Hello everybody, and welcome in to episode TEN of the Bible 2021 podcast. We are reading Mark 8 today, and our focus is on the title of Jesus, the Christ, or the Messiah. Thank you for joining us for Bible 2021! We are a daily podcast, where we will dig into ten minutes of truth from the Word of God by reading one Bible chapter a day. Our focus this year is on DAILY Bible reading, so you can jump in at any time and join with us. We want to invite as many people as possible to join us in daily Bible reading, so help spread the word and share the podcast Don’t forget about our new web-page, Bible2021.com – contact page, show notes, transcript and more – Click here for our reading plan!
What does it mean that Jesus is the Messiah? Some people think that Jesus’ last name was Christ, but Christ was the title of Jesus, not a surname. His last name would have been based on His human father’s name, so Jesus would have been Yeshua Ben Yosef – Jesus, son of Joseph. The word ‘Christ’ is an English translation of a Greek word, ‘Xristos,’ which is itself a Greek translation of a Hebrew word that means messiah. In our passage today, Jesus asks His disciples if people know who He is. They tell Him that some think He is a prophet, some think He is Elijah, and still others, Herod included, thought He was John the Baptist. And then Jesus asks His disciples a more personal question – what about you guys – who do you say that I am? Peter’s answer to that question is our verse of the day, Mark 8:29, “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” This insight please Jesus, and causes Him to reply to Peter (as recorded in Matthew 16), “17 Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” So let’s read our chapter, and then we can discuss what it actually means that Jesus is the Messiah.
Our friends at Gotquestions.org have a great answer to this question, and it is quite succinct, so allow me to quote it here:
Messiah comes from the Hebrew word mashiach and means “anointed one” or “chosen one.” The Greek equivalent is the word Christos or, in English, Christ. The name “Jesus Christ” is the same as “Jesus the Messiah.” In biblical times, anointing someone with oil was a sign that God was consecrating or setting apart that person for a particular role. Thus, an “anointed one” was someone with a special, God-ordained purpose.
In the Old Testament, people were anointed for the positions of prophet, priest, and king. God told Elijah to anoint Elisha to succeed him as Israel’s prophet (1 Kings 19:16). Aaron was anointed as the first high priest of Israel (Leviticus 8:12). Samuel anointed both Saul and David as kings of Israel (1 Samuel 10:1; 16:13). All of these men held “anointed” positions. But the Old Testament predicted a coming Deliverer, chosen by God to redeem Israel (Isaiah 42:1; 61:1–3). This Deliverer the Jews called the Messiah.
Jesus of Nazareth was and is the prophesied Messiah (Luke 4:17–21; John 4:25–26). Throughout the New Testament, we see proof that Jesus is the Chosen One: “These [miracles] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). We also hear testimonies that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). The ultimate evidence that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah, the Anointed One, is His resurrection from the dead. Acts 10:39–43 is an eyewitness testimony to His resurrection and the fact that “he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.” Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/what-does-Messiah-mean.html
Cornelius Van Til: “The law we have was [made official] after the entrance of sin. Originally there was no need of such an external promulgation. Adam was spontaneously religious. The law was written on his heart. The prophet Jeremiah promised that the Messiah would in principle restore this condition. Christ has given us once more the true love for God and therefore also the true love for God’s law.”
Cornelius Van Til and Eric H. Sigward, Unpublished Manuscripts of Cornelius Van Til, Electronic ed. (Labels Army Company: New York, 1997).
We see this wonderful new covenant, ushered in by the Messiah, proclaimed in Jeremiah 31:33 33 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
End of the Show: Bible memory verse for January: Mark 1:15 15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
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