The Coming Messiah

Christ-mas is nearly upon us (less so when I started writing this entry 2 weeks ago ;-). Dec. 25 is the traditional date where the world acknowledges the importance of the birth of Jesus Christ. Beyond a single day, Catholics celebrate Advent (the coming of the Lord) for a full 12 days. In quickly browsing the Catholic Advent website http://www.catholic.org/clife/advent/advent.php?id=37, I clearly have a lot to learn. As best I can gather, Catholics celebrate Advent for 12 days starting Dec. 26--and the popularized song is indeed talking about this period of time (for the mathematical among us, the number of each type of gift (e.g., 1 partridge x 12 days = 12) is a 2nd-order polynomial with a zenith at 6.5).

My personal tradition is to counter the holiday frenzy of spending with reflections on Jesus Christ. Jesus is a variant of Yeshua, meaning "the Lord saves," i.e., from our sins (Matt. 1:21). Christ is the Greek word for "Messiah." Depending on your criteria, there are well over 100 prophecies and references to the Messiah in the Old Testament of the Bible. Over the next several days I want to reflect on a few of my favorites that mean a lot to me.

At the top of my list is Isaiah 52:13-53:12. This famous scripture is perhaps the most eloquent of any in the Bible in describing what Jesus did in dying to save each individual from their sins by bearing them himself. The core teaching of Christianity is literally found in the Old Testament! Two or three years ago I had the privilege of seeing an ancient manuscript with this passage in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls are very important because they can be definitively dated to the era before Jesus of Nazareth. The parallels between his death and that of the suffering servant in Is. 53 are very striking. The carbon dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls proves that the parallels were not manufactured textually by Christians after the fact.

Is 52:14. "¹⁴ Just as there were many who were appalled at him—his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness." Mel Gibson's "The Passion" does an excellent job of helping me visualize the torture Jesus experienced before he died (i.e., the crown of thorns, getting whipped, being struck with fists and hands). In all likelihood, this abuse left him unrecognizable.

Is 53:4. "⁴ Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted." Jesus' death had no spiritual significance to anyone on the day he died. His grief-struck disciples followed at a distance and Matt. 27:39-44 records how the crowd mocked him as he died, matching Is. 53:4 very well.

³⁹Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" ⁴¹In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴²"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' " ⁴⁴In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

Is. 53:5. “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Here is the eloquent paradox that one person’s suffering can heal the wounds of another. Matthew 8:17 quotes this scripture to explain how Jesus healed people during his lifetime.

Is. 53:7. “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Jesus’ entire trial was a complete mockery of justice. Clearly he did not lack for words or clever retorts given his earlier dialogues with the Pharisees. Why did he hold back? His self-control certainly distinguished him from common criminals and gave glory to God. He knew he was innocent and his silence simply made the false accusations more blatantly obvious. Jesus demonstrated total humility in allowing the people he had created to judge him. However, I also wonder if part of his prayer in Gethsemane was wrestling with the decision to fulfill this scripture.

Is. 53:9. “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus combined their wealth to give Jesus a very rich burial with 75 pounds of spices in a new, unused tomb. They took a very faithful and public stand for their teacher at a very unpopular and inconvenient time. In their grief, I highly doubt they realized the significance of their actions, so I wonder how they felt when they understood how they had helped fulfill this prophecy! Jesus only stayed in the grave across portions of three days before he put the costly linens and spices aside and rejoined the ranks of the living.

I cannot help thinking about Jesus’ birth without thinking about his death. I always wonder how things occurred to Mary. She was in the stable that night and gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She was also at the foot of the cross (John 19:25-27) and watched her son die an agonizing death. Most mothers hope to never see the latter. But once she understood its spiritual significance (and saw her son alive again!), I'm sure Mary wouldn't trade her experience for any other mother's.

That the God of the universe would send his son as a helpless little baby with diaper needs is shocking enough. That Mary's little baby would grow up and undergo such intense suffering to become the Savior of the world--it changes how I treat every baby.

I hope you have a wonderful, glorious Christmas season filled with awe over the Messiah baby.