Messiah (Part 2-4)

This is part 2 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.

Did Yeshua Claim to Be the Messiah?

Yeshua lived as an Orthodox Jewish man in first-century Israel at an extremely turbulent time. The Jewish people were in bondage to cruel oppressive Roman overlords. They felt the need for the Messiah to deliver them. There was great Messianic expectation. Jewish author Gershom Gorenberg describes it this way: “Jesus appeared during those centuries of ferment. Christianity was the daughter not simply of Judaism but of a Judaism burning with expectation, standing on tiptoes and ready to leap into the End. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus’ first words are, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand.’ The new faith asserted that the messiah had actually arrived, making the time that follows into a pause before he completes his task.”

Did Yeshua claim to be the Messiah? Most Christians would quickly say yes. But, if you carefully look in the Newer Testament, you will not find a clear statement from Yeshua saying, “I am the Messiah.” Yet, when one understands Hebraic thought, it is clear that Yeshua did claim to be the Messiah. He did so in what may seem obscure ways. Perhaps this is because there were so many claiming to be the Messiah. He knew that His actions would validate who He was. Repeatedly, we find Yeshua showing Himself to be the Messiah by speaking and acting in fulfillment of accepted messianic Bible passages. He spoke in a Hebraic manner, using messianic phrases from the Hebrew Scriptures, so that the people who were looking for a spiritual Messiah would know He was the Promised One.

• As “Son of Man”

Throughout the Gospels, Yeshua often refers to Himself as the "Son of Man," which comes directly from Daniel 7:13–14. It was a well-accepted messianic title, bar enash (Aramaic, not Hebrew), which describes a messianic figure of heavenly origin. "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man [bar enash], coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed." (NIV)

When Yeshua used this title, He was claiming to have come from heaven with a spiritual mission. Stephen, in the act of being stoned to death, described his heavenly vision in Acts 7:56, saying, "Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." Everywhere we find Yeshua referring to Himself as the Son of Man, He was making it clear He was the Messiah. Yeshua said unequivocally that He had the authority to forgive sins because He was the Son of Man (Matthew 9:2, 5–6; Mark 2:5, 9–10; Luke 5:23–24, 7:47–48).

• As “Son of God”

When Yeshua was 12 years old, He stayed in Jerusalem after His parents had begun the journey home. When they missed Him, they searched until they found Him in the Temple in discussion with the sages. He astonished the teachers in the Temple by His understanding (Luke 2:46–50). When questioned by Mary about His actions, He replied,

“Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business? (v. 49). Even as a boy, Yeshua refers to God as "My Father." He continued to use the term throughout the Gospel accounts, a total of 40 times!

The late Jerusalem scholar Dr. Robert Lindsey explained the significance of this expression: “Synagogue prayers contain the expression, ‘Our Father [Avinu] who is in heaven,’ many times, and Jesus taught His disciples to pray a prayer which also begins, ‘Our Father who is in heaven.’ The expression, ‘My Father [avi],’ however, almost certainly must have seemed improper to the Jews of that period. Only once in the Hebrew Scripture is God referred to as ‘my Father,’ and that is in Psalm 89, which speaks of the coming Messiah. Verse 26 reads, ‘He will call to me, “Avi atah, You are my Father!...’ The Messiah has the right to call God ‘my Father.’ I am quite sure that the rabbis of Jesus' day taught the people to say ‘Our Father who is in heaven,’ because they say ‘my Father’ was reserved for the Messiah alone. Second Samuel 7:14 also contains a prophecy about the Messiah: ‘I will be to him a father, and he will be to me a son.’ This verse marks the beginning of a coming Messiah who is the son of God. It was known from Psalm 89:26, 2 Samuel 7:14 and Psalm 2:7 that the Messiah would be the son of God, but these verses do not contain the expression ‘son of God.’ What is used is, ‘He will call to me, “You are my Father,”’ ‘I will be a father to him, he will be a son to me’; and, ‘You are my son, this day I have brought you forth.’ This is the Hebraic way of expressing messiahship―it is the way the Holy Spirit spoke and the way Jesus spoke.”

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.

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