MESSIAH THE PRINCE

‘Messiah’ is originally a Hebrew term which has passed into religious English vocabulary as one of the well known titles of the Lord Jesus. In our King James translation it occurs only four times, twice in each Testament. The Old Testament references are found in our portion today. The Samaritan woman said, ‘I know that Messias cometh’, John 4. 25. It was the joyful note of discovery as those early disciples declared, ‘We have found the Messias’, John 1. 41. These verses in John inform us that this Hebrew term finds its Greek equivalent in the term ‘Christ’.

Actually, the Hebrew word occurs thirty nine times in the OT where, on the other thirty-seven occasions, it is translated ‘anointed’. It designates one who has received the distinction of the sacred anointing. By this the individual has been consecrated to an office and set apart for a specific purpose. Most frequently, it referred to an anointed king. Saul, David and Solomon are all included in this category. It was also employed to distinguish the high priest, Lev. 4. 3, 5, 16. Prophets were also anointed at times, 1 Kgs. 19.16.

Each anointing was prophetic of One who, as ‘the Christ’, would fulfill every office and, in the full power of the Holy Spirit, meet every human need. As God’s anointed Prophet, He speaks the words of God; as God’s anointed Priest, He opens up the way to God; as God’s anointed King, He executes the will of God. He reveals; He reconciles; He rules. These offices of the Messiah exactly match our weakness. Every part of our personality has been damaged by the fall. To enlighten the darkness of our minds we require the revelations of the anointed Prophet; to calm the disturbance of our feelings we need the redemption of the anointed Priest; to subdue the defiance of our wills we must recognize the rule of the anointed King.

The superiority of our Lord Jesus is seen in that all three offices are found complete in Him. Melchizedek was king and priest. Moses was prophet and priest. David was king and prophet. Only One combines and completes all that God intended in these offices. Truly, He is anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows, Ps. 45. 7.