In our last visit we saw that the purpose John had in writing his Gospel was to help people come to “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). We also found that the name “Jesus” means, “Jehovah is my salvation.” Then we introduced the name “Christ.”
Today we’ll try to get a better understanding of what this name means. Christ comes from the Greek word Christos, which means anointed. When a person appointed to a specific task was anointed, oil was poured on his head. Christ was anointed by His Father when at His baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. John was told that when this happened it would identify that one as the Son of God.
The Hebrew equivalent for the name, Christ, is Messiah. These titles are similar to the Latin Caesar, the German Kaiser, the Russian Czar, and the Persian Shah. All these titles indicate that the person bearing the title was selected and installed in a special, important office. Throughout the Old Testament God promised to send His people a special Messiah who would bring them salvation.
The New Testament declares Jesus of Nazareth to be the One God selected and anointed to do this special work. John wanted his readers to discover this one and trust in Him as “the Christ, the Son of God.” By believing they would have “life in His name” (John 20:31). If you’ve not taken that step of faith read John’s gospel, praying that God will convince you to do it.
