"The woman said to Him, "I know the Messiah is coming" (who is called the Christ). "When He comes, He will explain everything to us." "I am He," Jesus told her, "the One speaking to you" (John 4:25-26, HCSB).
When we refer to Jesus as Jesus Christ, we are not saying that Jesus' last name is "Christ." Christ, or Messiah, is a title. It means that Jesus is God's Anointed One. Jesus didn't often speak of being the Messiah. It probably had to do with the Jewish expectations of a conquering king. Jesus' kingdom was bigger and more complicated than that.
Jesus is God's Anointed. But what does that mean? There were three types of people anointed in the Old Testament. The priest was to be anointed with oil (see Ex. 29:21 and Lev. 8:10-12). Sometimes, prophets were anointed (1 Kings 19:6). Kings were also anointed (1 Sam. 16:13). Jesus was, and is, God's Anointed Prophet (Acts 3:22-26), Priest (Heb. 4:15), and King(Matt. 27:11). Not surprisingly, Jesus is unique in this threefold anointing.
When we address Jesus as the Messiah or Christ, we are professing his roles as Prophet, Priest, and King. As Prophet, He makes the things of God the Father know to us. As Priest, He acts as mediator between us and God, reconciling us to God. As King, he rules the nations. When we call Jesus the Christ, we are expressing his unique relationship to God the Father.
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