Christ is NOT the last name of Jesus, but it is a Greek word which shows who He is, namely the anointed one (the chosen one).
The Hebrew word for this is Mashiach (Messiah), and that comes from the verb mashach (to smear or anoint with oil).
The first chapter of Matthew's Gospel shows the genealogy of the Jewish Messiah. Verse 16 goes like this: and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. One by one the people of that time discovered and believed that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah.
One of them was the disciple Andrew. In John 1:41 it is written about him: The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). That news was, and still is, going around the world like wildfire. Every day people come to realize that Jesus is the Christ.
Christ, the anointed or chosen one. He is the Son of God, Savior of the world, Lord of lords, even your best friend (when you decide to believe in Him). Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and went out (Acts 10: 37-38): You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
Jesus Christ is no longer physically on earth, but He has given His anointing to believers to do greater things than He did. What an assignment!
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Corinthians 1:21).
Amen! Yes, He has anointed and am grateful His Spirit guides me daily. What a gift!
ReplyDeleteAmen, Christ is the anointed and chosen One! Without Him I am nothing.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Marja
God bless
Tracy
Marja: I have a question for you. Sometimes I see the term Christ Jesus; what is the significance of the order of the words?
ReplyDelete"We have found the Messiah!"
ReplyDeleteI can just imagine him rushing to find his brother, then announcing this breathlessly and totally unexpected. His brother says, "You found the what?" An ordinary day otherwise, but suddenly not ordinary at all.