Jesus the what?

Let me begin by stating the obvious: Christ is/was not Jesus of Nazareth’s surname. If Joseph accepted responsibility for being Jesus’ earthly father—as the gospels claim—then in the custom of the times it would have been Jesus bar Joseph (Jesus, son of Joseph). The label of distinction given Jesus by the early church comes from the Latin Christus, which was derived from the Greek khristos which meant “the anointed” (from khriein "to rub, anoint”). It has been explained to me that this usage evolved because the early gospels were written in Greek which really had no good translation for the Hebrew mashiah (messiah), which when translated literally came out to be something like “Jesus, the oily head”. In other words, when we make reference to Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ we are making a messianic attribution. Now, are you still thinking that the Old Testament (more accurately referred to as the Hebrew scriptures) isn’t necessary reading? It may be all well and good to accept the antichrist as antithetical to the Christ, but what the heck is really meant by Christ? I don’t observe many “Christians” wrestling with this question, but then it has been observed that ignorance is bliss (which may turn out to be different than genuine salvation). Have a nice weekend, and, oh, don’t forget the Sabbath!