><>...The MESSIAH...><>
The following is for informational purposes only. Take from it what you wish.
[meh SIGH uh] (anointed one)-- the one anointed by God and empowered by God's spirit to deliver His people and establish His kingdom. In Jewish thought, the Messiah would be the king of the Jews, a political leader who would defeat their enemies and bring in a golden era of peace and prosperity. In Christian thought, the term Messiah refers to Jesus' role as a spiritual deliverer, setting His people free from sin and death.
The word Messiah comes from a Hebrew term that means "anointed one." Its Greek counterpart is Christos, from which the word Christ comes. Messiah was one of the titles used by early Christians to describe who Jesus was.
In Old Testament times, part of the ritual of commissioning a person for a special task was to anoint him with oil. The phrase anointed one was applied to a person in such cases. In the Old Testament, Messiah is used more than 30 times to describe kings <2 Sam. 1:14,16>, priests <Lev. 4:3,5, 16>, the patriarchs <Ps. 105:15>, and even the Persian King Cyrus <Is. 45:1>. The word is also used in connection with King David, who became the model of the messianic king who would come at the end of the age <2 Sam. 22:51; Ps. 2:2>. But it was not until the time of Daniel (sixth century B. C.) that Messiah was used as an actual title of a king who would come in the future <Dan. 9:25-26>. Still later, as the Israelites struggled against their political enemies, the Messiah came to be thought of as a political, military ruler.
From the New Testament we learn more about the people's expectations. They thought the Messiah would come soon to perform signs <John 7:31> and to deliver His people, after which He would live and rule forever <John 12:34>. Some even thought that John the Baptist was the Messiah <John 1:20>. Others said that the Messiah was to come from Bethlehem <John 7:42>. Most expected the Messiah to be a political leader, a king who would defeat the Romans and provide for the physical needs of the Israelites.
According to the Gospel of John, a woman of Samaria said to Jesus, "I know that Messiah is coming." Jesus replied, "I who speak to you am He" <John 4:25-26>. In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, however, Jesus never directly referred to Himself as the Messiah, except privately to His disciples, until the crucifixion <Matt. 26:63-64; Mark 14:61-62; Luke 22:67-70>. He did accept the title and function of messiahship privately <Matt. 16:16-17>. Yet Jesus constantly avoided being called "Messiah" in public <Mark 8:29-30>. This is known as Jesus' "messianic secret." He was the Messiah, but He did not want it known publicly.
The reason for this is that Jesus' kingdom was not political but spiritual <John 18:36>. If Jesus had used the title "Messiah," people would have thought he was a political king. But Jesus understood that the Messiah, God's Anointed One, was to be the Suffering Servant <Is. 52:13--53:12>. The fact that Jesus was a suffering Messiah-- a crucified deliverer-- was a "stumbling block" to many of the Jews <1 Cor. 1:23>. They saw the cross as a sign of Jesus' weakness, powerlessness, and failure. They rejected the concept of a crucified Messiah.
But the message of the early church centered around the fact that the crucified and risen Jesus is the Christ <Acts 5:42; 17:3; 18:5>. They proclaimed the "scandalous" gospel of a crucified Messiah as the power and wisdom of God <1 Cor. 1:23-24>. John wrote, "Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ [the Messiah]?" <1 John 2:22>.
By the time of the apostle Paul, "Christ" was in the process of changing from a title to a proper name. The name is found mostly in close association with the name "Jesus," as in "Christ Jesus" <Rom. 3:24> or "Jesus Christ" <Rom. 1:1>. When the church moved onto Gentile soil, the converts lacked the Jewish background for understanding the title, and it lost much of its significance. Luke wrote, "The disciples were first called Christians [those who belong to and follow the Messiah] in Antioch" <Acts 11:26>.
As the Messiah, Jesus is the divinely appointed king who brought God's kingdom to earth <Matt. 12:28; Luke 11:20>. His way to victory was not by physical force and violence, but through love, humility, and service.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
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