United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

Chapter 7. The Good News: God Has Sent His Son • 83

FROM THE CATECHISM

1. What does the name Jesus mean? Jesus means in Hebrew: “God saves.” . . . Since God alone can forgive sins, it is God who, in Jesus his eternal Son made man, “will save his people from their sins.” (CCC, no. 430, citing Mt 1:21) 2. Why is Jesus called Christ ? The word “Christ” [ Christos ] comes from the Greek transla tion of the Hebrew Messiah , which means “anointed.” It became the name proper to Jesus . . . because he accom plished perfectly the divine mission that “Christ” signifies. (CCC, no. 436) 3. How does Jesus model discipleship for us? In all of his life, Jesus presents himself as our model . He is “the perfect man,” who invites us to become his disciples and follow him. In humbling himself, he has given us an example to imitate, through his prayer he draws us to pray, and by his poverty he calls us to accept freely the privation and persecution that may come our way. (CCC, no. 520, citing GS, no. 38)

Understanding that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine is very important. The Church has consistently defended this teaching against attempts to present one or the other as somehow less. If the Crucifixion and Resurrection were events that involved God only, then we are not saved. If Jesus was not divine, he would have been just another good man whose death and Resurrection would not have saved us. It is neces sary to believe that the mystery of the Incarnation means that Jesus was both fully God and fully man.