Messiah (Part 3-4)

This is part 3 of 4 on the series “Messiah” written by Rebecca J. Brimmer, International President and CEO of Bridges for Peace. May you be blessed by reading this teaching letter.

• Fulfilling Prophecy

When in Nazareth, His hometown, Yeshua attended the synagogue one Shabbat (Sabbath) and was honored by being asked to come forward to read the Torah (Gen.–Deut.) scroll. He opened the scroll and read Isaiah 61:1–2, which was understood to be a messianic passage: "’The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.’ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:18–21).

There is no doubt that the men of the synagogue understood that He was proclaiming Himself to be the Messiah. He continued His discourse for awhile, and then we are told: "So all those in the synagogue when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose the thrust Him out of the city…” (vv. 28–29). These people may not have accepted the messiahship of Yeshua, but they certainly understood His messianic claim. Yeshua clearly fulfilled the Messianic promises of Isaiah 61:1–2, as He went about healing the sick and giving sight to the blind.

• Making Clear Declarations

On a few occasions, Yeshua clearly declared Himself to be the Messiah. In John 4, Yeshua spoke with a Samaritan woman outside the city of Sychar. In the course of their conversation, “The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things" (John 4:25). In one of the clearest declarations of His messiahship, Yeshua revealed Himself to the woman, saying, "I who speak to you am He" (v. 26).

Another declaration that He was the Messiah occurred at His trial before the high priest Caiaphas, the chief priests, the elders, and scribes (Matthew 26:57–68; Mark 14:53–65; Luke 22:66-70, 23:2). In Mark's account, the high priest finally asked Yeshua directly, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" and Yeshua responded, "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven" (vv. 61–62) Robert Lindsey points out, “The chief priests and teachers of the law clearly understood Yeshua's Messianic claims. While they did not believe it, there was no argument—Yeshua claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of Man and the Son of God! For this, they brought Him to Pilate to be punished. They considered His claims blasphemous, others considered it divine.”

In John 17:3, Yeshua prayed to the Father and said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God and Jesus Christ [Yeshua HaMashiach] whom You have sent.”

Even though Yeshua knew that He was the Messiah and communicated it on occasion to others, He often told those He healed to tell no one. When Simon Peter made his great profession of faith saying, “You are the Christ [Messiah], the son of the living God,” Yeshua answered and said, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but My Father who is in heaven”(Matthew 16:16–17). In verse 20, we read, “Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ [Yeshua HaMashiach].”

Yeshua’s purpose for His first coming was to die for the sins of mankind, to be the Savior of the world, providing a way for us to be able to enter the presence of a sinless, just God. During this time, He fulfilled many—though not all—prophetic, messianic Scriptures. We eagerly anticipate the day when we will see the rest fulfilled.

Some have suggested that Yeshua came to be the Messiah only to the Gentile world. But He Himself said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). Yet, before Yeshua ascended to heaven, He clearly revealed His plan to give the Gentiles (the nations) an opportunity to partake of the blessings of the kingdom of God when He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19). This is just as foretold by Simeon in the Temple. “Lord now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:29–32). His salvation was always to be available for all peoples, and the glory of the people of Israel.

By Rebecca J. Brimmer

International President and CEO

All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

Bibliography

Benner, Jeff A. http://www.ancient-hebrew.org

Blue, Lionel and Jonathan Magonet. The Jewish Guide to the Here and Hereafter. New York: Crossroad Publishing, 1989.

Donin, Hayim Halevy. To Be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life. Basic Books (a division of Perseus Books Group), 1972.

Eckstein, Yechiel. How Firm a Foundation. Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 1997.

Flusser, David. Jesus. Jerusalem, Israel: The Magnes Press, 1998.

Gorenberg, Gershom. The End of Days. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Kempinski, Moshe Avraham. The Heart of the People. Jerusalem, Israel: Shorashim of the OldCity Publications, 2006.

Lindsey, Robert L. Jesus, Rabbi and Lord: The Hebrew Story of Jesus Behind Our Gospels.Cornerstone Publishing, 1989.

Rich, Tracey R. http://www.jewfaq.org

Rubin, David. God, Israel and Shiloh: Returning to the Land. Jerusalem, Israel: Mazo Publishers, 2007.

Smith, James. The Promised Messiah. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993.

Wikipedia. “Messiah.” www.wikipedia.com

Wilson, Marvin R. Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 1989.

Pictures:

www.israelimages.com/Itsik Maron

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