In the previous entrance, we analyzed the reality that the Jews held a specific expectation regarding the figure of the Anointed One and what the Old Testament says about anointing and those who were anointed. Now, we will seek to understand specifically what the prevailing idea was at the time of Jesus’ arrival, and how Jesus is the perfect and ultimate fulfillment of the Anointed One of the Lord. Ultimately, we will affirm and demonstrate that Jesus is indeed “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt. 16:16).
What Messiah were the Jews expecting in the first century?
The noun “Messiah” appears only 39 times in the entire Old Testament. These occurrences are relatively few, considering the vastness of Jewish scriptures and especially the significance the term has come to hold. It may be even more surprising when we see that the identification of “Messiah” applies to numerous figures of diverse kinds. For instance, God calls the Persian king Cyrus “His anointed one” (His Messiah, as we saw in the previous installment).
Thus, we must ask ourselves: how could such an elaborate doctrine and such clear and powerful expectations derive from a word that is used so infrequently and, when it does appear, refers even to pagan kings? How has this word managed to crystallize the hope for the fulfillment of divine promises to the people?
In the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel, as well as in many Psalms, this word is used to refer to the king of Israel, specifically in connection with the Davidic dynasty. For example, Psalm 18 concludes: “He gives great victories to His king, and shows mercy to His anointed.” It is clear that David uses the term “anointed” synonymously with “king.” But it also signifies something more about him: this anointed one is a very special king, none other than “David and his descendants forever.” In this Psalm, Israel’s singer makes a clear allusion to the covenant the Lord made with David, promising to establish his dynastic house so that there would always be a descendant of his to sit on the throne of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 7:11-13).
Psalm 2 also speaks of the Lord’s Anointed as a king who, under divine authority, rules over the nations and destroys all who rebel against Him. Besides what was mentioned earlier, here we also see this king referred to as the “Son” of God (Psalm 2:7, 12). This aligns with another promise God made to the king, regarding the covenant He made with David, that His treatment of his descendants would be like that of a father and a son (2 Samuel 7:14), as reflected in this Psalm.
As we progress in the revelation of the Scriptures, we see how the prophets speak of a definitive expression of God’s cosmic rule on earth. This rule, as revealed, would have a physical, political, and territorial form. The prophet Daniel speaks of this manifestation, referring to “a kingdom that will never be destroyed.” This kingdom “will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it will endure forever” (Daniel 2:44).
The prophet also identifies who would reign over this cosmic, physical, and eternal kingdom. He states that “one like a Son of Man” would appear before the divine figure of the “Ancient of Days,” receiving “dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages might serve Him.” This means that the Son of Man would be the king whose “dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).
The connection between the figure of the Lord’s Anointed, as expressed by David in his Psalms, and the revelation of the Son of Man received by Daniel is more than evident. It speaks of a king who would rule over all nations, with authority derived from God Himself, and would do so forever. The Jews correctly interpreted that both figures are, in reality, two ways of referring to the same person. The Christ is the Son of Man, that is, the one who would come to reign over all and everyone forever.
The prophet Isaiah is even clearer in his assertion of the eternal sovereignty of David’s descendant, that is, the Lord’s Anointed. In one of the classic texts of Christmas, the prophet affirms that “the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore” (Isaiah 9:7). Isaiah also links the eternal and perfect kingdom of God on earth with the promised descendant of David in chapter 11 of his book. There, he says that the ultimate blessing on earth will come when “a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,” on whom “the Spirit of the LORD will rest” (Isaiah 11:1-2).
Isaiah also presents in the latter part of his book another facet of this promised Anointed One. He would certainly bring justice and peace to the world through His rule, but He would also present Himself as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the people. Remember that one of the offices that were anointed was that of the priest, so it is not surprising that the ultimate Anointed One would also perform priestly functions. That is why the concept of the Messiah was linked to the “Servant of the Lord” found, for example, in chapter 53 of Isaiah. The Messiah would also bring salvation and ultimate redemption to His people through the great sacrifice He would offer as a priest, His own body.
In summary, the Jews understood that the Lord’s Anointed was David’s descendant with the right to reign in Jerusalem. God would use this promised king to accomplish His plans and fulfill all the promises He had made to His people. Indeed, the description of an eternal government led by a single person with divine attributes had led many to consider that the promised Son of Man would have to be none other than God Himself. Similarly, this figure would be the ultimate high priest who would carry out the greatest sacrifice to atone for the sins of God’s people. In other words, we can see how the Jews had connected the dots and come to the conclusion, by the time of Jesus, that the Messiah, the Son of Man, and the Servant of the Lord were the crystallization of all the good plans, purposes, and promises that God had made to His own.
Jesus, the Anointed One
As we read the Gospels, it becomes very clear how the writers identify Jesus of Nazareth from the outset with this figure of the Lord’s Anointed. He was specifically the man the Jews were awaiting, the ultimate Messiah. The evangelists make it clear from the very beginning that this man from the region of Galilee was destined to rule as king over a restored and eternal Davidic kingdom.
Specifically, Matthew is keen on making this concept abundantly clear by referring to so many prophecies that affirm His identity as the Son of David, the fulfiller of the Covenant. So much so that he begins his narrative with a genealogy demonstrating that Jesus is the direct descendant of Abraham and David (Matthew 1:1-17), the fulfiller of the promise. He is the long-awaited one who would bring definitive peace between God and His people and who would rule over all nations, destroying rebels and dissenters.
Therefore, when we read that Jesus is the Christ, it is not talking about a surname, or even simply an honorary title. For Jesus to be the Christ means He is the fulfiller of prophecies, promises, and covenants of God toward His people. When Jesus was born, there was a devout man named Simeon who “was waiting for the consolation of Israel,” that is, he was waiting for “the Christ of the Lord” (Luke 2:25-26). He was the consolation of Israel because He was everything Israel could hope for from God, and everything it needed.
That is Jesus, the Christ of the Lord, the Son of Man, the Son of David, the Servant of the Lord. He is exactly who had to come, exactly who we need. In Him, God fulfilled, fulfills, and will fulfill everything He has promised, all the good plans He has for His people.
Today, whatever you are facing, you need to know this: you need Jesus. No matter what you are going through, you need no more. No matter what you have, you need no less. With Him, you have everything. Without Him, you have nothing.
Originally published on the blog of the editorial EBI.
