Who is this Christ?

Christ the Anointed One

The name ‘Jesus’ is of Hebrew origin, meaning, ‘Jehovah is Salvation.’ Salvation means, to save, deliver, defend or rescue. Similarly, both ‘Messiah’ and ‘Christ’ mean ‘anointed’ or ‘anointed one.’ – See Daniel 9:25 & 26, John 1:41 and John 4:25 and Strong’s Concordance.

Jesus Christ is the anointed one; the Messiah; Who came to save us from our sins and to deliver us from evil. When Jesus Christ came to Nazareth where He had been brought up, as was His custom, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read, saying,

“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Luke 4:18 – 19

Then Jesus said,

“Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Luke 4:21

Jesus Christ was anointed for a purpose!

• To bring Salvation to all those who would believe in Him.
• To deliver us from evil.
• To preach good news to the poor.
• To proclaim freedom for the prisoners.
• To proclaim recovery of sight for the blind.
• To release the oppressed.
• To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

This anointing from God, through Jesus Christ His Son; and the dunamis, miracle working power of His Holy Spirit within every believer in Christ, meets all of these physical, spiritual, mental and emotional needs.

Christ the Messiah

Many years before Jesus Christ was born, prophecy after prophecy in the Old Testament Scriptures, foretold of the coming of the Messiah. Below, are just a handful of the prophecies that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, fulfilled.

• By a miracle of God, He would be born of a woman, a virgin — Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:18 – 23, Luke 1:26 – 35.
• He would be born in Bethlehem in the land of Judah — Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1, Luke 2:4 – 6.
• He would come from the line of Abraham — Genesis 12:3, Genesis 22:18, Matthew 1:1.
• He would be a descendant of Isaac — Genesis 17:19, Genesis 21:12, Luke 3:34.
• He would be a descendant of Jacob — Numbers 24:16 & 17 (a star being a reference to the Messiah, and the scepter, a reference to His dominion and authority), Matthew 1:1 & 2, Luke 3:34.
• He would come from the tribe of Judah — Genesis 49:10, Luke 3:33, Hebrews 7:14.
• He would be an heir to King David’s throne — Isaiah 9:6 & 7, Mark 11:7 – 10, Luke 1:32 & 33, Romans 1:3.
• He would be anointed and eternal — Psalm 45:6 & 7, Daniel 2:44, Luke 1:33, Hebrews 1:8 – 12.
• His name would be called Immanuel (translated God with us) — Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23.
• He would spend a season in Egypt (his parents being warned in a dream to flee to Egypt, to escape from King Herod who sought to kill Him) — Hosea 11:1, Matthew 2:13 – 15.
• A massacre of Children would occur at His birthplace — Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew 2:16 – 18.
• A messenger would prepare the way for Him (John the Baptist) – Isaiah 40:3 – 5, Luke 3:2 – 6.
• He would be preceded by a forerunner — Malachi 3:1, Matthew 11:7 – 12.
• He would be rejected by His own people — Psalm 69:8, Isaiah 53:3, John 1:10 & 11, John 7:5, Mark 3:21.
• He would be a prophet — Deuteronomy 18:15 – 19, Matthew 21:11, Acts 3:20 – 23.
• He would be called a Nazarene — Isaiah 11:1, Matthew 2:23, John 1:45 & 46.
• He would be declared to be the Son of God — Psalm 2:7 – 9, Matthew 3:16 & 17, John 1:34 & 49, Romans 1:4.
• He would be a priest after the order of Melchizedek — Psalm 110:4, Hebrews 5:5 & 6.
• He would also be called King — Psalm 2:6, Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 21:2 – 5, Matthew 27:37, John 12:12 – 15.
• He would bring light to Galilee — Isaiah 9:1 & 2, Matthew 4:12 – 16, Luke 2:30 – 32.
• He would speak in parables — Psalm 78:2 – 4, Isaiah 6:8 – 10, Matthew 13:10 – 15, 34 & 35.
• He would heal the broken hearted — Isaiah 61:1 – 3, Luke 4:18 & 19.
• He would enter Jerusalem on a donkey — Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 21:1 – 9, John 12:13 – 15.
• He would be betrayed and the price of His betrayal would be thirty pieces of silver, which would be used to buy a potter’s field — Zechariah 11:12 & 13, Jeremiah 32:6 – 9, Matthew 27:3 – 10.
• Though falsely accused He would remain silent before His accusers — Isaiah 53:7, Matthew 27:11 – 14, Mark 15:4 & 5.
• He would be spat upon and struck — Isaiah 50:6, Matthew 26:67.
• He would be mocked and ridiculed — Psalm 22:7 & 8, Luke 23:35 & 36.
• He would be numbered with the transgressors — Isaiah 53:12, Matthew 27:38, Mark 15:27 & 28.
• He would be given vinegar to drink — Psalm 69:21, Matthew 27:34, John 19:28 – 30.
• Evil men would divide His garments and cast lots for His clothing — Psalm 22:18, Matthew 27:35, Luke 23:34, John 19:23 & 24.
• He would be a sacrifice for sin — Isaiah 53:5 – 12, Romans 5:6 – 8.
• He would be pierced — Zechariah 12.10, John 19:34 & 37.
• His hands and feet would be pierced – Psalm 22:16, Zechariah 12:10, Matthew 27:31, John 20:25 – 29.
• Not one of His bones would be broken — Exodus 12:46, Psalm 34:19 & 20, Numbers 9:12, John 19:33 – 36.
• He would pray for His enemies — Psalm 109:4 & 5, Luke 23:34.
• He would be buried with the rich — Isaiah 53:9, Matthew 27:57 – 60.
• He would be resurrected alive from the dead — Psalm 16:10, Psalm 49:15, Matthew 28:2 – 7, Acts 2:22. – 32.
• He would ascend to heaven — Psalm 24:7 – 10, Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51.
• He would return a second time — Daniel 7:13 & 14, Mark 14:62, John 14:3, Luke 12:40, 1 John 2:28, Acts 1:11.

From His conception, His birth, and His life on this earth; to His death on the cross; His subsequent resurrection from the dead and His ascension to the right hand of the Father in heaven – Jesus Christ fulfilled every single one of the prophecies foretold about the Messiah. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Amen!

Christ the Redeemer

The Apostle Paul says, concerning God’s plan of redemption through the Lord Jesus Christ,

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

Colossians 1:13 & 14

So, what does it mean to be redeemed?

Redemption is the payment of the price to recover someone or something from the power of another; to buy it off or to ransom it – from the Greek word ‘exagorazo’ — See Strong’s concordance.

One of the words for ‘redeem’ in the Hebrew is ‘padah’, meaning, ‘to liberate or deliver; ransom or rescue.’ – See Strong’s Concordance. For those who choose to believe in Christ and receive Him; through Christ’s blood, shed on the cross, they are redeemed; delivered; released; preserved and rescued from death; slavery to sin; and bondage to the law. The enemy no longer has any power over us because Christ has purchased our Salvation on the Cross at Calvary. He has already paid the price for our full release; liberation; deliverance and rescue. The Psalmist says,

“Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story— those He redeemed from the hand of the foe, those He gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains, because they rebelled against God’s commands and despised the plans of the Most High. So He subjected them to bitter labour; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.”

Psalm 107:2–13 NIV

• Jesus Christ came to redeem us from the hand of our enemy.
• Jesus Christ came to deliver us from our distress.
• Jesus Christ came to lead us forth by the right way.
• Jesus Christ came to satisfy our longing soul and to fill our hungry souls with good things.

Of those who once sat in darkness and gloom; who were once prisoners suffering in chains; the Psalmist prophetically says,

“He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind.”

Psalm 107:14 & 15 NIV

This is what it means to be redeemed!!!

Christ the “I Am”

When Jesus Christ the Messiah walked the earth, He made many bold claims about Who He is. Many of these claims were preceded by the words “I Am.”

• I am the bread of life – John 6:35
• I am the light of the world – John 8:12
• I am the door of the sheep – John 10:7 – 9
• I am the good shepherd – John 10:11
• I am the resurrection and the life – John 11:25
• I am the way and the truth and the life – John 14:6
• I am the true vine – John 15:1

But there was another claim that Jesus made. That He has the name, ‘I Am!’ When God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, He declared His name to be “I Am.” For Moses had asked the Lord,

“Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ Then what shall I tell them? God said to Moses, I Am Who I Am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I Am has sent me to you.”

Exodus 3:13 & 14

So, when the Jews asked Jesus indignantly,

“Who do You make Yourself out to be?”

John 8:53

And Jesus answered them,

“’Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.’ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.”

John 8:58

In saying, “Before Abraham was, I AM” – the Jews knew exactly what Jesus Christ was saying. In that one statement, He was telling them, He is the Lord God Almighty! But because they did not believe Him, they sought to stone Him.

Jesus Always Speaks the Truth of Who He is

To His disciples, Jesus declared Himself to be teacher and Lord, saying to them,

“You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.”

John 13:13 NIV

To the man He healed, who had been blind from birth, Jesus declared Himself to be the Son of Man. For, after He healed him, He asked him,

“’Do you believe in the Son of Man? ‘Who is He, sir?’ the man asked. ‘Tell me so that I may believe in Him.’ Jesus said, ‘You have now seen Him; in fact, He is the one speaking with you.’ Then the man said, ‘Lord I believe,’ and he worshipped Him.”

John 9:35–38

To the Jews who wanted to stone Him, Jesus declared Himself to be the Son of God, saying,

“Do you say of Him Whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?”

John 10:36

Jesus confessed; He is the Christ. Again, because they did not believe Him, they sought to have Him crucified.

“Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, ‘Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?’ Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. The high priest tore his clothes. ‘Why do we need any more witnesses?’ he asked. ‘You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’ They all condemned Him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at Him; they blindfolded Him, struck Him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took Him and beat Him.”

Mark 14:61 – 64

Jesus rightly told Pilate, He is a King; and also, the King of the Jews. Jesus said to him,

“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’ Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

John 18:36 & 37

“Then Pilate asked Him, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?”’ He answered and said to him, “It is as you say.”

Mark 15:2

Christ the Bread of Life

Jesus said,

“I Am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty.”

John 6:35

“I Am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

John 6:51

Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.

John 6:27

Every person has a spiritual hunger and a spiritual thirst. We can look to many other things or to other people to try to fill that hunger and thirst. But there is only one on whom our Father God has placed His seal of approval – this is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen, Amen, Amen.

To indicate this, the Apostles Peter and John, who in Christ’s name healed a lame man begging alms at the Beautiful Gate at the temple; when asked; “By what power and by what name have you done this?” Replied,

“Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:10 – 12

• Christ is the living bread that came down from heaven and who gave His life for the world.
• The bread that comes from Christ is the only bread that endures to eternal life.
• When we come to the living bread of Christ we will never hunger again.
• When we believe in Him we will never thirst again.

Christ the Giver of Living Water

Jesus said,

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not yet been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

John 7: 37–39

When Jesus met a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, though Samaritans were a people group the Jews did not normally associate with, He called her to Himself by asking her for a drink. During that time, He said to her,

“‘If you knew the gift of God and Who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.’ ‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can You get this living water?”

John 4:10 & 11

Jesus answered her,

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

John 4:13 & 14

He said this, so that she would be saved.

• Jesus has the only living water that will truly satisfy our needs.
• When we drink of Him, we will never thirst again.
• This water, then becomes a spring welling up within us, to give eternal life.

Christ the Light of the World

Jesus said,

“I Am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12

To walk in darkness is to walk without the light of life. It means walking without truly knowing God or having the light of God within us.

Jesus said,

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

Matthew 6:22 & 23

So how do we experience the light of life within us? Jesus said we will have the light of life when we choose to follow Him.

• As we receive Jesus and begin to walk with Jesus, our eyes and bodies become full of the light that comes from Him.
• The light of Christ dispels all darkness over which Christ has given us complete authority.
• Bringing the light of Christ into what was previously darkness, allows us to experience true freedom in Him.
• We walk a path that is secure, when we walk the path that is lighted by Christ, Who is that light.

Christ the Door of the Sheep

Jesus said,

“Verily, verily, (meaning, truly, truly) I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before Me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

John 10:7–9 KJV

• When we enter through Christ the door, He becomes our Shepherd.
• When we enter through Christ – we enter into eternal life and find safe pasture through Him.

“I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of His sheep. The watchman opens the gate for Him, and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

John 10:1–5 NIV

• Christ is the door to eternal life – He calls His sheep by name.
• When we know His voice, we will follow Him.
• Christ knows by name, all those who follow Him.

Christ the Good Shepherd

Matthew describes this well,

“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Matthew 9:35 & 36

Jesus says,

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

John 10:11

“I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me – just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father – and I lay down My life for the sheep.”

John 10:14 & 15

“I lay down My life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.”

John 10:17–18

• A good shepherd cares for his sheep.
• A good shepherd protects, leads and guides his sheep.
• A good shepherd gives safe pasture.
• Christ is that good Shepherd.
• Because Christ laid down His life for His sheep, when we choose to believe in Him and receive Him; our lives are saved.
• He made the way for eternal life, so that those who believe, will always have a place of safety in Him.

Christ the Resurrection and the Life

Jesus said,

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”
John 11:25 & 26

Jesus spoke these words to Martha after her brother Lazarus had died. Even though Lazarus had been dead for four days and had already been laid to rest, Jesus went to the tomb and said,

“Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard Me. I knew that you always hear Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent Me.’ When He had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’”
John 11:40 – 44

Physical death comes naturally to all people because at some point all must die. But though our physical bodies die – those who have received Christ will go on to receive eternal life.

• Jesus has complete authority over both physical and spiritual death.
• When we believe in Christ and receive Him, we receive eternal life.

Jesus said,

“Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.”

Revelation 2:10 & 11

Spiritual death, or the second death, only comes to those who haven’t believed in and received Christ. Those who do not believe in Him and choose to follow Him, will never experience eternal life. But those who choose to believe in Him, will live forever and never die!

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

Christ the Way and the Truth and the Life

Jesus said,

“I Am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.”

John 14:6 & 7

Jesus Christ says, He is not a way; but THE WAY! Not a truth; but THE TRUTH! Not a life; but THE LIFE!

• There is no other way to God the Father, but through the Lord Jesus Christ.
• There is no other truth, but the truth that is found only, in the Lord Jesus Christ.
• There is no other life, but the life that is found only, in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus says,

“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are One.”

John 10:27–30

• When we know Christ, we know the Father as well.
• Christ and the Father are one.
• Those who receive Christ will never perish, because the Father gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ His Son.

Christ the True Vine

Jesus said,

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to My Father’s glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.”

John 15:1–5

Christ is the true vine. When we come to Christ, we no longer rely on anything or anyone else, but we receive our nourishment and support from Him.

Staying connected to Christ means we listen to His voice (His words), and we produce good fruit when we continue to obey Him. Christ warns, that those who bear no fruit will be cut off by His Father; but that every branch that does bear fruit, God will prune so that it becomes even more fruitful. God wants us to bear good fruit that lasts eternally and that is of Him, but we cannot bear fruit unless we remain connected to Him.

Those that do not remain connected to Him are like branches that wither, that are picked up and thrown into the fire and burned.

• When God’s words remain in us – we remain in Him.
• When we remain in Him and His words remain in us, we can ask whatever we wish and it will be given to us by our Father in heaven.
• This is to our Father’s glory. Amen.

To commend us to Him, the Apostle Paul writes, concerning God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

Colossians 1:15 – 23.

Have you told someone about Jesus Christ the Messiah today?