It is important to begin by saying that for one who has already made
up his or her mind that Jesus is not the Messiah, no amount of evidence
will be convincing. But for those who are honest in asking, the evidence
speaks for itself.
When sincerely asked, this question is a good one. After all, there have
been false Messiahs in Jewish history. Among the most prominent were Bar
Kochba and Shabbetai Zevi. Bar Kochba led a revolt against Rome in the
years 132-135 C.E.
During this revolt, one of the most famous figures in Jewish history,
Rabbi Akiva, proclaimed him to be "King Messiah." Unfortunately,
Bar Kochba, Akiva and thousands of Jews were killed in 135 C.E. when the
Romans stormed the stronghold of Betar. Shabbetai Zevi, on the other hand,
was a self-proclaimed Messiah. Flourishing in 17th-century Europe, the
Shabbatean movement spread among both the common people and the rabbis.
But when Shabbetai Zevi was arrested in 1666 by the Sultan of Turkey,
he converted to Islam rather than face death. We have been tragically
wrong before, so it is not surprising that hard evidence should be sought
for believing in Jesus.
The idea of a Messiah is one that is found throughout the Hebrew Bible.
There, the Messiah's "I.D." is given to us. Imagine looking
up a friend by first locating his country. That would not be enough information,
so you would need to ascertain his city, street, and specific number on
that street. It would also help if you had a phone number and knew the
time at which he would be home.
Similarly, the Bible tells us the "I.D." of the Messiah. His
ethnic background, place of birth, time frame of his arrival and other
identifying characteristics are given. These "credentials" enable
us to identify the Messiah, and to recognize imposters.
Of course it might be objected that if these "credentials"
are so clear, why didn't most Jewish people believe in Jesus, and why
were they so taken in by false Messiahs like Bar Kochba and Shabbetai
Zevi?
To understand this, one must realize that by the time of Jesus, the Messianic
hope had become greatly politicized in the minds of the people. They were
seeking deliverance from the tyranny of Rome. Although the Scripture spoke
both of the sufferings and of the victories of the Messiah, the victorious
aspect had become uppermost in the minds of the common people because
of the Roman domination. This "lopsided" view of the Messiah
has stuck with Jewish people, and the politicization of the Messianic
hope has continued. Thus the hope of a political rather than a spiritual
Messiah contributes to both the acceptance of people such as Bar Kochba,
and the rejection of Jesus in his role as a Messiah.
This is not to say that all Jewish people rejected the claims of Jesus.
Far from that being the case, all the first followers of Jesus were Jews.
In fact, the rabbis of that time period and afterwards were well aware
of the many Messianic prophecies which Christians claimed were fulfilled
in Jesus. So for instance, although the Talmudic rabbis concurred that
Isaiah 53 was a prediction of the Messiah, by medieval times the pressure
from those who applied this prophecy to Jesus was so great that Rashi,
that greatest medieval Biblical scholar, reinterpreted the chapter and
said it referred to the nation of Israel. This interpretation is maintained
today by many Jewish scholars, though it only dates back to the Middle
Ages.
What, then, are some of the credentials of the Messiah? Only a few can
be listed below; there are many others. All of these passages were recognized
by the early rabbis as referring to the Messiah:
- Messiah was to be born at Bethlehem:
Micah 5:1
-
Messiah would be from the tribe of Judah: Genesis 49:10
-
Messiah would present himself by riding on an ass:
Zechariah 9:9
-
Messiah would be tortured to death:
Psalm 22
-
Messiah would arrive before the destruction of the Second Temple:
Daniel 9:24-27
-
Messiah's life would match a particular description, including suffering, silence at his arrest and trial, death and burial in a rich man's tomb, and resurrection:
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
In detail as to lineage, birthplace, time, and lifestyle, Jesus matched
the Messianic expectations of the Hebrew Scriptures. The record of this
fulfillment is to be found in the pages of the New Testament. But several
other factors combine to further substantiate the Messiahship of Jesus.
In the first place, he claimed to be the Messiah! When a woman said to
him, "I know that Messiah is coming." he replied, "I who
speak to you am he."1 Naturally,
that doesn't prove anything one way or the other. But if Jesus had never
made the claim to be the Messiah, why would we bother to try and prove
that he was? His own claim lays the groundwork for the rest of the evidence.
Also, Jesus' life is in sharp contrast to that of the false Messiahs,
and it is a positive demonstration of what we would expect the Messiah
to do. Thus, Jesus worked many miracles of healing, bringing wholeness
into people's lives, forgiving sin and restoring relationships. In contrast
with Shabbetai Zevi, for instance, Jesus carried out the Law of Moses
as a devout Jew. And in contrast with Bar Kochba, although Jesus also
died, he was resurrected!
The resurrection is a third piece of additional evidence, and it is perhaps
the most convincing vindication of Jesus' claims. It is interesting that
an Israeli scholar, Pinchas Lapide, has written a book which has attracted
no small amount of attention in the Jewish community. The reason is that
Lapide has said that the resurrection of Jesus is well within the realm
of possibility. After all, he reasoned, the Hebrew Scriptures give a number
of accounts of people coming back to life. Why not Jesus as well? Regrettably,
Lapide fails to note that the resurrection of Jesus is described in terms
that go far beyond the resucitations of the other stories; and, he fails
to come to grips with the fact that Jesus predicted his own resurrection,
which vindicated his claims to Messiahship.
An assortment of explanations has been offered throughout history to
explain away the resurrection as either non-historical ("It never
happened.") or as non-supernatural ("Here's how it happened.").
But these explanations have not been successful. Run down the possibilities
for yourself and see which makes the best sense. Did the Roman authorities
steal the body of Jesus from the tomb? Then why didn't they produce it
when the word started being spread that Jesus was risen? Or maybe the
disciples stole it. But could such a fabrication on their part account
for the change in their attitude? Three days earlier they were disillusioned,
defeated idealists who had hoped that Jesus would bring in a new world
order; could a lie which they knew to be a lie, now account for their
hope, their boldness in the face of official persecution, and for the
high ethical standards they set?
Or perhaps Jesus never died: he just fainted on the cross and revived
in the tomb. This idea was popularized in the book The Passover Plot by
Hugh Schonfield. Unfortunately the author overlooked the fact that the
Romans pierced Jesus' side, which would have most certainly killed him.
Also, there was a contingent of Roman soldiers guarding the tomb as well
as a huge stone that blocked its entrance. There was no way that a resuscitated
Jesus could have escaped and then convinced hundreds of skeptical eyewitnesses
that he had conquered death forever! Or was it all a mass hallucination?
It must have been quite a hallucination to be seen by vastly different
kinds of people at different times of day in many different places. You
might be able to fool one person, but can you fool five hundred who saw
him at one time? And unlike the pattern of hallucinations, these appearances
of the resurrected Jesus stopped as suddenly as they started, forty days
after the resurrection took place.
The only satisfactory explanation is that the resurrection actually occurred,
just as the record says. And if that's the case, it's a solid reason for
accepting the Messiahship of Jesus.
Finally, Jesus transforms people's lives. Because he provides atonement
for sin and reconciliation with God, Jesus brings peace, joy, and purpose
into people's lives. Apart from faith in him, there is no basis for true
peace or direction, for as the psalmist says, "Man is estranged from
the womb." That this estrangement is healed by the reconciling ministry
of Jesus is the common experience of those who believe in him.
So, between the objective evidence of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament,
and the subjective verification in our own lives--we think there's ample
evidence that Jesus was who he claimed to be!
