THE WORD MESSIAH AND ITS MEANING

People use the word ‘Messiah’ in a variety of contexts. People who have lost hope in their cause apply the term to anyone they think can bring about a change in their situation. After a series of defeats, a sporting team appoints a new coach and wins the very next game. Hope returns to the team’s supporters. They refer to the new coach as the club’s Messiah. After several years of falling profits, a company elects a new chairman of the board who turns things around. The shareholders refer to him as their Messiah.

Popular usage however is far removed from the Biblical use of the word. John Ankerberg[1] traces the word ‘Messiah’ to the Hebrew word ‘mashiach’ and the Greek word 'μεσσιαs', (messias). Both words mean ‘anointed one’. The meaning arose from the Jewish practice of anointing prophets, priests, and kings for their respective offices. From this general usage the term came to be applied specifically to the person God would send to save his people.

THE MESSIAH HAS COME

John writes that when Jesus came, “The world did not recognise him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” (John 1:10-11). Although many did not accept him as the Messiah, there were some who did. Those early believers became convinced that Jesus was the promised Messiah when they saw that his life and teaching fitted the prophecies recorded about him in the Hebrew Scriptures. It was by showing how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament references to Messiah’s coming that the Apostles were able to persuade many of their people to believe in him.

After the healing, for example, of a lame person in the precincts of the Temple in Jerusalem, Peter seized the opportunity to address the large crowd who had gathered. They were looking for an explanation of what had happened. Peter attributed the man’s healing to Jesus. He explained from the Scriptures why he believed that Jesus was the Messiah. He referred to certain statements in Genesis, Deuteronomy, and Isaiah, which their teachers had always taught as being Messianic. He summarised his argument in these words.

   But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ [Messiah] would suffer ... Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days ... When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways. (Acts 3:18, 24, 26).

Andrew was one of those who recognised Jesus to be the long awaited Messiah. John records the events surrounding his discovery.

   The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I was talking about when I said, 'Soon a man is coming who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before I did.' I didn't know he was the one, but I have been baptizing with water in order to point him out to Israel."

   Then John said, "I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. I didn't know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, 'When you see the Holy Spirit descending and resting upon someone, he is the one you are looking for. He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Son of God."

   The following day, John was again standing with two of his disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and then declared, "Look! There is the Lamb of God!" Then John's two disciples turned and followed Jesus.

   Jesus looked around and saw them following. "What do you want ?" he asked them.

   They replied, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

   "Come and see," he said. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place, and they stayed there the rest of the day.
   Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon, and tell him, "We have found the Messiah." (John 1:29:41)

A PROBLEM AND ITS SOLUTION

The Hebrew Scriptures are rich in promises concerning a coming Messiah. Alfred Edersheim[2] draws attention to the fact that early Jewish writers accepted four hundred and fifty six Old Testament references as speaking of the coming Messiah or of Messianic times. Some of these references speak of a Messiah who suffered and was killed. For example ...

   He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed ... He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. (Isaiah 53:5,7).

Other references speak of a ruling Messiah. References like ...

   “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up to David a Righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called. The LORD Our Righteousness.” (Jeremiah 23:5-6).

A problem now confronts us. There is a tension between the two pictures of the Messiah which emerge from the Scriptures. How could the promised Messiah be a person who would die for the sins of his people but at the same time be one who would reign as King? The prophets themselves had difficulty in understanding it. Peter described their dilemma when he wrote, “Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.” (1 Peter 1:10-11). Many Jewish scholars have had difficulty in understanding how the two roles would be fulfilled. Some have even proposed the idea of two Messiahs. John Ankerberg[3] writes ...

   They could not reconcile the statements that so clearly spoke of a suffering and dying Messiah, with those verses in other passages that spoke of a triumphant and victorious Messiah. What is important to note is that they did recognise that both pictures somehow applied to the Messiah. But they also assumed it was impossible to reconcile both views in one person. Rather than seeing the one Messiah in two different roles, they saw two Messiahs - the suffering and dying Messiah called ‘Messiah ben Joseph’, and the victorious conquering Messiah called ‘Messiah ben David’. Today, some orthodox Jews still wait for the political Messiah who will conquer and rule forever. At the same time there are some who accept Jesus Christ as the ‘other’ Messiah, Messiah ben Joseph, although they deny his deity.

The solution to the problem can be found in the understanding that the Messiah would appear twice. In the week before his death, Jesus made it clear to his disciples that although he would be leaving them, he would later return. Jesus said to them,

   “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3). 

The second phase of Messiah’s coming is a prominent theme in New Testament writings. T. C. Hammond[4] notes that “It has been referred to over three hundred times, or an average of once in every thirteen verses of the New Testament.” There are some however who do not believe that he is coming a second time. Peter wrote,

   In the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this coming he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” ... But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-9).

It may be helpful for those who have doubts about his coming again, to compare some of the promises concerning his first coming with those of his second. If it can be accepted that those made of his first coming have been fulfilled, then it is logical to believe that those made in connection with his second coming will also come to pass. Consider firstly the predictions concerning ...

THE PLACE OF HIS COMING

The Place Of His First Arrival On Planet Earth

In a reference to the coming Messiah, Micah, writing in the 8th century BC, predicted the exact location of his coming. He wrote, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel.” (Micah 5:2). Micah states quite clearly that the place of the Messiah’s birth will be Bethlehem Ephrathah.

David Chambers[5] draws attention to the precise nature of Micah’s prophecy in the designation Ephrathah, which Micah attaches to the name Bethlehem. Chambers points out that by the time of Jesus there were two towns in Israel called Bethlehem. One was about 11 kms to the north of Nazareth and the other about 10 kms south. The one in the south had been called Ephrathah in ancient times. It was the town in which David King of Judah and his grandfather were born. By the designation Ephrathah, there could be no misunderstanding as to which of the two was to be Messiah’s birthplace.

The Place Of Messiah’s Second Arrival On Planet Earth

Just as the place of Jesus’ arrival at his first coming was accurately predicted, so the exact place of his second coming has been given us. The place is the Mount of Olives, also called Olivet, a small range of hills clearly visible from Jerusalem just over a kilometre away. Zechariah names the site in his description of the events which occur as world history comes to an end. The nations of the world are already gathering in this the geographical centre of the world, anticipating a battle over the rights to the city of Jerusalem. But only Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords,[6] holds the rights to that city. And, writes Zechariah, he is coming to rule.

   Then the Lord will go out and fight against these nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving north and half moving south. (Zechariah 14:3-4).

Zechariah notes in passing, that when Jesus touches down on the Mount of Olives, the mount will split in two, forming a valley that does not exist at present. It is interesting to note that a geological fracture has appeared in the mount in recent times. With the formation of the new valley and the associated earth movements, it is not difficult to picture Jerusalem rising up above the surrounding hills to the place of prominence predicted by Isaiah. (Isaiah 2:2).

It was from the Mount of Olives that Jesus returned to heaven. As the people who had gathered there watched him go, two heavenly messengers made the announcement that confirmed Zechariah’s prediction.

   “Men of Galilee,” they said, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city.” (Acts 1:11-12).

The prediction concerning the place of the Messiah’s first visit to our planet came to pass exactly as foretold in the Scriptures. Will it be any less so for his second?

The Scriptures also speak of ...

THE TIME OF HIS COMING

The Time Of His First Coming

It was Gabriel, one of God’s trusted messengers, who gave Daniel precise information about the times of Messiah’s coming. The heavenly messenger indicated the time of Christ’s first coming in these words ...

   From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler comes, there will be seven ‘sevens’ and sixty two ‘sevens’. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty two sevens the Anointed One will be cut off and have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. (Daniel 9:25-26).

The decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was given by King Artaxerxes. Nehemiah records that it was in the month of Nissan (March), in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes’ reign. It was the year 444 BC (Nehemiah 2:1). Whereas we think in lots of ten, (the decimal system), Daniel’s people thought in lots of seven, (heptads). A ‘seven’ in the above prediction refers to a period of seven years. Seven ‘sevens’ therefore is 49 years and sixty two ‘sevens’ is 434 years, giving a total of 483 years. These 483 years are years according to the Jewish calendar in which the year was divided into 360 days. When converted to our Solar year of 365 days, the 483 Lunar years become 476 Solar years.

Counting forward 476 Solar years from 444 BC we arrive at the year 33 AD. This was the year of Christ’s death and corresponds to the time referred to at the end of the sixty nine ‘sevens’ when “the Anointed One will be cut off.” (Daniel 9:26). The Hebrew word translated ‘cut off’ refers to the carrying out of a death penalty. It therefore fittingly describes the crucifixion of Christ, who bore the penalty not for his own sins for he was sinless, but who “bore our sins in his body on the tree.” (1 Peter 2:24). The time of his first coming corresponds to the time of the fulfilment of the purpose for which he came, namely his sacrificial death on the cross on behalf of all people.

The Timing Of His Second Coming

In the prediction given to Daniel concerning the time of Messiah’s coming, a period of seventy ‘sevens’ is referred to. As we have just seen, the first sixty nine of the ‘sevens’ takes us to the time of his first coming. There remains a period of one ‘seven’ to be accounted for. This is a period of seven years. The events associated with this ‘seven’ are spoken of like this ... 

   The end will come like a flood. War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven’ but in the middle of  that ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And one who causes desolation will place abominations on a wing of the temple until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. (Daniel 9:26, 27). 

The events mentioned belong to ‘the time of the end.’ Wars and the ravages of war will be widespread. Israel will sign a peace agreement with her enemies. But midway through the seven year period the agreement will fall apart. Israel’s restored religious system will be brought to an end. A ruler demanding the allegiance of the world’s people will rise up. (Daniel 9:27, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, Revelation 13:5-8). 

The time when the events of the 70th ‘seven’ of Daniel’s prophecy occur, is best understood as being distant from the 69th ‘seven’. A time gap is then seen as existing between the 69th and the 70th ‘seven’. It is in this time gap period that the Church is being established. Its membership is being gathered from among people of all nations, both Jews and Gentiles. Paul speaks of it as ‘a mystery’ not explicitly revealed in Old Testament times. (Ephesians 3:2-6). John describes those who make up the body of the Church. (Revelation 5:9-10, 7:9-15). The Church is coming into being as the result of the preaching of the Gospel in ever widening circles. As Jesus predicted, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8). 

Jesus fixed the time of his second coming as being associated with the events of the 70th group of seven years that Daniel wrote of. Jesus said ... 

   And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken through the prophet Daniel, let the reader understand ... At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the world will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:14-15, 30). 

Because the length of the period between Daniel’s 69th and 70th ‘seven’ is not given, the place of the 70th ‘seven’ on the time line of world history is not given. Therefore, the precise time of Christ’s second coming, unlike his first, has not been revealed to us. It is known only to the Lord. (Mark 13:32-33). We do know however that it will be at the end of the period of time the Lord has set aside for the preaching of the Gospel and for the ingathering of the Church. At the end of that period he will come. We also know that his coming will be associated with the events predicted of that final seven year period of world history. Though we do not know the exact time, we are encouraged to live as if the coming of the Lord is imminent. Jesus said, “Therefore keep watch because you do not know on what day your Lord will come ... So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:42, 44).

The Timing Is God’s Time 

Paul notes that each of Messiah’s appearances occur at precisely the right moment in world history.

Concerning Christ’s first coming, Paul writes, “When the time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5).

And concerning the Messiah’s second coming, Paul writes, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins ... to put into effect when times will have reached their fulfilment - to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” (Ephesians 1:7-10).

Just as the time given for Messiah’s first coming has proved to be correct, so we may confidently hold on to the expectation that his second coming will be right on time.

Other predictions concerning the coming of the Messiah point us to ...

THE MINISTRY HE WILL EXERCISE 

At His First Coming

The Lord gave to Isaiah a clear description of the ministry Christ would deliver when he came. Several hundred years after Isaiah’s prediction, Jesus was present at a service in the synagogue in the town of Nazareth where he grew up. It was customary for visiting teachers to take part in the service. Jesus was asked to read the lesson for the day. Standing in front of the reading desk in the centre of the synagogue, Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah the prophecy describing Messiah’s ministry. The Messiah, he read, would be empowered by the Holy Spirit. He would be the bearer of good news for the poor. He would bring freedom for the imprisoned, sight for the blind, healing for the emotionally battered. He would usher in the era when God’s grace would be offered to all mankind. 

When Jesus had finished reading, he said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ (Luke 4:21). He was stating simply and with authority that he, the Messiah, had come. He had come to die as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29). He had come to provide the way for the forgiveness of sins.

In carefully comparing the words in the Isaiah passage and in Luke you will notice that  Jesus stopped when he reached the words “and the day of vengeance of our God.” This is significant. The reason he did not read these words was, as he explained on another occasion, “I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.” (John 12:47). Judgement would be left for a later time. John Martin[7] explains ...

   When Jesus read from this passage, He stopped in the middle of the sentence, after the word ‘favour’. (Luke 4:18-19). By doing this He was showing that His work would be divided into two advents. In his First Advent He did the things mentioned in Isaiah 61:1-2a; in His Second Advent He will do the things in verses 2b-3.

We refer finally to the kind of ministry Christ will exercise  ...

At His Second Coming

Judgement of the nations and the securing of his kingdom will occur at the time of Christ’s second coming. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews states this clearly ...

   Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. And he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:28).

A SURE HOPE

The writer of Hebrews also draws this word picture of the hope we have. He says, “We have this hope as an anchor of the soul, firm and secure.” (Hebrews 6:19). It is a hope springing from the fact of Messiah’s first coming and the certainty of his second.

The Saviour Has Come : The King Is Coming

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Why are you looking in a tomb for
someone who is alive? He isn’t here!
He has risen from the dead!
(Luke 24:5-6)