In Christianity, the word “Christ” refers to the title bestowed upon Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph and Mary, born in Bethlehem during the reign of Herod the Great, perhaps between 6 BCE and 4 BCE. The honorary title Christ refers to the Christian belief that Jesus of Nazareth was the anointed one, the messiah, the savior foretold of in the Old Testament and by John the Baptist in the New Testament.
The word Christ is not derived from Hebrew, the language of the Jews, both Joseph and Mary being Jews, or even Aramaic, another Semitic language popular in Judea during Jesus’ mortal ministry. The word Christ is not derived from any other Semitic language, or Egyptian, Persian, Babylonian, Chaldaic, or any of the other languages of the peoples prominent in the Old Testament, or even Roman, the language of the secular rulers of Judea in New Testament times, All of those languages and peoples certainly influenced the religious practices and believes of the ancient Hebrews over the previous centuries, but none gave us the word Christ.
The word Christ was derived from the language of the Greeks, a language spoken in certain circles in the Biblical lands at least since the times of the conquests of Alexander the Great around 330 BCE, but not a prominent language or people amongst the ancient Hebrews during Old Testament times. The word Christ is derived from a Greek word meaning “the anointed one.” The most common title we give to the Hebrew who fulfilled the prophecy of centuries of Hebrew religious teachings is derived from non-Hebrew sources. In addition, some of the oldest existent copies of these ancient writings are also in Greek, not Hebrew.
Jesus of Nazareth also had and has other common honorary titles. The Savior. The Comforter. Lord. Master. Too many to list.
The words of the Bible, like the title “Christ” itself, also come to us through many centuries and show the influence of many peoples in many different circumstances. Even if the words themselves have not changed, our understanding of the very same words change over time. One of the most popular English translations of the Bible is the King James version which was translated on commission from the Church of England from the oldest available sources in the early 1600’s. One of my favorite verses from that translation is Proverbs 14:4. “Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.” The “crib” in this verse is clearly an enclosure where oxen are kept. The implication is that if there are no oxen in a crib, the crib will stay clean, but without oxen farmers of the time would be without a huge source of labor for growing and transporting produce.
The word crib, though, did not have the same meaning for me the first time I read that scripture in about the year 2000. For me, and most of my contemporaries, the word crib means a small enclosure that a baby sleeps in. Nothing to do with oxen, or farming, or growing and transporting produce. For some of my classmates in high school the word “crib” meant something different yet again. Their usage of the word crib, which is still common in some circles today, was to describe the person’s home. Instead of saying, “I’m going home after school,” the person would say, “I’m going to the crib after school.” If I had insisted on understanding Proverbs 14:4 using my understanding of the word “crib” the verse would have lost all meaning and become non-sensical. The meaning of words change over time, and have different meanings to different people at the same time.
Even words that should have a set meaning, or signify something seemingly set in place, like the name of an individual, can change over time. My first relative on my direct paternal line in the New World was a man named Joris Jacobson, or Joris the son of Jacob. He was likely born around 1625 in the Netherlands. I say Joris Jacobson was his name, but that was only one of his many names. In a time when so many were illiterate, like Joris, the spelling of a name over time could vary greatly, as Joris’ did. In the records that have survived I have seen Joris as Jorris, Jorise, Joriss, and many others. I have seen Jacobson as Jacobse, Jacobsen, Jacobs, and many others. But the changes in his name were not merely clearly the result in changes in spelling. Sometime after the English took over New Amsterdam, which was previously governed by Joris’ Dutch countrymen, Joris Anglicized his first name to George. So for a time Joris Jacobson became George Jacobs. Still later Joris changed his last name to Bouman. So Joris Jacobson, over the course of his lifetime of 80 to 90 years, in an area with a population probably under 10,000 people, had gone by too many names to list and was transformed from Joris Jacobson to George Bouman. Some of his progeny would change their surname once again, from Bouman to Boeman, so that Joris Jacobson has many namesakes throughout the subsequent generations named George Boeman, a name he never went by. Yet Joris was one man, who went by many different names.
What does this say about the words of Christ? Uncounted billions of people have walked the face of the earth since Christ’ words were first spoken. Those uncounted billions lived and live in exponentially more diverse circumstances during the course of their lives. Despite this, the words of the Savior were recorded and preserved, perhaps imperfectly, for the edification and enlightenment of each of us, at every stage of our lives. When we read the words of Christ we should understand not only that His words were spoken and preserved for our benefit, but for the benefit of all of Our Heavenly Father’s children, and for each of us throughout our lives, no matter what circumstances we may find ourselves in at particular point in time. Likewise, our understanding of His words, in our individual place and circumstance, are not necessarily “the” understanding of His words in everyone’s life at every stage of their life. His words transcend the confines in which we wish to keep them.
He is only our individual Savior if he is our collective Savior.