What does Messiah (Christ) mean?
The word "Messiah" comes from the Hebrew "mashiach" and means "anointed one" — a person set apart for a role by being consecrated with oil. Its Greek equivalent is "Christos," from which "Jesus Christ" and "Christian" derive. In the Old Testament, kings, priests and sometimes…
The word "Messiah" comes from the Hebrew "mashiach" and means "anointed one" — a person set apart for a role by being consecrated with oil. Its Greek equivalent is "Christos," from which "Jesus Christ" and "Christian" derive. In the Old Testament, kings, priests and sometimes prophets were anointed with oil when they took office, a practice showing that the person was set apart by God for a specific task. Over time "Messiah" became the name of a particular hope: the prophetic writings carry the promise of a king from David's line who would establish justice and save the people; Isaiah's passage "to us a child is born" is among the best-known texts of that expectation. The New Testament presents Jesus as the answer to this hope. In John's Gospel, Andrew tells his brother, "We have found the Messiah"; in Matthew, when Jesus asks his disciples, "But who do you say that I am?", Peter's answer is direct: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." In Luke, Jesus reads the anointing passage from Isaiah in the Nazareth synagogue and says, "Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Notably, Jesus keeps his distance from the political messiah-expectations of his day, defining his kingship through service, the cross and the resurrection rather than power. "Jesus Christ" is therefore not a first and last name but a confession: the statement that Jesus is the promised saving king. The texts of the messianic hope and their Gospel counterparts can be read chapter by chapter on this site.