Why do we call Jesus’s birthday
CHRISTmas or why for that matter are His followers called CHRISTians? First of all, let me say I don’t know
why. Luke records in Acts that the disciples
were first called Christians in Antioch; but, does not give the reason. Why not “Jesusites like all the other “ites”
in the Bible or “Jesusians”? Why the
name “Christ? Jesus was the name that
the angel Gabriel, told Mary to name the Child.
Now, I am not a Greek or Hebrew scholar; but I can read a concordance
and lexicon. Jesus is the transliteration of the
Hebrew Yehoshua"/Jehoshua, contracted to "Joshua", which means Yahweh saves. Christ means “the anointed one”. In my simple mind, the name “Jesus” is a
statement of what He did for me and all man kind. “Christ” is a title referring to who He was
and His relationship with His Father and the Holy Spirit. Luke records the words of Jesus:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted , to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised , To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
The Christ was chosen, was commissioned for a task, “to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted , to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised , To preach the acceptable year of the Lord”
Paul told the Corinthians:
“it is
God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his
seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit,
guaranteeing what is to come.”
Peter says that we:
“are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar * people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light .”
When
Jesus sent out the seventy He charged them:
Go! I am sending you out
like lambs among wolves… Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is
near you.'
When
He sent out the twelve He charged them likewise:
When Jesus had called the
Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and
to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal
the sick.
When we identify ourselves as
Christians, it is serious, at least it should be. We are to be His chosen, anointed people,
consecrated for a task, more than a “saved one”. To many people identify as a Christian
because the know that they are not an atheist, agnostic, deist, Muslim, Hindu,
Buddhist, so they must be a Christian. I
find it ironic that as I type on my computer, my word program recognizes that
the word Christian must be capitalize because it is a proper noun or title,
that’s more than a lot of Christians do.
As you celebrate Christmas remember
that December 25 is not just Jesus’ birthday, the one who saves; but He was and
is the Anointed One and that we as Christians are likewise anointed with the
same Holy Spirit, as Jesus, as the twelve, the seventy, Stephen, Paul, Barnabas
and all the early Christians in Antioch.
We have been given a task, just like all of the above, not to be just
saved, but appointed, anointed.
