The Greatest Gift

There are many ways that the concept of Messiah is presented in the Bible. One way is through the meaning of the term itself. The Hebrew word mashiach, transliterated “Messiah,” is an adjective made from a verb, and could be translated roughly “anointed one.” The New Testament christos, made from the verb meaning “anoint,” has an equivalent meaning. Thus Messiah and Christ represent the same concept. (It should be remembered that Christ is not a last name, with Jesus as the first name, as many seem to think

There are many ways that the concept of Messiah is presented in the Bible. One way is through the meaning of the term itself. The Hebrew word mashiach, transliterated “Messiah,” is an adjective made from a verb, and could be translated roughly “anointed one.” The New Testament christos, made from the verb meaning “anoint,” has an equivalent meaning. Thus Messiah and Christ represent the same concept. (It should be remembered that Christ is not a last name, with Jesus as the first name, as many seem to think

In addition, because of the significance of these offices in Israelite life, any one who fulfilled all three was an extraordinary person. Because he does just that, the Messiah is presented as the ideal Israelite, Thus Ps. 45:1 appears to point beyond a mere human king to the very best king that could be contemplated, who would be the Messiah. (Although the term Messiah is not used in the ps., the king is described as having received a spiritual anointing [vv. 2 and 7].) As to the offices of priest and prophet in relation to the ideal Israelite, all Israelites were originally to be priests (Ex. 19:6) and prophets (Num. 11:29), but the only perfect priest/prophet is the Messiah.