Jesus is the Messiah

Yesterday, we learned that Christ and Messiah are really one and the same, just different translations of the same original word.  And yet, it is important to understand the nuances of each name.

Messiah would have been the term that the Jews would have used, the redeemer who would come to save the nation.  Remember, both terms mean "the anointed one."  Also remember that messiah was used in the Old Testament to describe priests, prophets and kings.  It was also used to describe the one who would rule as king in the End of Days.

As we know, sadly, most Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Son of God, the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Messiah.  A common modern interpretation is that there is a potential messiah in every generation. 

To the Jew, the Messiah has a most important mission, namely to bring the world back to G-d, and make it a place of peace, justice and harmony. When Jesus failed to accomplish this, the early Christians had to radically alter the very concept of the Messiah.  (Rabbi Aryan Kaplan)

When the Messiah came, to suffer and die as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, He was a very different plan then what the Jews had in mind.  When He spoke these words out of Matthew 10, He was not at all what the Jews thought they wanted:   

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.  For I have come to turn
   ‘a man against his father,
   a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
    a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
    Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."  (verses 34-39)

My point in all this explanation is this:  You can think whatever you want to of God, of Jesus.  You have that right.  But your thoughts don't make it true.  Jews for thousands of years have missed the Messiah because He didn't "measure up" to their expectations.   

Crazy, right?  Jesus is the Messiah, the long-awaited King, the Christ, the Anointed One, the Ruler of the Ages, and He came to redeem you, to redeem me, to bring us home to live with His Father for eternity.  

Does Jesus bring us peace?  Yes, internally and eternally.  But it's a false thought to think that He brings peace to the nations now.  Becoming Christians doesn't make our lives physically easier.  But it does make them better.  Because the Messiah WILL win.  In some ways, we are still like the Jews of old, waiting for the coming Messiah.  We are still waiting for His final appearance.  But because we believe He came, and is living within us, we can have hope.  And peace.  And love.  Until He comes again.