The Messiah

1. Jesus the King: As Messiah, he was anointed with authority in God's kingdom and on Judgement Day. 
2. Jesus the Prophet: As Messiah, there is little argument about this “anointing”.  While on earth, he proclaimed the Good News and Word of God.
3. Jesus the Priest: During the Jewish temple period the high priest sacrificed an animal and brought the blood as an offering to the altar of God to atone for sin. Now with the temple gone, the Messiah is an anointed High Priest.

"..but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever.'.. but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood... Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.  Hebrews 7:21, 24 & 25

The Abrahamic Faiths:

• Muslims, Christians and Jews claim Abraham as their spiritual / religious ancestor.
• Abraham, out of obedience, offered to sacrifice his son to God.
• But out of God's mercy & compassion (Arabic & Hebrew: rahman), He gave Abraham an animal as a substitution for his son.

The Abrahamic Sacrifice Remembered in Islam:

• Eid-al adha (Sacrifice Feast) is an annual celebration of Abraham's obedience to God performed each year
• It is often celebrated in conjunction with the Hajj (Pilgrimage) and is considered one of Islam's most important holy days.
• Many Muslims will purchase an animal (udhiya), usually a goat or sheep, to sacrifice, offering the meat to feed the poor.
• Muslims slay animals facing the Qibla, (Mecca) and say: “On the day of sacrifice no one does a deed more pleasing to God than the shedding of blood. The sacrifice will come on the day of resurrection…and the blood finds acceptance with God.” Hadith
• “It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Good: what reaches Him is your piety.”  Qur'an 22:37
• Christians and Muslims can agree that it is not literally the blood of the animals that cleans sin, but instead this blood sacrifice is symbolic. 

Abrahamic Sacrifice Remembered in Judaism:

• During the Old Testament temple periods, God gave authority to a man, anointed as a "high priest" to atone on behalf of the Jewish people during Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).
• The high priest would sacrifice an animal in the outer court of the Temple and take the blood into the Holy of Holies to sprinkle it 7 times on the Ark of the Covenant.
• During the 2nd Temple Period, the high priest was more specific as to what was to be used for sacrifice.
• A pure lamb used for sacrifice was chosen from Bethlehem.

​Abraham's Sacrifice Remembered in Christianity;

• Jesus the lamb. John the Baptist, mentioned in the Qur'an said: "Behold the lamb of God who will remove the sins of the world." John 1:29

• Jesus is referred to as pure / sinless (Arabic: zakiyyah) “...I will give you a son endowed with purity." Qur'an 19:19

• So all people who have this confidence in Christ keep themselves pure, as Christ is pure (Aramaic: dikeya).  1 John 3:3

• Jesus, called the "lamb of God" was born in Bethlehem. Is this a coincidence?

The Powerful link of "wiping" Away Sin

• “I (God) will wipe out (Arabic: kafara) your evils, and admit you to gardens with rivers flowing beneath.” Qur’an 5:12

• Our Lord, We have heard one calling us to faith, ‘Believe in your Lord.’ So we believed. Our Lord, forgive us our sins and wipe (Arabic; Kaffir) out our bad deeds, and let us die with the righteous.” Qur'an 3:193

• “Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, you (God) will wipe (Hebrew: kaphar) them away.” Psalm 65:3

• “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” Acts 3:19

• The Arabic, kafara  and the Hebrew, kaphar  have the same meaning; "to wipe out."

The Messiah’s role Wiping Away & Blotting Out Sin:

• What does the word Messiah mean? What are the implications? 

Christ or Messiah means: 

• “The Anointed One”. It comes from the Semitic root word Masih -  which in Hebrew, Aramaic & Arabic means “to wipe (away/clean)” or “anoint”.

Related Semitic Words:

• Hebrew - also uses mach’ah for 'blot or rub out'.   Strong's Exhaustive Concordance #4229 

• Arabic - masa’ha is to 'wipe' or ‘rub' (clean). Also in another form masa'ha bihi meaning 'to rub or anoint.'

Could the Messiah's role and affiliation with the high priest's anointing include, "wiping out" sin?

Psalm 51:1-19  has an interesting combination of Hebrew words that relate with the Qur’an's Arabic:

• “Have mercy on me, O God (eloha), according to your unfailing love; and great compassion (Hebrew: racham), blot out (mach’ah) my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin... blot out (mach’ah) all my inequity... Restore me to the joy of your salvation (ye'shah or "salvation" is the same Hebrew root word used for Jesus).

The term "blot out" (the same root word used for Messiah) in this Psalm suggests that God removes sin, transgressions and iniquity...mercifully offering humanity “salvation” or "life".

COMMON GROUND:

• The Semitic languages all use the same root words to define a process of being "wiped clean"

• God is the mercy-giver, compassion-giver and the "life-giver."  

• Has God has set a straight path (or way) to be “purified" ?

• How is "wiping clean" connected to the concept of "eternal life"?