| − | Jesus for Christians, or the savior who is still to come for Jewish people. | + | The title 'Messiah' (Hebrew ''mashiach'', 'anointed') applies to any Israelite king or High Priest since the time of King Saul. Consequently King David refers to himself as 'Messiah' (usually translated literally as 'Anointed') throughout the Psalms. Christians (using the Greek translation of the term, ''Christos'') apply the term to Jesus of Nazareth, while Jews, Christians and Muslims alike also use it to refer to the expected Messiah-to-come who will usher in the final Kingdom of God on earth predicted by numerous passages in the Bible, and whom Christians identify with Jesus himself. |
| | + | As a result of the association with King David and the Psalms, the Old Testament prophets universally saw the coming Messiah as 'David returned' ('and David shall forever be their Prince', says Jeremiah), and the associated Hebrew term 'Messiah ben David' was then taken by the gospel writers to suggest that Jesus was a ''Son'' of David - a fact which then resulted in the dubious (and conflicting) claims about Jesus' ancestry that are presented in the early parts of the gospels of Matthew and Luke. |