They wanted a new Moses. Jesus wanted to give them more. Jesus had a bigger picture. His family, friends, followers, and enemies all argued with Jesus about who He was and what He was doing. He was called crazy, demonic, and a blasphemer. Eventually, by the end of John 6, a huge amount of His disciples would leave, angry and confused about who Jesus claimed to be.
As we go through a study of the Apostles Creed in this section of the Heidelberg Catechism we are answering a few fairly straightforward questions that people have been asking about Jesus for literally two thousand years: Who is Jesus?
During the trial before His crucifixion, Jesus stood silently as He was accused of a lot of things, but none of them held up, even in that false, kangaroo court they had come up with. It says in Matthew ,. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment? Why was that such a big deal?
The Heidelberg summarizes it this way:. Those are the only people that get anointed by God — prophets, priests and kings. What does that mean? It means that Jesus claims, and we believe, to be the greatest of all the prophets or teachers.
Over and over Jesus claimed to not only be talking about God but to be speaking the very words of God John , , Jesus is our chief teacher because He is the One who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God because He is God. He is the best interpreter of the Law because He is the lawgiver. He is the best preacher of the gospel because He Himself is the good news.
Jesus knows everything and was willing to teach us a lot of it when He came, and then even more through His Spirit within.
He is also the greatest priest, greater than all priests that came before. Jesus does this better than any other. Every other priest is sinful, Jesus is sinless. Every other priest offered animals, Jesus offered Himself. Other priests have to repeat sacrifices, Jesus was once and for all.
Other priests offer sacrifices for a certain group of people, Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. Only one priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and then only once per year, Jesus lives in Heaven and stands before God Himself. Other priests die, Jesus lives forever. And Jesus is the greater King. Other kings are appointed by military might or birth Jesus was appointed by God.
Other kings have thrones on earth, Jesus has a throne in heaven. His word is not only law, but can actually bend reality to His will. In this session, we look at some of the reasons why Jesus is called the Christ or the Messiah. All through the accounts about Jesus in the gospels, we see him referred to as the Christ. In order to truly understand why this title is important, we must look at some prophecies from the Bible.
When Jesus was called the Christ it meant that people were claiming that he was the one they had long been waiting for! This Hebrew term was used to specifically point out those that God had appointed for a specific assignment or purpose. There were many prophecies that pointed to this person that they were long expecting and in the gospels we discover that Jesus fulfills all of their expectations. We see that Jesus came as the messiah they had long been waiting for.
Jesus is the anointed king of Israel that the prophets promised. How can we know Jesus is the true Messiah or Christ? The single most important thing that secures his place as the Messiah is his resurrection.
Many of the prophecies concerning the Messiah included promises that the Messiah would have a kingdom that would never end. Isa , Dan , 2 Sam All of the other anointed kings of Israel had died and their kingdoms came to an end. The only way that someone would have a kingdom that would never end is if they defeated death itself. Jesus read these words from Isaiah 61, a prophecy of the coming Messiah, and then He said that He was the One to whom this prophecy referred. That He had been anointed to preach the gospel of salvation.
That He was the Christ, the anointed One. In the Old Testament, those who were set apart by God for positions of spiritual or political leadership were anointed with oil as a symbol of their authority. Oil was poured on the heads of priests, kings, and prophets to indicate that God had chosen them and consecrated them for the work He had given them to do.
The Bible records two times that Jesus was anointed with oil Matthew , 7; Luke , Languages Study in More Languages.
What Does Christ Mean?
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