“Over fifteen hundred years, the Jewish concept of the Messiah underwent more transformations than a Hollywood diva. . . . The Messiah became whatever people desperately needed him to be, depending on the crisis they faced — whether it was cultural upheaval, historical calamity, or theological interpretations.”- Kyle Idleman and Mark E. Moore
As Kyle Idleman and Mark E. Moore move on in Chapter 4 of The Missing Messiah, they note the complex nature of Jewish expectations of the Messiah that existed at the time. For example, not every Jew expected the same kind of Savior. And some people doubted that they needed on at all.
Most significantly, Kyle and Mark note, four major movements in history provided the biggest impact on those messianic hopes. The:
- failure of Israel’s kings.
- Maccabean revolt.
- invasion of Pompey.
- revolt against the Romans.
Today the authors take a look at the first major movement.
1. Seeking a Strongman. A thousand years before Jesus, Israel anointed its first king, Saul. But his reign ended in disaster. Above all, Saul failed in such a spectacular fashion that God ended his dynasty. Instead, God chose David.
Certainly, although he wasn’t perfect, David set the standard for what the Messiah should be. However, David’s mistakes caught up to him. Hence, after his reign, everything rapidly went south. As a result, this downward spiral let to disaster.
Thus, Kyle and Mark observe, writings from this time period depict the Messiah as a strongman. Who’d reclaim the Promised Land through the use of force.
Finally, the authors apply this to us;
“But if we take an honest look at ourselves, how often do we find ourselves wishing God would take up our own causes instead of being consumed with his purposes? Jesus is indeed strong, but more often than not, he uses his strength to fight battles that aren’t even on our radar.”
Today’s question: How do you witness to people whose view of Jesus rivals Hollywood diva transformations? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The greatest enemy of the church?”