Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Jesus

JESUS, the name miraculously given to the first born son of the Virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Ghost. An angel who appeared to Joseph, Mary's betrothed lover, directed that that son on His birth should be called Jesus, &ldquo;for He shall save his people from their sins.&rdquo; Some persons suppose that when Christ is superadded, Jesus is analogous to what now would be called the Christian name, while Christ is the surname. This view is erroneous. The only personal name is Jesus, and Christ is the designation of office or mission, indicating that the being who bore it claimed to be the Messiah promised to the fathers. Nearly all the churches of the world, the Unitarian one being the chief exception, recognize a divine and human nature in Christ, regarding Him with respect to the former as the Second Person of the Trinity and the Son of God; with regard to the latter, as the perfect type of humanity, the only sinless man that has lived on earth. The birth of the Saviour is generally believed to have been in 4, the commencement of His ministry 26, and His crucifixion 29.