4.4 Jesus as Messiah and Controversial Figure
When Jesus was born, Israel was living under Roman rule. Their nation was not fully independent. Their land had deep religious meaning, but political power was controlled by foreign rulers.
Many Jews hoped God would restore Israel. They hoped for freedom from foreign oppression, justice for God’s people, a purified nation, and the return of a righteous king.
Some expected the Messiah to be a political or military deliverer. Some expected a king who would defeat Israel’s enemies. Some expected a prophet like Moses. Some hoped for a priestly figure who would purify worship and lead the people back to faithfulness.
Though there were various views of what the Messiah would be like, many people shared the belief that Israel needed restoration and that God would send someone to make things right.
What Does Messiah Mean?
The Hebrew Scriptures describe God’s promise that David’s house and kingdom would have lasting significance. After Israel and Judah lost independence and lived under foreign powers, many Jews hoped God would send a future anointed king from David’s line to restore Israel and rule with justice.
The word “Messiah” means “anointed one.” In the Hebrew Scriptures, kings, priests, and sometimes prophets were anointed for special roles. Anointing showed that someone was set apart for a purpose connected to God’s work among His people.
The Greek word for Messiah is “Christ.” The phrase “Jesus Christ” is not a first-and-last name. Rather, it means Jesus the Messiah, or Jesus the Anointed One. When Christians call Jesus “Christ,” they are saying that He is the Messiah.
Jesus Redirected the Meaning of Restoration
Many people wanted God to fix Israel’s outward problems. Jesus called Israel to return to God inwardly.
Many people wanted freedom from foreign rule. Jesus called people to freedom from sin, hypocrisy, pride, greed, cruelty, and false security.
Many people wanted God to defeat their enemies. Jesus called people to confront evil in their own hearts and live under God’s rule.
Jesus redirected the focus of restoration by teaching that the people should become faithful to God rather than passively waiting for a political solution. He called people to repent and enter God’s kingdom now.
In this way, Jesus made restoration personal. He taught that the deepest restoration begins when people return to God and become the kind of people who can live under God’s rule.
Christians Understand Jesus as Messiah Through Salvation
Many people wondered if Jesus was the promised one: Was He a prophet? Was He the Son of David? Was He the Messiah?
Christians answer yes. They believe Jesus is the Messiah, just not always in the way people expected.
The Gospels present Jesus as someone who did not merely talk about God’s kingdom. He embodied it. He showed what it looked like for God’s rule to enter human life through truth, mercy, forgiveness, justice, healing, and authority.
From a Christian perspective, Jesus revealed that the Messiah’s mission was bigger than national independence.
He came not only for Israel’s outward restoration, but for the restoration of all human beings to God. He came to call sinners to repentance, forgive sins, reveal God’s character, confront hypocrisy, heal what was broken, and open the way for salvation.
Christians connect Jesus with salvation. They believe He is the one through whom people are brought back into right relationship with God and called into the kingdom of God.
Why Jesus Became Controversial
Jesus became controversial because He challenged people’s expectations of Messiah.
Many Jewish people in Jesus’ time believed faithfulness to God meant obeying the Torah, including commandments about Sabbath, purity, festivals, prayer, sacrifice, and daily life. Many religious leaders were deeply committed to this obedience. Jesus’ call to repentance could therefore be offensive because He was not simply speaking to people who saw themselves as rebellious sinners. He was also challenging people who believed they were already faithful to God.
People who wanted a military deliverer were disappointed. People who wanted political victory were confused. People who wanted God to judge their enemies often did not want Jesus to first confront sin, hypocrisy, and hardness of heart within Israel itself.
Jesus became controversial because He challenged people’s ideas about power, victory, holiness, and restoration.
He challenged religious leaders when they used religion to gain status, control others, or hide hypocrisy. He warned against outward religious practice and strict law-keeping that lacked justice, mercy, humility, and love for God.
His message also had political implications. Words like “kingdom,” “Messiah,” and “Son of David” sounded dangerous in a land controlled by Rome.
Jesus did not lead a violent revolt or teach people to build God’s kingdom through military force. However, His message still challenged Rome’s earthly power.
Roman authorities would not have welcomed claims that a new king or Messiah had appeared among the Jewish people. If God is King, then Caesar is not the highest authority. If the kingdom of God is near, what would become of the kingdom of Rome?
Jesus did not lead a rebellion, but His message and identity claims became controversial enough that He was crucified under Roman authority.
Crucifixion was a brutal and humiliating form of execution used by Rome, especially for people viewed as threats, rebels, or public warnings to others.
From a Jewish perspective, Jesus did not bring the visible restoration many messianic expectations included, such as Israel’s full restoration, worldwide peace, the end of war, and universal recognition of the God of Israel. Therefore, Jewish tradition generally does not accept Jesus as the Messiah.
This difference is one of the major dividing lines between Judaism and Christianity.
In section 4.5, we will look at another Christian claim about Jesus: that in Him, God became man.