Jesus Christ

1. What does ‘Jesus is the Messiah’ mean?

The word Messiah derives from the Hebrew word Mashiach which means ‘the Anointed One.’ The equivalent Greek word of this Hebrew word is Christos which is translated as ‘Christ’.

Therefore when we say that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah or the Christ, we mean that He is the Anointed One. Who anointed Him? And with what was He anointed?

Jesus of Nazareth was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, for the apostle Peter said that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power” (Acts 10:38 – NIV). Jesus Himself said that He had been anointed by God, for at the beginning of His ministry, on a Sabbath day, while He was in the synagogue of Nazareth He stood up to read and He read these words written in the book of the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19; cf. Isaiah 61:1-2).

When was Jesus anointed? He was anointed the day on which He was baptized in water, as it is written: “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22). Then was fulfilled what was said in the Psalms: “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Psalm 45:6-7) and also what was said by the prophet Isaiah: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:1).

However, the Messiah not only had to be anointed with the Holy Spirit, but He also had to die for the sinners to make atonement for their sins. This is what God had predicted through the prophet Isaiah: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:5-12). In addition to this, the Messiah had to rise from the dead because it would be impossible for death to keep its hold on Him, as David said about the Messiah: “Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption” (Acts 2:26-27 - NKJV). And all these things were fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, in that He was crucified for our sins (that is, He bore our sins in His body on the cross), He was buried and He rose again on the third day.

Therefore we preach with all boldness that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah whom God promised in ancient times through the prophets and whoever believes in Him receives by faith the remission of all his sins because He shed His blood for the remission of our sins.

Therefore, whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, rich or poor, wise or unwise, I exhort you to repent of your sins and believe that Jesus is the Messiah of God. Instead, if you have already believed that Jesus is the Messiah I exhort you to hold firmly till the end your faith in Him.

Know this, that whoever denies that Jesus is the Messiah (or the Christ) lies against the truth and he is an antichrist, as it is written: “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). Whereas whoever believes and confesses with his mouth that Jesus is the Messiah is born of God, as it is written: “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him” (1 John 5:1), and tells the truth for the Word of God – which is truth – states that Jesus is the Messiah.

Those Jews who believes in Jesus call Him in Hebrew language Y’shua Ha-mashiach, which means ‘Jesus is the Messiah’.

To Jesus, the promised Messiah, be the glory now and forevermore. Amen.

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