A messiah is one appointed by God to save souls or through whom God will save souls as the Saviour. Many people have claimed to be the Messiah and to such claim, Jesus said in John 10: 8, all who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. Jesus did not limit his words applied to all generations before and after him.
Jesus’ words “thieves and robbers” meant dishonest characters. The words, “the sheep” also refer to those called by his name in his blood by his Holy Spirit. His sheep do not succumb to the fraudsters who parade as God’s Messiah because they know his voice. He said in John 10: 27, my sheep listen to my voice, I know them, and they follow me. So, Titus 3: 9 says, avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.
Is Christ Jesus the Messiah?
Simon Peter aptly answered the question in Matthew 16: 16; Mark 8: 29; Luke 9: 20, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” He meant Jesus is the only Messiah or the only true Messiah. This knowledge comes only from the Holy Spirit as Jesus confirmed in Matthew 16: 17, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. Human inference cannot accept this fact that Jesus is the Messiah but such denial does not change the truth.
Paul said in 1Corinthians 1: 18, for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. The gospel may sound foolish to human logic yet 1Corinthians 1: 21 says, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. What was preached and believed was Jesus the Messiah as 1Corinthians 1: 23 says, we preached Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.
Paul addressed the alleged foolishness of scripture in 1Corinthians 2: 14, the person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The truth of Christ Jesus as the Messiah confounds human reasoning. So, Paul said in 1Corinthians 3: 19, for the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness”.
Proof that Christ Jesus is the Messiah
The Messiah is the anointed one, the chosen deliverer by whom God has appointed to redeem his people from spiritual bondage; and to restore his peace to them. Jesus was said as such in Acts 4: 12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Jesus himself confirmed in Luke 19: 10, for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” As the Messiah, Jesus is still seeking to save the lost and perishing.
Jesus said in John 10: 10, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Only Jesus the Messiah can redeem and restore souls back to God based on his infinite authority. Jesus said of his authority in Matthew 28: 18, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. By his authority, he said in Matthew 11: 28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. What burden do we carry and how afflicted is the soul?
Our bond with the Messiah
Christ Jesus the Messiah wants a personal relation with us. John 15: 9 says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. Loving Jesus means doing his will as a condition to remain in his love. Jesus explained in John 15: 10, if you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love. What is the nature of our bond or relationship with Christ Jesus? Galatians 6: 7 says, do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. What are we sowing before the Messiah?
Why must we know the Messiah?
Jesus declared in John 6: 35, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. In effect, Jesus is our sustenance for life. Also as the trusted security for our lives with a warm embrace, he said in John 6: 37, whoever comes to me I will never drive away. As a faithful friend, 1Thessalonians 5: 24 says, the one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. It is written in 2Timothy 2: 13, if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
Only Jesus the Messiah can show us the way to God. He said in John 14: 6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. He used the word “comes” rather than “goes” to show his oneness with God in John 10: 30, I and the Father are one. By his words, he is also the truth. The world is averse to the truth which is food for the soul. So, Jesus said in John 6: 35, whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
As the Messiah, Jesus protects us as the good shepherd. He said in John 10: 14-15, “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me… and lay down my life for the sheep. He is always accessible as he said in Matthew 28: 20, surely I am with you always, the very end of the age. He aids our prayers as scripture says in Romans 8: 34, he is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
As the Messiah, he lives forever. Revelation 1: 8 says, “I am the Alpha and Omega, who is, and was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Because he lives forever, we will also live eternally as he assured us in John 3: 15, everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. See also John 3: 16, 18, 36; 6: 40, 47. Jesus also said in John 11: 25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life. the one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Are we threatened by death in any way?
We shall not want in Christ Jesus the Messiah. Philippians 4: 19 says, and my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. He is God made man in flesh as Philippians 2: 6 says, who, being in the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. He was clothed in humility even in human flesh and without sin. Are we like Christ Jesus?
Based on his divine nature, Philippians 2: 9-11 say, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Who can compare with Christ Jesus the Messiah who will come again as the eternal judge?
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus Christ, come into my heart and reign as the Messiah in my life. I pray in your holy name, Amen!!
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