The Greek word “christos “, is the word used to translate the Hebrew word “mashiach” in the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament. The word “mashiach” consistently meant God anointed. However, the word also came to be broadly understood as the ‘messiah” during the O.T. prophecy period of about 500 years before the birth of Jesus. According to this popular theology, this expected “messiah”, would be God appointed and sent on a mission to rescue the abused Hebrew people. The messiah would restore the Kingdom of Israel as the preeminent world beater among men. Their God of justice, the Hebrew God, would finally set things right.
When Jesus
appeared on the scene both words, Christos and Messiah were familiar labels for
that expected God event that was celebrated with palm branches in Jerusalem as
Jesus rode into town on a donkey. For a
few short moments, Jesus was thought to be that God appointed savior of the
Hebrew people. The moments lasted three
days. When Jesus did not gather an
insurrection or claim the title of the messiah of the Jews, the people and the
religious hierarchy, for different reasons, turned on him. Both the people and the Jewish leaders then conspired
to eliminate this supposed messianic pretender.
Did Jesus get his mission wrong or did the people get the mission of
Jesus wrong?
Mathew, Mark
and Luke each paint slightly differing recollections about the identity or
title of Jesus, recollections that are frankly, confusing. One point of confusion is that “Jesus never
openly claims to be the Messiah (J.Y. Campbell, M.A., D.D, Article “Christ”, A
Theological Word Book of the Bible, edited by Alan Richardson, 1950. P.45)”. Jesus asks his new disciples who they thought
he was, various opinions are expressed but Jesus never acknowledges the correct
answer. His only response is to
instructs them to say nothing (Mk8:29, Luke 9:20). The Gospel of St. Matthews (16.13-20) records
a similar questioning of his disciples, after repeating the standard opinions, John
the Baptist, Elijah or Jerimiah, Peter blurts out, “You are the Christ
(Messiah), the son of the living God (16:16, NIV)”. In the next verse Jesus blesses Peter for
this opinion saying it could only have come from God. The following verses seem
to give Peter scriptural authority to lead the church that is not even a church
at this point. The words of Jesus seem
contrived for latter events, did he say them?
The
confusion continues. Dr. Campbell states
in his article on the Christ, “It is difficult to understand how Mark and Luke
could omit this part of the story (Matthew’s account) if they knew it, or how
they could have failed to know it if Jesus really did reply in this way. But as they stand, Jesus’ words to Peter
indicate that he himself had not yet given any indication even to his most
intimate disciples that he was in fact the Christ. (p.45)”
The
confusion continues. The only other time that Jesus had an opportunity to state
his mission by identifying himself as the Jewish Messiah was after his arrest
as he is questioned by the religious leaders.
Mark 14:61 “Again the high priest asked him (Jesus), ‘Are you the Christ
(Messiah), the Son of the Blessed One?” 62.
“‘I am’ Jesus said.” This response of
Jesus is clear in Mark but what is it that he is confessing, being the Messiah
who would restore Israel to its former greatness or to being the new religious
icon of the Blessed One. In any event, both
Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus remained silent instead of confessing as
Mark records. Needless to say, the
recorders of the synoptic gospels seem to be somewhat confused.
The
confusion continues in the Gospel of St. John.
The fourth gospel is a top-down religious document that assumes from the
get go the other worldly, inclusive mission of Jesus to all people. The gospel is
thought to be the last of his writing and he lived into his Nineties. This new inclusive
mission for Jesus required a new definition of Messiah. John the Baptist says, “Look, the Lamb of
God, who takes away the sin of the world.” V. 29 Also, John the Baptist testifies to seeing
the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him who will baptize
with the Holy Spirit. In verse 34 John
again labels Jesus, “I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God”. Andrew,
one of the first disciples, spends a day with Jesus at the direction of John
the Baptist and then goes and tells his brother Simon Peter, “We have found the
Messiah. (That is, the Christ)” v. 41
So which
Jesus is in scripture, the savior of the few Jews or Jesus the savior of the
many and a religious founder, icon? Jesus did not claim the religious
messiahship of the Jewish people neither did he claim to begin a new religion
called Christianity. The biblical record
is at the least very confused, whom should we believe, Matthew, Mark, Luke or
John, these biblical writers were there, listening to Jesus yet all accounts
are fractured having radically different accounts of the words of Jesus. Why the confusion?
G. Goslaw
Landers, CA
