Throughout His earthly life, some people where saying that Jesus was the Christ. But there were others denying it, or who were living in denial. Some were saying that Jesus wasn’t the Christ, while some were sincerely hoping that He wasn’t. In other words, the very word “Christ” was a part of the battleground which has become Bible Christianity. And this fact demands that we spend at least one message considering the implications of this title.
I mentioned in that message that I hesitate to refer to “Jesus” without some sort of respectful, accompanying word like “the Lord Jesus,” or “Christ Jesus.” Despite my preference the Bible actually says, “Lord Jesus,” or some form of “Christ Jesus” only 350 times. Most of the time it simply says “Jesus.” Last week Bro. Terry Gaston came to me with an interesting thought. He pointed out that, like me, the disciples never spoke to the Saviour – calling Him “Jesus” to his face. Most of the time when the name “Jesus” is found by itself, it is in the Gospel accounts and used editorially. Take Matthew 4 for example – “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.” “Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan.” “Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee.” In almost every verse where the Lord Jesus is called simply by His name “Jesus,” it is the Holy Spirit who is speaking, and He has every right to speak with that kind of familiarity. I thank Brother Terry for reinforcing my intention to speak of “Jesus” only in the most respectful way.
In the Book of Acts, and then throughout the Epistles, our Saviour is called “Christ” or “Christ Jesus.” Of course, by the time that these books and letters were written our Lord had been glorified. In fact, in the course of Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost he went out of his way to elevate Jesus. “David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Jesus is declared to be the Christ in unmistakable terms. Interestingly, during His ministry and before His resurrection our Lord was spoken of as “the Christ.” But after his resurrection, when the truth was more well-known, the term was often used without the definite article. He was simply “Christ.” There can absolutely be no doubt but that the early church believed and affirmed that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah of the Old Testament, the Christ of God.
The Book of Mark is often considered to have been be the first of the four gospels. The first verse is a powerful statement and worthy of an entire sermon – “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The Apostle John concurs with Mark, and drives home the importance of the thought. “Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” Apparently John was under the impression that to deny that Jesus is the Christ, is to bar the door to life through His name – “Jesus.”
The testimony of the witnesses abound throughout the New Testament. Martha – “Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.” Peter again – “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Paul at this trial in Jerusalem, even though he knew that it would infuriate the Jews, declared that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. “That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.” And later, while still under arrest “when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.”
Despite the fact that the Lord Jesus preferred not to draw attention to His Messiahship, when the time was right, He made the proper connection. For example, the woman at Jacob’s well in Sycar, “saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.” The Lord Jesus declared himself to be the Messiah, the Christ. And He replied to Peter’s confession in much the same way. Christ Jesus revealed to His disciples exactly Who He was, and sometimes He told strangers, but to the unbelieving Jews, and to the greedy miracle-seekers, He shied away. I’ll come back to this in a minute, but what was the title that the Lord Jesus’ preferred, while He ministered here on earth? “Son of man.”
Behind both the question of the priest and the answer of the Lord Jesus, is one of the prophecies of Daniel. Daniel said, “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Throughout the centuries between Daniel and the incarnation of Christ, the Jewish commentators almost universally declared that this statement of Daniel was a prophesy of the Messiah. At His trial, the Lord Jesus reached back and wrapped that prophesy around Himself, as I believe He had every right to do. And when He did that, He was charged with blasphemy and condemned to die by the unbelieving Jews.
The One who will soon come in the clouds of heaven, is of course the Christ of the Second Coming. He is the One who the disciples saw ascend into Heaven, as described in Acts 1. “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” This Messiah is the same “blessed one” who is described in Psalm 118:26 and so many other scriptures. This is what the crowds were all crying out during the “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem.
There are three kinds or categories of anointed people in the Bible. God’s Old Testament prophets were sometimes called His “anointed.” The same word translated “messiah” is translated “anointed” when it comes to God’s prophets. Elisha for example was anointed with oil in his preparation to succeed Elijah. There were many “messiahs” in the sense of anointed prophets, but when it comes to “the Messiah” there is only one.
God’s priests were also anointed when it came time to step into the robes of their office. When we read of the anointing of Aaron, for example, some of us might almost cringe. When that anointing was complete, he was dripping with oil. A third group of anointed people were Israel’s kings. David was anointed by Samuel. And David would not kill Saul, because he had been anointed by Samuel earlier. Each of these anointed people point to the single and unique “anointed one” – the Christ.
The Lord Jesus is the great prophet of God, unlike any other prophet. For example, when Christ was in Jerusalem for the Passover… He “cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.”
A couple of weeks ago, one of the members came to me with a very good question. When the Pharisees asked John Baptist about his ministry, they referred to someone called “the prophet.” They asked, “Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.”
This special prophet was foretold by Moses in Deuteronomy 18 – “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”
Now listen to John 12 – “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?” Both groups of people were correct – Jesus is the Christ and Jesus is that prophet – the anointed prophet.
Jesus Christ is also the Lord’s greatest priest – the highest of the high priests. In Psalm 110 it was prophesied that there would some day be a priest above all other priests. “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” Centuries later the Apostle Paul declared that Christ is that specially anointed priest.
Hebrews 5 – “Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.” Later in Hebrews, Paul spends the better part of a chapter describing Christ Jesus as the high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
Christ is also the anointed king – the son of David, the king who shall rule throughout the Millennium. Revelation describes him as “the King of kings and Lord of lords.” He will not simply be a president among presidents or a king among kings – but the absolute sovereign monarch over all creation. “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”
Now let me try to tie all these loose ends together.
Scripture after important scripture bring together the anointed one – Christ – and our salvation. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.”
Ultimately the point of all this is that in Christ Jesus there is deliverance from sin. In fact only in Christ Jesus is forgiveness of sin. To separate the man called “Jesus” from everything else about Him is disastrous. To follow “Jesus” while rejecting His deity, it to establish an idol god. To believe in “Jesus” without believing that He is the anointed of God, is to miss salvation. To adhere to “Jesus” while rejecting Christ is false religion. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Upon whom do you trust for your salvation?