Messiah

 Day 10: Messiah 

Mark 8:29

And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. 

In Greek “the Christ” here can be translated Messiah, anointed, Christ. 

We hear those words a lot as Christians but what do they mean? A Messiah is “the expected king and deliverer of the Jews; a professed or accepted leader of some hope or cause” according to the dictionary.

We are looking back on the life of Jesus and see He is those things for us but at this time, obviously, they were still hopeful he was the One they were waiting for. 

Why did Jesus tell them not to tell anyone? It may be because they were unsure and he wanted them to proclaim when they understood. In Acts 1:6 there is a conversation with the disciples after Jesus had risen from the dead:

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time resore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus wanted them to proclaim His name but he knew they needed the help of the Holy Spirit. I think it is wise and right of us to ask the Father to ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand who Jesus is and what he is calling us to. The Holy Spirit reminds and leads us in truth. 

I think of 2 other times people were asking who Jesus was:

Luke 7:18-

The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” In that hour he healed many people of diseases  and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind received their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Do you wonder who John sent his disciples instead of going himself? John was in prison at this time. Why? He was bolding proclaiming the kingdom of God. But John may have been wondering, why am I in prison waiting to die if He is our long awaited king and deliverer? He may have been thinking this guy isn’t it because if he was, I wouldn’t be in prison!! The sin and suffering we experience as Christians is hard. What did Jesus want to point John’s vision to? The testimony of what Jesus was doing. The power Jesus was displaying. If only we could all see this power in our life all the time- the truth is, we will. Jesus will come again. In the meantime, he is calling us to believe what we see and  remember when we can see.

Please, please take a minute to read through John 4:1-45. 

We know the story- its the woman at the well. Their conversation is everything this day is about. She is trying so hard to understand who Jesus is. She goes from saying, verse 19: Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Then in verse 25 she says: I know that the Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things. Jesus responds, “I who speak to you am he.” Verse 28 says she left her water jar and went away into town to tell the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” When we read onto verse 42: They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”  What happened between these verses that brought their faith to life? Jesus knew the woman, he told her about her life. And He knew the Father, he knew what was coming. He talked about living water verses water from the well and his food being to do the will of his Father. Jesus had full understanding of earth and of heavenly things that we cannot see. 

Yesterday a friend of mine posted that she told her daughter that God says she is beautifully and wonderfully made. She said, “wow, that is so nice of Jesus to say that.”

Today, let's look to see what Jesus is doing and let's remember what he has done.  Let ask the Holy Spirit for help. Let’s treasure that Jesus made us beautifully and knows us. Let’s treasure that he sees beyond our moment and into the fullness of the future. And let’s see him right in the middle as our king and deliverer: the Christ, our Messiah.