Jesus knew that if He publicly led with the title, people would misunderstand the kind of kingdom He came to bring. So He often used another title, “Son of Man,” drawn from Daniel 7. This was deliberately ambiguous. The phrase could refer to an ordinary human being or prophet, but in Daniel’s vision it describes a mysterious figure who receives divine authority and an everlasting kingdom.

Christianity rises or falls on a claim: Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ.

That word “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name. Jesus was not born to Joseph and Mary Christ! Christ is a title. It means “Anointed One.” Same idea as “Messiah.” In the Old Testament, anointing with oil set someone apart as God’s chosen king. So when the New Testament calls Jesus “the Christ,” it is saying: He is God’s promised Savior-King.

But here’s the question: promised where?

The answer is: all over the Old Testament. A set of themes runs through the entire story like bright threads woven through one long tapestry. And those threads converge in one Person.

1) Messiah means King, and the King is promised from David

God promised that a true king would come from the line of David, a king whose kingdom would not collapse like all the others.

A key passage is 2 Samuel 7. God makes a covenant with David. He promises a descendant who will sit on a throne, and God says, “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam. 7:13). The immediate context includes David’s son Solomon, but the “forever” language reaches beyond Solomon. Solomon’s kingdom did not last forever. The promise is reaching forward.

That’s why the New Testament keeps calling Jesus “Son of David” (Matt. 1:1). It is not random. It is a claim: Jesus is the heir to the Davidic promise.

The prophets pick this up too. Isaiah speaks of a coming ruler from David’s line (Isa. 11:1). Jeremiah says, “I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king” (Jer. 23:5). The Messiah is not a vague spiritual idea. He is a real king promised to come at a real time in real history.

And that raises the next question.

If this is a king, what kind of king is He?

2) The Old Testament gives the Messiah divine names and divine authority

This is where many people get surprised. The Old Testament not only promises a Davidic king. It speaks of a Messiah whose identity and authority are far bigger than a merely human ruler.

Start with Psalm 110. David writes, “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool’” (Ps. 110:1). Notice what David is doing. He calls the Messiah “my Lord.” David is the king, yet he looks up to someone greater than himself. And this greater one is invited to sit at God’s right hand, the place of divine authority.

Jesus Himself used Psalm 110 to make a point: if the Messiah is only David’s son, why does David call Him “Lord”? (See Matt. 22:41–45.) Jesus was not playing word games. He was pressing the logic. The Messiah is David’s son, yes, but He is also David’s Lord.

Now add Daniel 7. Daniel sees “one like a son of man” coming “with the clouds of heaven” and being given “dominion” and “a kingdom” so that “all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him,” and his dominion is everlasting (Dan. 7:13–14). In the Old Testament, “coming with the clouds” is not normal human imagery. It’s God imagery. And the scale is global and eternal. This Messiah is not a local political hero. His reign reaches the whole world.

Then consider Isaiah 9:6–7. Isaiah speaks of a child who will be born, a son given, who will rule on David’s throne. And the names given are staggering: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). Whatever debates people raise about how to parse the titles, the plain meaning is weighty: this child carries divine titles.

When you put these passages together, the direction is unmistakable. The Old Testament is not only predicting a human king. It is preparing us for something deeper: God visiting His people, in and through the Messiah, with divine authority and divine saving power.

That leads to a third thread.

If this king is so great, why does the Old Testament also speak of His suffering?

3) The Messiah is promised as a suffering Savior who bears sin

Many people in Jesus’ day expected the Messiah to crush Rome and restore Israel politically. They expected glory first. They did not have categories for a Messiah who would suffer.

But the Old Testament does.

Isaiah 53 is one of the most striking passages in all of Scripture. It describes a figure who is rejected, despised, and familiar with suffering (Isa. 53:3). Then it explains why: “He was pierced for our transgressions… the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:5–6). He is not suffering because he made mistakes. He is suffering as a substitute, bearing guilt he did not earn. His suffering is vicarious: He was punished in our place.

Isaiah 53 is so detailed, so central, and so clearly fulfilled in Jesus that it deserves extended treatment. We will examine this passage closely in the next article. For now, the key point is this: the Messiah is promised as a suffering servant who bears sin and brings salvation through substitutionary death.

Psalm 22 follows the same pattern. It begins with the cry Jesus quoted on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1).

Read More