Messi'ah. (anointed). This word, (Mashiach), in the Old Testament, answers to the word Christ, (Christos), in the New Testament, and is applicable in its first sense, to any one anointed with the holy oil. The kings of Israel were called anointed, from the mode of their consecration. 1 Samuel 2:10; 1 Samuel 2:35; 1 Samuel 12:3; 1 Samuel 12:5; etc.
This word also refers to the expected Prince of the Chosen People who was to complete God's purposes for them, and to redeem them, and of whose coming, the prophets of the Old Covenant, in all time, spoke. He was the Messiah, The Anointed, that is, consecrated as the King and Prophet by God's appointment.
The word is twice used in the New Testament of Jesus. John 1:41; John 4:25. Authorized Version, "Messias."
The earliest gleam of the gospel is found in the account of the fall. Genesis 3:15.
The blessings in store for the children of Shem are remarkable indicated in the words of Noah. Genesis 9:26.
Next, follows the promise to Abraham. Genesis 12:2-3.
A great step is made in Genesis 49:10. This is the first case in which the promises distinctly centre in one person.
The next passage usually quoted is the prophecy of Balaam. Numbers 24:17-19.
The prophecy of Moses, Deuteronomy 18:18, claims attention.
Passages in the Psalms are numerous, which are applied to the Messiah in the New Testament; such as Psalms 2; Psalms 16; Psalms 22; Psalms 40; Psalms 110.
The advance in clearness in this period is great. The name of Anointed, that is, King, comes in, and the Messiah is to come of the Lineage of David. He is described in his exaltation, with his great kingdom that shall be spiritual rather than temporal. Psalms 2; Psalms 21; Psalms 40; Psalms 110.
In other places, he is seen in suffering and humiliation. Psalms 16; Psalms 22; Psalms 40.
Later on, the prophets show the Messiah as a king and ruler of David's house, who should come to reform and restore the Jewish nation and purify the Church, as in Isaiah 11; Isaiah 40-66. The blessings of the restoration, however, will not be confined to Jews; the heathen are made to share them fully. Isaiah 2:66.
The passage of Micah 5:2, (compare Matthew 2:6, left no doubt in the mind of the Sanhedrin, as to the birthplace of the Messiah. The lineage of David is again alluded to in Zechariah 12:1-14. The coming of the Forerunner and of The Anointed is clearly revealed in Malachi 3:1; John 4:5-6.
The Pharisees, and those of the Jews who expected Messiah, at all looked for a temporal prince only. The apostles themselves were infected with this opinion till after the resurrection. Matthew 20:20-21; Luke 24:21; Acts 1:6. Gleams of a purer faith appear in Luke 2:30; Luke 23:42; John 4:25.