Jesus The Christ
Jesus was a common name in the first century for a Jewish male. It was the common Greek version of the Hebrew names Joshua, Jehoshua, or Jeshua. It means “The Lord (Yahweh) saves” or “The Lord”(Yahweh) is my help. This name stresses Jesus’ humanity -the carpenter from Nazareth. This was the name given by the angel who was sent to Joseph in Matthew 1:21 –“She will bear a son; and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
The word Christ is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word for “Messiah” or “anointed one.” Christ was the title given to Jesus. Therefore, He was Jesus the Christ-Jesus the Messiah. The Greek word “Christ,” Cristos has a long history. It was originally an adjective that simply meant, “anointed.” In the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint, it eventually developed into a term meaning, “the anointed one.” During the time period between when the Old & New Testaments were written, it developed into a technical term for the person that God had promised to send to save his people. This is the meaning of the term as we read it in the gospels.
The first mention of the name and title, Jesus Christ together,is found in John 1:17 –“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Later in the same chapter, we read: “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.–John 1:40-42
This title, “The Christ,” spoke directly to the Jewish mind that was expectant of God to send a Savior, a Messiah. Though they often questioned this truth, it was clear to the disciples from early on in Jesus’ ministry that Jesus was the Christ that they had been hoping for. Jesus is the Messiah!
Have you come to the realization that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God? Today would be a good day to acknowledge this in your own life!
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THEREFORE, GOD EXALTED HIM TO THE HIGHEST PLACE AND GAVE HIM THE NAME THAT IS ABOVE EVERY NAME, THAT AT THE NAME OF JESUS EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH AND UNDER THE EARTH AND EVERY TONGUE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER.
PHILIPPIANS 2:9-11
