Jesus performed miracles and signs
Jesus performed miracles and signs. He healed the sick, raised the
dead, quelled storms of nature, fed the multitudes and exercised
absolute authority over the spirit world—yet He wasn’t accepted
as Israel’s
Messiah.
One might think that with those credentials, He would be automatically proclaimed Messiah. We are told, however, that “He came to
His own [people], and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). After
a -year ministry, only 120 followers were there for the miraculous
beginning of His Church (Acts 1:15).
One of the prophecies about the Messiah foretold that He would be
“despised and rejected by men” (Isaiah 53:3). The great works Jesus
did that brought about His popularity in the country were not enough
to overcome the disfavor He incurred from the religious authorities—
or enough to secure loyalty from the fickle hearts of the common man.
His mission and His teachings were at cross purposes to those who held
high positions in the nation, and His purpose was also misunderstood by
most of those who saw and heard Him.
What were the Jews looking for?
The Jews were acquainted with many of the prophecies about the Messiah, the chosen or “anointed one” as the word means in Hebrew. They
firmly believed that the Messiah would be a strong and glorious earthly
king who would deliver them from their Roman oppressors and form
once again a great and independent Jewish kingdom. The wise men who
came from the east seeking the newborn Jesus inquired at Jerusalem,
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:1-2).
King Herod, who ruled Judea under the Romans, clearly understood
that the Messiah the Jews expected was to be another king and thus a
rival to himself. He then asked the chief priests and scribes “where the
Christ was to be born” so he could eliminate the threat to his power
(Matthew 2:3-16).
In the Greek language in which the New Testament was written,
Christos
(Christ in English) has the same meaning as the Hebrew word Mashiach
(Messiah in English)“anointed one,” signifying one who
was specially chosen by God (see “What Do ‘Messiah’ and ‘Jesus Christ’
Mean?” beginning on page 68). Herod and the Jewish rulers considered
the title “Christ” as synonymous with that of “King of the Jews” in accordance with the general expectation of the time (compare verses 2 and 4).
The expectation that the Christ would be a king fit with their understanding that He would also be a descendant of David, the most famous
of all the kings of Israel and the one by whom all other kings were measured. We see this illustrated in Matthew 22:42, when Jesus asked the
Pharisees, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”
Their response was, “The Son of David” (Matthew 22:42).
Jesus was addressed as “Son of David” by two blind men (Matthew
9:27), by the woman of Canaan (Matthew 15:22) and by the blind men
at Jericho (Matthew 20:30). When Jesus healed a demon-possessed man
who was both blind and mute, “all the multitudes were amazed and said,
‘Could this be the Son of David?’” (Matthew 12:22-23). At His entry
into Jerusalem He was greeted with shouts of “Hosanna to the Son of
David!” (Matthew 21:9).
The number and scope of the miracles Jesus performed—miracles not
equaled in the history of Israel even by the great prophets—led people
to the conclusion that He had to be the prophesied Messiah. “And many
of the people believed in Him, and said, ‘When the Christ [Messiah]
comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?’”
(John 7:31).
Time for a restored kingdom?
When the people desired the appearance of “the Son of David,” they
were hoping for the prophesied One who would restore the kingdom of
Israel under the Davidic dynasty.
At one point when Jesus miraculously fed a following of 5,000 men,
they were convinced that He was “the Prophet who is to come into the
world” (John 6:14). This is an allusion to Moses’ prophecy of “a Prophet
like me” in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. The disciples of Jesus identified Jesus
as this same Prophet, “Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the
prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45).
What better king can you have than one who will miraculously feed
you? This miracle caused a groundswell of support to make Him king
then and there. But “when Jesus perceived that they were about to come
and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the
mountain by Himself alone” (John 6:14-15). He made Himself scarce.
To become a human king over a powerful Israel was not a part of Jesus’
mission at that time.
Jesus Christ: The Real Story
Christ. He forbade the demons He had cast out of those possessed to
confess that He was the Christ (Luke 4:41). And when Peter—in reply to
Jesus’ direct question “Who do you say that I am?”—responded that He
was the Messiah, Jesus strictly commanded the disciples to tell no one
that He was the Christ (Matthew 16:15-16, 20).
He answered the question of the imprisoned John the Baptist (“Are
You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”) by directing him
to the proofs of His messianic claims—His teachings and His works
(Matthew 11:2-6).
But there were a few occasions where He affirmed His messianic
identity quite plainly. For example, He revealed who He was to the
Samaritan woman at the well. “I know that Messiah is coming,” she
told Him—to which Jesus responded, “I who speak to you am He”
(John 4:25-26). Even at the beginning of His ministry, He accepted the
confession of His first disciples when they acknowledged Him to be the
Messiah (John 1:41-50).
Jesus privately on occasion accepted the titles “Messiah” and “Son
of God,” but publicly He avoided such designations. What He would
have intended by these titles and the way in which the Jews would
have taken them were two different things. Jesus couldn’t deny who
He was nor what He intended to do, but He was careful to explain
the nature of the future Kingdom and dispel misapprehensions about
His mission.
Jesus understood what His people were looking for in a Messiah. It’s
probably partially for that reason that He usually refrained from claiming the title for Himself and discouraged others from using it. To fulfill
the mission of His first coming, He did not want to spark a popular
uprising of Jews anxious to establish their own independent kingdom
against the despised Roman rule at that time.
Moreover, had Jesus proclaimed Himself as the Messiah, it would
have provoked immediate confrontation between Himself and the Jewish and Roman authorities, thereby bringing about His execution prematurely. Yet when it was time, Jesus affirmed to both the Jewish and
Roman authorities that this was who He was.
Jesus the King
At Jesus’ trial the high priest asked him, “Are You the Christ, the Son
of the Blessed?” Jesus answered: “I am. And you will see the Son of
Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds
of heaven” (Mark 14:61-62). The high priest immediately accused Jesus
of blasphemy and deserving of death (verse 64).
Yes, Jesus was indeed the Messiah, sent from God and born to be king.
He made this fact clear when He stood before Pilate. However, Jesus had
preached the Kingdom of God rather than the kingdom of Israel.
The Jews accused Him before Pilate of claiming to be “Christ, a King,”
which would make Him a direct threat to Roman authority (Luke 23:2).
Pilate, concerned about this allegation, asked Jesus about the charge.
Jesus answered by saying, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not
be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here” (John
18:36). Pilate pressed Jesus further, asking if He were indeed a king.
Jesus replied: “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was
born, and for this cause I have come into the world” (verse 37).
However, Pilate got the impression that Caesar’s kingdom was under
no threat from Jesus. Yet, in the end, the Jews convinced Pilate to have
Him executed on the grounds that He claimed to be a king (John 19:12).
Pilate even had the title “Ki n g o f t h e Je w s ” placed above Jesus’ head as
He was crucified (verse 19-22).
After having ordered Jesus to be scourged, Pilate brought Him out to
the crowd and announced, “Behold your King,” apparently thinking the
heinous beating He had endured would satisfy them. “But they cried out,
‘Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!’ Pilate said to them,
‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no
king but Caesar!’” (John 19:14-15).
They didn’t recognize their own King.
The future Kingdom
Jesus plainly told Pilate His Kingdom was not then, not there. It
would not be one of the kingdoms of this present world—of this present
age of man.
But there is a future age coming, in which His Kingdom will
be established on the earth to rule all nations.
Many prophecies about Jesus’ role as the Messiah were indeed fulfilled by Him during His 3 & HALF
year ministry. But the fulfillment of many
more—those about the establishment of the Kingdom of God over the
whole earth—are
yet to be fulfilled
by Jesus Christ.
When Jesus began to speak about the Kingdom of God, the people
did not fully understand. In the thinking of most first-century Jews, there
was no distinction between the prophecies of the Messiah’s first coming
and those of His second.
To the people of His day, the prophecies of the Messiah and the Messianic Kingdom were like looking at the stars. They all appear to be as a
canopy above us, all about the same distance. But in reality there are vast
distances between the stars. With the naked eye, we cannot tell which
ones are closer and which are farther away. The messianic prophecies
Jesus Christ: The Real Story
appeared like that to the Jews. Most expected all prophecies to be fulfilled
in a single coming of the Messiah.
His second coming
Although most people missed Jesus’ first coming,
no one
will miss
His second. Jesus said all the people of the earth “will see the Son of
Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory”
(Matthew 24:30).
But when He comes the second time, will He be accepted then? What
will people expect? Will the Jews think that He will come just to them?
Will Christians think they are going to be taken away from the earth?
Will the world think He is an invader from somewhere?
Jesus gave a vision to His apostle John, recorded for us in the book
of Revelation. In it Jesus completes the prophecies He gave during
His earthly ministry. It’s most interesting to note that
He will not be
accepted by the world the second time,
just as He wasn’t accepted at His
first coming. When He comes the second time, He won’t come as one
announcing
the Kingdom of God, He will come as Ruler to
establish
the Kingdom of God!
Make no mistake—the nations will again reject Him. He speaks of
the time of His return as being “the great day of His wrath,” when the
nations are angry at God’s intervention (Revelation 6:16-17; 11:17-18).
Leaders of the world will “gather
...
to the battle of that great day of God
Almighty,” in which they will fight against Him (Revelation 16:14).
At Jesus’ second coming He is pictured as One who “judges and
makes war” (Revelation 19:11). He will “strike the nations” with a sword
and tread “the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God”
(verse 15).
Such passages make it clear that the world will not receive Christ with
open arms when He comes back. This is the other side of the picture of
Jesus that is not taught very much today. When He returns, He will meet
with a hostile reception from the world—just as He did the first time.
This leads us to ask the question, do we really know the real Jesus?
Do we really know what He is doing? Are we really preparing ourselves
to be accepted and rewarded by Him when He establishes His Kingdom? And what is that Kingdom all about? We’ll address those crucial
questions in the next chapter.
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