We have journeyed through the Old Testament, tracing the hope held out since man decided to pursue life on his own terms. Following it through the millennia, we have seen the hope grow from a glimmer in Genesis 3:15 into a full-blown image with surprising detail. By the time we get through The Prophets, we are able to put together the following description –
- He will crush the Enemy who challenged God’s Kingdom on earth.
- He will bring, not only relief from the curse, but, in it’s place blessing to all nations.
- He will bring such complete knowledge of the Lord that pain and destruction will be done away with among all creatures. The lamb and lion will lay down together.
- He will be a descendant of Abraham and David, ruling sovereignly over a regathered Kingdom of Israel that will not be overthrown. All Israel’s oppressors will be finally and completely defeated.
- His government will establish perfect peace, justice and righteousness in all the earth.
- He will suffer for the atonement and healing of the many.
- Oh, I almost forgot. He will also be God-incarnate.
The period of the Prophets, which began, perhaps as early as 872 BC, and lasted until 431 BC, was relatively rich with communication from God. Much of this communication relayed God’s displeasure with Israel for their failure to keep their covenant with Him, and the resulting judgment. In this vein, one of the earlier prophets, Amos foretold (760 BC) of a coming time when men would long to hear from God, but would not.
“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“When I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water,
But rather for hearing the words of the Lord.
People will stagger from sea to sea
And from the north even to the east;
The will go to and fro to seek the word of the Lord,
But they will not find it.”
(Amos 8:11-12)
With the closing of the book of Malachi, this famine began. From 431 BC until the prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus and John, around 1 BC/AD, there is only silence. Yet the anticipation continues.
It is during this period of silence that The One Who Will Come begins to be identified by the title Messiah, from the Hebrew word mashiach, a noun, meaning The Anointed. The Old Testament writers only used this noun in reference to kings (e.g., 1 Samuel 24:6,10; 2 Samuel 19:21). It’s selection as a technical term during this post-prophetic period reflects not only Jewish anticipation of The One Who Will Come, but also an emphasis on the kingly aspects of His coming. As The Story emerges from this silence in the Gospels, and the language switches from Hebrew to Greek, this emphasis is not lost. The Hebrew mashiach is mirrored in the Greek equivalent for The Anointed – christos – Christ. When the inspired New Testament writers speak of Christ, they are speaking of the One Whose Coming has been anticipated since shortly after dirt was created . . . the One Who is going to bring blessing in place of the curse, crush the Enemy, suffer for the healing of mankind, and most prominently, establish a Kingdom characterized by prosperity, perfect peace and justice, and harmony throughout all creation. That is what it meant to be The Christ.
This anticipation is evident in the Gospels. Notice Luke’s description of atmosphere at the time of John’s ministry –
“Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ . . . ” (Luke 3:15 NAS95)
The people were “in a state of expectation,” which prompted them to wonder if John was the Messiah/Christ. John’s response? “No, but He’s coming, and I am here to prepare the way (Luke 3:16-17; John 1:19-45ff).”
Later, when Jesus enters the public stage, John sends messengers to Him, asking if He is the Expected One (Luke 7:19, NAS95, lit. Coming One). Jesus responds by pointing to His activities that fit the description given in Isaiah.
Is Jesus the Messiah, the Christ? We must not allow our familiarity with the stories of Jesus to cause us to miss the centrality of this question. The Gospels are not collections of stories about Jesus; they are carefully developed arguments showing that He is, in fact, this Christ – The Messiah – The Coming One in Whom the Hope of the Ages rests.
John even goes so far as to state explicitly that this is his purpose –
“Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:30–31 NAS95)
How big is this question? John says that our possession of life hinges on it. Not just forgiveness, but life.
Another question follows closely on the heels of this one. Having identified Jesus as The Christ, what now?
We will look at that next week.