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I
think everyone will agree that the word "Messiah" is an important
word. Like many important biblical
words, it means different things to different groups. I don't know about you, but just knowing that it means
different things to different denominations, churches, congregations, and cults
isn't good enough! I want to know
what it meant to Jesus and fellow Judeans in the first century.
The
word "Messiah" is an English form of the Latin word Messias,
borrowed from the Greek word MESSIAS that is an adaptation of the Aramaic
meshiha and a translation of the Hebrew word HAMAShIACh -
"the Anointed [King]." In
the New Testament HAMAShIACh is usually translated into Greek as CHRISTOS,
which has been transliterated into English by the word "Christ."
Therefore, the word "Christ" in Jesus' culture and lifetime
carried the primary meaning of "The King of Israel."
In
Israel, anointment conferred upon the king the "spirit of Yahweh."
This meant that the king had Yahweh's support, strength, and wisdom
through the "spirit." Even
though there were other "anointed" figures in Israel - priests,
prophets, lepers - they did not receive the "spirit of Yahweh."
The
human king absorbed divine attributes through unction (a phenomenon attested
nowhere else). The king was also
called the "Son of God" and only the king called Yahweh "my
Father." Other Jews, on the
other hand, were called the "sons of God" and they used the phrase
"our Father."
Jews
of Jesus' time were expecting and hoping for a "Messiah." A common
belief was that he would be a charismatically endowed descendant of David who
would rise up and break the yoke of Roman rule.
The Jewish world of the first century wasn't looking for a supernatural
figure or an angel; they expected a flesh and blood human being anointed with
the "spirit of Yahweh." Their major problem was not "waiting" for the Messiah to
appear; it was trying to determine which messianic contender was the
"real" Messiah.
In
the Second
Temple period there was a greater variety of messianic figures than
either before or after that period. Some
of their names appear in Acts 5:36-37. One such messianic figure was Judas
the Galilean, founder of the Zealots,
who apparently transferred his claim to messiahship to his son.
Josephus
(Wars 2:444-448) states that Judas' son, Menahem, was murdered in the Temple,
being "arrayed in royal robes."
The
most important historical messianic figure, other than Jesus, was Bar
Kokhba. He never called
himself the "Messiah," but many others did.
He led the last major rebellion against Rome, which began in 132 CE and
ended in the complete defeat of the Jewish people. After Bar Kokhba there would be no Jewish government in the
land until 1948 CE when modern
Israel was established.
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