1.2.3.8 Because he was the
"Messiah/Christ" and the "Word"?
Many people believe "Messiah" to be a mystical Biblical
term which had been reserved by God from the beginning of
time as a direct equivalent of "only begotten Son." For this
reason, when they see that Jesus is referred to in the Bible
as "The Messiah" they immediately translate this to mean
"The Son of God." In order to clear up this misconception,
let us first define the true meaning of the word Messiah and
then show it's exact usage in the Bible.
The word "Messiah" is the English version of the Hebrew
word mashiyach {maw-shee'-akh}. The literal meaning of this
word in the Hebrew language is "to anoint." In our present
day, it is customary for those who are appointed to high
office (ie. the President of the US, Supreme Court justices,
etc.) to attend a solemn ritual wherein that person is
consecrated into office. During this ritual, certain rights
of passage or ascension must be performed, such as repeating
a solemn oath and so forth. Once such rituals have been
successfully completed, only then is that person considered
to have officially received the rights and obligations of
this office.
In a similar fashion, in ancient times it was a common
practice among the Jews to "anoint" those who were appointed
positions of high authority. If we were to read the Bible we
would find that every priest and king of ancient Israel was
"anointed" by their people as a sign of official
consecration to office. Further, we find that it was not at
all uncommon for inanimate objects and even pagans to be
"anointed." For example:
Solomon:
1 Kings 1:39 "And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil
out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew
the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king
Solomon."
David:
1 Samuel 16:13 "Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and
anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of
the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel
rose up, and went to Ramah."
Jewish priests:
Leviticus 4:3 "If the priest that is anointed do sin
according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for
his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without
blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering."
Cyrus the pagan:
Isaiah 45:1 "Thus saith the LORD to his Messiah, to
Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations
before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open
before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be
shut;"
A pillar:
Genesis 31:13 "I [am] the God of Bethel, where
thou anointedst the pillar, [and] where thou vowedst
a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and
return unto the land of thy kindred."
The tabernacle:
Leviticus 8:10 "And Moses took the anointing oil, and
anointed the tabernacle and all that [was] therein,
and sanctified them."
A cherub:
Ezekiel 28:14 "Thou [art] the anointed cherub
that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast
upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down
in the midst of the stones of fire."
Sick people:
Mark 6:13 "And they cast out many devils, and anointed
with oil many that were sick, and healed [them]."
Jesus anoints a blind man
John 9:6 "When he had thus spoken, he spat on the
ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the
eyes of the blind man with the clay,"
When this word was translated into ancient Greek, the
words used were "Messias" {mes-see'-as} and "Christos"
{khris-tos'} (see John 1:41, 4:25). This is where we get the
word "Christ" from, it was originally derived from the Greek
word for "anoint." Jesus was indeed "christened," or
"anointed," or "baptized," by John the Baptist before the
beginning of his ministry as seen for example in Matthew
3:16 among many other verses.
This is not to say that just because the word "Messiah"
was applied to others that it was not a specific designation
for Jesus. It only goes to show that this title does not
imply a position as "Son of God."
For example, all of the prophets of God are "friends of
God," however, only prophet Abraham received this title as
an official designation for himself (James 2:23). In a
similar manner, all of the prophets of God in ancient Israel
were all "anointed" prophets, however, as an official
designation, this title was reserved exclusively for Jesus.
This is indeed confirmed in the noble Qur'an:
"And the angles said 'O Mary, Allah gives you glad
tidings of a Word from Him, his name is Messiah, Jesus son
of Mary, High honored in this world and the next, of those
near stationed to Allah."
The noble Qur'an, Aal-Umran(3):40
In fact, prophet Abraham is also fondly referred to by
Muslims as the "Khaleel-ullah" ("Friend of God"), and
prophet Moses is referred to as "Kaleem-ullah" ("The one
spoken to by God"). However, just because prophet Abraham is
the "friend of God," this does not imply that all other
prophets (Noah, Moses, etc.) are all "enemies of God."
Similarly, just because Jesus (pbuh) is a "word" from God
and a "spirit" from Him does not imply that that he is "part
of" God, or that this designation is exclusive to him. For
example, in the Qur'an we read:
"So when I (God) have fashioned him (Adam) and
breathed into him of My spirit, fall you (Angels, and those
in attendance) down in prostration before him."
The noble Qur'an, Al-Hijr(15):29
"Verily! Our (Allah's) Word unto a thing when We
intend it, is only that We say unto it "Be!" - and it is"
The noble Qur'an, Al-Nahil(16):40 (please also read
chapter 14)
To make such terminology clearer, let us take the example
of the term "house of God," or "My house" as seen in the
Bible and the Qur'an in 1 Chronicles 9:11, and
Al-Bakarah(2):125. If God is not confined to a specific
house or location (both Muslims and Christians agree to
this), then what is meant by the words "house of God"? Every
house on earth belongs to God, however, we do not call bars
or brothels "houses of God" but we do call houses of worship
"houses of God." The true meaning is that God is showing
favor upon this house by associating it with His name. God
bestows such titles upon those whom He wishes to bestow His
favor upon from among His creation by virtue of the piety
and worship which is displayed to God in association with
this creation. It was the selfless dedication and piety of
Jesus (pbuh) towards his Creator which was rewarded by God
by associating Jesus' spirit with His name.
In a similar manner, the reference to Jesus being a
"word" from God does not mean that Jesus is "part of" God.
For example, in many places in the Bible God refers tp His
"word." We can see this for example:
"Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall
not enter into the land which I have given unto the children
of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water
of Meribah."
Numbers 20:24
Does "my word" here mean "Jesus"? There are numerous
other examples.
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