Will The Real Messiah Please Stand Up!

I was having a chat with ChatGpt and did some research too about a question I had on Messiahs. Most everyone knows by now that Jesus wasn’t the only one who claimed to be one. I had also heard before that during his time there were many naming their children with the name Jesus and many ‘martyrs’ trying to fulfill prophecy of a Messiah by getting themselves crucified, but was that really true? So, I got my little investigators hat on.

Apparently yes and no is the answer to that question. How like a lot of our answers for back in this period! So ancient historians like Flavor-Flav Flavius Josephus noted 3 according to CHATGPT.

Judas of Galilee (early 1st century): Led a revolt against Roman taxation.

Theudas (mid-1st century): Claimed prophetic power; followers dispersed by Roman forces.

The Egyptian Prophet: Led a large group expecting miraculous intervention at Jerusalem.

I looked into this further and found they weren’t calling themselves “Messiah” in the sense that we Christians think of that term. either. They were seen as more anointed leaders or specially appointed delivers for a certain period.

ChatGPT set out crucifixion as having these specific purposes and I tend to agree:

The Romans used crucifixion widely for:

• Rebels
• Insurrectionists
• Slaves accused of serious crimes

It went on to say this: “Thousands of Jews were crucified, especially during uprisings like the lead-up to the First Jewish–Roman War. So yes—many people were crucified, but mostly as punishment for rebellion, not as deliberate attempts to fulfill prophecy.”

That sounds good but it requires a little bit more research.

Even as close this decade, there had been talk of present day Messiah’s in Israel with some secs:

Israeli Rabbi Says He’s Already Holding Meetings With Messiah

This was back in 2022 and I remember asking around that practically every year or so, I new Messiah is voted on in the modern era usually proving himself by some sort of political prowess to gather a large movement of people or what they deem to be a miraculous sign. But what are the qualities they were looking for in a Messiah back then? Is it really just a person coming in with a military agenda? In my looking into this, I found 3 different types of Messiahs that different sects of Jewish people were looking for:

1. The Political/Royal Deliver–this is the most popular one debunked by most Christians today and still seems to be the prevalent one today. It is most ascribed to who Judas Iscariot gave heed to and who the Pharisees were said in the New Testament expecting to see and thus had grave issue with Jesus. Their Messiah would be a King David like political figure that would restore the kingdom of Israel and defeat Rome.
2. The Restorer–Would gather Jews back to Israel, restore the Temple, and retore observance of Jewish laws.
3. The Cosmic One–A more heavenly one as referred to in the Book of Daniel

So why was Jesus’ brand of being a Messiah so unaccepted when there already other interpretations out there? Even more these that I am listing quite honestly.

I asked ChatGPT this question and it pointed to me to the book of Deuteronomy where the quote is read “cursed is anyone who is hung on tree”. A suffering Messiah who ultimately is executed by political powers is seen as a failure. He should have, by their view, been able to save himself. “A Messiah is expected to defeat his enemies, not be killed by them”.

Conclusion: There were no little other Jesuses running about on self-martyr missions to fulfill that kind of a prophecy because that wouldn’t have been seen as a God-ordained Messiah. It is only as the Church Mothers and Fathers went back and reinterpreted scripture that they discovered Jesus’ death had a deeper meaning.

Here are a few:

Isaiah 53--“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was on Him; and with His stripes we are healed”

Psalm 2:7“I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD:He said to Me, ‘Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee.”—said at Jesus’ Baptism by God

Psalm 22: They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.–a portrayal of what happens at his crucifixion

Isaiah 7:14“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”

It is clear that no matter what you believe or don’t believe about Jesus, he did exist in human terms according to historians and he is very unique in that unlike other people claiming to be anointed or a Messiah during that period of time, he took a road not just less traveled but no one ever traveled. He uplifted the poor, the needy, the women and the marginalized. He died for peace and injustice because his own religion would not tolerate his kind of love and advocacy. And then he challenged us all to take up our crosses and follow his way, promising his spirit and love would meet us there. That’s a Messiah I can get behind.