Difference between Christ and Messiah?

Upvote:3

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.

Upvote:7

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.

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