| Christian Life and Doctrine | July 1979 |
The Messiah
FOR centuries the Jewish nation has waited for the Messiah. What prophecies in the Old Testament form the basis for their faith in the Messiah? All Old Testament scriptures cited here are taken from the Leeser translation. Thus the reader can peruse these promises concerning the Messiah as the Jewish nation would read of them.
The Old Testament of the Bible is revered by both Jewish and Christian peoples throughout the world. Moses, the great leader of Israel, has been generally recognized as the one who compiled and wrote the first five books of the Old Testament, known also as the Pentateuch. In recording the experiences of our forefathers, Moses had access to information carefully passed on by those who preceded him.
By virtue of the much longer life spans in those days, there were not as many intermediaries between Adam and Moses as might be supposed. The chances of error were lessened because the intermediaries were fewer. Above all, because Moses worked directly under God’s instruction and supervision, we are assured that the information he recorded is accurate.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were condemned to death, the first glimmer of hope for the conquest of evil and death was given by God in their presence when he said to the serpent: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt wound his heel. (Gen. 3:15) The meaning of this prophecy was as follows: Some day, born of a woman, would come the One that would crush evil and Satan, the great adversary of God (represented by the serpent), once and for all, even though Satan would try to impede the development of this Seed by bruising the heel.
During mankind’s early experiences there were no signs of such a Seed, nor was there any elaboration on this ray of hope until Noah was born. Of Lamech, his father, it is said: “And he called his name Noach, [Noah] saying, This one shall comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.” (Gen. 5:29) Since the curse was not only on man, but included the earth also, it might appear that Noah could be that promised Seed who would redeem man from the curse. Instead, Noah and his family were the only survivors of the great Deluge and were carried over into the new world (or age) to begin anew the families of earth.
Not too long afterward, Abraham was born. He was descended from one of Noah’s sons, Shem. Noah did not see his great-great-grandson, because he died two years before Abraham was born. God elaborated on the promise of a seed to Abraham when he asked him to leave Ur of the Chaldees and go to the land of Canaan, the present land of Palestine. God told Abraham: “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing; And I will bless those that bless thee, and him that curseth thee, will I curse; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”—Gen. 12:2,3
Later, when Abraham came to the land of Canaan, God expanded on this promise several times. The final confirmation came when Abraham was about to offer Isaac, his son, in sacrifice, in obedience to God’s command. God stayed his hand and provided a ram, which Abraham offered instead. God said: “By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, since, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thy only one: That I will greatly bless thee, and I will exceedingly multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because that thou hast obeyed my voice.”—Gen. 22:16-18
This promise, which we know as the Abrahamic promise, is seen to include not only Abraham but his seed in particular and foretells the means whereby all the families of the earth would be blessed. After Abraham died, God restated this promise to Isaac. “And I will cause thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and I will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves.” (Gen. 26:4) It was this promise, or that particular part of the birthright, that was so important to Jacob, who received it from his brother Esau, and which was confirmed to Jacob by God. “And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and in thee and thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done what I have spoken to thee of.”—Gen. 28:13-15
And yet there was no sign of this Seed. However, a part of the promise appeared to be taking form as Jacob’s family prospered and multiplied greatly—so much so that in Egypt, where they had been forced to go because of a great famine, they appeared to be a threat to the Egyptians. This fear caused the Egyptian pharaoh to make slaves of them. And so it was that Moses came on the scene and eventually delivered Israel from bondage in Egypt and led them back to the promised land, the land of Canaan.
The leadership of Moses was so outstanding that Israel must have thought the promised Seed of Abraham had come. This was not so. But the promised Seed would have the leadership qualities of a Moses, who himself said: “A prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, will the Lord thy God raise up unto thee; unto him shall ye hearken: according to all that thou didst desire of the Lord thy God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, I wish no more to hear the voice of the Lord my God, and this great fire I wish not to see again, that I die not. And the Lord said unto me, They have done well in what they have spoken. A prophet will I raise up unto them from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I may command him. And it shall come to pass, that if there be a man who will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.” (Deut. 18:15-19) Though Moses was a great prophet in his own right, the greatest Israel had seen, yet a greater Prophet was to come.
It is interesting to note how throughout the Scriptures information is given that enables us to know more and more about this wonderful promised Seed. These are some of the salient points:
This Seed would be born of woman.
This Seed would crush all evil, and particularly Satan.
This Seed would be descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
This Seed would bless all the nations of the world.
This Seed would be a great leader and prophet, as was Moses.
This Seed would receive instructions from God (as did Moses) and instruct the people; and as a consequence, all would be required to listen and obey.
But where did the concept of the Messiah come from, and how is the Messiah related to this promised Seed? In the King James translation of the Old Testament, the word Messiah occurs twice: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after three-score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”—Dan. 9:25,26
These verses read as follows in the Leeser translation: “Know therefore and comprehend, that from the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed the prince will be seven weeks: and during sixty and two weeks will it be again built with streets and ditches (around it), even in the pressure of the times. And after the sixty and two weeks will an anointed one be cut off without a successor to follow him: and the city and the sanctuary will the people of the prince that is coming destroy; but his end will come in a violent overthrow; but until the end of the war devastations are decreed (against it).”
In these two instances from Daniel, Messiah is a translation of the Hebrew word mashiach, which means “anointed,” as used by Leeser. In the early experiences of Israel, the only anointing that was done was of Aaron and his sons, the high priest and priests of Israel. In setting up the tabernacle arrangement, God gave Moses very specific instructions about its design and construction and the procedure for installing the priests in office. Moses poured the anointing oil (made of very special ingredients) over the head of the high priest, who was clothed in his glory robes. (See Exod. 28:41; 29:4-7; Lev. 8:6-12; Exod. 40:12-15.)
Was the Messiah therefore to be from the tribe of Levi and of the high priests of Israel? Would a high priest bring blessings to Israel and the whole world? It might appear that way if this was all that we knew of the matter. However, when we go back to Jacob, who inherited the promise from Abraham, we see that in Jacob’s last days he prophesied concerning his sons. It was not told to Levi that from him would come the blessed Seed. Rather, Jacob told Simeon and Levi that their anger and wrath was to be cursed. Because of their violence (having slain Shechem in anger) they would be divided and scattered. It was Judah whom Jacob (as spokesman for God) favored and honored. His brethren would praise him, and from him would come a King who would unite all the people. “Judah, thou art the one thy brothers shall praise, thy hand shall be on the neck of thy enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down unto thee. Like a lion’s whelp, O Judah, from the prey, my son, thou risest: he stoopeth down, he croucheth as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet; until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. He bindeth unto the vine his foal, and to the vine-branch his ass’s colt; he washeth his garments in wine, and in the blood of grapes his clothes; his eyes shall be red from wine, and his teeth white from milk.”—Gen. 49:8-12
This is a remarkable prophecy, and Israel eventually realized that God intended that this blessed Seed was to come through Judah. But at first they did not seem to realize that this was God’s choice. During the period of the judges, God raised judges (leaders) to deliver his people. These came from almost every tribe in Israel. The last of the judges came from Levi in the persons of Eli, high priest, descended from Ithamar, a son of Aaron, and Samuel, descended from Kohath. Did Israel associate the anointed One with the office of priest? If they did, it was not for very long, because when Samuel was judge in Israel the people wanted a king. And yet they were not aware of the prophecy which indicated that the King would come from Judah. God, too, told Samuel to choose Saul, a Benjamite (for the purpose of dramatizing features in his plan) to be the first king. But Saul went contrary to the Lord’s commands so often that the Lord repented at having made him a king.
Then God commanded Samuel to go to the house of Jesse (who was descended from Judah) and there anoint a lad, David, Jesse’s youngest son, to be king over Israel. It was many years before David would become king in reality; but finally Saul died, his house was subdued, and David became king over all Israel.
The official selection of the king was shown to the people by anointing him. Both Saul and David were anointed by Samuel. “And Samuel took a flask of oil, and poured it upon his [David’s] head, and kissed him, and said, Behold, it is because the Lord hath anointed thee over his inheritance as chief.” (I Sam. 10:1) “Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him from among his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came suddenly upon David from that day and forward. And Samuel then rose up, and went to Ramah.” (I Sam. 16:13) Later David (when Saul had died) was anointed king again, first over Judah (II Sam. 2:4-7) and then over all of Israel (II Sam. 5:3) It now became clear that the great Savior and King of Israel, the promised Seed, would be a King, “the Anointed One,” descended not only from Judah, but from David. Thus it was that prophecies concerning the Anointed (Messiah) were associated with David as king and with the glory that this wonderful King would bring. One of the most impressive prophecies concerning this great King was spoken by David himself in the 110th Psalm: “The Eternal saith unto my lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I place thy enemies as a stool for thy feet. The staff of thy strength will the Eternal stretch forth out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thy enemies. Thy people will bring freewill gifts on the day of thy power, in the ornaments of holiness: as out of the bosom of the morning dawn, so is thine the dew of thy youth. The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent of it. Thou shalt be a priest forever after the order of Melki-zedek. The Lord at thy right hand crusheth kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge among the nations—there shall be a fullness of corpses—he crusheth heads on a widespread land. From the brook will he drink on the way: therefore will he lift up the head.”
Several points in this psalm are noteworthy. Although “the Anointed” was not mentioned, Melchizedek, who was both a priest and a king, is mentioned. And as we have noted, there was an anointing required for both offices. The position and power of David’s Lord is highlighted: being seated on the right hand of Jehovah, all enemies being subdued, all kings being crushed, and all nations being judged.
A companion prophetic psalm which does mention the Lord’s anointed is the second one: “Wherefore do nations rage, and people meditate a vain thing? The kings of the earth raise themselves up, and rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed: ‘Let us break asunder their bands, and cast away from us their cords.’ He who dwelleth in the heavens will laugh: the Lord will hold them in derision. Then will he speak unto them in his anger, and in his displeasure will he terrify them. (Saying,) Yet have I appointed my king upon Zion my holy mount. I will announce the decree, the Lord hath said unto me, ‘My son art thou: I have indeed this day begotten thee. Ask it of me, and I will give thee nations for an inheritance, and for thy possession the uttermost ends of the earth. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; like a potter’s vessel shalt thou dash them in pieces.’ And now, O ye kings, be wise: take warning, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the son, lest he be angry, and ye be lost on the way; for his wrath is so speedily kindled. Happy are all they that put their trust in him.”
Although there are remarkable similarities between these two psalms, which make a worthy study, we want to note in particular the eighth verse in the second psalm, where God tells the Messiah, “Ask of me and I will give thee the nations for an inheritance, and for thy possession the uttermost ends of the earth.” This verse links the Messiah with the Abrahamic promise, wherein the promised Seed will bless all the families of the earth. A first requirement is that he must possess the nations as his own, and then he can bless them.
Another requirement of the Messiah was—as originally told to Adam and Eve, concerning “the Seed of the woman”—that he would be born of woman and would then crush evil. In Isaiah 9:6,7 we read of this wonderful Child being born, and how he would sit on the throne of David; but, more importantly, his government would be with justice and righteousness and would never end: “For (promoting) the increase of the government, and for peace without end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to establish it and to support it through justice and righteousness, from henceforth and unto eternity: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. A word hath the Lord sent against Jacob, and it hath alighted upon Israel.”
There are many prophecies of a similar nature which could be mentioned. One such combines the Seed of Abraham and David’s descendants, and is found in Jeremiah 33:23-26: “And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Nast thou not observed what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the Lord hath made choice of, even these hath he rejected: and they (thus) have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. Thus hath said the Lord, If my covenant be not with day and night, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth: then also will I reject the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so as not to take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.”
The Lord is saying in this prophecy that if it is true that the sun and moon should not function as ordained, so it would be true that the seed of Jacob and David would not come to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Just prior to this pronouncement in that same chapter (verses 14 and 15), Jeremiah quotes God as saying that he will raise up a righteous Branch from David, and He will execute justice and righteousness in the land: “Behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will fulfill that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and respecting the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause to grow up unto David the sprout of righteousness: and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”
We should not think that Solomon or any of the other kings of Judah fulfilled these prophecies. Rather, at the time that Jeremiah was saying this, some of Israel had been taken captive to Babylon, and the remainder of the nation was under threat of suffering in the same way. Zedekiah (Josiah’s son) was made a vassal king under Nebuchadnezzar, and it is generally believed that Ezekiel’s prophecy (Ezek. 21:30-32) is referring to Zedekiah as that wicked prince who was told by God to take off the crown and diadem, which would not belong to anyone until He came whose right it is, and the Lord would give it to Him. Since Zedekiah was the last of the kings of Judah, no longer would any king be on the throne to rule his people until “the Anointed One” (Messiah) would come to be King. And so it has been. The nations of Judah and Israel came under the dominion of Gentile world empires henceforth. First it was Babylon, then the Medes and Persians, then came the Grecian Empire, and finally Rome. During the Persian dominion, Israel was permitted to go back to Palestine and be a vassal state. But during Roman dominion they were scattered abroad in all the world, not to return again until the end of the Gospel Age.
When Zedekiah was taken prisoner to Babylon, a bright young Hebrew by the name of Daniel was already in the court of Nebuchadnezzar, along with other Hebrews who were being trained for special tasks. Daniel rose to prominence in Babylon and also in Medo-Persia, when they conquered Babylon. He was well educated in the science and arts of that day. But he never ceased to study the Law and the prophets with an unfaltering faith in the promises of God. He knew of Jeremiah’s prophecy that Jerusalem was to be in desolation for seventy years. Therefore, when the seventy years were either about to end or had already come to an end, Daniel prayed to God for fulfillment of his promises. God not only answered his prayer but sent Gabriel with information about the coming of Messiah. A period of seventy weeks was involved: “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to close up the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to atone for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy thing. Know therefore and comprehend, that from the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed the prince will be seven weeks: and during sixty and two weeks will it be again built with streets and ditches (around it), even in the pressure of the times. And after the sixty and two weeks will an anointed one be cut off without a successor to follow him: and the city and the sanctuary will the people of the prince that is coming destroy; but his end will come in a violent overthrow; but until the end of the war devastations are decreed (against it). And he will make a strong covenant with the many for one week; and in the half of the week will he cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and this because of the prevalence of the abominations which bringeth devastation, and until destruction and what is decreed shall be poured out upon the waster.” (Dan. 9:24-27) This seventy weeks represented a day for each year. “And when thou hast made an end of them, thou shalt lie on thy right side, the second time, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: a day each for a year, a day for a year do I lay it on thee.” (Ezek. 4:6) But at that time Gabriel’s message concerning Messiah was very strange. In the middle of the last seven years, Messiah would be “cut off.” What could this mean?
When we look at this time prophecy, we find that it brings us to the year A.D. 29. The people of Israel were expecting a fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy, and there was great excitement in the land. It was then that John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth came on the scene. At that time the last week (seven years) of Daniel’s prophecy of favor began. Why did some in Israel believe that Jesus was the Messiah? Jesus was perfect. “Never man spake like this man.” (John 7:46) But above all, Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. The scribes and the Pharisees were familiar with these prophecies. As an example, they knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, as prophesied in Micah 5:1 (see Matt. 2:4-6). But they failed to associate with Messiah the many prophecies that foretold of Messiah’s suffering and death.
Probably the most outstanding of the Old Testament prophecies that revealed how the Messiah would suffer and die is found in Isaiah 53:1-5: “Who would have believed our report? and the arm of the Lord—over whom hath it been revealed? Yea, he grew up like a small shoot before him, and as a root out of a dry land: he had no form nor comeliness, so that we should look at him; and no countenance, so that we should desire him. He was despised and shunned by men; a man of pains, and acquainted with disease; and as one who hid his face from us was he despised, and we esteemed him not. But only our diseases did he bear himself, and our pains he carried: while we indeed esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Yet he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement for our peace was upon him; and through his bruises was healing granted to us.”
This marvelous prophecy, which was fulfilled by Jesus, shows that Messiah had to die—as Jesus explained to the two disciples walking to Emmaus after he had been resurrected: “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26) Other scriptures prophesy of the sufferings of Messiah:
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from saving me, and from the words of my loud complaint?”—Ps. 22:2
“All those who see me laugh me to scorn: they draw open their lips, they shake their head, (saying,) ‘Let him throw himself on the Lord, that he may deliver him: he will save him, for he delighteth in him.’”—Ps. 22:8,9
“I may number all my bones: (while) they stare and look upon me. They divide my clothes among themselves, and for my garment do they cast lots.”—Ps. 22:18,19
“And they put into my food gall; and in my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.”—Ps. 69:22
Not many in Israel understood these prophecies or that the Messiah’s primary work was to provide a ransom (a corresponding price for father Adam). Isaiah 53:12 tells of the need for Messiah to bear the sin of many (all of Adam’s family): “Therefore will I divide him (a portion) with the many, and with the strong shall he divide the spoil; because he poured out his soul unto death, and with transgressors was he numbered: while one bore the sin of many, and for the transgressors he let (evil) befall him.” We also see in this prophecy how the Messiah would “divide the spoil” with the strong. He would invite those called of God to share in his sufferings and glory. The Apostle John would write later of this invitation: “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1:11,12) Those who were invited recognized the Lamb of God and became his disciples and followed him: “Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, Master) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.”—John 1:35-41
These disciples eventually learned why the Messiah had to be cut off (put to death) as prophesied by Gabriel to Daniel (Dan. 9:26,27), the event happening in the middle of the week (in the middle of the seven years beginning with A.D. 29). They not only accepted Jesus as their Messiah but also learned of the privilege extended to them of following in his steps. It is also our privilege to accept Jesus as the Messiah and to follow him.
The nation of Israel could not see many of the important prophecies of the Old Testament, even though in their own preferred translation of these scriptures the prophecies are recorded with clarity. We know that their eyes will be opened and that they will one day (not far off) be glad to receive their true Messiah, our Lord Jesus. They unwittingly rejected him, and in turn he had to reject them, even as recorded in Matthew 23:37-39: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.”