John excited the crowds. There was a wind of something important in the air. Between that and the yearning for something to change in their circumstances, a natural question to occur to these first century Israelites was whether John might be the Messiah.
Christians refer to the Messiah as a title for Jesus (and enjoy a tremendous piece of music by that title), but it may not have deep significance for everyone. It was a powerful expectation of Judaism. Once the church became primarily Gentile in population, the Christians had to learn and adopt the concept.
There is no way to determine a systematic theory/theology of the Messiah from the various sources in the scriptures and there is extensive commentary on it. A few brief comments: The Messiah was to be one appointed king by God, possibly at the end of time. It literally means the “anointed one.” The kings of Israel were also known as anointed ones. The Messiah was frequently seen as a conqueror who will destroy hostile world powers. Some did not seem to expect the Messiah at the end of time, but to address current problems (such as, perhaps, the Roman Empire). There was some thought that the messianic era was delayed by sin and impenitence, while other thinkers said it had no effect.
One idea that was not prominent (some scholars say it was completely absent) is the concept of the Messiah as one who suffers and dies for all humanity. This was the Christian understanding of Jesus as Messiah or Christ. (Christ means the anointed one.) Although Christians have not adopted the specific ideas of ancient Judaism regarding the Messiah, followers of Jesus have seen in him as the fulfillment of God’s promise.
Given the varieties of ideas about what the Messiah was to be and when the Messiah was to come, it may not be surprising that first century Israelites would ask whether John or other individuals might possibly be the anointed one of God. Luke does not record John’s answer to them as a simple yes or no. Instead, John said that he baptized with water, the more powerful one who is coming will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. John said further that he would not be worthy to untie the sandal of the one who was coming. The images he uses for the Messiah separating good from bad reflect traditional ideas of the Messiah.
Scholars point out that the followers of John were powerful and even competitive with the followers of Jesus for many years.
For all the fact that John was rebuking people right and left, thundering about repentance and issuing exhortations, his message is described by Luke as a proclamation of good news. Herod, the tetrarch, however, did not receive it as good. John disapproved of his marriage* and other unsavory activities. So Herod locked him up in prison.
*Herod the Great's son, Aristobulus married Bernice, a cousin. One of their children was Herodias. Herodias was first married to her half uncle. They had a daughter named Salome who later married a great uncle. Herod Antipas was the half-brother of the husband of Herodias. Herod Antipas became smitten with his brother's wife and wooed her away to marry him. But first he divorced his wife to make room for Herodias.
John was an important figure in his world. His arrest alone tells us this. Many people probably muttered and criticized Herod for his marriage, but John was too prominent for Herod to ignore. Mark says that people from all over the Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were coming out to be baptized by him. The drama of the way he lived and dressed and shouted his message certainly had some draw, Perhaps some came first to see the show, but the clarity of his call to repentance must have changed lives. What made the words of John “good news”?
Is the concept of “Messiah” meaningful to you, and if so, how?
What words or images of Jesus mean the most to you?
What words, concepts or images of Jesus might be most powerful to explain the good news of his coming to the world of today?
No comments:
Post a Comment