What is the meaning of Christ?

What is the meaning of Christ?

The term “Christ” comes from the Greek word Christos (Χριστός), meaning “anointed one.” It is equivalent to the Hebrew word Mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ), or “Messiah.” In the Bible, the concept of being anointed refers to someone being set apart by God for a specific role or mission, often involving leadership, priesthood, or prophecy.

When applied to Jesus, “Christ” signifies that He is the promised Messiah—the one chosen by God to bring salvation to humanity. Jesus Christ is recognized as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies about a Savior who would deliver God’s people and restore their relationship with Him. This title underscores His divine mission to redeem humanity through His death and resurrection. Jesus being called the “Christ” means He is the one anointed to reconcile humanity with God, establishing a new covenant between God and mankind.

Old Testament Prophecies about Christ

The Old Testament contains many prophecies that Christians believe point to the coming of a Savior, or Messiah, who would bring salvation to God’s people. Here are some of the most significant prophecies:

Prophecies about the timing

Several Old Testament prophecies give clues about the timing of the Messiah’s coming. While these prophecies are not always straightforward in terms of a specific date, they provide important markers that, in hindsight, Christians believe point to the arrival of Jesus. Here are key prophecies related to the timing of the Messiah’s arrival:

1. The Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks (Daniel 9:24-27)

Prophecy:

• “Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.” (Daniel 9:24-26)

Meaning:

• Daniel’s prophecy of “seventy weeks” is often understood as referring to a period of seventy sets of seven years, or 490 years. The prophecy predicts the coming of the “Anointed One” (Messiah) after 69 sets of “weeks” (483 years), starting from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, which many scholars place during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia around 445–444 B.C.
• After this period, the prophecy states that the Anointed One will be “cut off,” which Christians interpret as a reference to the crucifixion of Jesus.

2. The Coming Before the Destruction of the Second Temple (Malachi 3:1; Daniel 9:26)

Prophecy:

• “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple.” (Malachi 3:1)
• “The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.” (Daniel 9:26)

Meaning:

• Malachi 3:1 speaks of the Lord coming to His temple, which is understood to refer to the Second Temple in Jerusalem. This indicates that the Messiah would come while the temple was still standing.
• Daniel 9:26 also implies that the Messiah would come before the destruction of the temple, stating that the “Anointed One” would be cut off and then the city and sanctuary would be destroyed. Historically, the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Romans, so according to this prophecy, the Messiah had to come before that event. Christians believe this timing fits with the life of Jesus, who was crucified before the temple’s destruction.

3. The Appearance of John the Baptist as the Forerunner (Malachi 4:5-6)

Prophecy:

• “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6)

Meaning:

• This prophecy speaks of the coming of Elijah as a forerunner to the Messiah, preparing the way for His arrival. In the New Testament, Jesus identifies John the Baptist as the fulfillment of this prophecy (Matthew 11:14), as John came before Jesus to call the people to repentance. Therefore, the ministry of John the Baptist is seen as a sign that the Messiah had come.

4. The Rise of a King During the Roman Empire (Daniel 2:44)

Prophecy:

• “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever.” (Daniel 2:44)

Meaning:

• In this prophecy, Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, which describes a sequence of world empires, concluding with the Roman Empire (“in the days of those kings”). The prophecy indicates that God’s kingdom, ruled by the Messiah, would be established during the time of the Roman Empire. Christians believe this prophecy points to the time of Jesus, as He lived and began His ministry during the Roman occupation of Judea, and His message was about the Kingdom of God.

5. Haggai’s Prophecy of the Glory of the Latter Temple (Haggai 2:6-9)

Prophecy:

• “For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Yet once more (in a little while), I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. … ‘The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace.’” (Haggai 2:6-9)

Meaning:

• This prophecy speaks of the glory of the second temple being greater than that of the first. Christians believe this greater glory was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus to the temple, as He brought the ultimate peace through His redemptive work. The timing of this prophecy aligns with the time when the second temple was still standing.

6. The Timeframe Given to Abraham (Genesis 49:10)

Prophecy:

• “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to Him; and to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” (Genesis 49:10)

Meaning:

• This prophecy is understood to mean that the tribe of Judah would retain a ruling authority (“the scepter”) until the coming of the one to whom it truly belongs—often interpreted as the Messiah. Jesus is from the tribe of Judah, and the timing of this prophecy is significant because soon after Jesus’ death and resurrection, Israel lost its self-governance, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple in 70 A.D.

These prophecies, particularly from Daniel and other prophetic books, provide a framework for the timing of the Messiah’s coming. Christians interpret these texts as pointing directly to the period of Jesus’ life and ministry, fulfilling the Old Testament’s expectations for the arrival of a Savior.

Prophecies about Characteristics

1. Born of a Woman

Prophecy: Genesis 3:15

• “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
• This prophecy, known as the “protoevangelium” (the first gospel), is seen as a promise that the seed of the woman (Christ) would defeat Satan (symbolized by the serpent), even though Satan would inflict temporary suffering (“bruise His heel”).

2. Born of a Virgin

Prophecy: Isaiah 7:14

• “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”
• This prophecy is interpreted by Christians as foretelling the virgin birth of Jesus, with “Immanuel” meaning “God with us.”

3. Born in Bethlehem

Prophecy: Micah 5:2

• “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
• This predicts the Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem, the town of David, which aligns with the birth of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels.

4. A Descendant of David

Prophecy: Jeremiah 23:5-6

• “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”
• The Messiah is foretold as a descendant of King David, who would bring justice and righteousness, a prophecy fulfilled in Jesus, who is often called “the Son of David.”

5. Suffering Servant

Prophecy: Isaiah 53:3-7

• “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief… He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
• Isaiah 53 describes a “suffering servant” who would be rejected, suffer, and die for the sins of the people. Christians believe this passage points directly to Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross.

6. Pierced Hands and Feet

Prophecy: Psalm 22:16

• “For dogs have surrounded me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed me. They pierced My hands and My feet.”
• Psalm 22 is often seen as foreshadowing the crucifixion of Jesus, particularly with the reference to His hands and feet being pierced.

7. He Will Be Betrayed for Thirty Pieces of Silver

Prophecy: Zechariah 11:12-13

• “So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.”
• This prophecy points to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, who received thirty pieces of silver as payment and later threw the money into the temple.

8. He Will Enter Jerusalem on a Donkey

Prophecy: Zechariah 9:9

• “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
• This prophecy predicts the Messiah’s humble entrance into Jerusalem, which Jesus fulfilled on Palm Sunday when He rode into the city on a donkey.

9. His Death Will Bring Redemption

Prophecy: Daniel 9:24-26

• “Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.”
• This prophecy speaks of the coming of an “Anointed One” (Messiah) who will be “cut off” (a reference to death) to atone for sin, which Christians believe points to the crucifixion of Jesus.

10. Resurrection

Prophecy: Psalm 16:10

• “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”
• This passage is seen as a prophecy of the Messiah’s resurrection, as Christians believe Jesus was raised from the dead and did not “see corruption.”

These prophecies from the Old Testament are key to the Christian understanding of Jesus as the promised Messiah and Savior of humanity. Each prophecy reveals different aspects of His life, mission, and ultimate sacrifice for the salvation of mankind.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah, demonstrating that He is indeed the Christ. The prophecies concerning His birth, such as being born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), and as a descendant of David (Jeremiah 23:5-6), align perfectly with the details of Jesus’ life. His ministry and death, including being the suffering servant (Isaiah 53), His betrayal for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13), and His crucifixion with pierced hands and feet (Psalm 22:16), confirm His identity as the promised Savior.

Moreover, Jesus arrived at the precise time foretold in Daniel’s prophecy of the “seventy weeks” (Daniel 9:24-27), before the destruction of the Second Temple, as prophesied in Malachi and Daniel. He came during the Roman Empire (Daniel 2:44) and was preceded by John the Baptist, fulfilling the role of the forerunner (Malachi 4:5-6). These precise fulfillments, in both timing and detail, testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One, sent to redeem humanity and establish God’s everlasting kingdom.