1. As we have considered in previous catecheses, the name "Christ" means in Old Testament language "Messiah". Israel, the people of God of the old covenant, lived in expectation of the realisation of the promise of the Messiah, which was fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. That is why from the very beginning Jesus was called Christ, i.e. "Messiah", and as such accepted by all those who "accepted him" (John 1: 12).

2. We have seen that, according to the tradition of the old covenant, the Messiah is king, and that this messianic King is also called Son of God, a name that in the Old Testament's jahvistic monotheism has an exclusively analogical, or even metaphorical meaning. It is not a question in those books of God's 'begotten' son, but of someone whom God chooses by entrusting him with a particular mission or ministry.

3. In this sense also all the people are sometimes referred to as 'sons', as for example in the words of Yahweh addressed to Moses: 'You shall say to Pharaoh: . . . Israel is my first-born son . . . let my son go forth to serve me!" (Ex 4:22-23; cf. also Hos 11:1; Gen 31:9). If therefore the king is called in the ancient covenant 'son of God', it is because, in the Israelite theocracy, he is a special representative of God.

We see this, for example, in Psalm 2, in connection with the king's enthronement: 'He said to me: You are my son, I have begotten you today' (Ps 2:7). Also in Psalm 88/89 we read: 'He (David) shall call upon me: You are my father . . . I will make him my firstborn, the highest among the kings of the earth" (Ps 89:27-28). Later the prophet Nathan will say of David's descendants: "I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he does evil, I will chastise him . . ." (2 Sam 7:14).

However, in the Old Testament, through the analogical and metaphorical meaning of the expression 'son of God', another one seems to penetrate, which remains obscure. Thus in the aforementioned Psalm 2, God says to the king: "You are my son: today I have begotten you" (Ps 2:7), and in Psalm 109/110: "From the womb of the dawn, as the dew, I have begotten you" (Ps 110:3).

4. One has to be aware of this biblical-Messianic background to realise that Jesus' way of acting and expressing himself indicates an awareness of a completely new reality.

Although in the synoptic gospels Jesus never calls himself Son of God (just as he does not call himself Messiah), nevertheless in various ways he affirms and makes it clear that he is the Son of God, and not in an analogical or metaphorical sense, but in a natural sense.

5. Indeed, he emphasises the exclusivity of his relationship as Son of God. He never says of God: 'our Father', but only 'my Father', or distinguishes: 'my Father, your Father'. He does not hesitate to affirm: "Everything has been given to me by my Father" (Mt 11:27).

This exclusiveness of the filial relationship with God is particularly manifested in prayer, when Jesus addresses God as Father, using the Aramaic word "abba", which indicates a particular filial closeness and in Jesus' mouth constitutes an expression of his total dedication to the Father's will: "Abba, Father! Everything is possible to you, take this cup away from me" (Mk 14:36).

Other times Jesus uses the expression "your Father"; for example: "how merciful is your Father" (Lk 6:36); "your Father who is in heaven" (Mk 11:25). In this way, he emphasises the specificity of his own relationship with the Father, while desiring that this divine fatherhood be communicated to others, as attested by the prayer of the "Our Father" that Jesus taught his apostles and followers.

6. The truth about Christ as the Son of God is the point of convergence of the entire New Testament. The Gospels, especially the Gospel of John, and the writings of the apostles, especially the Epistles of Saint Paul, offer us explicit testimony. In the present catechesis, we focus only on a few particularly significant statements, which in a certain sense "open the way" for us towards the discovery of the truth about Christ as the Son of God and bring us closer to the correct perception of this "sonship".

7. It is important to note that the conviction of the divine sonship of Jesus was confirmed by a voice from heaven during the baptism in the Jordan (cf. Mk 1:11) and on the mount of transfiguration (cf. Mk 9:7). In both cases the evangelists tell us of the proclamation made by the Father about Jesus "(his) beloved Son" (cf. Mt 3:17; Lk 3:22).

The apostles were similarly confirmed by the evil spirits that raged against Jesus: "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? You have come to ruin us! I know who you are: the saint of God" (Mk 1:24). "What have you in common with me . Son of the most high God?" (Mk 5:7).

8. If we then listen to the testimony of men, the profession of Simon Peter near Caesarea Philippi deserves special attention: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mk 16:16). It should be noted that this profession was confirmed in an unusually solemn way by Jesus: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for neither flesh nor blood has revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Mt 16:17).

This is not an isolated fact. In the same Gospel of Matthew, we read that when they saw Jesus walking on the waters of the Lake of Genezaret, calming the wind and saving Peter, the apostles prostrated themselves before the Master, saying: "You are truly the Son of God!" (Matthew 14, 33).

9. So then what Jesus did and taught nourished in the apostles the conviction that he was not only the Messiah, but also the true "Son of God". And Jesus confirmed this conviction.

It was precisely some of the statements Jesus uttered that provoked accusations of blasphemy against him. Particularly dramatic moments ensued, as the Gospel of John attests, where we read that the Jews "sought . . . to kill him: because he not only violated the Sabbath, but called God his Father, making himself equal with God" (John 5:18).

The same problem was raised in Jesus' trial before the Sanhedrin: Caiaphas, the high priest, questioned him: "I beseech thee, by the living God, that he may tell us whether thou art the Christ, the Son of God". To this question Jesus answers simply: "You have said it", that is, "Yes, I am" (cf. Mt 26:63-64). And also in the trial before Pilate, although the charge was a different one, that of having proclaimed himself king, nevertheless the Jews repeated the fundamental indictment: "We have a law and according to this law he must die, because he became the Son of God" (John 19, 7).

10. Thus we can say that Jesus ultimately died on the cross for the truth about his divine sonship. Even though the inscription placed on the cross as an official declaration of condemnation read: "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews", nevertheless, St Matthew points out, "those who passed by insulted him, shaking their heads and saying: . If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross' (Mt 27:39-40). And again: 'He trusted in God: let him deliver him now, if he loves him. For he said: I am the Son of God!" (Mt 27:43).

This truth lies at the heart of the Golgotha event. In the past it had been the object of conviction, proclamation and testimony given by the apostles, now it has become the object of ridicule. And yet here too, the Roman centurion who oversees Jesus' agony and hears the words with which he addresses the Father, at the moment of death, gives a final surprising testimony, he a pagan, to the divine identity of Christ: "Truly this man was the Son of God!" (Mk 15:39).

11. The words of the Roman centurion on the fundamental truth of the Gospel and of the entire New Testament remind us of those addressed by the angel to Mary at the moment of the annunciation: "Behold, you will conceive a son, you will give birth to him, and you will call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High . . ." (Lk 1:31-32). And when Mary asks: "How is this possible?" the messenger answers her: "The Holy Spirit will descend upon you, the power of the Most High will spread its shadow over you. The one to be born will therefore be holy and called the Son of God" (Lk 1:34-35).

12. By virtue of the knowledge that Jesus had that he was the Son of God in the natural real sense of the word, he "called God his Father . . ." (Jn 5:18). With the same conviction, he did not hesitate to say to his adversaries and accusers: "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am" (Jn 8:58).

In this 'I am' is the truth about the divine sonship that precedes not only the time of Abraham, but all time and all created existence.

St. John will say at the conclusion of his Gospel: "These (signs performed by Jesus) have been written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in his name" (Jn 20:31).

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 13 May 1987]