“Anointed One” is translated as “Messiah” in Hebrew and “Christ” in Greek. Since the New Testament is written in Greek, “Christ” is almost always the term used. However, Jesus and his apostles primarily spoke in Hebrew (or the related language Aramaic) so they would have used the term “Messiah.” You can see this in action in John 1:41 and 4:25, where John explains that the term “Christ” is the same as “Messiah.”
The terms “Messiah” would have probably been the term used until about 50 AD when virtually all Christians were Jews who spoke Hebrew. From about 50 AD to 70 AD, the term “Messiah” would have been used by the Jewish Christians and the term “Christ” would have been used by the Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians. During that time period, the terms would have been synonymous. That is also the time period when virtually all of the New Testament was written in Greek, except for the books by John.
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The story found in John 8:1-11 is often called The Story of the Adulterous Woman. It is known by many people in America whether they are Christians or not. Unfortunately, it is often misunderstood or misquoted.
One source of misunderstanding comes from having an American sense of justice. Americans think of justice as a judge giving somebody what they deserve. If found guilty, a person is sentenced to an appropriate penalty; but, if found innocent, they are let go without a penalty. A simple standard of guilt or innocence. What else could justice be?
In many cultures, the purpose of a judge is to set things right. This is key to keeping relationships in order, which is a high priority. In this story, Jesus acts as this kind of judge.
Another source of misunderstanding is the context of how the story is often read. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees are not asking Jesus to judge her because that is not within his authority. They are asking him to evaluate the situation based on his standing as a teacher. They wanted to trap him and were using the woman as the bait. They obviously did not care about her in any way.
