One of the most common ways that Jesus is referred to in the New Testament is with the title “Christ.” This word means “anointed one” or “messiah,” and it refers to the Jewish hope of a royal savior who comes to save the world from death and evil. The four Gospel accounts are full of moments where people acknowledge Jesus as “the Christ,” and the Gospel of Mark even includes the word in the book’s first sentence: “The good news about Jesus the Messiah, the son of God” (Mark 1:1) It makes sense that Jesus would be called by this title, but it does leave one surprising and essential fact unexplained. Jesus almost never uses this title to describe himself. Instead, he regularly uses another title, “the Son of Man.”