“He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus…” (John 1:41, 42a)
Not too long ago I saw a bumper-sticker that read “We want the Messiah now!” By using the definite article (“the”), reference is made to the one and only Messiah. Over time, there have been many self-proclaimed messiahs, but there is only One who meets the biblical qualifications. Allow me to provide you with some important considerations:
- The word “Messiah” is found 39x in the Hebrew Old Testament, and its equivalent “Christ” is found 571x in the Greek New Testament.
- Both words may be translated as “Anointed One.” A simple understanding of being anointed by God is a person’s approval by Him, blessing from Him and commissioning by Him.
- A biblical anointing pertained not only to one person, but also to prophets, priests and kings. In the case of Jesus, He fulfilled all 3 of these offices simultaneously.
- But He was far more than just “a” Messiah. He was “the” Messiah – – the One who was promised and the One for whom the Jews looked.
- Can you imagine the staggering chances of someone fulfilling more than 300 predictions regarding Himself in His lifetime on earth? This Messiah had to be far more than mere man! The Old and New Testaments both proclaim Him to be deity. A careful study of the Scriptures proclaim Him nothing short of His being God Almighty! (You may wish to study Psalm 2:2ff).
- As a matter of fact, the Hebrew Scriptures (Isaiah 9:6, 7 and Proverbs 30:4) portray Jesus as God’s very Son (that is, He partakes of the nature of God Himself)! Yes, and only Jesus could raise Himself from the dead (John 10:17, 18) – – something only God could do – – and did!
For years many have been ingrained with the false notion that Messiah 1) has not come yet and 2) that He will be a superman, but not God. False messiahs have appeared in abundance over hundreds of years. But, my dear friend, what if the Holy Scriptures do reveal the real Messiah to be God incarnate? What if Jesus Christ is not only the Jewish Messiah, but also one for the Gentiles as well? Better believe the Bible rather than man’s fallible opinions!
Who is the Messiah Isaiah 53 speaks of?
Isaiah 53
Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted. Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked – – but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
“So the eunuch answered Philip and said, ‘I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?’ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him” (Acts 8:34, 35).
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