A. Jesus is described in countless ways throughout the Bible.
1. The name Jesus itself is descriptive, for it means “Jehovah is salvation” (Greek form of Joshua).
2. Other descriptions include other names, titles, positions, roles, and figures that explain who Jesus is and what He does.
B. In this series entitled “Descriptions of Jesus,” we will summarize these descriptions in three lessons and in three terms: Christ, Son of God, and Savior.
1. To touch on every description of Jesus from the Scriptures would require a series on a grand scale, so this brief series is presented as a simple summary of a few of these descriptions.
2. To organize this summary, we will consider three categories under the headings of the three terms Christ, Son of God, and Savior.
a. Category 1: Descriptions that aid our understanding of Jesus as the Christ
b. Category 2: Descriptions that aid our understanding of Jesus as the Son of God
c. Category 3: Descriptions that aid our understanding of Jesus as the Savior
C. In this first lesson, let us consider what it means for Jesus to be called the Christ.
II. THE MEANING OF “CHRIST”
A. The term “Christ” means “Anointed One.”
1. “Christ” and “Messiah” are English transliterations of the Greek words Christos and Messias (from the Hebrew mashiyach), which have the same meaning of “Anointed One.”
a. An anointed person is one who has had oil or ointment poured on him.
i. In Bible times, a person could be anointed for medicinal or cosmetic purposes.
ii. A person could also be consecrated by anointing for religious or civil purposes. The Old Testament speaks of the anointing of priests (Ex. 30:22-33), kings (1Sam. 10:1; 2Sam. 2:4; 1Ki. 1:39), and prophets (1Ki. 19:16).
b. Most importantly, when the Bible refers to the Christ, it refers to one, specific person whom God has anointed to fulfill the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament.
2. Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ whom God anointed.
a. Jesus fulfilled God’s prophecies concerning the Christ. Consider some examples:
i. Psalm 45:7 – “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows.” (Jesus fulfilled, Heb. 1:9)
ii. Isaiah 61:1-2 – “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD…” (Jesus fulfilled, Luke 4:18)
b. On Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection, the apostle Peter announced God’s appointment of Jesus by saying, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36).
B. The meaning of God’s Christ must be understood in spiritual terms rather than worldly terms.
1. The Christ has been misunderstood by many (Jews and Premillennialists) because they misinterpret prophecies about Him in worldly terms. Consider some examples:
a. Isaiah 9:7 prophesies that the Christ would rule from David’s throne. This is already fulfilled in heaven and will not be fulfilled on this earth (Acts 2:29-36; 1Thess. 4:14-17; 2Pet. 3:10-13).
b. Psalm 2:6-9 prophesies that the Christ would conquer the nations and rule in Zion. This is fulfilled through His church and heaven (Isa. 2:1-4; Zech. 8:3; Heb. 12:22-24).
c. Daniel 2:44 prophesies that the Christ’s kingdom would endure forever. This is ultimately fulfilled in the church at the resurrection (Matt. 16:18-19; 1Cor. 15:20-28).
2. Because of their worldly expectations, the Jews did not recognize Jesus as Christ when He came, and Premillennialists do not recognize the existence of Christ’s kingdom today.
a. Regarding the Jews, their stand against God’s Anointed One was foretold in Psalm 2:2, and the fulfillment was recognized in Acts 4:27.
b. Regarding the Premillennialists, they are still asking the ignorant question posed by the apostles prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:6 (“Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”) when they should know that kingdom will not be restored to physical Israel (Rom. 9:8; Gal. 3:7, 26-29; 1Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10).
III. MORE DESCRIPTIONS OFTHE CHIRST
A. Jesus Christ is declared to be Lord over all.
1. The title of Lord over all indicates that Christ is the Master and Authority of all.
a. As we saw before, God the Father has made Jesus both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36).
b. As Lord, Jesus has been endowed with all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18) so that everything and every person are subject to Him.
c. Having authority over all, Jesus is also the Judge over all (Matt. 7:21-23; 2Cor. 5:10).
2. Similarly, Christ is also described as King.
a. Jesus fulfilled the promise given to David that one of his descendants would be seated on his throne forever (2Sam. 7:12-13, 16; Ps. 132:11). This fulfillment began when Christ ascended to heaven and was seated at the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:29-36).
b. Being the fulfillment of the promise, Jesus is called “the King of Israel” (John 12:13), “the King eternal, immortal, invisible” (1Tim. 1:17), and “the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1Tim. 5:15; Rev. 17:14; 16:19).
c. Notice that if Christ is reigning as the King now, then He must have a kingdom now. Indeed, His kingdom now exists, but it is spiritual and not of this world (John 18:36).
B. Jesus Christ is also declared to be the Prophet whom Moses foretold.
1. The Law of Moses announced the coming of a Prophet who would supplant Moses.
a. Notice Deuteronomy 18:15, 18 – “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him… ‘I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.’”
b. Peter proclaimed that Jesus is the fulfillment of Moses’ words in Acts 3:22-23 (see also John 5:46-47; Acts 7:37).
2. As the Prophet, Jesus has revealed the mind and counsel of God like no other before Him.
a. Speaking of Jesus, John 1:18 says, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”
b. Jesus said that the words He spoke came from the Father (John 7:16-18; 12:44-50).
C. Jesus Christ is described as the High Priest to Christians.
1. The position of High Priest means that Jesus is the one who made atonement to God for us.
a. This figure is best understood by studying the high priesthood under the Law of Moses (Lev. 16) and considering what is said about Jesus in Hebrews 4:14-5:10; 7:11-10:18.
b. In summary, Jesus has acted as High Priest for us by entering heaven, approaching the Father, and presenting His own blood as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
2. Jesus is not a priest according to the Law of Moses, but rather His priesthood is spiritual.
a. Jesus was not qualified to be high priest under the Law of Moses, for the Law required all priests to be of the tribe of Levi whereas Jesus was of the tribe of Judah (Heb. 7:12-14).
b. However, Christ’s priesthood was of a different, spiritual order, and His priesthood is compared with that of Melchizedek (Heb. 5:5-10; 6:20-7:28; Gen. 14:18-20; Ps. 110:4).
c. Notice Hebrews 9:11-12 – “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”
IV. CONCLUSION
A. These descriptions of Jesus enable to see that He is indeed God’s Christ, His Anointed One.
1. Jesus is God’s Anointed King who presently rules over us.
2. Jesus is God’s Anointed Prophet who has revealed God unto us.
3. Jesus is God’s Anointed High Priest who has offered atonement for our sins.
B. In the next lesson, we will consider another category of descriptions for Jesus, which characterize Jesus as the Son of God.