What does it mean for Jesus to be “the Christ”? When I was younger, I thought that “Christ” was Jesus’ last name. As I grew in knowledge, I found that to be incorrect. Instead of being a name, “Christ” is a title that Jesus holds, position that He occupies, and function that He carries out. “Christ” is a term that describes to us who Jesus really is.
“Christ” is a word in the New Testament that comes from the Greek word christos, which literally means “the anointed one.” “Christ” is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word that is translated as “Messiah” (mashiyach) in the Old Testament. When we call Jesus “the Christ” or “the Messiah,” we are calling Him “the Anointed One.”
In the Old Testament time, there were three different groups of people who were anointed. Prophets (individuals who spoke on God’s behalf) (1 Kings 19:16; 1 Chronicles 16:22), kings (individuals who led and ruled over the people) (1 Samuel 9:16; 10:1; 16:2, 13; 1 Kings 1:39), and priests (individuals who offered sacrifices and went before God on behalf of the people) (Exodus 40:15) were anointed by God to serve in their respective roles and carry out their specific functions. Do you know what’s so amazing about Jesus being the Christ?
Do you know what’s so exciting about Jesus being the Anointed One of God? For us, Jesus is the one who occupies all three of those positions!
As we talked about last week, Jesus is our prophet. Jesus is the one who speaks to us on God’s behalf. Jesus being our prophet was predicted by Moses all the way back in Deuteronomy 18:15: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to Him.” As Hebrews 1:2 states, “In these last days, He (God) has spoken to us by His Son.”
Jesus is our king. In fact, Jesus is the “Lord of lords and King of kings” (Revelation 17:14). This was also predicted through Old Testament prophecy; according to Isaiah 9:6, as the “Prince of Peace,” “the government will rest on His shoulders.” Reigning over a kingdom that is not of this world (John 18:33-37), Jesus is the who leads and rules as “the head over all things to the church” (Ephesians 1:22).
Jesus is our priest. According to Hebrews 4:14, Jesus is our “great high priest who has passed through the heavens.” As our high priest, Jesus is the one who made a sacrifice for our sins. Unlike the Old Testament priests, Jesus did not sacrifice an animal for our sins nor did He have to make multiple sacrifices; instead, He sacrificed Himself once for all (Hebrews 7:26-27). As our High Priest, Jesus is the One who goes before God on our behalf; according to Hebrews 7:25, “he always lives to make intercession for us.”
Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One of God. He is our prophet, king, and priest. That is who Jesus is. How will we respond to that? Jesus is our prophet; will we take the time to listen to what He has to say through His inspired word? Jesus is our king; will we willingly and intentionally submit ourselves to His rule and reign? Jesus is our high priest; will we continually live within the sacrifice that He made by walking in the light (1 John 1:7)? Do we find great peace and encouragement in the intercession that He offers? Jesus is the Anointed One of God. Every day, let’s submit ourselves to Him.
-Tyler Alverson
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