Jesus looked up, and behold, all the sins were laid upon Him, and He said, “It is finished!”
And again He turned to God: “Father, into Your hands I commend My Spirit.”
A comment!
And from that time on, no one was able to break a single bone of His body. God honored Him. He was laid in a tomb in which no one had been laid before. And on the third day He rose again. God accepted His sacrifice and we are all forgiven.
How God Sent Jesus Christ to Earth
Mary was orphaned early and was raised at the Jerusalem Temple. At the age of 14, she was married to an elderly widower, Joseph, who lived in the city of Nazareth.
One day the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary. He brought her the news that the Lord had chosen her to become the mother of God's son.
Gabriel also told her that the virgin birth will occur from the Holy Spirit, and the born child will save humanity from sins.
Icon of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It depicts the Archangel Gabriel, who brought Mary the good news of the birth of Jesus Christ
On the way to the city of Bethlehem, where Joseph and Mary went to the census, they were caught by night. They chose a barn for the night.
That night, Mary gave birth to a boy. Before this event, a bright star lit up in the sky, which the sages of the east were eagerly awaiting.
Smyrna
One of the gifts of the Magi. She then embalmed the dead
The guiding star of Bethlehem indicated the birthplace of Jesus. The Magi brought gifts to the newborn: incense, gold and myrrh.
Gold for Jesus the King, frankincense for Jesus the God and myrrh. At that time, the bodies of the dead were embalmed with myrrh.
King Herod knew in advance about the arrival of the Mission, and ordered to kill all newborn babies.
Joseph and Mary hastily went to Egypt, where the family lived for three years. After the death of Herod, he and the child returned to Nazareth, where Jesus Christ spent his childhood and youth.
The event of the birth of Christ in 5 BC turned the entire course of earthly history upside down.
The painting by L. Lotto depicts the birth of Christ
To atone for the sin of mankind - this was the Mission of Jesus on earth
Icon by artist I. Klimov “The Lord in the Crown of Thorns”
Jesus Christ was tried and executed as a criminal. He was scourged, crucified, and mocked. Jesus' hands and feet were nailed to the cross.
Roman soldiers placed a crown of thorns on his head. The thorns dug into the skin, blood flowed down the face.
Before his death, Christ experienced unbearable physical pain and moral torment, fulfilling the will of the Father.
He died for each of us, continuing to selflessly love people and God.
Jesus did not become embittered even at his executioners, and before his death he asked:
“Father! Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
So, why is Jesus Christ called the savior of mankind?
God entrusted Christ with the mission to atone for the sins of men. Redemption was accomplished by the Lord himself, incarnate on earth in the image of Christ.
Through the death and resurrection of the sinless and loving Son of God, the Lord gave everyone eternal life.
The Apostle Paul says this beautifully in his Epistle to the Philippians:
“He, being the image of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God; but he made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of men, and becoming in appearance like a man; He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even to the point of death, even death on the cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
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Theories of the atonement
The conversation about why Jesus Christ is called the Savior would be incomplete without referring to the existing theories of atonement, which indicate the most systematic attempts to interpret the feat He accomplished. So, traditionally there are three theories:
- legal;
- moral;
- organic.
The author of the legal theory of atonement is the Western Christian scholastic Anselm of Canterbury. He was born in 1033, so technically even before the Great Schism of 1054. In principle, the legal approach to issues of faith among the Latins has been traced since the 4th century, therefore Anselm’s ideas here did not become something out of the ordinary. The essence of his theory boils down to the following provisions: by his fall, man committed a crime, thereby violating the just order established by God and offending the Lord. The degree of insult is determined by the rank of the offended party. The greatness of God is infinite, and accordingly, the guilt of the criminal is infinite. Man, being a created being, is unable to satisfy God’s infinite justice and bring satisfaction for what he has done, which is why the Incarnation and Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity was necessary in order to bring a proper ransom for man through the act of redemption. I think that even those who were not familiar with this theory before understand its “dryness” and in some provisions its inconsistency with Holy Scripture. However, its positive side is the clear emphasis on the idea that a person is unable to be saved by his own efforts alone.
The moral theory of the atonement was created as a reaction to the extremes of the legal theory. It finds its completion in the works of Metropolitan. Anthony (Khrapovitsky). The emphasis of this theory is on Christ's overcoming all temptations, by which He demonstrates complete obedience to the Father, thereby setting us the greatest example. According to Bishop Anthony, salvation was accomplished during the Gethsemane struggle, and the Cross was needed to reveal and demonstrate the strength and depth of the Savior’s spiritual torment. The negative aspects of this theory also lie on the surface; at a minimum, it downplays the significance of the Suffering and Death of Christ. Moral theory is good for its criticism of legal theory, which reduces the relationship between man and God to lifeless legal categories.
The main supporters of the organic theory of atonement were such emigration theologians as Fr. Georgy Florovsky and V.N. Lossky, etc. Here it must be said that Christian soteriology (the doctrine of salvation) is one of the least dogmatically developed sections. So, in the person of Russian emigration theologians, in this topic, an attempt was made to synthesize patristic thought. For them, redemption, first of all, lies in the healing and deification of sick human nature. The emphasis here is not only on Calvary, Gethsemane or the Sepulcher, but on the entire life of Christ. Of course, the Passion, the Cross and the Resurrection remain the most important actions of the incarnate Son of God in the matter of salvation, but they are preceded by His incarnation and the passage of all stages of human development, the acquisition of a certain fullness of human ages. Therefore, everything that Christ said and did (teachings, prophecies, miracles, etc.) is relevant to our salvation.
The theory is called organic not because everything in it is organically (harmoniously) put together, but because it is revealed in the categories of nature, both Divine and human. Sin here is perceived not only as a violation of the law, not only as an immoral act, but above all, as a disease. Therefore, salvation is healing from illness, liberation from slavery, transformation of a person and ultimately deification. Through man, salvation is given to the world as it was created for his sake. Therefore, Christ is not only the Savior of man, but also the Savior of the world.
