The Person of Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, the Son or the Word of the Father, Who was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man, Who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6). These mysteries, foretold in the Old Testament, were fully revealed in the New, and clearly developed in Christian Tradition and theology.

JESUS means in Hebrew: "God saves." At the annunciation, the angel Gabriel gave him the name Jesus as his proper name, which expresses both his identity and his mission. Since God alone can forgive sins, it is God who, in Jesus his eternal Son made man, "will save his people from their sins". In Jesus, God recapitulates all of his history of salvation on behalf of men. When St. Paul speaks of Jesus whom "God put forward as an expiation by his blood", he means that in Christ's humanity "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. Thus, the barrier between God and humanity was removed opening the gate of heaven to all believers - past and future.

Jesus is the central figure of Christianity, in which context he is known as Jesus Christ, where Christ is a Greek title meaning "Anointed", corresponding to the Hebrew term "Messiah". Jesus is the Christ, for "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power" (Acts 10:38). He was the one "who is to come" (Lk 7:19), the object of "the hope of Israel" (Acts 28:20).

The title "Son of God" signifies the unique and eternal relationship of Jesus Christ to God his Father: he is the only Son of the Father (cf. Jn 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18); he is God himself (cf. Jn 1:1). To be a Christian, one must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (cf. Acts 8:37; 1 Jn 2:23).

The main sources of information regarding Jesus' life and teachings are the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament. The New Testament attests: “The Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world” (1 Jn 4:14); “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). In his discourse before the Sanhedrin, Peter, in order to justify the healing of a man who was crippled from birth, which was done in the name of Jesus (cf. Acts 3:1-8), proclaims: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). St. Paul adds, moreover, that Jesus Christ “is Lord of all”, “judge of the living and the dead”, and thus “whoever believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10: 36,42,43).

SON OF GOD BRINGS FULLNESS OF SALVATION

JESUS offers us a salvation which, though primarily is a liberation from sin, also involves the totality of our being with its deepest needs and aspirations. Christ frees us from this burden and opens the way to the complete fulfilment of our destiny.

How comforting to think that Jesus does not limit himself to freeing the heart from the prison of selfishness and sin, but starting from the heart, the salvation brought by Jesus is extended to the various areas of human life: spiritual and physical, personal and social. In His public life, He heals the sick, frees people from demons and alleviates every kind of suffering, thereby showing a sign of God's kingdom. He tells the disciples to do the same when they preach the Gospel (cf. Mt 10:8; Lk 9:2; 10:9) ...

So rich and deep is the salvation brought by Christ ... He came to save not only every person, but the whole person!

Reference: The Holy Father's General Audience Address of 18 February 1998