Really need to understand the difference between Christ and Messiah
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2Did you try finding out anything yourself? One comes from Hebrew, one from Greek, that's it.– curiousdannii ♦Commented Jun 12, 2019 at 9:14
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John, you could have entered "Christ" in the search box "Search on Christianity" and you would have come up with the title 'Why is Jesus occasionally refered to as "The Christ"?' and other titles which would have answered your question, no problem.– Andrew ShanksCommented Jun 12, 2019 at 10:23
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1John, what problem are you trying to solve here? You are speaking in Modern English, a language whose conventions have evolved over centuries. Why is this of any importance? There seems to be something unstated behind this question that you aren't sharing.– KorvinStarmastCommented Jun 12, 2019 at 13:13
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2I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is explicitly about English language usage, not Christian belief.– KorvinStarmastCommented Jun 12, 2019 at 13:17
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1"Then we can call (him) Jesus Messiah or Jesus Christ" - The name "Jesus Christ" really means "Jesus the Christ" or Jesus the Anointed One. It is shortened to "Jesus Christ" not by Christians but by the New Testament. So we have scriptural warrant to call him Jesus Christ, but not so much scriptural warrant to call him "Jesus Messiah". There is little problem calling him "Jesus the Messiah", because that is who he is. Why do you ask?– Andrew ShanksCommented Jun 12, 2019 at 14:20
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2 Answers
Messiah comes from Hebrew, Christ from Greek. Both mean anointed one.
The anointing in the Old Testament was with oil and was done in God's name to someone as a symbol of God's choosing that person to be either King (1 Samuel 10:1; 1 Samuel 16:13; 2 Samuel 1:14-16) or High Priest (Exodus 30:30). Cyrus, a foreign king, is given the title, as one chosen by God to bring about God's gracious purposes towards his people in his day (Isaiah 45:1).
From being a title for any chosen anointed the title became increasingly associated with a future Anointed One, of the line of David, who would sit upon the throne of David forever (2 Samuel 7:13). Hence King David himself speaks of "The Messiah" in Psalm 2:2 who shall also be the begotten Son of God (Ps 2:7), and later Daniel 9:25,26 prophesies further concerning this specific Messiah, this chosen, Anointed One.
Messiah comes from the Hebrew word 'mashiach' and means “anointed one” or “chosen one.” The Greek equivalent is the word 'Christos' or, in English, Christ. The name “Jesus Christ” is the same as “Jesus the Messiah.”
The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) point forward to the coming of the Messiah, God's anointed and chosen one. The New Testament (Greek Scriptures) show how Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah, the Christ - God's anointed and chosen representative on earth.
The Jews hoped that the Messiah would release them from bondage to the hated Romans. But Jesus said his kingdom was not of this world - he had not come to wage war against the Romans. His agenda was not political but spiritual.
The Gospel of Matthew presents the genealogy of Jesus then declares:
Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ (Matthew 1:17).
The opening verse of the Gospel of Matthew goes one further by identifing Jesus of Nazareth as "Jesus Christ, the Son of God."
Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, God's chosen and anointed one.
