Who Is The Christ ? And What Does That Mean?
There are a lot of ideas in America about who Christ was, is, and is to be. To begin with, Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ. Notice we say the Christ, not a Christ. There has never been any lack of clarity around that count. Nowhere in scripture are we led to believe there is more than one.
Next, Christ is a title, not a family surname and certainly not an epithet to be used in vain. Jesus was the Christ, also known as the Messiah. In modern English, messiah is defined as the expected king and deliverer of the Jews. It is also loosely used to refer to the leader of some hope or cause. Those definitions don't seem to be very precise, so let's go back to the source.
Jesus asked his apostles, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answers with, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Now the language this was written in the Bible was Greek, Biblical Greek scholars have explained that the word for Christ in Greek was Christos. Christos is explained by these same scholars as meaning, "Anointed One; the Messiah, the Christ. From chrio; Anointed One."
So far this just seems to take us in a circle, so let's go further back. Waaay back. Back to when mankind was still in the Garden of Eden back. "Why," you ask? Doesn't that just tell us where things went off the rails for man? Not at all, there's much more Christians can learn about Jesus in the Old Testament. In fact, many people are surprised to learn just how much the Old Testament of the Bible contains references to Jesus' arrival and time on earth.
So we go back to Gen 1 and we find that things are good for two chapters. God creates heaven and earth. God creates Adam and breathes the spirit of life into him. God provides Adam an ezer kengdo (help meet) so that he is not alone. God walks with Adam and Eve in the garden. Think about what that must have been like. Mankind, unmarred, eternal, can converse with the creator of all the universe, face to face. Sin has not entered the world. Death, disease, decay are non-existent.
But by Genesis chapter 3, the wheels come off. Satan (the serpent) tempts Eve AND Adam to eat the fruit of the tree that God commanded them not to. Sin enters the life and world of mankind. We know that they are evicted from the garden, subject to death, pain, and toil.
But, in the midst of this calamity, God foretells what is to come.
"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Here is our first clue and description of what the Christ & Messiah to come will do.
The surface meaning of the statement sounds like God will punish snakes forevermore. But God is telling us that someday, a conqueror will come, born of mankind, that will crush the serpent (remember this is really Satan we're talking about here.) This is important because later in the Bible we learn what the death of Satan means for us. Suffice to say Satan is our implacable foe. The rest of Genesis 3 tells of the terrible consequences of that disobedience. God pronounces judgment on Adam and Eve telling them what their lives will be like. Adam and Eve forever banished from the garden of Eden.
Things look bleak at this point of the story. But promises continue to appear in the Bible that there will be one who will come and set things to right. Sometimes the promises are overt. Other times the reference is just a foreshadowing that really makes sense after we learn of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. What is clear is that the Old Testament in the Bible is filled with references to one who is to come - the Messiah. The prophet Isaiah (who wrote the book of Isaiah,) provides us many of the clearest clues. There are may references to the Messiah's coming but perhaps one of the most cherished promises from the Old Testament is in Isaiah 61:1,
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; "
English Standard Version (ESV)
The promise is to heal us and provide freedom. You see one of the consequences of the original sin by Adam and Eve was that we are captive to sin. We do not have the power to live a sin-free life. As Paul wrote in the Romans 3:23 (ESV) in the New Testament,
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
Because of this universal sinfulness, all mankind was under the curse of sin. Paul also explains the consequences of our sin
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. "
Romans 6:23, ESV
So here we find a clearer explanation of what the Christ will do. Notice that we obtain eternal life in & through Jesus Christ. The alternative is that if left unchecked, sin brings death to us. So the Christ, the Messiah, will bring us eternal life. not only that, but Jesus himself tells us what that life looks like:
"I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. " John 10:10, ESV
Translated another way
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10, New International Version (NIV)
So the Christ came to free us from sin & death, and restore us to life. And not just that but full and eternal life. And not just full life in the eternity to come but full life starting now.
So how does that work? We'll skip the fancy theological terms explain it this way. Our sins have earned us a penalty - death. We have incurred a sin debt we cannot pay. Jesus took our penalty upon himself for us and paid that debt with His very life and death on a cross. In an incredible trade, Jesus took our place for the rightful punishment of all sin and gave us His righteousness. What an incredible gift. And further He proved that He took the punishment and triumphed over it with His resurrection. Had Jesus just took the punishment and died without resurrection, our faith has little to stand on. But His resurrection shows that He broke the chains of sin, death, and hell. We are no longer slaves of sin in bondage.
If this sounds like an amazing story, it is. Nowhere else does this happen, Jesus was the one and only who came to free us. And the good news is that this trade is for all people. All People. No matter where you are from, no matter what you've done, no matter your brokenness, your hurts, or whatever. His life, death on the cross and resurrection counted for you and me!
So If you believe that this is for you and you want to be free; just know that it is not hard to take hold of this freedom.
"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9, ESV
What are you waiting for? If you are not free today, right now, be free in the name of Jesus who died to set us all free from sin, death, and hell. There's never a better time than right now to change your eternal address from death to life. Change your citizenship from the kingdom of hell to the kingdom of heaven. Renounce your citizenship in the kingdom that would keep you in bondage, a slave to your sins. Call upon the name of Jesus. Don't delay friends. Each one of us is never guaranteed tomorrow.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36, ESV.
