Identifying the King Messiah

 0. Introduction

Before presenting a case for Jesus of Nazareth being the Messiah, it is first necessary to give some consideration to how the Messiah can be identified at all. The Hebrew Bible does not tell us precisely how to identify the Messiah, and it is only post-exilic literature that we get explicitly Messianic language. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs from the Jewish concept in several respects and yet there are some great areas of agreement. Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ) signifies pouring or anointing and when translated into Greek it is χριστος, meaning "anointed one," which is transliterated "Christ" in English. The term designates one who has been anointed or consecrated by God to a position of authority. In the Tanakh it is mostly used for the kings and priests who judged Israel. (Lev. 4:3, 5, 16; 8:12; Num. 35:25; 1Sam. 10:1-2) The high priest was anointed with a special oil when he took office, which no one else was allowed to own or to reproduce. (Exod. 30:30-32; Psa. 133:2) 

1. Identifying the Messiah

The priests are often called Messiahs or anointed ones in the book of Leviticus. (4:3, 5, 16; 6:20, 22; 7:35; 8:2, 12, 30; 21:10, 12) It is a kingly title which was applied to Saul, David, Solomon and other princes of Israel and Judah. (2Chron. 6:42; 1Sam. 26:9, 11, 16, 23; 24:6, 10; 2Sam. 1:14, 16; 19:21; 22:51) It is used often in the Psalms of the great King Messiah who will rule forever in Jerusalem. (Psa. 2:2; 18:50; 84:9; 132:10, 17) The anointing oil symbolized the spirit and power of God, therefore it is also a distinguishing title of the holy prophets, 

אַֽל־תִּגְּע֥וּ בִמְשִׁיחָ֑י וְ֝לִנְבִיאַ֗י אַל־תָּרֵֽעוּ 

"Do not touch My anointed ones; do not harm My prophets." (Psa. 105:15) 

The holy tabernacle, the altar, and the sacred utensils were similarly anointed. (Exod. 4:3 Lev. 8:10-12; Num. 7:1, 10, 84) The Spirit of God is sometimes likened to holy anointing oil. (Isa. 61:1-2) Aside from these general uses of the term "messiah" the Tanakh also describes a central Messianic figure, a promised son of David who would be sent by God to bring world peace. (Isa. 11:1-8) The King Messiah is a Son of David who will have an everlasting kingdom and bring the world to a knowledge of the true God. (Isa. 11:9-16) Although Christians and Jews conceive of the Messiah somewhat differently there are considerable areas of overlap. It is recognized by both religions that the Messiah will be a Jew, descended from David and Solomon. That he will be a prophet of God who will judge the nations of the Earth. And that he will set up an everlasting government or kingdom upon the Earth which will turn all mankind toward the worship of the one God. Many Christians also believe that the Messiah will build the third temple when he returns. 

But Jesus of Nazareth has not yet done all of these things, for he has not yet set up a worldwide government, nor has he caused all of mankind to worship the one God, nor has he built the third temple. The Rabbis expect the Messiah to accomplish all of these things during his lifetime and have no concept of a dying and rising Messiah, much less of a Messiah who would ascend to heaven and be absent from the earth for two thousand years. The New Testament sometimes uses Midrash or charismatic interpretation when setting forth Messianic prophecies. For example Psa. 118:22 prophesies, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone," is interpreted by the apostles to be a prophecy of the Messiah and a foreshadowing of his rejection by the children of Abraham and his subsequent exaltation to the right hand of God. [Matt. 21:9, 10; 12:10, 11; Lk. 20:17; Joh. 12:13; Acts 4:11.] But of course, the Psalmist nowhere directly specifies that he is talking about the Messiah or foreshadowing his rejection and subsequent exaltation. However, the apostles understood this to be the symbolic or spiritual meaning of his words. Later, Rashi would also apply Psa. 118:22 to the Messiah and his birthplace in Bethlehem. These are essentially allegorical interpretations which by themselves could never constitute convincing evidence of Christian claims. Other prophecies offered by the NT are admittedly self-fulfilling and also would not constitute convincing evidence. The prime example is Zech. 9:9 which prophesied that the Messiah would ride into Jerusalem upon a colt. 

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey." (Zech. 9:9) 

Jesus of Nazareth, knowing of this prophecy, told his apostles to acquire a colt for him to ride into Jerusalem as the promised Messiah. (Mk. 11:7-11) Anybody who claimed to be the Messiah and knew of the prophecy could have done the same. It would be unreasonable to expect anyone to accept Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah solely on the basis of such proof texts. A Messiah claimant must fulfill clear and unambiguous prophecies which could not plausibly be fulfilled by coincidence or human design for his claims to be persuasive. When making such a case one cannot ignore the oral tradition of the Jewish people. However, the traditional Rabbinic criteria for the Messiah were not satisfied by Jesus of Nazareth. Historically, ancient Christians have never denied the value of tradition in religious practice, although they have recognized that the Scriptures are the final and absolute authorities on matters of faith and morals which are sufficient for salvation. 

 In modern Orthodox Judaism, there is no notion that the Messiah would first suffer and die, then ascend to heaven until returning a second time to complete his mission. It is thought that when the Messiah arrives, the Kingdom of God and universal peace are soon to follow close behind. The Rambam in his greatest work, the Mishneh Torah (11:1) describes his view of the Messianic era, 

"In the future, the Messianic king will arise and renew the Davidic dynasty, restoring it to its initial sovereignty. He will build the Temple and gather the dispersed of Israel. Then, in his days, the observance of all the statutes will return to their previous state. We will offer sacrifices, observe the Sabbatical and Jubilee years according to all their particulars as described by the Torah. Anyone who does not believe in him or does not await his coming, denies not only the statements of the other prophets, but those of the Torah and Moses, our teacher. The Torah testified to his coming, as Deuteronomy 30:3-5 states: God will bring back your captivity and have mercy upon you. He will again gather you from among the nations... Even if your Diaspora is at the ends of the heavens, God will gather you up from there... and bring you to the land.... These explicit words of the Torah include all the statements made by all the prophets. Reference to Mashiach is also made in the portion of Bilaam who prophesies about two anointed kings: the first anointed king, David, who saved Israel from her oppressors; and the final anointed king who will arise from his descendants and save Israel in the end of days."

While the apostles would readily agree that the Messiah would indeed accomplish nearly everything stated here, the monumental difference is that they would insist that the Messiah will not do all of these things immediately but after many years at his second coming. The New Testament presents the Fulfillment of Messianic prophecy to have two stages. The first advent of the Messiah, and his second coming. At his first Advent the Messiah functions as a teacher, healer, and suffering servant who endures trials and finally lays down his life as for the world. (Matt. 20:27, 28) At his second coming he will be a judge and a conqueror who will fight the war of Armageddon, begin the resurrection of the dead and establish an age of peace and prosperity upon the earth. (1 Thess. 4:14-17; Rev. 16:15, 16) Which view of Messianic prophecy is correct? Will the king Messiah’s mission take place in two stages or one? Will he die as a sacrifice for sins? Some prophecies portray the Messiah as a humble figure who arrives in modesty, Zech. 9:9 describes him as a modest figure who rides on a donkey into Jerusalem. Other prophecies describe a glorious great conquering hero who will descend from heaven with glory to judge the entire earth in righteousness (Dan. 2:44; 7:13; Mic. 4:3) bringing universal knowledge of God. (Isa. 2:1-4) Some prophecies describe the Messiah as a man of suffering, "like a leper," who is despised and disregarded. (Isa. 53:3) "The stone which the builders rejected." (Psa. 118:22) The death of the Messiah is described in Zech. 12:10 where it says the Jewish people "will look at the one whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son." (Zech. 12:10) But other passages present a very different picture. They describe the Messiah as a conquering king, who will build a glorious temple in Jerusalem and regather Jewish exiles. (Ezekiel chapters 38, 45, and 48) The prophet Micah described his reign as a time when all the earth will be judged righteousness bringing universal knowledge of God. (Mic. 4:3) This is seen prominently in Daniel 2:44 and 7:13-14 where the Messianic Son of Man descends from heaven in glory and crushes all governments in opposition to God and establishes an eternal kingdom. 

"Rabbi Alexandri says: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi raises a contradiction between two depictions of the coming of the Messiah. It is written: "There came with the clouds of heaven, one like unto a son of man…and there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom…his dominion is an everlasting dominion" [Dan. 7:13-14]. And it is written: "Behold, your king will come to you; he is just and victorious; lowly and riding upon a donkey and upon a colt, the foal of a donkey" [Zech. 9:9]. Rabbi Alexandri explains: If the Jewish people merit redemption, the Messiah will come in a miraculous manner with the clouds of heaven. If they do not merit redemption, the Messiah will come in humility and riding upon a donkey." (Sanhedrin 98a.)

But these are not presented as conditional prophecies. Nowhere does any prophet say that if the Jews are faithful we Messiah will return in glory and if they are unfaithful then he will arrive in humility. He arrived in humility, riding on a donkey in his first Advent and will return in glory at his second coming. In other words, to reconcile the seemingly conflicting depictions of the Messiah, the NT says that he will have two advents.