The Names and Nature of Messiah, Part 1: The Christ

On Friday at Fuel, we ran out of time, and I was unable to finish my message. So, as promised, I will finish it here online. However, for the benefit of those not with us Friday I will briefly recap from the beginning…

Historical Baggage

The term, “Messiah,” has carried with it a lot of baggage over the centuries. I want to bring some clarity to our understanding of who the Messiah is and what that title actually means.

When Jesus came on the scene the Jewish people were expecting God to send them a warrior-king, like in the times of the judges, from the royal lineage of David, who would deliver them from the rule of the Romans. He would lead the people to victory, give them back their land, and rule over them in righteousness. But this was not exactly what God had in mind when He promised to send a Messiah.

The Christ

Messiah means “anointed one.” In Greek, the word is “Christos,” where we get the term “Christ.” So when we talk about Jesus Christ, we are calling Jesus the anointed one. But what does it mean to be anointed?

It is not much different than how our political system works. Whether McCain or Obama wins the election in November, our next president will not take office until January when he is sworn in. Whether it’s a president, a judge, or any elected official, our representatives in government don't officially take office until they are sworn in. Now, we don’t swear in just anyone, but only those who have already been elected and chosen by the people.

In ancient Israel, priests, prophets, and kings were consecrated into office by being anointed with oil. That’s how they were commissioned for office (2 Kings 11:12). Anointing with oil symbolized anointing by the Holy Spirit, that He was working through the anointed person, thus making that person sacred, or holy, because of the Spirit upon that person. Anointing was an outward sign that God had chosen a person for office and that He would empower that person to carry out his or her duties.

So, when we call Jesus the “Christ,” or the “Messiah,” we are saying He is the “Anointed One.” Specifically, He was anointed by the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit was upon, or with, Him and empowering Him for a certain purpose. But what exactly was He anointed to do?

One day, Jesus read a scripture from Isaiah in the synagogue which sounds a lot like a messianic mission statement: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” After reading it, He claimed that the scripture was being fulfilled in Him (Luke 4:16-21).

On another occasion, Jesus was talking with a Samaritan woman by a well. In the course of the conversation He revealed to her many things about herself that He shouldn’t have been able to know. But, most importantly, He revealed that He was the Messiah. Once she had told the people in her town about Jesus, some believed her based on nothing but her testimony while others came to see for themselves (John 4:16-26, 39-42).

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He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

“I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

The woman said, “I know that Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

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I will not be offended if you do not believe in Jesus based on my testimony alone. But you do yourself a disservice if you dismiss Him altogether, without taking the time to find out for yourself Who Jesus really is. You may not have a chance to spend two days with Jesus in person. But at least read through a gospel or two (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) before you decide where you stand. As you read, ask yourself, “Is Jesus the promised Messiah?” and, if so, “What was his mission as Messiah?”

There’s more to come. I’ll be continuing with thoughts about the “Son of Man” and “Son of God” as the week goes on. In the meantime, why not read a gospel? Find out for yourself whether Jesus really is the savior of the world!