God & Jesus
Jesus as Messiah: what does “Christ” mean?
Christians and Muslims both call Jesus the Messiah. It is one of very few titles the two faiths share, but they mean different things by it. “Messiah” and “Christ” both mean “anointed one”, a word with a long history in Israel before it was used of Jesus. This topic asks who was anointed in the Hebrew Bible, what the title meant, and what the Qur’an says about the Messiah.
1The question
What does it mean to call Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, and does the title mean that he is God?
2What Christians believe
Christians believe Jesus is the Christ, the promised king from David’s line foretold by the prophets. They agree that kings, priests and prophets were anointed in Israel, and see Jesus as the Anointed One who fulfils all three roles at once: the prophet who speaks God’s word, the priest who offers himself, and the king who reigns for ever.
For Christians the title is joined to another: Peter confesses Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). On this view Jesus is not one anointed among many, but the one the whole line of kings, priests and prophets was waiting for: the eternal Son who came to die and rise again.
3What the texts say
Kings, priests and prophets were anointed
Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?
And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.
If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering.
And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
Even a foreign king
Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
What the word means
He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
Peter’s confession
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
“Son of God” in the Hebrew Bible and Luke
And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
God anointed Jesus
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
4What scholars say
Scholars agree that the Hebrew mashiach and the Greek christos both mean “anointed one”. In the Hebrew Bible the word is used for kings such as Saul and David, for the high priest, and once for the Persian king Cyrus. It is never used for a divine being. In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, mashiach became christos, which is where the English word “Christ” comes from.
John J. Collins (The Scepter and the Star, 2nd ed., 2010) shows that Jewish hopes around the time of Jesus took several forms, royal, priestly and prophetic, and that some of the Dead Sea Scrolls expect two messiahs, one of Aaron and one of Israel. The most common hope was for a human king from David’s line.
Geza Vermes (Jesus the Jew, 1973) argued that titles such as “son of God” were used in Jewish circles for holy men close to God, and did not carry the meaning of divinity that later Christian teaching gave them.
5The Islamic perspective
The Qur’an gives Jesus the title al-Masih, the Messiah, and honours him as a word from God. It also says plainly that the Messiah was a messenger who called people to worship God, and was proud to be God’s servant:
(And remember) when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, illustrious in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near (unto Allah).
They surely disbelieve who say: Lo! Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary. The Messiah (himself) said: O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Lo! whoso ascribeth partners unto Allah, for him Allah hath forbidden paradise. His abode is the Fire. For evil-doers there will be no helpers.
The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) had passed away before him. And his mother was a saintly woman. And they both used to eat (earthly) food. See how We make the revelations clear for them, and see how they are turned away!
The Messiah will never scorn to be a slave unto Allah, nor will the favoured angels. Whoso scorneth His service and is proud, all such will He assemble unto Him;
Muslims see no tension between calling Jesus the Messiah and calling him a man. That is what the title meant in Israel: someone chosen and anointed by God for a task. Acts 10:38 says the same: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power … for God was with him.”
6Objections and responses
“Peter calls Jesus ‘the Christ, the Son of the living God’, so Messiah means divine.”
Response: In the Bible “son of God” describes those close to God: Israel is God’s “firstborn” son (Exodus 4:22), and Adam is “the son of God” (Luke 3:38). Peter’s confession joins two honoured titles; neither one, in its Jewish meaning, says that Jesus is God.
“Jesus is the unique Messiah, not one anointed among many.”
Response: Muslims agree that Jesus has a unique place: in the Qur’an only he is called al-Masih. A unique role does not change what the word means. The Messiah is the one God anointed, and the one who anoints is God.
“In the New Testament, ‘Christ’ means much more than a human king.”
Response: Peter’s first sermon says that “God hath made that same Jesus … both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). God made him Christ, God anointed him with power (Acts 10:38), and God was with him. The title still describes what God did for Jesus.
7Conclusion
Both faiths call Jesus the Messiah, and both sides agree that the word means “anointed one” and that in the Hebrew Bible kings, priests, prophets and even Cyrus were anointed. Christians understand the title through the cross, the resurrection and the Son of God. Muslims understand it as it was used in the Hebrew Bible: God’s anointed servant, honoured above others, who called his people to worship God alone.
Read 1 Samuel 24:6, Isaiah 45:1 and Acts 10:38, then Qur’an 5:72–75, and notice who is anointed and who does the anointing.
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Sources
- Bible, King James Version:1 Samuel 10:11 Samuel 24:6Leviticus 4:31 Kings 19:16Isaiah 45:1John 1:41Matthew 16:16Exodus 4:22Luke 3:38Luke 4:18Acts 10:38Acts 2:36
- Qur’an, translated by M. Pickthall:Qur’an 3:45Qur’an 5:72Qur’an 5:75Qur’an 4:172
- John J. Collins, The Scepter and the Star, 2nd ed. (2010)
- Geza Vermes, Jesus the Jew (1973)
- Geoffrey Parrinder, Jesus in the Qur’an (1965)