Magyar Egyház, 1956 (35. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)

1956-11-01 / 11. szám

MAGYAR EGYHÁZ IS JESUS IS THE CHRIST ... Heidelberg Catechism Question 31: WHY IS HE CALLED CHRIST, that is, ANOINTED? Answer: BECAUSE HE IS ORDAINED OF GOD THE FATHER, AND ANOINTED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, TO BE OUR CHIEF PROPHET AND TEACH­ER, WHO HAS FULLY REVEALED TO US THE SECRET COUNSEL AND WILL OF GOD CONCERN­ING OUR REDEMPTION; AND OUR ONLY HIGH PRIEST, WHO BY THE ONE SACRIFICE OF HIS BODY HAS REDEEMED US, AND MAKES CONTIN­UAL INTERCESSION FOR US WITH THE FATHER; AND OUR ETERNAL KING, WHO GOVERNS US BY HIS WORD AND SPIRIT, AND DEFENDS AND PRES­ERVES US IN THE SALVATION OBTAINED FOR US. Question 32: BUT WHY ARE YOU CALLED CHRISTIAN? Answer: BECAUSE I AM A MEMBER OF CHRIST BY FAITH, AND THUS A PARTAKER OF HIS ANOINTING, THAT I MAY CONFESS HIS NAME, PRESENT MYSELF A LIVING SACRIFICE OF THANKFULNESS TO HIM, AND WITH A FREE AND GOOD CONSCIENCE FIGHT AGAINST SIN AND THE DEVIL IN THIS LIFE, AND HEREAFTER REIGN WITH HIM ETERNALLY OVER ALL CREATURES. TEXT: John 21:30-31,... that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ . . . The evangelist John says here that he has written his whole book with this one purpose in mind: that we, the readers, may believe that Jesus is the Christ. Obviously, John means something else by the word “Christ” than we ordinarily do. We tend to think of Christ as part of the name of the One whom we have accepted as our Lord and Savior — Jesus Christ. The two names are associated in our minds like the first and last names of our friends and acquaintances. As a matter of fact, even the New Testament, in the epistles, for example, uses the words “Jesus Christ” together habitually, as a single name. But this was not the original significance of “Christ”. It was not at first merely a second name for Jesus. If you were to ask, “Well, what was Jesus’ last name?”, the answer would be, “Probably Ben-Joseph, i.e., Josephson.” In those days, people did not have surnames that were passed down from generation to generation, but each man added to his own given name the name of his father. Since legally, though not physically, Joseph was Jesus’ father, Jesus’ name would be: Jesus ben Joseph, or Jesus Josephson. What, then, is the name “Christ”? Why has it become so completely associated with the name “Jesus” as almost to form one word? “Christ” is a Greek word. In Greek, it means “anointed” — one upon whom oil has been poured or rubbed. Anointing with oil was very common in the ancient Mediterranean world. As we today have oint­ments and salves for wounds and infections, so the ancient people used oil, usually olive oil, medicinallv. Just as women today use perfumes and creams for eoemetic purposes, so the women of ancient times used fragrant oils — they were good for the skin, and pleasant to the smell. But among the Jews, anointment also had a reli­gious use. It was associated with the consecration, or setting apart, of people for special service to the Lord, and it symbolized the grace of God, or the Holy Spirit with them. One poet refers to it as “... anointing oil, (which consecrates for holy toil,) the servants of the Lord.” This rite of anointing is not generally observed by people today, but many of you may have seen it a few years ago when Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain was crowned at Westminster Abbey. Next to the actual crowning, the most sacred part of that impressive cere­mony was the anointing of the young queen with oil by the archbishop of Canterbury. This ancient ceremony is derived from Jewish practice described in the Bible, by which persons were set apart as prophets, or priests, or kings, to serve the Lord. Now I said that “Christ” was the Greek word for a person who had been thus anointed. Of course, the Jews had a word for it, too. Their word was “Messiah”, and it meant exactly the same thing as “Christ”, namely “anointed”. Although prophets were sometimes anointed to their sacred office, and priests usually, in time, the Jews began to think of this rite particularly in connection with the head of their nation, their King. You remem­ber from your Bible history how Samuel, the old judge, anointed first Saul, and later David to be King of Israel. In time, the King came to be referred to, pre-eminently, as “the Anointed One” — the Messiah. But, you remember, after the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah in 586 B.C. there was no more Messiah, or anointed King, to sit upon the throne of David. Even after the restoration of the Jews to their homeland, and the rebuilding of the city and temple of Jerusalem, the throne remained empty, like the throne of Hungary, after the World War I. There was a Kingdom without a King. True, just before Jesus’ birth, one did arrogate to himself the title of “King” — Herod. But even he never dared claim to be the rightful Jewish king. He was an Edomite, a foreigner, and not a Hebrew at all, and his reign was only toler­ated because he had the support of the Roman trooos. The people, however, longed for a rightful king, a Messiah, to sit upon the throne. But in the course of many centuries of expectation, they no longer thought of this coming ruler as an ordinary human being, but as a supernatural personage who would take over the burdens of the nation and save it from the sad fate which had befallen it. All the prophecies of the Old Testament which referred to a coming Deliv­erance were now believed to refer to the great King of the Jews who would arise and save the people. Hence, they were called “Messianic prophecies” — and many devout people, like Simeon and old Anna, who are mentioned in the beginning of the gospel of Luke, prayed constantly for His appearance. Now, when Jesus revealed Himself to men. His followers became convinced that He was the Messiah for whom their people had so long prayed. They did not juat give Him thi* name to flatter Hi», either. Jesus knew that He was the Messiah, and He assumed the position and authority of the Messiah from the

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