Midway through his ministry, Jesus posed this question to His disciples: “‘who do you say that I am?’” (Mark 8:27). The exact wording of Peter’s response, “‘You are the Christ,’” is quite salient. Peter does not say that Jesus is Christ, but that He is the Christ. This wording cuts contrary to today’s convention of appending “Christ” to “Jesus” as a last name and instead distinguishes “Christ” as Jesus’ title. It is worthwhile to plumb the depths of this great title. Doing so will help us boldly proclaim the answer Jesus’ question, “‘who do you say that I am?’” It will also have another extraordinary effect: the course of Jesus’ kingship will begin resembling a familiar Old Testament story.
The tools for understanding Jesus’ title are the Biblical languages. Consider Hebrews 1:9, a quotation of Psalm 45:7: “Your God has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions.” The Greek verb here for “anoint” is chrio.1 From chrio, Greek derives the title Christos, which designates an anointed person. “Christ” is the transliteration of Christos. It would be erroneous to think that the title “Christ” bears such a burdensome load of history, tradition, and theology that we could not pick up this word and know it well. Rather, stripping back this title into its etymology reveals its simplicity; it just means “the anointed one.” Peter’s confession of Jesus’ identity could technically be translated, “‘You are the Anointed One’” (Mark 8:27).2
The title Christos attains its rich Christian significance because it proceeds from the Jewish tradition of the coming Messiah. John makes this clear in his Gospel when he writes the word “Messiah” and then adds “which translated means Christ” (1:41). To understand Christos, then, we must examine “Messiah,” or in Hebrew, mashiach.
Mashiach means “anointed one,” and just as Christos was derived from chrio, so too was mashiach derived from the Hebrew verb for anoint, mashach. 1 Samuel 16:13 exemplifies mashach: “Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed [mashach] him [David] in the midst of his brothers.” Mashiach, or “Messiah,” appears only a few verses beforehand when Samuel looks at Eliab, one of Jesse’s sons, and mistakes that “‘surely the Lord’s anointed [mashiach] is before Him.’” Just as with Christos, do not be intimidated by a word so august as “Messiah.” A Messiah is simply an anointed one.
Messiah—as a title for Jesus—derives its majesty and gravity from the depths of Jewish tradition. Throughout the Old Testament, God’s chosen are variously anointed to carry out three offices: prophet, priest, and king. In 1 Kings 19:16, God tells Elijah to anoint Elisha to succeed him as Israel’s prophet. In Leviticus 8:12, Aaron is anointed as Israel’s first high priest. In 1 Samuel 16:13, Samuel anoints David as king of Israel. Even without reference to the coming Messiah, anointment is significant in Jewish tradition for marking those who undertake these offices.
The Old Testament’s manifold prophecies of the coming mashiach, or Anointed One, occur, not in a vacuum, but against this backdrop. Jesus the Messiah, by fulfilling these prophecies, takes up these roles of prophet, priest, and king. When we, just as Peter, confess Jesus as the Christ, we are exalting Him as the fulfillment of the Old Testament, and not only of its prophecies, but of its offices for which He was anointed.
Recognizing Jesus as the Anointed One reveals another salient way that the Old Testament predicts Him. We know that Jesus is king and that “‘all authority has been given to [Him] in heaven and on earth’” (Matthew 28:18). Yet His reign is not apparent to all, and He is not universally recognized as king. This was much the case for David, who did not reign as king until long after Samuel anointed him to the office. Rather, he first suffered great persecution at the hands of Saul. So too did Christ suffer on the cross; and even now we await that day when “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:10). The chronology of David’s rule (anointed, unrecognized, persecuted, then recognized and reigning) predicts the chronology of Jesus’ reign: He was anointed as king, He has suffered as king, yet soon He shall be universally exalted as king.
This cognizance of Jesus’ title grants a superior understanding of who He is and what offices He fulfills. It reveals how the entire history of Israel points to His coming, not just in grand ways like through prophecies, but also through simple acts like anointments. It grounds Jesus’ ministry in the foundation laid by the Jewish people, binding the New Testament inseparably to the Old. Who do you say that Jesus is? Your answer will be a proclamation about all of Israel.
The “ch” in chrio (and in all transliterated ancient Greek) is not pronounced like “ch” in English. Rather, it reflects the Greek letter chi (Χ/χ) which is pronounced like an aspirated “kh.” This pronunciation adjustment makes the relationship between Greek “chrio” and English “Christ” all the clearer.
I say technically. This is not a recommended translation. It is given for educational purposes only. Do not try this at home.