Well, folks, I'll be
covering three and a half verses in two parts. There's just too much
information to share -- given the research. And really… who wants to rush
(writing with a smile)?
Now in Banias, on the
outskirts of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do people
say I am?" Replies range from a resurrected John the Baptist -- something haunting
Herod Antipas -- to Elijah or one of the prophets. People are trying to figure
him out.
Jesus then tests the
waters with his trusted followers, who have been with him quite a long time and
witnessed / heard much. "Who do you
say I am?"
"You are the
Messiah."
Bingo! It's Jesus reply
though that seems rather odd. "Don't tell anyone." "Hush-hush;
keep it under wraps." One would think Jesus would be ecstatic with
high-five's, fist-pump's and a little bit of merriment. "All right! You
get it! I was wondering if this band of misfits could actually comprehend
what's happening. Let's all lift up a glass and celebrate!"
In MATTHEW 16:17-20, Jesus
has a longer reply:
“Blessed
are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,
but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will
build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will
give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will
be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” [i]
There's a
nice tie-in to what Jesus says regarding Peter and the locale, but that'll be
in "Part 2".
The replies
to the "reveals" in both gospels, of Jesus being the Messiah, remains
the same nonetheless. "Don't
tell anyone." What in the world?!? Why not?
The best way to gain an
understanding of his command is to see what the Jewish idea was of Messiahship.
As a point of reference (past to present), traditional Judaism believed/believes
in the eventual coming of the mashiach
(the Messiah).
In Hebrew, mashiach means "the anointed
one." "It refers to the ancient practice of anointing kings with oil
when they took the throne. The mashiach
is the one who will be anointed as king in the End of Days (acharit ha-yamim)." [ii]
DID YOU KNOW…?
As time has moved
forwarded, the idea of a Messiah has not been generally accepted by those of
Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism. Some believe "there may be some sort
of world to come in the sense of a utopia, which all Jews are obligated to work
towards." [iii]
For the sake of argument
though, belief in a Messiah was part of Judaism back then. Case in point -- in
the 5th century BCE, the 120 Men of the Great Assembly composed the basic form
of the Shemoneh Esrei prayer. Shemoneh Esrei means
"eighteen" as there were originally 18 blessings divided into three
types: Praise, Petitions and Thanks. [iv] In this prayer, the
elements of the coming of the mashiach
exist:
* The gathering of the
exiles;
* Restoration of the
religious courts of justice;
* An end of wickedness,
sin and heresy;
* Reward to the righteous;
* The rebuilding of
Jerusalem;
* The restoration of the
line of King David;
* The restoration of
Temple service. [v]
I've included the link to
a site that has this prayer, also known as the Amidah
Prayer -- sometimes called this
because it is recited when standing and facing the Aron Kodesh (the ark that houses the Torah scrolls). [vi]
Blessing 15
is for the Messianic King: "Speedily cause the offspring of Your servant
David to flourish, and let him be exalted by Your saving power, for we wait all
day long for Your salvation. Blessed are You, O Lord, who causes salvation to
flourish."
What really captured my
attention was the divided blessings. Among the listed are: the God of History, Sanctification
of God, Prayer for Understanding,
Prayer for Forgiveness, Prayer for Deliverance from Affliction, Prayer for Deliverance from Want.
Anything look familiar? Here
are statements within the blessings. "Great, might and revered God,"
"sanctified in the highest heavens," "cause us to return to You
in perfect repentance," "pardon us, O our King, for we have
transgressed," "look upon our affliction and plead our cause,"
"bless this year for us, O Lord our God."
When sharing these with the
study group, many caught the correlation. "Some scholars surmise that the Lord's Prayer of Jesus is a concise
restatement of the Amidah." [vii]
Also, the Shemoneh Esrei prayer (blessings) meshes
into the high regard for King David. "The Jews always regarded the
greatest days in their history as the days of David; and they dreamed of a day
when there would arise another king of David's line, a king who would make them
great in righteousness and in power." [viii]
Think about it. At this
moment in time with Jesus, somewhere in the vicinity of 1,000 years have passed
since King David's death. "How long, O Lord, how long?" How much
anguish has happened over 10 centuries? The people long for the coming of the mashiach.
All of this is leading to why
Jesus wants Peter's declaration "You are the Messiah" kept on the
down-low -- King David, the history of 1,000 years past, the Shemoneh Esrei, the mashiach and what it means. But… good things come to those who
wait. Until the next post.
NEXT
Expectations -- "yours"
versus "mine"
[i]
Matthew 16:17-20, RSV
[ii]
Mashiach: The Messiah -- Tracey R Rich
[iii]
Jewish Messiahism -- Wikipedia.org
[iv]
The Shemoneh Esrei --
www.hebrew4christians.com
[v]
Mashiach: The Messiah -- Tracey R Rich
[vi]
The Shemoneh Esrei --
www.hebrew4christians.com
[vii]
The Shemoneh Esrei --
www.hebrew4christians.com
[viii]
The Gospel of Mark, Barclay -- p. 193
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