The Origins of the Jewish Messiah Part 2

In Part 2 of our exploration of the Jewish Messiah, we examine how ancient Jewish messianic expectations developed—and how the followers of Jesus transformed those expectations after his crucifixion. There was no single, universally accepted portrait of the Messiah in ancient Judaism. The Hebrew scriptures speak of anointed kings, priests, prophets, and foreign rulers chosen to accomplish God’s purposes. Later Jewish writings imagined several kinds of deliverers: a descendant of David, a priestly leader, a heavenly judge, a conquering king, or a transformed human figure who would appear at the end of the age. We explore the messianic and apocalyptic visions found in Daniel, First Enoch, the Psalms of Solomon, Fourth Ezra, and Second Baruch. These writings emerged during periods of foreign domination, persecution, war, and the destruction of Jerusalem. They expressed the hope that oppressive rulers would be judged, Israel would be restored, and God’s justice would finally prevail. Particular attention is given to First Enoch’s Animal Apocalypse: the seventy shepherds who abuse their authority, their judgment before God, and the mysterious white bull who appears in the restored world. We then ask whether Jesus was considered the Messiah during his lifetime. His proclamation of God’s kingdom, Peter’s confession, his entry into Jerusalem, and the Roman accusation “King of the Jews” suggest that messianic expectations surrounded him. Yet his crucifixion appeared to contradict the traditional hope that the Messiah would defeat Israel’s enemies and restore the kingdom. Belief in the resurrection changed everything. Jesus’ followers reread Israel’s scriptures and came to proclaim him as the suffering, risen, and exalted Messiah. Because the world had not yet been transformed, they expected him to return—raising the dead, judging evil, and completing the establishment of God’s kingdom. We also consider what happened when the expected return did not occur, how later Christians reinterpreted the delay, and how the New Testament presentation of Jesus moves from exaltation after resurrection to the eternal Word who existed before creation. Finally, we distinguish two related questions: What can history tell us about Jesus and the expectations surrounding him during his lifetime? And what did his followers come to believe about him after experiencing what they understood as his resurrection? This is the story of how the Jewish hope for an anointed deliverer became the Christian proclamation of Jesus as the crucified, risen, exalted, and returning Christ. Golden Iris Productions Presents By Mark F. Dennis @GoldenIrisReligionQuest #JewishMessiah #Jesus #ChristianOrigins #FirstEnoch #SeventyShepherds #AnimalApocalypse #SecondTempleJudaism #BibleHistory #HistoricalJesus #MessianicProphecy #Resurrection #EarlyChristianity #ReligiousHistory #GoldenIrisReligionQuest