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People long for perfection in an imperfect world and for vindication of the righteous in a world of righteousness. This is a basic ingredient of the human heart, mind, and spirit. The whole Tanakh (1) is full of this conviction. The prophets of Israel were vehement in denouncing perversion and injustice. while looking forward to the time when a:
King shall reign in righteousness, & princes shall rule
in justice. And a man shall be like an hiding place from
the wind, & a covert from the tempest; like rivers of water in a dry place, like the shadow of a great
rock in a weary land. (2)
How is this longing for perfection to be fulfilled? The biblical view taught
by the prophets was that Messiah would accomplish it. The prophets foretold a
time when Messiah would make final atonement for the sins of both Jew and
Gentile. (3)
The Hebrew word Mashiach (Messiah) means, "the
Anointed One" and relates to the One whom God chose to redeem his
people. The Tenach teaches that this "go'el (kinsman redeemer) shall come to Zion, and unto
those who turn from transgressions in Jacob."(4) The prophecies inspired
by the Ruach Hakodesh
(the Holy Spirit) reveal that Israel and mankind will be redeemed by faith in
Messiah. The Traditional Views a rabbinic medieval anthology, says: 'And God saw the light, that it was
good.' This is the light of Messiah ... He created the
universe, and He hid the Messiah ... under His throne of glory. Your
Throne of Glory?' God answered him,
'It is for ... [the Messiah] who is to turn you
backward and who will put you to scorn with shamefacedness.' (6)
In another rabbinic reference we are told that: All
the prophets who prophesied have only made predictions regarding the Messiah.
'neither hath eye seen, O God,
beside Thee, what He hath pre pared for him who waiteth for Him. (7)
The rabbis also were aware the Tanakh predicted that Messiah would be both
humiliated and exalted. They tried to resolve this apparent contradiction in
three different ways.
The first possibility developed in the Talmud was that Messiah existed from
before: the creation of the world and came to earth when the Second Temple
was destroyed.
Rabbi Shemuel bar Nehmani
said: On the day when the Temple was destroyed Israel suffered much for their
sins ... . And from whence do we know that on that
day [when the Temple was destroyed] Messiah was born? For it is written,
'Before she travailed, she brought forth' [the Messiah]. (8)
Various reports are then offered as to his whereabouts after his birth.
The Babylonian Talmud says that He sits "at the gates of the city of
Rome" and suffers affliction with his people. There he awaits
God's call to step out as exalted Savior and bring about Israel's
salvation. He will do it as soon as Israel hears God's voice and
repents. (9) This view eventually was abandoned, perhaps because it too
closely resembled the view of Jewish believers in Yeshua (Jesus), who
believed that the Messiah had first come as Suffering Savior and would return
in glory as King-Redeemer. A
second explanation of the seemingly contradictory portrayals of Messiah as
one both humiliated and exalted appears elsewhere in the Talmud:
R. Alexandri said that R. Joshua bar Levi combined
the two paradoxical passages; the one that says. 'Behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven'
(Daniel 7:13) [showing Messiah's glory] and the other verse that says, 'poor and riding upon a donkey'
(Zechariah 9:9) [showing Messiah's humility]. He explained it in this manner:
If they are worthy, He will come 'with the clouds of heaven;' if they are
unworthy He will come 'poor and riding upon a donkey.' (10)
A third solution is found in the Babylonian Talmud.(11)
Here, the two different roles of Messiah are fulfilled in two different
Messiahs. The first one is Messiah-Ben Joseph who fights, suffers extreme
humiliation, and is pierced, fulfilling Zechariah's prophecy, They shall look unto Me whom they have
pierced. (12) The second one is Messiah Ben David, who comes
later and to whom God says : I will declare the decree,
The Lord hath said unto me. Thou art my Son ; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the nations for thine
inheritance.
(13) The Messianic View
The rabbis failed to recognize one other possibility -- that the Messiah was to atone for the sins of the people
first and then return as the Exalted One to establish his Kingdom. This view,
of course. inevitably leads to Yeshua(Jesus) as the
Messiah, a truth that escaped the rabbis of past and present. Supported by
the Tanakh. this view resolves the dilemma faced by
most Talmudic rabbis.
The rabbis strove to resolve the two distinct threads of prophecies in the
Tanakh. As a man standing afar off looking at two mountain peaks in
direct line, they were unable to discern the "time gulf" that
existed between those peaks. With the hindsight of a quarterback, and the
additional revelation of the Brit Hadasha (New Covenant)
the theory which best resolves the paradox is that one Messiah was to come in
two different eras for two distinct purposes. He was to come first as the
Suffering Savior to atone for the sins of the people and to bring peace to
those who repented and received the atonement in faith. He is to come
next as the Exalted King to reign judgment upon the unjust and to establish
his Messianic Kingdom forever. With this model in mind, it is appropriate to
begin to identify this Messiah promised to Eve, in the beginning. References: What
The Rabbis Know About The Messiah by Rachmiel
Frydland
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