At first, it appears that “Christ” might be somehow Jesus’ surname. However, it is not a name, but rather a title. It comes from the Greek word “XPIΣTOΣ” or “CHRISTOS”, meaning “the anointed one”. However, this only raises the question: what does it mean for Christ to be anointed?

In fact, the “anointing” had a number of different meanings, as one can see through looking through the Old Testament. There were, in fact, three different groups of people who were anointed, and which calling Jesus “Christos” refers to:

Priests: One group that was often anointed were the priests of Israel. When one became a priest, one received an oil on one’s head. This refers to Christ’s own role as the priest in his ultimate sacrifice of himself for the atonement of sins. He was anointed to perform the task of sacrificing himself, the “lamb of God”.

Prophets: Prophets were those who proclaimed God’s word to successive generations of the Jewish people. While Jesus was not only a prophet, he was also a prophet. He proclaimed that the Kingdom of God had arrived and called for people to repent of their sins, just as most prophets did.

Kings: Those who were called to rule the people of Israel were anointed with oil when they became kings. Jesus is the king not only of Israel, but of all creation, including both heaven and earth. Catholics celebrate this kingship during the Feast of Christ the King.

However, while all three of these are true, there is another important meaning. The Messiah, who was to save the people of Israel, was also referred to as the “christos”. Jesus also fulfilled this role, though the kind of kingdom and the kind of salvation that he provided was somewhat different than what had been anticipated.

Calling Jesus “Christ”, then, refers to him as the “anointed one”. This refers to his roles as priest, prophet, king and Messiah.