We Have Found the Messiah

KEY VERSE: “We have found the Messiah.” —John 1:41

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Mark 8:27-29; John 7:25-31

THE name Messiah is a Hebrew word meaning ‘anointed.’ It is the name which the Prophets gave to the promised Deliverer of Israel. Under the Law, priests and kings were designated as being appointed by God when they were anointed with the very special anointing oil that was prepared according to an exact formula given by God to Moses. (Exod. 30:22-33) In the type, the oil represented the Holy Spirit and pointed to the anointing of Jesus by the Heavenly Father at the river Jordan. The word Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah, and of course means ‘anointed.’

In the prophecies concerning the advent of Messiah, there were no dates given, but they were rich with statements concerning the works that he would do, and the Jews were admonished to watch so that they would be able to identify him when he came. (Isa. 29:18-24; Isaiah 35; Isa. 42:1-8; Isaiah 53) Jesus said to the Jews of his day, “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me, and ye will not come to me that ye might have life.”—John 5:39,40; Matt. 16:2-4

One of the stumbling blocks to the Jews, causing them not to accept Jesus as the Messiah, was their belief that he would be a strong leader and, with the help of divine power, would defeat the enemies of Israel and establish the kingdom of God on earth. Instead of being such a leader he was meek and lowly of heart, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. Because of this, he was despised and rejected by the Jews. (Isa. 53) They had overlooked the fact that the Scriptures also foretold that Messiah must first suffer and then enter into his glory.—Luke 24:25-27

The prophecy concerning the anointing of Jesus stated that part of the commission given him as the Anointed of the Lord was to preach the Gospel. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” (Isa. 61:1-3) In carrying out this commission, Jesus walked hundreds of miles from town to town preaching the message of the kingdom, and he also sent his disciples out among the people to preach the same message. At one point when meeting with his disciples, he asked, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” (Matt. 16:13) They answered that some said he was John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But Jesus “saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?” (vs. 15) Then “Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”—vss. 16-18

God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, had revealed to Peter that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus acknowledged this and then announced that it was on the foundation of this fact that he would build his church. The beautiful metaphor which Jesus used hinges on the meaning of Peter’s name, which is ‘a stone’ (John 1:42), and is a translation of the Greek word petros. Jesus said that the revelation by Peter would be the rock, petra, upon which he would build his church. Petra means ‘a huge immovable rock or cliff,’ or in other words, a solid and indestructible foundation.

It was at this time and forward that Jesus began to prepare his disciples for the trial that was just before them. He began to show how he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things and be crucified and be raised again the third day. (Matt. 16:31) It was only after he had been resurrected and ascended into glory that he could truly function as the Messiah. The disciples did not discern this until after Pentecost.

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