In this session, we look at some of the reasons why Jesus is called the Christ or the Messiah. All through the accounts about Jesus in the gospels, we see him referred to as the Christ. In order to truly understand why this title is important, we must look at some prophecies from the Bible. What we discover when we look through the bible is that the people of Israel had long been waiting for a promised “Messiah” or “Christ”. When Jesus was called the Christ it meant that people were claiming that he was the one they had long been waiting for!

“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah…” John 20:30-31

The word Messiah comes from a Hebrew word that means “anointed one”. This Hebrew term was used to specifically point out those that God had appointed for a specific assignment or purpose. When someone was anointed, they were set apart to fulfill God’s plan.

The people of Israel knew that there were many prophecies about this coming king who would be a “messiah” or anointed one. There were many prophecies that pointed to this person that they were long expecting and in the gospels we discover that Jesus fulfills all of their expectations. We see that Jesus came as the messiah they had long been waiting for. Jesus is the anointed king of Israel that the prophets promised.

How can we know Jesus is the true Messiah or Christ? The single most important thing that secures his place as the Messiah is his resurrection. Many of the prophecies concerning the Messiah included promises that the Messiah would have a kingdom that would never end. (Isa 9:7, Dan 7:14, 2 Sam 7:13) All of the other anointed kings of Israel had died and their kingdoms came to an end. The only way that someone would have a kingdom that would never end is if they defeated death itself. When Jesus defeated death on the cross, he proved to be the long-awaited Messiah!

Jesus’ resurrection is the single most important detail of the gospel accounts found in the bible because these eyewitness accounts of His resurrection prove that Jesus was not only a good teacher or great man, he was (and is) the promised Messiah or Anointed King of Israel.

Do you have more questions about who Jesus is? We also have some other resources to help you know more about Jesus. Check out this recent post we added to find out more! This is a post exploring another question about why Jesus was called the Son of David.

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