Blessed Father, I thank You for this time, this opportunity to gather
together in Your name. We glorify You Oh Lord, Lift Your Name on High!
You alone are Worthy, Lord. I ask that You would bless us with 
Your Holy Spirit, descend upon this place, ringing us peace, eyes to
see, ears to hera and hearts that are open to receive Your Word, 
Your Truth.
Holy Spirit, take control, use this willing servant to tell of the 
wonder of Your love for us. Teach us oh Lord. Give us understanding, 
speak to each heart gathered in your name here tonight.
In the name of our Blessed Savior, Jesus Christ, I bind you satan, 
I rebuke your attempts at confusion, deception and any attempts of 
drawing us away from our focus on the Lord.
Thank You Jesus, May we come to know You more closely as we lift You 
on high, study Your word and contemplate the Wonder of You. Amen.


Last week we began our study of Jesus in Matthew 16:15-16 When Jesus 
said to His disciples, “Who do you say that I am ?” and Simon Peter 
answered, "You are the Christ,  the Son of the living God."......
We found out that the disciples were ordinary people...not super 
saints....people just like us....and that Jesus taught His disciples 
by example...through talking to them and giving them understanding of 
the parables He told others...He was a living example of God’s love.
Among other points, we discussed what was meant by the term Living God...
a real, loving, caring, Almighty Father, who is alive and active in our
lives..not some wooden, carved, stone, dead object...
A God who loves us, so much that He sent Jesus to show us the Way, 
to bring us eternal life with Him through His gift of salvation. Those
who accept Him as Lord will live forever with Him as promised in
John 3:16!! 


Let’s start tonight’s study discussing ....Why  Simon Peter called 
Jesus...the Christ. Why not just Jesus? or Jesus Christ?....
do you know what Christ means?? And it’s not Jesus’ last name either!!

According to Vine’s, Christ is one of the many names and titles 
applied and  given to Jesus Christ relating to His person and His 
ministry. 

Christ is one of many Messianic titles referring to Jesus.
Messianic refers to the Messiah.

..such as the Aforepromised, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Son 
(Only Begotten; seed) of God; King of the Jews; the Lion of Judah; 
the Comforter; the Counsellor; the Prophet; the Suffering Servant; 
the Lamb of God; the High Priest; the Dayspring and Day-star...

Throughout the bible, both the old and new testaments, Jesus is 
spoken of.... His birth, ministry, miracles, death on the cross, 
resurrection and second coming were all prophesied in the old testament. 

David spoke of the coming Messiah in Psalms, Isaiah prophesied the 
coming of the Son of God as did many others in the old testament books.
When Simon Peter  answered Jesus saying... “You are the Christ, the Son
of the Living God...he was confirming that Jesus was the One prophesied
of old...

The word Christ comes from the Greek word “christos” which means 
“Messiah”. In Hebrew, “Messiah” means “ the Anointed One”.

So, Simon Peter, in calling Jesus “the Christ”...he was actually 
saying... You are the Anointed One, the Messiah....the one we’ve been 
waiting for!!

The term anointed means “To consecrate, set apart solemnly for a 
particular purpose.” Simon Peter knew that had God set Jesus apart 
from others for His purpose.

Any comments on what that purpose was/is???

Yes!! God anointed, consecrated Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power 
to heal the sick, raise the dead, destroy the yoke that satan binds us
with, to defeat death... and to bring the Good News of salvation, 
redemption, and everlasting life to the people! And He’s still doing it
today!!! Alleluia!!!
Now that we know that the name Christ means the Anointed One, the 
Messiah...Let’s find out what the name Jesus means...Jesus is a literal
translation of the Hebrew “Joshua”meaning “Jehovah is salvation” and/or
“is the Savior”. An angel appeared before Jesus’ birth to Joesph in
Matthew1:21, and told him to name the baby Jesus.

So Jesus’ name...Jesus Christ means ...the Savior, our salvation, 
who is the Anointed One, the Messiah. 


What is a Savior and why do we need one?? 

In the Bible, a savior is more than someone who just rescues you from 
trouble. A savior also brought back what was stolen from you, what the
devil had tricked you out of. And Jesus is also a savior who brings 
healing and health to your body. We need a savior because we are lost,
confused , unhappy, and depressed. The devil has stolen our peace, our
joy and our love and instead has given us strife,arguments, unhappiness
and hate. Hate for others, as well as making us believe we deserve to 
hate ourselves and who we think we are. The devil has taken away our 
health and given us sickness. He has confused our minds and caused us 
to fear God. 

In Isaiah 61:1-3, Isaiah prophesied Jesus’ purpose as:
1 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me,
To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the 
brokenhearted,To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of 
the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of 
the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 
To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The
oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of 
heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting
of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”......and that’s just the 
beginning!!!.

Jesus also preached the same message in the temple in His home town of 
Nazareth, as it is recorded in Luke 4:16-20. The people of His hometown
were accustomed to having Jesus read from the scriptures, as He had done
so since the age of 12. However, starting in verse 21 of Luke 4, when 
Jesus said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled while you are present
and hearing.", the people marveled at the words of grace coming from Him,
but did not believe that He was their Messiah...He was just the carpenter's
son...not the Son of God...and they proceeded to push Him up the hill and
were going to cast Him off...Jesus escaped and went on to Capernaum, a town 
in Galilee where He continued to teach, spread the Good News, cast out 
demons, and heal the sick.
What's the point here??? Well...as your taking your stand to serve the Lord,
and face ridicule and rejection from friends and family,consider yourself 
blessed and in good company!!...our Lord was rejected by His friends and family
too...Did it stop Him?? NO WAY!! He continued to walk in the plan, to 
walk in God's Will for His life....Oh Thank You Jesus!! Thank You for
not giving up on us...for being our Salvation! Our Savior! Our Messiah!
We bless You O Lord!! We Praise Your Holy Wonderful Name!!