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WHO IS YESHUA? Part 2 Download a PDF version of this article
Consider this riddle from the Bible:
At the time Solomon asked this riddle, no one knew the exact answer to the last question. But the people of ancient Israel clearly recognized that God did have a son, even if they didn't fully understand how that could be. This son was understood as being the promised Messiah of Israel. Today, you will not hear those terms used together in modern Judaism. But it was the case in the Second Temple period. In that day it was commonly believed that the Messiah would be the Son of God. At the heart of this understanding was the second Psalm:
God then replies by saying about this anointed one:
The Talmud in Sukkah 52a confirms the understanding in that day that the Messiah is the Son of God:
The question then becomes, who is this son of David about whom God is speaking? For Christians, the answer is very clear: the Messiah is Yeshua. But for most Jews, his identity is still unclear. Orthodox Jews see the Messiah as being the person who will regather the Jewish people to the land of Israel, rebuild the Temple, and rule the world from there in righteousness and peace, but not as the Savior who would die for the sins of humanity. However we know from the historical writings that originally the beliefs of Christianity and Judaism were very similar regarding the concept of the Messiah. One of these ancient sources were the Targums, which were translations of the original Hebrew texts into Aramaic, the common dialect of the Ancient Near East. Since some of the Targums were found at Qumran, we know that these writings were in part written before the New Testament, and they reflect the thinking of the Second Temple period. In passages that were accepted as being messianic in nature, the Targumists made it clear in their translations about that view. The Talmud (written 2nd-5th centuries A.D.) adds to our understanding. Two primary portraits of the Messiah are evident in these ancient sources. When some ancient rabbis noticed that there were two rather divergent portraits of the Messiah in the Hebrew Scriptures, they postulated that there were two Messiahs. One was described as Messiah ben Joseph who would suffer and die. The other one was known as Messiah ben David who would reign over the restored kingdom of Israel and bring about universal peace. Other sages determined that there would be one Messiah who would suffer and die for the sins of humanity, and then ultimately reign over a kingdom on earth. It is only later that we see these beliefs shifting to positions that are very different from Christian beliefs. For example, Isaiah 53—the great chapter on the suffering servant—was originally believed to refer to the Messiah. It wasn't until the influential French rabbi Rashi came along nearly 1000 years after Yeshua that Isaiah 53 was said to refer to the sufferings of Israel. And in the succeeding years, the concept of the Messiah continued to shift within Judaism, to the point that within today's Reform movement, instead of referring to a person, the Messiah is now said to be a metaphor for civilization evolving socially to an era of peace and harmony. If that is true, then it seems that the Jewish forefathers had to be dead wrong in what they believed. But on the other hand, what if the forefathers and the great majority of the people of ancient Israel were right in their understanding? After all, they were much closer in time and cultural context to the actual speaking and recording of the prophetic words. Really, all we can do today is to consider the evidence and then to decide for ourselves—to decide if the world is in fact getting more and more civilized, with peace and harmony right around the corner. Or if the message described in the Bible makes sense and describes the solution to the needs of humanity in every generation. The Biblical portrait of the MessiahWe know that the Messiah would be both divine and human
We know when the Messiah would come
We know the Messiah's genealogy (Matt. 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38)
We know the Messiah's attributes
We know what would happen to the Messiah
The meaning of the word Messiah In ancient Israel, kings and priests and in some cases prophets were formally recognized in an anointing ceremony. We see an example of this ritual in Exodus 29 when God gave instructions for the recognition of Aaron as high priest:
The word "anoint" in Hebrew is masach which has the root meaning "to rub." Not only was Aaron to be anointed with oil, he was to have the blood of a ram rubbed on his body:
The ancient Jewish sages taught that this particular procedure symbolized total service to God. His ear was anointed to represent listening to the people. His thumb was anointed to remind him to act on behalf of the people. And his big toe was anointed as a reminder that he needed to go to the people. The passage goes on to say:
Here we are given the purpose for the anointing: he was being consecrated. The word "consecrate" in Hebrew is kadash, which has the sense of being "set apart" or "holy." It is a picture of a special person with a specific calling for service. In the vast majority of the passages where the word anoint is used, so is the word consecrate. These attributes would not only apply to the anointed high priests and kings of Israel, but an ultimate anointed priest king, the Messiah (ha Mashiach). He, too, would need to be set apart from other people, capable of listening to them, acting on their behalf and actively going to them. That describes Yeshua precisely. As He proclaimed:
He would use His ear since He had to be able to listen to the needs of the poor and captive and downtrodden in order to be able to preach the good news to them. He would use His thumb and his hands to recover the sight of the blind and in other ways acting on behalf of the people. And He would use His toe and His feet as He was sent forth to crowds and individuals alike. Surely, Yeshua was as qualified as Aaron to serve as the special set apart one in God's great plan. And there is more that we can learn from the act of anointing. Exodus 30 describes the ingredients of the anointing oil:
The oil used for anointing contained myrrh (Heb. marar, "bitter"). In spite of its bitterness, it had a valuable use since it was used in healing salves and as an agent of purification. Myrrh was present at the beginning of Yeshua's life when the wise men brought it as a gift (Matt. 2:11). And myrrh was present at the end of His life when ignorant soldiers offered it as a drink as He hung on the cross (Mark 15:23). We have a symbol of what His purpose was as Messiah. Like myrrh, Yeshua
The anointing oil had cinnamon, which was then such a valuable spice that it was considered to be a worthy gift to kings. Unlike today, cinnamon in biblical times could only be obtained at great expense. Cost was the issue in Yeshua's day when a woman in Matt. 26 came to him and anointed his body with perfume, in spite of the protests of the disciples who called it a waste of money. Yet Yeshua received the anointing as being an act recognizing His true worth. The oil used for anointing also contained calamus (also called cane in some translations). This was a large plant with yellow flowers that produced a fragrance that was extracted by crushing. It is a picture of brokenness. As Isaiah foretold (53:5) Yeshua "was crushed for our iniquities. " Another ingredient was cassia, a spice like cinnamon that came from tree bark. The name comes from a word meaning, "to bow or bend." It is a picture of Yeshua about whom it is written:
Lastly, olive oil was used in the mixture. Olive oil is made from applying pressure to the fruit. No one ever faced more pressure than Yeshua—pressure to succumb to the most intense temptation by Satan in the wilderness and pressure to avoid His definitive purpose on the cross. Yet He persevered. Clearly each of the ingredients in God's recipe for anointing special called out persons symbolically applies to the life and ministry of Yeshua. There is a second principle evident in the use of the anointing oil that points toward Yeshua:
Not everyone could be anointed in this manner. It was limited to the high priest and his sons. In time, the highest priest of all would come—one who would enter the heavenly holy of holies with his own blood once and for all (Heb. 9:24-10:10). Can you top that? Can any of those who have claimed to be the Messiah down through the centuries come anywhere close to that? Yeshua alone stands out. This passage in Exodus is a largely overlooked characteristic of the Messiah in Scripture. We do well to recognize the messianic prophecies. But we also need to acknowledge the process of anointing itself, from which we get the name anointed one, or Mashiach, Messiah and Christ. It sets a standard that only one person in history reaches—and that is Yeshua. What is the importance of Yeshua's identity as Messiah?For some people, the depiction of the Messiah in the Bible is a confusing thing. But when we carefully consider each of the messianic prophecies, the specific concept of anointing, and then the life and ministry of Yeshua, the confusion gives way to clarity. We can trust the claim that Yeshua is the Messiah. We can count on Yeshua's ministry as king, prophet and priest. We can share in Yeshua's anointing. So who do you say that Yeshua is? It is a very serious question, and Psalm 2 tells us why:
That is a very serious situation because there is blessing and refuge for those who worship the Son of God, and perishing for those who don't. Yes, Messiah will one day establish peace on this earth. But not before He establishes true and lasting spiritual peace in the hearts and souls of people. It is something that happens every day when people believe in Him as Messiah and as the one who saves them from their sins just as the prophets foretold.
Dr. Galen Peterson |