Messiah

Christ’s Victory and Reign

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Did Jesus triumph through his Death and Resurrection, or is he still waiting for some future event for his reign to begin?

Was Jesus victorious over God’s enemies on the Cross, and did he begin to rule as the Davidic King following his Death and Resurrection? Most Christians would answer, “Well, yes! Of course!” Nevertheless, many popular interpretations effectively if not openly deny this present reality when they claim his reign over the Earth will not commence until his return in glory or some other future date or event.

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The Anointed One

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The Spirit of God and the voice from heaven confirmed who Jesus was – Son, Messiah, and Servant of the LORD.

Jesus first appears in the Gospel of Mark when John baptizes him in the River Jordan. The opening verses identify him with his hometown of Nazareth, a village of no consequence. He was the “Servant of the LORD” anointed by the Spirit who did not conform to popular messianic expectations.

John was baptizing suppliants in the Jordan River. Rather than recount the details of Christ’s baptism, the story in Mark stresses the audible and visual phenomena that accompanied it: The “rending” of the heavens, the voice from Heaven, and the descent of the Spirit “like a dove”:

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The Unwanted Messiah

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Jesus is revealed as the Savior of Mankind in his sufferings and self-sacrificial death for others, including his enemies.

The inability of men to recognize Jesus as the Son of God until after his crucifixion is a central theme of the Gospel of Mark. Ironically, the first man to do so is the Roman centurion on duty at his execution. His self-identification as the suffering “Son of Man” made him unrecognizable to unregenerate men. He was the Savior no one expected or wanted.

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I have enthroned My King

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The conspiracy by the Earth’s kings to unseat the Messiah is applied in the New Testament to the plot to destroy Jesus – Psalm 2:1-6.

The Second Psalm is a key passage applied to Jesus multiple times in the New Testament. When were its predictions fulfilled, and is the Messiah reigning now on David’s Throne? Is the world still waiting for his enthronement at a future date? What about the “revolt” of nations and kings against the Son of God? Is it a prediction of a coming war between Jesus and earthly governments – (Psalm 2:1-6)?

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Man of the Spirit

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When an angel informed Joseph that the child carried by Mary was “conceived of the Holy Spirit,” it indicated that something more than just a miraculous birth was about to unfold. From the beginning of his ministry, the activity of the Spirit dominated the life of Jesus of Nazareth. He was “Jesus, the one called Christ,” namely, the “Anointed One,” the long-awaited Messiah of Israel.

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