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Reading: Acts 2:14-41

If Christianity is all about Jesus of Nazareth as we considered last Sunday evening perhaps the best known description of this man is as Christ, or, the Christ. After all His followers were very called "Christians" by the watching world and the religion that centres on Jesus goes by the name Christianity.

As soon as we start to read the New Testament of our Bibles we are confronted again and again with the fact that this man Jesus is referred to as Christ or as the Christ. As with the name Jesus the name/title Christ is found in 26 of the 27 books that constitute the NT – the one exception again being the Third Letter of John which is itself contains the fewest number of words of any of the books of the Bible!

In all the word Christ appears more than 500 times in the NT.  A little over half the times the word appears it stands alone as "Christ" or the Christ and for the other occurences it apears in the following combinations:

Christ Jesus – Jesus Christ – Lord Jesus Christ – Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ – Lord Christ.

The NT begins with the gospels and the word Christ appears more than 50 times in a wide variety of different contexts. Although the word is used throughout the life of our Lord it is used most often in contexts that speak of our Lord's sufferings and death. Jesus did use the title to speak of Himself but in a guarded way probably because of the misconceptions that abounded, misconceptions that He had no wish to encourage. Before we move on to consider some of the occurences of the word Christ in the gospels we must first pause to make sure that we understand what the word does mean.

Jewish hopes were centred upon the establishment of God's rule or kingdom. As time progressed this hope came to be associated with the coming of a divine agent who would exercise this rule. Such a person would be a king who was anointed by God and of David's line. The term "Anointed One", which could be used of a king, a priest or a prophet, came to be used as something of a technical term in the period between the close of the OT and the opening of the NT to describe this agent of God. The word used of this "Anointed One" was Messiah. The corresponding word in the NT, written in Greek, is Christ.

The NT also makes it very clear that Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus read from OT Scriptures in the synagogue at Capernaum and applied them to Himself:

Lk.4:18-19 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."

Preaching in Cornelius' house Peter told the gathered assembly:

Acts 10:38 "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power."

Nor is this all. The Bible tells us all that in the great gift of God's Son, Jesus Christ, we have the One who fulfilled the Jewish prophecies concerning the Messiah!

Peter on the great day of Pentecost concluded his sermon with the firm declaration that this was indeed the case:

Acts 2:36 "Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."

Having considered a number of OT prophetic passages Peter urged his listeners to recognise that they must not look for any other person to come to institute the reign of the kingdom of God because this man Jesus and He alone had been "set aside" for this very task. The anointing does just that – it sets apart for special service/ministry and appoints to a particular purpose. Our Lod Jesus was anointed/set apart for the purpose of coming to be the deliverer of His people and in so doing to establish the Kingdom of God.

We can become so familiar with the word Christ that we easily forget how crucial it is. There is only One who has been anointed to deliver sinners from their sins and that deliverer is the our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: as Peter was himself to preach again a number of days later

Acts 4:12 "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Perhaps our very familiarity with the word Christ stops us seeing just how important and relevant the term acutally is. Let's take a little time to consider some instances of its use in the gospel narratives.

Mt.1:1 "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ…"

The NT opens after four hundred years of silence by immediately introducing the coming of the Messiah, the Christ as Jesus is presented as being in the royal line of King David.

The formal genealogy gives way to what we know as the birth narratives:

Mt.1:18 "Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way."

The child to be born is none other than the long anticipated divine agent, Immanuel come at last to save His people from their sins!

Angels were involved in telling both Joseph and Mary what to expect. Mary's child is special having been conceived not by infidelity but by the direct intervention of God the Holy Spirit. Angels are also involved in declaring to the shepherds quietly minding their own business out on the hillside of the birth of this special child.

Lk.2:11 "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord."

In fact everything surrounding the birth of this baby directs our attention to His person and His mission if only we take care to look:

The old man Simeon is in the temple at just the right moment to meet Joseph and Mary as they bring Jesus  in order to present Him to the Lord according to the requirements of the Mosaic Law. And Luke makes a point of telling us of the special knowledge that had previously been communicated to Simeon:

Lk.2:26 "And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ."

Simeon goes on at once to bless God for allowing him to see the salvation of the Lord, an event that will be of world-wide import – and this because he has just seen Jesus, the Christ!

The wise men have come a long way led by unusual stellar activity and arriving in Jerusalem they inquire after the new born king. There is no such new-born in Jerusalem but neither Herod nor the religious authorities surrounding him at a loss for an explanation – a king is to come and that king will be the Christ:

Mt.2:3-4 "When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born."

Skipping ahead a number of years we come to the ministry of John the Baptist.

When John burst so dramatically upon the scene preaching fearlessly and with great passion the crowds began to wonder whether he might not be the Christ they were expecting. John left all who heard him in no doubt that he wasn't the Messiah but had come to prepare for His coming.

And John directed people's attention away from himself and to the Lord Jesus – he even encouraged his own followers to see in this man Jesus from Nazareth the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn.1:29) The day after John said this to his disciples Andrew went to see Jesus for himself. A day spent with Jesus was sufficient to convince him and he's off to recruit his brother Peter. The words he uses are significant:

Jn.1:41 "He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ)."

The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is to be identified with the Messiah!

As Jesus' ministry developed and He went about preaching, teaching and performing miraculous signs (as John calls the miracles of Jesus in his gospel) men and women began to ask themselves questions as to the true identity of this remarkable man.

He was so unusual, so powerful and alone among men especially as John the Baptist had so emphatically rejected any notion that he might be the One – so the people began to ask "Is Jesus the Messiah?"

This happened both amongst the Samaritans and amongst the Jews:

In John ch.4 we read of Jesus encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. In their conversation the woman raises the matter of the coming Messiah and Jesus confirms to her that He is indeed the Christ. She returns to speak to her compatriots and does so in the form of an invitation and a question:

Jn.4:29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

You will remember what happened next. The Samaritans went out to meet Jesus for themselves and it doesn't take them long to come the conclusion that this man recommended to them as the Christ is the Saviour of the World!

It was less clear cut as far as the Jews were concerned – and yet, even with the hostility of the religious leaders towards Jesus there were others who did believe in Him:

Jn.7:31 "Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

And others declared directly:

Jn.7:41 "This is the Christ."

It wasn't only some of the Jews who recognised that the mighty works that He performed testified to the fact that He was the Christ. Luke also records that demons recognised His power and authority and knew Him to be the Christ.

And what about Jesus' disciples as they lived with Him and enjoyed His company day-in and day-out? What did they make of Him? What was their assessment of Him as they got to know and appreciate more and more about Him?

Listen to Peter as he speaks as the representative of the 12:

Mt.16:16 “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

From what follows it would appear that Peter doesn't yet understand exactly what he has said and what it really means and how it will all pan out but nevertheless he has made a very clear and definite declaration that Jesus is the Messiah! And Jesus, far from correcting Peter, declares that what Peter has said is true:

Mt.16:17 "Blessed are you, Simon Bar–Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."

Because many people at the time held erroneous views concerning just what the Messiah was going to do Jesus didn't encourage His disciples to propagate this news at this stage of His ministry. Many thought of the Messiah as primarily a political deliverer who would lead a successful military campaign against the occupying Romans. So the free and open declaration of Jesus' Messiahship would have to wait until a time when His rejection, His sufferings and His death could be more clearly understood.

As we come to the end of Jesus' earthly life the matter of Jesus' claim to be the Christ comes very much to the fore.

The Jewish leaders have settled in their hostility against Him and regard any such claim to be an automatic blasphemy. As Jesus is put on trial before them they press on to secure their goal of condemning Him for just that blasphemy:

Mk.14:61-64 "Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”  And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy."

Mocking and violence follows as the Jews taunt Jesus over His claim to be the Christ. It will not be long before they prevailed upon the Romans to crucify this dangerous man who in proclaiming Himself Christ proclaims Himself to be a king and Rome will not tolerate rivals! The mockery will continue around the cross as again His enemies taunt Him over what they regard as His unacceptable claim to be God's Messiah!

And so Jesus Christ dies! But He does not stay dead!! King David had already spoken a thousand years before prophesying that God would not allow Him to see corruption but that He would raise Christ up so that He might sit on the throne. He was speaking of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead!

Peter goes on to apply his message. Although the Jews had rejected and done away with Jesus it was indeed this self-same Jesus that God had appointed to be both Lord and Christ. As Lord He is sovereign and to rule in Holy splendour and majesty, as Christ He is the One set apart to secure the salvation of all those who will put their trust in Him and in Him alone!

The Jews had made a phenomenal mistake and yet in their failure they had unwittingly accomplished the eternal plan and purpose of Almighty God. The Christ had come and fulfilled His ministry. He was now raised from the dead and so able to deliver all those who would trust Him. The appeal is then launched – repent! Admit you've done wrong. Own up. Tell God He was right all along. Declare yourself openly and publicly for Jesus Christ by becoming a disciple and by following Him through the waters of baptism.

In responding thus to Jesus of Nazareth, the Unique One set apart by God, there is remission of sins and there is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Rev.22:21 "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."