One thing that most people don’t think about much is that Jesus was as being a king. He is thought of as God, a savior, a healer, a miracle worker and even a prophet, but it seems kingship kind of took a backseat in his role here on Earth.
For many Jews Jesus wasn’t the king they were expecting
In reality, the Jewish people of his time were awaiting a messiah-king that would lead them all in victory against their oppressors, who were the Romans at the time, as Jewish kings had done in the past. They were expecting a messiah, or an “anointed one”, who was foretold in the prophecies of their scriptures.
The Messiah was to be the direct descendant of King David through his son Solomon, which Jesus was. In so many ways Jesus qualified to be the new Jewish king that was so long awaited — unfortunately not all.
The word messiah means “anointed one” — every king was anointed. In this sense of the word, Jesus was “a” messiah, or maybe even a king. But what is generally considered “The Messiah”, Jesus didn’t quite fit the description. It’s because Jesus did not completely fulfill all the requirements to be “The” Messiah of Jewish prophecy.
According to the Jews, Messiah was to accomplish the following:
- Rebuild the temple (2Sa 7:13)
- Gather all the Jews back to the land of Israel (Isaiah 66:20)
- Usher in an era of world peace (Isaiah 2:4)
- Unite all of humanity through the universal knowledge of the God of Israel. (Zechariah 14:9)
- Deliver God’s people from their enemies and make them live at peace. (Isa 40:9-11)
…none of which he accomplished at his coming.
Christians believe this is because he will accomplish those things at his “second coming”, however the Old Testament says nothing of the Messiah having a second coming.
The Jews do not accept Jesus as their Messiah because:
- He did not fulfill all messianic prophecies (only some, if any)
- He did not qualify to be the Messiah (since he supposedly was born of a virgin — according to Christianity)
- Bible verses about Jesus in the Old Testament are mistranslated to make it look like he was the Messiah prophesied in its books.
- Jesus is believed to be God by Christians. For the Jews, Messiah would be a son of a man with a biological father.
- God is not a man.
It gets more involved than the above, but those are the basic points of why the Jews do not accept Jesus as their Messiah. Mostly, this is understandable. But a great deal is the fault some of the Christian church fathers who corrupted much of the bible in order to win the minds of the pagan world and gain control over the minds and hearts of the people of all nations in an attempt to gain power to manipulate.
An overview of Jesus’ relatives
Jesus was born a Jew and had very dedicated Jewish relatives and was in fact of royal lineage of the tribe of Judah. They lived by the law and Jewish customs. From his father, Joseph’s side, he was recognized as the king of the Jews and he was raised for this very thing.
Mary’s father was a priest, Mary herself was raised in the temple and dedicated to the Lord before her birth. Mary’s cousin’s husband was a priest and John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, was also a priest. We learn later on that James, the brother of Jesus, was not only a priest, but also the head of the church after the departure of Jesus.
The early Christians were recognized as legitimate Jews by the President of the Sanhedrin. The only difference was that they followed Jesus’ teachings. But the Jewish Christians kept the law, were circumcised, and followed all the Jewish customs.
All that to say this, the movement that Jesus began was almost completely Jewish, except for that which Jesus allowed, and stayed that way until pretty much even after Paul finally left for Rome for good.
A good part of Jesus’ relatives were priests or of the tribe of Levi. However, on his father’s side, Jesus got his royal kingship from the lineage of David, of the house of Judah. Jesus had two strong heritages: royal kingship of the line of messiahs and the priesthood.
Born King of the Jews
Where is he that is born King of the Jews? (Mat 2:2)
Jerusalem city of the Great King
…Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. (Mat 5:35)
King of the Jews prophesied
Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt. (Jn 12:15)
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David (Luk 1:32)
King of the Jews fulfilling prophecy
Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; (Act 2:30)
And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. (2Sa 7:12)
He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. (2Sa 7:13)
King of Jews being accused
And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. (Jn 19:12)
King of the Jews being judged
Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? (Jn 18:33)
Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. (Jn 18:37)
But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the Passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? (Jn 18:39)
King of Jews recognized by Pilate
But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? (Mar 15:9)
And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! (Jn 19:14)
But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. (Jn 19:15)
And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. (Jn 19:19)
Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. (Jn 19:21)
King of the Jews being executed
And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! (Mat 27:29)
And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. (Mat 27:37)
He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. (Mat 27:42)
King of Jews reviled in execution
Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him. (Mar 15:32)
And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. (Luk 23:37)
And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. (Jn 19:3)
A favorite verse used to “prove” Jesus was God is where he supposedly tells one of the two thieves crucified with him: “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luk 23:43). However, this is only found in Luke. This is not found in any of the other gospels. In fact, Matthew and Mark say that both of the thieves reviled him.
He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. ( Mat 27:43)
And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him (referring to Jesus?), who had committed murder in the insurrection. (Mk 15:7)
Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him. (Mar 15:32)
Conclusion:
So, Jesus was raised to be and thought by many to be Messiah, King of the Jews. However, to this day there are many Jews who don’t consider Jesus to have been the Messiah.
What it seems like from all evidence we have in the NT that if Jesus were a real king, the rebellion of his nation was put down; Israel’s king was executed for sedition — all of which which signaled failure on the part of the would-be Messiah-king of Israel.
The new religion was corrupted and turned into a world-wide religion Jesus never would have approved of. However, much of Jesus’ best teachings were saved thanks to some of his faithful followers.
Worst of all, some of the most important messianic prophecies Jesus was unable to fulfill. Christians claim he will fulfill the rest when he returns. However, the messianic prophecies mention nothing of a second coming of Messiah.
Next: Who Was Jesus Part 2 | Isaiah 53