(The
following is from our upcoming book.)
Guide #1: Two
terms used to describe Yeshua have been completely misunderstood by Gentiles
from the beginning of Christianity – Christ
and Son of God. In Gentile minds,
these terms are exclusive titles that apply to no other person than Yeshua
(Jesus). He, they believed and taught, was the only “Christ” and “Son of God.”
As time passed, the titles also became linked to deity – Christ and Son of God
were titles of God.
Dr. Tennison: A common assumption among people is that “Christ” was the last name of
Jesus. There is
good reason for this assumption, since he was called “Jesus Christ” in the New
Testament itself. The more accurate phrase, however, is “Yeshua the Christ”, because “Christ” is
a title and not a name. Christ is the
English transliteration of the Greek word christos,
a form of the Greek verb chrio that
means "to pour." In Yeshua’s world he would have been called the mashiach, a Hebrew word instead of the
Greek word. Both words -- christos and
mashiach –are translated “anointed.” As a title, the translation
would be “anointed one.” Therefore,
the correct translation is “Yeshua the
Anointed One.”
Guide #2: Something
that most people do not know is that there have been many “Christs” in the
history of the Jewish people. The first Christ of the Hebrew Scriptures was Aaron, the brother of Moses, who was anointed as a priest (Exodus
29:7). Another Christ, a
priest, appears in Leviticus 4:5. The first king to be a Christ was Saul (I Samuel 9:16). There was even a Persian Gentile
that is one of the most interesting of the Christs: In Isaiah 45:1 we read -- Cyrus the King of the Persians!
Guide #1: The
anointing of persons and objects with oil was widespread in ancient Israel and
its environment for both practical and symbolic reasons. Anointing was used to inaugurate
kings, consecrate priests, and for the rehabilitation of lepers. The Hebrew root word for anointing is MShCh, and throughout the Bible it
implies that the anointment came from God. The attribute MAShIACh ("anointed")
came to designate the king and high priest and, by extension, other divinely
appointed functionaries who were not anointed at all (e.g., prophets, the
patriarchs, and even foreign kings).
Guide #2: In
Israel, anointment conferred upon the king the "RU'ACH of YHVH" ("the
spirit of Yahweh"), i.e., his support, strength, and wisdom. The king absorbed divine attributes
through unction, a phenomenon attested nowhere else. On the other hand,
the anointment of the high priest served an entirely different function. It conferred neither RU'ACH nor any other divine attribute.
Guide #1: Now
let’s read the following verse from Mark 1 – “It came to pass in those days that Yeshua came from
Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately,
coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice
came from heaven, `You are My beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” (Mark
1:9-11)
Guide #2: Notice
that when Yeshua was baptized two things happened: (1) the RU’ACH (Spirit)
descended upon him; and (2) God called Yeshua “My Son.” In the Jewish culture, those two things would have been
understood to mean that Yeshua became the Anointed One and the adopted Son of
God at the moment he was baptized.
Guide #1: In
Israel, a king was the adopted “Son of God” – a human who absorbed divine attributes through unction, a phenomenon
attested nowhere else. It didn’t mean the king was another God, a “little”
God and neither did the title “Anointed One.” The question this would have
raised in the mind of the Jewish people of the first century is this – What was Yeshua anointed to do?
Shalom,
Jim
Myers
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