Jesus Christ: Incarnation, the Cross and Salvation
Who Is Jesus Christ?
Christians use several titles to describe Jesus, each carrying deep theological meaning. Together they answer the question at the heart of Christianity: who was Jesus, and what did his life, death and resurrection achieve?
Messiah (from the Hebrew, meaning “anointed one”; in Greek, Christ) was the title Israel had long awaited — a king who would restore God’s rule. Christians believe Jesus fulfilled this role, though not through military conquest but through service and self-sacrifice. He is also called Son of God — expressing his divine identity — Lord, acknowledging his authority over all creation, and Saviour, pointing to his role in rescuing people from the consequences of sin.
Romans 3:23 states that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This establishes the universal need for a saviour: no human being is in right relationship with God by their own efforts.
Christian Love: Agape
Jesus’s teaching centres on love. The Greek word agape describes the kind of love Christians are called to practise: unconditional, self-giving and not dependent on the other person deserving it. The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) is the fullest single expression of Jesus’s ethical teaching — including the Beatitudes, love for enemies and commands about prayer, fasting and generosity.
In Matthew 22:36–39 Jesus summarises the whole law with the Two Great Commandments: love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbour as yourself. The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) illustrates who “your neighbour” is: anyone in need, even an enemy. Agape has no boundaries.
The Incarnation
The incarnation is the belief that God became human in Jesus. Luke 1:26–35 records the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she would conceive a child by the Holy Spirit, who would be called “Son of the Most High.” This establishes Jesus’s unique origin: born of a human mother but conceived through the Spirit, he is both fully human and fully divine.
The incarnation matters enormously to Christians: God did not stay distant from human suffering but entered it. In Jesus, God experienced hunger, grief, temptation and death. This makes Jesus not only a divine saviour but also a compassionate intercessor who understands human weakness.
The four central events in Christian teaching about Jesus: the incarnation (God became human, Luke 1:26–35), the crucifixion (Jesus died on the cross, Mark 15:21–41), the resurrection (Jesus rose from the dead, Matthew 28:1–10), and the ascension (Jesus returned to heaven, Acts 1:9–11).
The Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension
The crucifixion is described in Mark 15:21–41. Jesus was nailed to a cross and died. For Christians, this was not a defeat but the central saving act of history: Jesus “paying the price” for human sin. The curtain of the Temple tore at the moment of his death — a sign that the barrier between God and humanity had been removed.
The resurrection is the claim that Jesus rose from the dead. Matthew 28:1–10 records Mary Magdalene and other women discovering the empty tomb and encountering the risen Jesus. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15 that without the resurrection, Christian faith is “useless.” For most Christians, the resurrection is a bodily event — not merely a spiritual experience — that proves Jesus is the Son of God and that death does not have the final word.
The ascension (Acts 1:9–11) marks Jesus returning to the Father. He promises to send the Holy Spirit, and the disciples are told he will return in the same way he left — pointing to the Second Coming.
Salvation and Atonement
Salvation is the central purpose of Jesus’s death and resurrection. The word means being rescued or delivered. Christians believe human beings cannot save themselves — Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23 (“the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus”) together establish the problem and the solution.
Atonement (literally “at-one-ment”) describes how Jesus’s death bridges the gap between sinful humanity and a holy God. A key image is substitution: Jesus pays the debt or penalty that human sin incurs. Romans 3:24 speaks of being “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:8–9 is another key passage: “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” This verse teaches that salvation is entirely God’s initiative (grace), not something humans achieve by good works.
Three key salvation verses: Romans 3:23 (“all have sinned”), Romans 6:23 (“the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life”), Ephesians 2:8–9 (“by grace you have been saved, through faith — not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”). These establish sin as universal, death as its consequence, and grace as the only solution.
All mainstream Christian denominations agree that salvation comes through Jesus Christ, but they differ on how it works in practice. Roman Catholics teach that salvation is received through faith and the sacraments (especially baptism and the Eucharist), and that ongoing participation in the life of the Church is necessary. Many Protestant traditions, following the Reformation, emphasise “faith alone” (sola fide): salvation is received by trusting in Jesus, not by performing religious acts. Evangelical Christians stress the need for a personal decision to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour — a moment of conversion.
The resurrection is not merely a historical claim for most Christians — it shapes how they live. Easter Sunday is the holiest day in the Christian calendar. The resurrection promises that death is not the end, giving Christians hope in the face of bereavement and suffering. Paul writes that Christians will one day share in a resurrection like Christ’s. The resurrection also validates Jesus’s teaching: if he rose, then his claims about himself and about God are trustworthy.