Christ

°	"Messiah" / "Christ"		°

Hebrew

Greek

Each of the above terms in their respective languages, have the exact same meaning... "The Annointed One". Remember that the Old Testament was written in the Hebrew language, and the New Testament was written in Greek. Greece was the dominant artistic culture during the time of the New Testament's writing.

1. Old Testament; "MESSIAH"
Stated another way, when we read from the Old Testament about the Saviour who would come, such as in this example from the book DANIEL;

Daniel 9:25
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

We can see that Jesus of Nazareth is referred to as "Messiah". The actual Hebrew word used in that verse is the word "mashiyach". Here is the Strong's definition;

Strong's # 4899 mashiyach (maw-shee'-akh); from 4886; anointed; usually a consecrated person (as a king, priest, or saint); specifically, the Messiah: KJV-- anointed, Messiah. (DIC)

Many of our Jewish brothers and sisters in the Saviour refer to Him now as Yeshua Ha Mashiach, and this is where the term originates. Shout "Hallelujah" the next time that you here it!

2.New Testament; "CHRIST"
A period of about 400 years passed between the completion of the Old Testament and the New. Greece had begun to dominate the cultural world during that time, and is the reason that the New Testament was written in that language. When reading about our Saviour there, we see such verses as this example from Matthew;

Matt 16:16
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Strong's # 5547 Christos (khris-tos'); from 5548; anointed, i.e. the Messiah, an epithet of Jesus: KJV-- Christ. (DIC)

The actual Greek word written at the time was "Christos", as we can ascertain from the above Strong's Greek-Hebrew dictionary definition. Again, it means "The Annointed One" just like Hebrew "Messiah" does.

In this realization, we can find a unity among the believers in the Saviour who gave His life for us all and rose again. The two terms are used interchangably here at the Salvation Station, in an effort to promote such unity.

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Web Author:Michael Stevenson Updated: 12/16/2004 7:39PM