Why is Jesus Called “Christ” (and “Messiah”)?

Jesus of Nazareth is most commonly called “Jesus Christ”. However, many people do not know why he is called “Christ”. Some people think that “Christ” was Jesus’ surname, as if he was the son of Mr and Mrs Christ!

For Christians, it is important to know what “Christ” means. After all, a central element of the Christian faith is that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22; 5:1), and Jesus said that he would build his church upon the confession that he is the Christ (Matt. 16:18).

The Promise of an Everlasting Kingdom

In 2 Samuel 7:12–16, God promised David, the king of Israel, that his descendants will rule over his kingdom forever. However, God also warned that if David’s descendants were disobedient to God, then their kingship over Israel will be taken away.

After David died, his kingship over Israel was passed on to his son, Solomon. When Solomon died in 931 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel was split into two kingdoms. Still, David’s descendants continued to rule as kings over the Southern Kingdom of Judah. For a long time, it seemed that there will always be a descendant of David ruling as king over Israel.

The Kingdom Lost

However, many of David’s descendants were disobedient to God when they were ruling as kings of Judah. Yet, God was patient, and he gave David’s descendants many chances to repent of their disobedience and turn back to him. Meanwhile, God protected David’s kingdom. When other nations threatened and attacked the Kingdom of Judah, God would intervene to prevent the Kingdom from being conquered.

However, David’s descendants continued disobeying God. Because of this, the Kingdom of Judah was eventually conquered by the Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE. Since then, David’s descendants have not ruled as king over Israel in the natural sense.

The Coming King

Nevertheless, the prophets assured God’s people that God was still faithful to his promise to David. They prophesied that one day in the future, God will make one of David’s descendant to be a king forever. Moreover, this Promised King will not only rule over Israel, but even over the whole world! This Promised King will always be obedient to God, so his kingship will never be taken away.

Those who believed in God’s promise looked forward to the time when this Promised King will come. However, even when the story of the Jewish Scriptures came to an end, this promise was still not fulfilled; the Promised King still had not come. God’s people had to keep waiting.

“Messiah” = “Christ” = King

During the time after the Jewish Scriptures were written, Jews began referring to this Promised King as the Māšiyaḥ (מָשִׁ֫יחַ), or “Messiah”.

Māšiyaḥ is a Hebrew word meaning “anointed”. Previously, Israelite kings were called Māšiyaḥ because they were initiated into their kingship by being anointed with oil. However, during this time, there was no longer a king ruling physically over Israel. So, the Israelites applied the title Māšiyaḥ/“Messiah” to the Promised King who will one day come to be king forever.

During this time, many Jews began speaking Greek in addition to Hebrew and Aramaic. In Greek, the equivalent term for Māšiyaḥ was Christos (Χρίστος), or “Christ” (John 1:41; 4:25). Whenever Jews spoke to one another about the Māšiyaḥ/“Messiah” in Greek, they would use the term Christos/“Christ”.

Conclusion

Jesus is called “Christ” or “Messiah” because he is that Promised King whom God will send to rule over the whole world. However, as the Messiah/Christ, Jesus first died for the sins of his people and rose again from the dead (Luke 24:46; 1 Cor. 15:3–4). One day, Jesus will come back to complete the coming of God’s kingdom into the world (1 Cor. 15:24–25).