The Messiah is yet to come?

December 25 is celebrated as the birthday of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who was born in Bethlehem of Judea. All over the world it is observed by devout Christians and others who are not so committed to the principles of Christianity, which espouses that Jesus Christ is the son of the living God who sent him to save the world from sin. He had come with a message of hope and salvation.

The Jesus story unravelled in a region widely regarded as Palestine, which the Palestinians and the Jews hold claim to, and for which there is a protracted territorial dispute since 1948 when the sovereign state of Israel was established as the official homeland of the Jews. Yet, the controversy over Palestine between the Jews and non-Jews has been going on long before 1948.

One of the sources of the tension is the claim by Christians that Jesus was the Messiah sent by God, and while Islam and Judaism acknowledge the existence of Jesus Christ, they have always rejected the claim that he was the Messiah sent by God and that he himself was God incarnate. The Jews are saying the Messiah is yet to come, and thus they are still waiting for him. Moreover, there is also the element that the Jews rejected Jesus Christ because he worked on the Sabbath, by performing a miracle.

At the pool in Bethesda, in Jerusalem, Jesus happened upon a crowd of physically sick people, who were hoping to be healed by “angel-troubled” waters. It was on the Sabbath. Jesus selected and healed a 38-year-old man at his request. After he was healed, he took up his ‘bed’, and walked away. Amazed at what they saw, some Jews asked him who was responsible for his good fortune. He refused to divulge such. That was a very serious matter. The Sabbath that is observed in strict accordance with Jewish traditions was broken.

Later on, Jesus found the healed man in a temple and warned him that if he continued to live in sin he might end up in more serious troubles. Not pleased with this reprimand, the man exposed Jesus to the Jews as the one who had healed him on the Sabbath. When the Jews approached Jesus he justified his deed by claiming to be the Son of God, and that he did what his Father would have done, and what he saw his Father doing.

Jesus made it clear that he was not acting on his volition and authority. He could not act alone. In his online Bible.org article called, ‘Why are the Jews against Jesus’, Bob Deffinbaugh writes, “He declares what everyone should know: He cannot act as He does on His own initiative, authority, or power. The Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He is doing. Jesus only does what He sees the Father doing. Concerning the charges made against Him, the Father works on the Sabbath and therefore, so does the Son.”

Jesus’ explanation infuriated, rather than appeased the Jews, who have contended then, and still is, that the Messiah is yet to come. Rabbi Dr Jacob Staub, in his January 10, 2014 article, ‘Waiting for the Messiah’, writes that, “The Jewish messianic belief plays a central role in the lives of Jewish people, but it is very different than Christians’ belief in Jesus as Christ. The redemption that Christ brought is internal transformation, being saved from one’s sinfulness, achieving the inner peace that comes from receiving God’s love. As a Jew, I rest in God’s unconditional love and the ever-flowing blessings that come to me through divine grace. I do not, however, believe that the world has yet been redeemed.”

He continues, “In a redeemed world, swords will be turned into ploughshares, nobody will go hungry, the powerless will not be oppressed, and justice will prevail everywhere. This was the vision of the biblical prophets, and it remains the foundation of Jewish hope for the future.” In essence, if Jesus were truly the Messiah, all the problems of the world would have long been solved. The Jews then are still waiting for the messianic era.

Rabbi Staub says that while there is no single authoritative Jewish belief about salvation, there is one from the medieval teacher Maimonides, known to Jews as the Rambam, in his treatise, The Mishneh Torah, that speaks powerfully to him. He writes, “Maimonides states emphatically that none of the laws of nature will be altered in the messianic era. Instead, he envisions a world governed by a King Messiah who is wise, righteous, just, and politically adept. There will be no servitude to foreign powers and there will be peace. All people will be free to devote themselves to the study of the Torah and the practice of good deeds, and there will be plenty of material goods for everyone. All of this will happen because of the righteousness and wisdom of the messianic ruler.”

So, if Jesus was not the Messiah, why is the one that the Jews are waiting for taking so long to manifest? “Of course, we may never realise such a utopian vision,” Rabbi Staub answers. “Maybe the messianic era will never arrive, it’s already taking so long! But Jewish people have recited and sang the following sentiment for many centuries: ‘Even though the Messiah tarries, I will wait for him/her every day with great anticipation’.”