MESSIAH Messiah is a title for Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. In the Old Testament, God told how he would send the Messiah to rescue his people, to make everything right, and to destroy evil. The Jews looked forward to the arrival of this Jewish hero but rejected Jesus Christ because they expected someone different. Instead of a soldier, Jesus was a servant. Instead of being a mighty king, Jesus died on a cross. The Jews did not recognize Gods plan for Jesus as the Messiah, but Jesus still saved those who believed in him by his death on the cross. He came back from the dead and now rules in heaven above. THE MEANING OF MESSIAH The title of Messiah came from the Hebrew, mashiach, and means anointed one. Christos, or Christ, refers to an individual who is set apart to serve God. This person would be anointed with oil-a common practice that involved pouring oil over a persons head. Priests were regularly anointed with oil as a symbol of their right to serve at Gods altar (Leviticus 4:3). Samuel anointed Saul and David to signify their selection as king. All Hebrew kings were then anointed before assuming their positions of royal leadership. The kings were considered to be the Lords special leaders (1 Samuel 12:14; 2 Samuel 19:21). These ceremonies introduced the idea of a Messiah-a special person set apart in Gods service. Several prophecies also described a specific Messiah, which helped to fuel peoples anticipation of the ultimate Anointed One. A statement still found in many Hebrew prayer books is this: I believe with a perfect heart that the Messiah will come; and although his coming be delayed, I will still wait patiently for his speedy appearance. Although we believe that the Messiah has already come to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, we should also eagerly look forward to his second appearance. We, too, should be patient and eager for his arrival-this time as King of kings. MESSIAH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Prophets foretold that Davids kingdom would endure to the end of time (2 Samuel 7:16); Davids descendants would enjoy a never-ending reign on the earth (22:48-51; Jeremiah 33). This idea of an ongoing political reign is the one that most Jews hold with regard to the Messiah (compare with Acts 1:6). However, Orthodox rabbis have traditionally disagreed about the Messiahs ministry. At one time, the rabbis applied no less than 456 passages of Scripture to his person and salvation. Their writings show their preoccupation with the Messiah. A particular writing called, Sanhedrin (Babylonian Talmud), states that the world was created for the Messiah, and that all the prophets prophesied of his days. By and large, however, Orthodox Jews still retain a timeworn belief in the Messiahs physical reign in Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the temple, and the re-establishment of the priests and the offerings and sacrifices. They believe these signs will accompany the Messiah. Later Judaism described the Messiah as someone who will reign at the end of time. In fact, modern Jewish thought has largely traded the traditional notion of a literal or personal Messiah for a messianic age that will come at the end of time. Popular liberal Judaism believes the world ultimately will be perfected through the influence of Jewish ideals like justice and compassion. Of course, this conviction puts too much stock in humanitys ability to save itself, and it lacks scriptural support. The Bible teaches about our need for Gods grace in spite of our good intentions. Compassion is a powerful principle, but it will never bring anyone salvation. Justice is sorely needed in our world, but only God could establish infinite justice through Jesus death-the ultimate sacrifice for sins. While the Messiahs origin was linked firmly to the house of David (2 Samuel 7:14; Hosea 3:5), the promise of a Messiah was given long before David lived. In fact, the hope for the Messiah was mentioned at the very beginning of the world. Addressed to Satan, Genesis 3:15 declares that God will place hostility between the serpent and the woman until, in the fullness of time, the seed of the woman inflicts a fatal blow to the head of the serpent. Who is this seed-child who will destroy Satans power? The Messiah himself. THE MESSIAH IN PROPHECY Each prophecy in the Bible casts more light on the subject of the Messiah. Consider the following prophecies: 1. Messiah is to be born of a woman (Genesis 3:15) 2. through the line of Shem (Genesis 9:26) and specifically through Abraham (22:18). 3. Yet even as late as Genesis 22:18, the seed is not clearly presented as a person, since zerah (seed) may indicate a singular or plural object. Still less apparent in these early stages of messianic prophecy is the nature of the bruising that is to occur. Yet the idea of the Messiah being crushed for sin is undoubtedly expressed in Genesis, as is the violence associated with that act. 4. Chief among the messianic prophets, Isaiah gives full range to the emerging idea that the Anointed One must endure extensive suffering (Isaiah 53:1). Under the figure the Servant of the Lord, four servant songs delineate the mission of the future deliverer (42:1-7; 49:1-9; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12). While it is true that Isaiah does not explicitly link the title Messiah with the Servant of the Lord, it is a reasonable conclusion based on the evidence: 5. Both figures are uniquely anointed (Isaiah 61:1); each brings light to the Gentiles (55:4; compare with 49:6); neither is pretentious in his first appearance (7:14-15; 11:1; compare with 42:3; 53:1); and the title of Davidic branch rests upon them both (11:1-4). Equally significant are the common traits of humility and honor (49:7; 52:13-15). 6. Jewish scholars who study the early Christian era in the Aramaic Targum paraphrase Isaiah 42:1, Behold my Servant Messiah and begin Isaiah 53, Behold my Servant Messiah will prosper. While a ruler like Cyrus may be spoken of as anointed, he does not play a role in salvation (45:1-5). Israel, although chosen and loved by God (41:8), is ill-equipped to be the Messiah (42:18). The collapse of Davids dynasty points to Israels need for healing from their disobedience (Exodus 33:5; Hosea 4:1). The Old Testaments history presents Israels comprehensive moral failure as a portrait of our own lives. Israels problem is our own problem. Making a covenant or personal promise with a Savior and sovereign Lord is Israels only hope (Jeremiah 31:31-34). The Messiahs arrival into the history of humanity is recorded in the strange promise of a shoot from the stump of Jesses fallen tree (Isaiah 9:2; 11:1). This prophetic language is another way of describing the Messiahs family line-all the way from Davids father, Jesse, to Christ himself. THE MESSIAH AS A SUFFERING SERVANT Scripture brings together seemingly unrelated ideas like servanthood and lowliness with royalty (Zechariah 9:9). Jews had no problem accepting the Messiahs roles of priest and king (Psalm 110:1-4). However, a suffering priest-king is far less obvious and far less palatable. Some among the Talmudic writers apparently recognized the likelihood that the Messiah would have to suffer. In the Babylonian Talmud, the Messiah is said to bear sicknesses and pain. Among the prayers for the Day of Atonement are the words of Eleazar ben Qalir (from perhaps as late as AD 1000): Our righteous Messiah has departed from us; we are horror-stricken, and there is none to justify us. Our iniquities and the yoke of our transgressions he carries, and is wounded for our transgressions. He bears on his shoulders our sins to find pardon for our iniquities. May we be healed by his stripes. In a similar vein, Rabbi Eliyya de Vidas writes, The meaning of He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, is that since the Messiah bears our iniquities, which produce the effect of His being bruised, it follows that whosoever will not admit that the Messiah thus suffers for our iniquities must endure and suffer for them himself. However, no one would have imagined that the Messiah would accomplish his work of salvation through his own death (compare to Isaiah 53:12). Rabbis were unsuccessful in trying to tie together the idea of humiliation and exaltation to their own satisfaction. As a result, some rabbis hypothesized that God would send a Messiah to suffer as well as a Messiah to reign. However, Scripture teaches that the Messiahs terrible suffering is a necessary step toward infinite glory. He is pictured not only as a great king (52:13; 53:12) but also as humble (53:2), humiliated (52:14), and rejected (53:3). He bears the consequences of mankinds rebellion (53:5-6). Yet he is raised up to intercede for, and richly bless, his people (53:12). The Messiah, having accomplished the full obedience that Adam and Israel failed to achieve, will bring Israel and the nations back to God (42:18-19; 49:3, 6). THE WORK OF THE MESSIAH The book of Daniel is unique in that it boldly speaks of Messiah the Prince (Daniel 9:25), identifies him as the Son of Man (7:13), and says he suffers (9:26). The cutting off or death of the Messiah is his work of atonement (9:24). He acts as a substitute for sinful humanity and pays the penalty for their sin. This principle is called the doctrine of substitutionary atonement, and it is the only doctrine of atonement found in the Bible (compare to Leviticus 17:11). Israel understood that the Messiah would live a sinless life. Despite his innocence, he would endure the consequences, or penalty, for sin (compare to Numbers 14:33) for the entire world. Although we deserved sin and death for our sin (Romans 6:23), Jesus Christ, the Messiah, paid the penalty by his death on the cross. We escaped certain death and eternal separation from God because of his willingness to love us and bring us back to God. Psalm 22:1 records the plaintive cry of the Messiah as he not only bears the penalty for the worlds sin (compare to Matthew 27:46), but he becomes sin on behalf of his people (2 Corinthians 5:21). His cry, My God, indicates an intimate relationship between a Father and a Son that cannot be broken. Once again, we see the Messiah humiliated on the cross prior to his resurrection (Psalm 22:27). In the so-called royal psalms (2; 72; 110), the Messiah is a priestly intercessor who is also ordained to function as monarch and judge. Jeremiah takes the idea a step further: The Messiah, Gods righteous branch, becomes the Lord our Righteousness. Under the law, no one could be crucified who was not guilty of sin (Deuteronomy 21:22). However, Christ made a scandal of the law because he was the most righteous One who ever lived (Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians 3:13). More than forgiven, believers are now deemed righteous in him (Jeremiah 23:5-6). While the birthplace of the Messiah was well established (Micah 5:2), the fact that he was indeed God was hotly contested. Although few in ancient Israel disputed the belief in a superhuman Messiah, who would have guessed that the Messiah would be God with us in the fullest sense of the expression (compare to Hebrews 1:3)? However, this is the major distinction of Christianity. In other world religions, humanity is reaching toward God through penance and ritual. God remains an elusive higher being. In Christianity, however, God initiates a personal relationship with humanity-coming to us in the form of Jesus Christ, His Son. MESSIAH IN THE NEW TESTAMENT The New Testament writers show how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies that the Messiah would be the child of supernatural origins (Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2). He would be God himself (Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 2:6; Colossians 1:19). Therefore, the Son of God was worthy to receive the worship of all people (Psalm 45:6-7; compare to Hebrews 1:8-9). The Jews of first-century Palestine knew that the messianic promise would be fulfilled in the coming of one like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18). In fact, Jesus and Moses have a lot in common. Both served as mediators between God and his people and each marked the beginning of new phases of spiritual life. Consider the following similarities: 1. Both are miraculously spared in infancy (Exodus 2 ; Matthew 2:13-23) 2. Both renounce a royal court for the sake of serving the people of God (Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 11:24-28) 3. Both exhibit intense compassion for others (Numbers 27:17; Matthew 9:36) 4. Both commune face to face with God (Exodus 34:29-30; 2 Corinthians 3:7) 5. Each mediates a covenant of redemption (Deuteronomy 29:1; Hebrews 8:6-7) Despite their similarities, as Martin Luther observes, Christ is no Moses. Moses is but a household servant; the Messiah is the Maker and Master of all things (Hebrews 3:3-6; compare to John 1:1-2, 18). THE MESSIAHS GENEALOGY Family genealogy is important in Scripture. Rabbis agreed upon the absolute necessity that the Messiah come from the line of David based on Hosea 3:5 and Jeremiah 30:9. The angel is quick to announce the correct lineage for Jesus (Luke 1:32-33; compare to 2:4; Matthew 1:1-17). In Luke, like Matthew, the genealogy defines the exclusive, kingly descent of Jesus, proving he is the Messiah (Luke 3:23-38). Although variations occur between the two genealogies, there is enough common ground to validate Jesus ancestry within the unique messianic stock. JESUS AS THE MESSIAH Jesus brought attention to the messianic focus of Scripture (John 5:46; 8:56). To make his point, Jesus acknowledged himself to be the Christ on numerous occasions. He accepted the title from blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-48), from the crowds when he entered Jerusalem (Matthew 21:9), from the children at the temple (21:15), and in other contexts as well (16:16-18; Mark 14:61-62; Luke 4:21; John 4:25-26). Nonetheless, he warned his disciples not to broadcast his mighty acts as Messiah prior to his resurrection (Matthew 17:9; compare to Luke 9:20-21). Jesus realized most Jews falsely believed the Messiahs role was that of a political liberator. As a result, Jesus actually avoided use of that term and preferred to identify himself as the Son of Man. It was by no means assumed that both designations referred to the same person (compare to Mark 14:61-62). Borrowing essentially from Daniels vision of a heavenly conqueror (Daniel 7:13-14), Jesus consistently used this less familiar title and worked to fill it with the true character and mission of the Messiah. Jesus teaching in this regard enabled his disciples to reject their preconceived notions of what the Messiah would do (Matthew 16:21-23). In the fullness of time, the disciples would realize he was not only the Messiah but also the very theme of the entire Old Testament (Matthew 5:17; Luke 24:27, Matthew 44:1; John 5:39; compare to Hebrews 10:7). When we study Gods Word, God reveals how Jesus Christs person, nature, and ministry is connected throughout the Old and New Testaments. God did not design the testaments as plan A and plan B. Everything that is recorded in the Bible somehow points to Jesus Christs role in salvation. Jesus expounded the Scriptures beginning with the Torah-the first five books of the Bible (Luke 24:27). However, he did so as the living God himself! He was, after all, the Word made flesh (John 1:14, 18). Consider some of the following messianic references and explanations: 1. Psalm 2; 16; 22; 40; 110 2. Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; 11:1; 40:10-11; 50:6; Isaiah 52:13-53:12; 61:1; 63:1-6 3. Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:14-16 4. Ezekiel 34:23; 37:25 5. Daniel 9:24-27 6. Hosea 11:1 7. Micah 5:2 8. Zechariah 9:9; 11:13; 12:10; 13:7 9. Malachi 3:1; Malachi 4:2. All four authors of the gospels-Matthew, Mark, Luke and John-write their conviction that Jesus was indeed the Messiah (Matthew 1:1; Mark 1:1; Luke 24:26; John 20:31). Additional evidence is provided by: Peter at Pentecost, Philip before the Ethiopian eunuch, and Apollos in open debate. All of these preachers argue convincingly that Jesus is the Messiah (Acts 2:36; 8:35; 28:28). Peter says he was made both Lord and Christ (2:36), pointing to his resurrection as proof. Similarly, the apostle Paul speaks of Jesus resurrection as a patent declaration of his inalienable right to the title (Romans 1:4). Who else in history, before or since, has made such a claim? For an ex-Pharisee and former persecutor of the church, referencing Jesus the Christ is no small matter. Yet it is the very heart and soul of Pauls preaching. Nothing is comparable to the glory of the Messiah; everything pales by comparison (Philippians 3:5-10). The Bible calls Jesus the Holy One, Judge, Righteous One, King, Son of God, and Lord, but even this list is incomplete. From cover to cover, the Lord Jesus Christ is the heart and substance of the covenant through which sinful people may be reconciled to a holy God (Isaiah 42:6; John 14:6). This is why the gospel is called the good news. Jesus is the Messiah of Israel, God incarnate. Therefore, all should trust in him, the source of all grace, the only abiding treasure (Matthew 12:21; John 1:16-17; Colossians 2:3). Anointed as prophet, he leads us into all truth (John 6:14; John 7:16); as priest he intercedes for us (Hebrews 7:21); and as king he reigns over us (Philippians 2:9-10). The blessed Messiah has come in the person of Jesus Christ.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 05:01:18 +0000
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