Jesus, the Christ
We know that Jesus had only one given name, but He had many titles. We know that titles often function as names to which you answer. We might say, Mr. President or Your Honor. For example, my name is Donald, but most people call me Don. I also often answer to different titles. Salespeople call me Sir. Church people often call me Pastor or Preacher. My children call me Dad. Jesus also had many titles to which He answered. Probably the most important of all is Christ.
Many people think that Christ was the last name of Jesus. That is not the case. Christ was a very significant designation. It is the Greek word that corresponds to a powerful Hebrew word, Messiah. The title, Messiah, was given to Jesus at His birth. We read this in the opening words of Matthew: “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” As Matthew wrote his “Life of Jesus,” he wanted his readers to understand that Jesus was the Messiah.
Later in the same chapter, Matthew records this about the birth of Jesus: “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.” So, Matthew (who has the most Hebrew flavor of all the Gospel writers) says four times in the first chapter that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ.
Luke gets in on the same thought process. He recounts that Joseph and Mary took the young baby Jesus to the Temple to be dedicated. There at the Temple was a very old man named Simeon. Luke relates that the Holy Spirit had told Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Luke 2:27-32 gives the following account of Simeon meeting Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus: “Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.'”
Jesus had many wonderful titles given to Him, but why was it so important that this one be given just as soon as He was born? To understand this, we need to know a little history. The Hebrew word, Messiah, comes from a word meaning “to anoint.” In the Old Testament, it was a practice to recognize those who had been approved by God for special service by anointing them with oil. The anointing by oil symbolized that the Holy Spirit would guide, inspire, and empower that individual. So, the act of anointing was a symbolic way of saying that God had approved this person (being anointed) for special service. After centuries of being oppressed by various Empires, the Jews had one cherished hope — The Messiah, the Christ. The Jews in Jesus' day held on to the promise that God had not forgotten them. They yearned for the long-awaited Messiah/Christ. God inspired the Gospel writers to lean heavily into this hunger. This explains much of the excitement that surrounded Jesus.
Wherever Jesus went, people were drawn by their hope of Messiah. What about you? What are you yearning for? What is the greatest desire of your heart? No amount of money or stuff (from this world) can satisfy your craving. The answer to what our hearts and spirits need is Jesus. He is the promised Christ. He is the one who can reunite us with our Maker and Creator, with God our Heavenly Father. Keep looking up!