The title “Christ” means “anointed”.1 It is an allusion to the three anointed offices in the nation of Israel – prophets, priests and kings were anointed for their roles.2 By calling this promised Saviour the Christ, the Bible is saying that He is the Prophet, the Priest, the King.
The Prophet
In Deuteronomy 18:18, God said, “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you [Moses] from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.”
In what sense was this Prophet going to be like Moses? Deuteronomy 34:10-12 tells us:
“But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.”
Deuteronomy closes by saying this promised Prophet has not come yet. There are two features of Moses highlighted here – his unique closeness to God, and his miraculous ministry. So, the promised Prophet will be marked by a “face to face” relationship with God and a miraculous ministry. The Lord Jesus is the fulfilment of the promise. As the Son of God, He has a relationship with God like no one else, and His ministry was one of mighty miraculous power, so that in John 6, after He fed the multitudes in the wilderness with five loaves and two fish, we read in v.14:
“Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
Prophets were men with a message from and about God. But they each could only tell a part of the big story and reveal a bit of the big picture. But in Christ – the Prophet – God has been fully revealed. Christ isn’t adding another line to the story or another piece to the picture – He is the entire message and the complete picture. In Christ, God has communicated to us exactly what He is like.
The Priest
The Old Testament prophesied the coming Saviour would act as a Priest.
Priests had the responsibility in Israel of representing the people before God – interceding for them and making atonement for their sins through the offering of sacrifices.
Psalm 40 is a prophetic psalm in which Christ is speaking. He says that the animal sacrifices weren’t what God really desired or required – they were just pictures of what He would do – “Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me” (v.7). He is saying that He is going to come as a priest to fulfil all that those sacrifices pointed to.
Psalm 110 is a passage in which God is speaking to Christ. In verse 4 God says to Him, “You are a priest forever . . .”
Also, in Zechariah 6, Joshua the high priest is taken and a crown is put on his head, and he is explicitly presented as a picture of the Christ. God says, “Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH!” (Zechariah 6:12). “The Branch” is a title found several times in the Old Testament for the Christ. There are two interesting things to notice here: first, it is a priest who is presented as a picture of the Christ; and second, his name is highlighted – “whose name is the BRANCH!” What was this priest’s name? Joshua. Joshua is the English form of the Hebrew name “Yehoshua”. “Jesus” is from the Greek form of this very same name. The man who is presented as a picture of the Christ had the very same name as the Christ!
This tells us the significance of the death of Christ. He wasn’t there as a noble martyr or a political revolutionary, or merely as a perfect example. He was offering Himself as a sacrifice for sin (Isaiah 53:10). God could not overlook our sin. At the cross, Christ paid in full the penalty for sin, and proved it by rising from the dead. God’s justice has been satisfied, and, on the basis of Christ’s sacrifice, we can have forgiveness.
The King
The main picture the Old Testament presents of the Christ is that of a glorious King. In 2 Samuel 7, God promised David that his line would be established forever – the great King would be a son of David.
This King will reign in a glorious kingdom of peace and justice forever:
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
When the Lord Jesus came, He presented Himself as this promised King on Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:1-11), but He was soon rejected. However, He will come again, and He will set up that promised kingdom.
Conclusion
Charles Spurgeon, a great preacher of the 19th century, said, “I have a great need for Christ; I have a great Christ for my need.”
We do have a great need for Christ. Sin has affected our entire personality – mind, emotions and will.
Because of sin, our understanding is darkened (Ephesians 4:18). We are separated from God – we don’t know Him, and as a result, we have all sorts of wrong ideas about Him.
Because of sin, our emotions are disturbed – instead of the joy and peace we were meant to have in a relationship with God, we feel guilt, shame and fear.
Because of sin, our will is rebellious. There is an inbred bias towards sin (Romans 8:7).
We certainly do have a great need for Christ. But we do have a great Christ for our need. He is the Prophet who brings the true revelation of God to our minds. He is the Priest who has offered the perfect sacrifice for sin, and brings to our emotions the peace and joy that comes through reconciliation with God. He is the King who can rule in the realm of the will.
He is the perfect answer to our problem. We don’t need religion. We need the Christ.
Notes:
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Or the Messiah. “Christ” is the English form of the Greek word, and “Messiah” is the English form of the Hebrew word. They mean the same thing.
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For example: Elisha as prophet (1 Kings 19:16); Aaron as high priest (Leviticus 8:12); David as king (1 Samuel 16:13).
