The Surprising Sayings of Jesus Christ...
Who Was Jesus Christ?

We know His name. But what does the title "Christ" mean? What did it signify to Jesus' contemporaries? What expectations did it invoke? Did Jesus of Nazareth meet them, and was He truly the Christ?

by Tom Robinson

In the north of the nation of Israel sits a lush location of springs and a waterfall called Banyas. Known in Roman times as Caesarea Philippi, it was here that Jesus of Nazareth asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15).

Just who was this man who had walked on water, calmed the storms, healed the sick, raised the dead and made such bold claims? "Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God'" (verse 16). Jesus confirmed that Peter was correct (verse 17).

Jesus had previously revealed His identity to a Samaritan woman. "The woman said to Him, 'I know that Messiah is coming' (who is called Christ). 'When He comes, He will tell us all things.' Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am He'" (John 4:25-26).

Later, when the Jewish authorities took Jesus into custody, the high priest ordered Him, "Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God" (Matthew 26:63). Jesus affirmed, "You said it" (verse 64, Green's Literal Translation).

How important is Jesus' identity as the Christ? The apostle John later wrote that "he who denies that Jesus is the Christ" is a liar and the enemy of God (1 John 2:22). Of course, to meaningfully avoid denying that Jesus is the Christ requires knowing what the term means-and what being the Christ entails.

The Lord's Anointed

The term Christ is an English derivative of the New Testament Greek word christos, which means "anointed." The equivalent Hebrew word in the Old Testament is mashiach. This term is transliterated in the King James New Testament as messias (John 1:41; 4:25), a word that has come down into modern English, including many Bible versions, as "messiah." Both Christ and Messiah mean "anointed" or "anointed one."

What was the significance of anointing? The Oxford Companion to the Bible states: "In the Hebrew Bible, the term is most often used of kings, whose investiture was marked especially by anointing with oil (Judg. 9.8-15; 2 Sam. 5.3; 1 Kings 1.39; Ps. 89.20 ...), and who were given the title 'the Lord's anointed' (e.g., 1 Sam. 2.10; 12.3; 2 Sam. 23.1; Pss. 2.2; 20.6; 132.17; Lam. 4:20)" (Bruce Metzger and Michael Coogan, editors, 1993, "Messiah," p. 513, emphasis added).

Anointing, this source tells us, "was widely practiced in the ancient Near East; the Amarna letters [on clay tablets found in central Egypt] suggest that anointing was a rite of kingship in Syria-Palestine in the fourteenth century BCE [B.C.], and ... [a story from the time of Judges] assumes its familiarity (Judg. 9:8, 15)" ("Anoint," p. 30).

Yet, as this and other sources point out, it was not only kings who were anointed in Scripture. Israel's high priests were anointed (Exodus 29:7; Leviticus 4:3, 5, 16), as were some prophets (1 Kings 19:16).

In biblical usage, anointing is an act of consecration-setting one apart for the holy work of God. It was symbolic of the pouring out of God's Spirit onto someone (compare Isaiah 61:1; Romans 5:5)-representing God's power and intervention to, in the cases cited, perform the duties of the office one was anointed to. Jesus Himself was "anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power" (Acts 10:38).

Messianic expectation

When Jesus came on the scene, the Jews were expecting the arrival of a leader called the Messiah (Luke 3:15). They understood that this was the very time indicated by a prophecy recorded in Daniel 9:25 for the coming of "Messiah the Prince"-that is, the anointed ruler.

Yet confusion abounded over to whom this term applied. "In the intertestamental period, messianic speculation included three messianic figures (the righteous priest, the anointed king, and the prophet of the last days)" (John Bowker, editor, The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, 1997, "Messiah," p. 637).

Scripture contained many prophecies of a coming king and deliverer. Jeremiah wrote: "'Behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely ...'" (Jeremiah 23:5-6; see Isaiah 9:6-7).

Jesus was this prophesied King (Luke 1:32-33). When Pontius Pilate asked Him if He were a king, Jesus answered: "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world" (John 18:37). Indeed, as explained in the previous article in this series, the good news-or gospel-that Jesus Himself proclaimed was the coming of the world-encompassing Kingdom of God to be ruled by Him under God the Father.

Prophet and priest

We see that God set Jesus apart to be king. But what about the biblical examples of anointing to the offices of prophet and priest? Does Jesus fulfill these roles too?

Concerning a messianic prophet , Moses, who had been the chief human prophet, lawgiver and judge over God's people, foretold the coming of a prophet to replace him (Deuteronomy 18:18). This prophet was thought to be the one mentioned in Isaiah 61:1 as being anointed by God "to preach good tidings to the poor ..."

Later Peter directly stated that Jesus was the expected prophet (Acts 3:20-23). Jesus Himself explained that He was the anointed prophet of Isaiah 61, bringing good news-the gospel. He shocked listeners by announcing, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:17-21).

Thus, contrary to a view of the time that the Prophet and kingly Messiah were two different individuals (compare John 1:20-21), these two titles applied to the same person-Jesus of Nazareth.

Also, "belief in a priestly messiah, son of Aaron [that is, one assumed to be a descendant of Israel's first Levitical high priest], who would arise alongside the Davidic messiah to save Israel, appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls ... The mysterious figure of Melchizedek (Gen. 14:18) provides a title for one who is at the same time both king and priest (Ps. 110.4; Heb. 7)" (Metzger and Coogan, p. 514).

This was apparently a confused interpretation of Psalm 110. David here wrote, "The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand ...'" (verse 1) and "The LORD has sworn and will not relent, 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek'" (verse 4). As shown in Jesus' exchange with the Pharisees regarding this Psalm, it was commonly understood that the "Lord" to whom God here speaks is the Messiah (Matthew 22:43-44). And Jesus made clear that the Messiah was to be a descendant of David, as the Pharisees knew (verses 41-42, 45-46).

This did not indicate a separate priestly messiah but that the prophesied Davidic king would also be a priest-not, as Hebrews 7 explains, a Levitical priest descended from Aaron, but a priest who was even higher, referring to Jesus (verse 22).

Contradictory roles?

The Messiah, then, was to be priest, prophet and king. Yet, as far as was physically apparent, Jesus did not serve as priest or king. He did not restore Israel. Nor did He reign forever. When people actually tried to "take Him by force to make Him king," Jesus slipped away into seclusion (John 6:15). He was later hailed as "King of the Jews," but this label was meant to mock Him while He was brutalized and crucified. Jesus then died, as we know. Many in His day failed to comprehend how He could have been the Messiah.

But rabbinic teachings of the time, at least those derived from Scripture, should actually have helped. Unger's Bible Dictionary states: "Their interpretation ..., as [author Alfred] Edersheim shows ..., embraced 'such doctrines as the premundane existence of the Messiah; his elevation above Moses, and even above the angels; his representative character; his cruel sufferings and derision; his violent death, and that for his people; his work in behalf of the living and of the dead; his redemption and restoration of Israel; the opposition of the Gentiles, their partial judgment and conversion; the prevalence of his law; the universal blessings of the latter days; and his kingdom'" ("Messiah," 1966, p. 718).

Yet confusion reigned because some of the prophecies seemed to contradict other prophecies. The Jews did not understand how the Messiah could be a conquering king (Psalm 2) and yet, at the same time, a suffering, humble servant, despised by His people, who would die (Isaiah 52:13-15; 53:1-12). Therefore many rejected the prophecies of the suffering servant as applying to the Messiah, seeing this as figurative of Israel.

Others determined that two messiahs must come: "The Davidic messiah would be preceded by a secondary figure ... [who] would be killed" (Bowker). Yet we should note that even this figure was commonly thought to be a military leader to immediately precede the messianic age under the Messiah descended from David. The Jews did not understand that the Messiah would serve as a sacrifice for sin (Isaiah 53).

The anticipation of two messiahs in the first century perhaps explains a question posed by John the Baptist. Though he had announced Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29) and heard a voice from heaven stating that Jesus was the Son of God (Mark 1:11), John, while in prison, sent messengers to ask Jesus, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" (Matthew 11:3). Although this may have been mere frustration, it may also have been prompted by contemporary teachings about two messiahs.

Jesus answered: "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me" (verses 4-6). These were all prophetic earmarks of the glorious King of the messianic age. Jesus thus assured John that He was the one destined to fulfill all the prophecies about the Messiah.

Proof of messiahship

In opposition to the Roman occupation of the land of Israel, various would-be messiahs emerged, such as Judas the Galilean and Theudas, a Jew from Egypt (Acts 5:36-37). But they both fell. Even after the Romans later crushed Judea in A.D. 66, others arose but were likewise killed-not to rise again.

Jesus also died. But, unlike any other messianic claimant, He did rise again-three days later. He offered this fact as specific proof of His messiahship (Matthew 12:39-40). It proved who He was because it was the only way all the prophecies of the Messiah could possibly be fulfilled. He had to die to be the suffering servant sacrificed for sin. He had to remain dead for as long as He said He would to prove Himself a genuine prophet. And He had to be resurrected to serve as high priest and come again to rule as king.

His own disciples had not understood this even after He explained it to them (Luke 9:22, 44-45). But after His resurrection He appeared to two of them and said: "'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?' And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:25-27).

Yes, the Christ-the Messiah, the Anointed One-is a central theme of the Bible. He has come. His name is Jesus. He lived as a human being and died by crucifixion. But God raised Him from the grave, and He will come again to rule the world, restore Israel, usher in everlasting peace and save all who will accept Him.

In the next article in this series, we will examine further claims Jesus made about His identity that were even more surprising to His listeners-and may be to you as well. In the meantime, please request and read our new booklet Who Is God?. GN