Who is your Messiah? (Part 2).
In the first part we have gone through why people of Caesarea Philippi thought of Jesus as John the Baptist, others as Elijah and still some others as Jeremiah (Matt 16:13-14). We have dwelt with the parallelism of both the people.
Now let's get in a little further. Let's continue reading Matthew 16:15-17, "But what about you?" he (Jesus) asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are Christ, the son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven."
Peter's immediate response of confession to Jesus question, as "Christ", and "the Son of the living God", have a national and a spiritual inherent characteristic within it. The traumatized citizens of Israel and Judah had always been under continuous invasion threats by foreign countries. They always had a hope either in their prophets or in their kings. They always waited upon someone who would bring them out of their difficult times. Judges, kings and prophets all have played the role of Messiah in their respective times. So what it really meant of Messiah?
NIV Study Bible gives a brief definition about Messiah. "Christos" (gk), is the word used for both "Christ" and "Messiah". Both words refer to the same person and the same thing, "the Anointed One". Levi or Matthew has recorded his gospel in/about 50 to 70 AD. Matthew mentions that Jesus "is called Christ", in (Matt 1:16). In fact all the synoptic gospels are written within 70 AD. The personal confessions of Jesus as "the Christ", in the gospel of Matthew and Mark is first by Peter (Matt 16:16; Mk 8:29), in gospel of Luke by the demons (Lk 4:41), and in gospel of John by the Samaritan woman (Jn 4:29,42), though Andrew had already recognized Jesus as the Messiah (Jn 1:41), he never shared the thought. Even before the gospel writers confessed, others have recognized that Jesus as "the Messiah". In the days of Jesus, people eagerly waited for coming of the promised Messiah. The life was hard, harsh under Romans. People were longing for the promised Messiah. Many arose who claimed to be the Messiah and led their followers into rebellion against the Roman state (Matt 11:12). People thought of Messiah nationally: that he would free the country from the yoke of the Romans. People thought of Messiah as a man who takeup arms and lead the armies as king (2Samuel 7:12-16). Spiritually or religiously: people thought of Messiah as a prophet (Deut 18:15-20) or a supernatural being, who would bring righteousness upon the land. This was what people thought of Messiah. Look at the genealogy of Jesus, we can see prophets and kings as well in that. Surely, Jesus was the promised Messiah.
Peter has not just confined to confess Jesus as the "Messiah", but also adds, "the Son of the Living God" to his credit. In Matthew 20th Chapter reading from verse 20-28, we can read Jesus confirming in v23, that the Lord is his "Father", and referring to the purpose of his coming, Jesus says, "the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (v28). John 13:1, testifies that, "Jesus knew that the time has had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father, Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God" (Jn 13:1,3). Matthew 11:27; 18:10; 18:35; 15:13, all confirm that Jesus is the "the Son of the Living God. John 3:35,13,14,15 verses read a statement by Jesus of his Sonship, and his purpose, "The father loves the Son and placed everything in his hands, No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven - the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." Jesus talking about his glorification by the Father, "He (the Father) is the one who glorifies me. You do not know Him, but I know Him" (Jn 8:54,55). There are still more verses in the gospels that will authenticate of "the Sonship of the Living God", but confined to the main subject let's leave this topic here for now.
Why do you think that Peter did make such a statement, "you are Christ, the Son of the Living God"? What made him do that? Let's read Luke 5:1-9. Jesus got into a boat at the shore of Lake Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee), that belonged to Simon (Peter). From there He taught the people. On finishing, Jesus said to row the boat a little deep into the sea. Simon answered that, they have worked hard all through the night, but have not caught one fish. Just because of Jesus' encouragement, he rowed the boat a little deeper. Simon was surprised by the amount of fish he and his friends caught. Then Simon realized by this miracle, "he knelt down in front of Jesus and said, Lord! don't come near me, I am a sinner" (v8). This is Peter's second personal encounter with Jesus. In his first encounter, when his brother Andrew called him to see the Messiah they found, and when he was coming to see, "Jesus saw him, and said, Simon son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone" (John 1:42). The surprising factor is that, how did Jesus knew his name? Simon never saw or knew Jesus till then, if not otherwise listening to Andrew his brother, a disciple of John the Baptist, telling about the expected Messiah, a Holy man, of whose sandals he is not worthy to untie (Jn 1:27). Now that he saw this Holy man in his own boat, witnessing a miracle personally, who in his past encounter, called him by name and redefined his name as "Cephas", is soul searching for Peter. Cephas, is a Syriac term for a stone, a rock. Peter is from Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, a district east of Sea of Galilee in the northeastern part of Israel. Syriac is one of the Aramaic dialects spoken in this part of area. And another miracle which he witnessed personally is of his mother-in-law (Matt 8:14-15). There are many other miracles that he witnessed while with Jesus, of which walking on water was his another personal experience (Matt 14:22-32), and Jesus feeding thousands of people twice (Matt 14:13-21; 15:32-38) are some impossible tasks that he eyewitnessed. May be witnessing these extraordinary events might have convinced Peter to confess, that Jesus is the "Messiah, the Son of the Living God".
What about his Messiahship?
Mark 10:45 reads, "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." The word "many", in greek is "polus", by implication it meant "for all", each individually and for all together. What was that He gave for all of us; His life as ransom. Ransom (lútron, gk), is price paid for redeeming the captives, loosing them from their bonds and setting them at liberty. Ransom is paying the fixed, precise and non-negotiable price at the right time to redeem somebody or something. The "lutróo", is not something that can be used for oneself, but for others. "lutróo", means to receive a ransom. 1Timothy 2:5,6 reads, "..the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all.. in due time", Titus 2:14 reads, "..our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness (evil).." This Messiah, Jesus has given himself as ransom, for all the evil, by implication spiritual and social evils as well, and giving us liberty (freedom). How would we get liberated from the social evils? Apostle Paul, reminds Titus that the people who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior are, "a people that of His (Jesus) very own, (and are) eager to do good works", (Titus 2:14). Yes, these people are eager to do what is good, good to liberate the oppressed in the society, who lack social justice. Martin Luther King Jr, a pastor, always used this implication in his sermons or in his open meetings, always questioning about the injustices that his people are facing: by lack of love, mutual respect, human dignity etc. He started off in mid 1950's, and started to see the fruit from 1954 and on, when the American court stricken off many of the laws that promote civil injustices. Galatians 5:13 reads, "For you were called to be free (freedom), brothers and sisters; only don't use this freedom as an opportunity for flesh, but by love serve one another". "To serve one another" is by which the people of Jesus acted. It all started by following the words of Jesus by his disciples. Acts 8:4 reads, "So those who scattered went on their way preaching the word". "But the holy apostles and disciples of our Savior, were scattered over the whole world: Thomas received Scythia, and John, Asia,.. Peter appears to have preached through Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Asia... Paul, spreading the gospel of Christ from Jerusalem to Illyricum.." writes Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History, crediting it to Origen. Along with the good news the Apostles also spread the good works.
Freeing slaves: Exodus 21:2; Deuteronomy 15:12-14, says about freeing of slaves, which continued to New Testament times. In Acts 6:9, which speaks of freeing of only jewish slaves from Rome, but Apostle Paul writing to Philemon about one named Onesimus, probably from Colossae (Col 4:9), to free him, and Paul takes the responsibility of repaying the amount (v18,19) if any.
Generosity towards believers:
In the days of Emperor Claudius, there was a great famine, and all the disciples according to their ability, determined to send relief to the believers in Judea (Acts 11:28,29). Like wise in, 1Cor 16:1-3; 2Cor 8:1-4; Phil 4:15-16; Rom 15:25-28, all these readings provide evidence for the generosity towards the believers in Jerusalem, from Macedonia, Achaia, etc.
Such were the good works that the believers imbibed by the teachings of Jesus. From then on the Messiahship continued, with these attributes passed on from generation to generation till now.
How did this Messiahship help India?
Showing obedience to the great commission that Jesus commanded, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you..." (Matt 28:18-20). Here the commandment "to observe everything", includes the "eagerness to do good works" also (Titus 2:14), or putting them to practice. As read above, the Apostles scattered (Acts 8:4) throughout the world. According to tradition Apostle Thomas and Apostle Andrew were believed to have come to India, like wise, Apostle Peter, Apostle Paul, Apostle Simon the Zealot (Matt 10:4), Joseph of Arimathea, visited Gaul and Britain. (or) If Peter has been to Rome, he may have come out when Emperor Claudius has expelled Jews from Rome (Acts 18:2). It is said that Apostle Peter and Paul had a close association with (Rufus)Pudens and Claudia (husband and wife, 2Tim 4:22), where Pudens were from the family line of Caractacus or Caradog who fought with Emperor Claudius (AD 41-54) father of Emperor Nero. They were brought to Rome and later the Pudens setteled in Rome. Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia (2Tim 4:22) are all Latin names and Latin is the official language of Wales (part of UK). Other ancient records state that the children of Claudia and Rufus Pudens were raised at the knees of Peter and Paul and other disciples. (For more information on this, William Steuart McBirnie, The Search for the Twelve Apostles)." The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia also states that, "There is an interesting conjecture regarding Pudens and Claudia, that they were husband and wife, and the Claudia was of British birth, a daughter of a British King called Cogidunus. King Cogidunus was an ally of the Romans, and assumed the name of the emperor Tiberius Claudius, who was his patron. In this way his daughter would be named Claudia", although this is a supposition which lacks both evidence and proof. The 3rd and 4th century AD show the first archaeological evidence and credible records showing a community large enough to maintain churches and bishops" (History of Christianity in Britain, Wikipedia, Aug 05, 2022). With the arrival of Saxons, Angles and Jutes from Germany and Denmark, christianity extinguished. However, the faith continued in Wales and Scotland. Following the Justinian's plague (caused by Yersinia pestis bacterium) around 547 AD, the expansion of christianity resumed throughout England" (History of Christianity in Britain, Wikipedia, Aug 05, 2022). That's how the faith and the observance of the good works have been imbibed by the people of Britain.
Mahatma Gandhi on Christian missionaries - writing in his weekly english newpaper "Harijan", started in 1933 published till 1948. In his March 29, 1935 edition, responding to a question asked by a christian missionary, on the most effective way of preaching the Gospel of Christ, Gandhi answered, "to live the Gospel is the most effective way, ..I get suspecious of missionaries who preach. But I love those who never preach, but live the life according to their lights. Their lives are silent yet most effective testimonies. Therefore, I cannot say what to preach, but I can say that a life of service and uttermost simplicity is the best preaching"
..answering to an another question, Gandhi responds, "A rose does not need to preach. It simply spreads it's fragnance. The fragnance is it's own sermon..".
to which a counter question was asked, "..Now as for Harijans, who have no solace to get from Hinduism, how are we to meet their spiritual needs?" To which Gandhi responds,"By behaving just like the rose."
To which the missionary asked again, "But supposing someone asked us: "when did you get the scent?", Gandhi answered, "The rose, if it had sense and speech, would say: "Fool, don't you see that I got it from my Maker?" ".
(Taken from, "Lead, Kindly Light, Gandhi on Christianity", Ed by Robert Ellsberg, pgs 51,52, October 2019).
Yes, as the rose spreads it's fragnance, so the christian missionaries who got this fragnance from their "Maker" also came to spread the light, as Gandhi said, to those oppressed and downtrodden people in India. The necessary medicine that they prescribed for this bitter, venomous evils in the society was "the good works as commissioned by Jesus". Jesus said, "A good tree produces only good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. You can tell what a tree is like by the fruit it produces" (Matt 12:33).
Antidotes of the "fragnance of the Maker" -
William Carey (missionary) - "In the latter 1700s and early 1800s in India, only children of certain social strata received education, and even that was limited to basic accounting and Hindu religion. Only the Brahmins and writer castes could read, and then only men, women being completely unschooled. Carey started Sunday Schools in which children learned to read using the Bible as their textbook. In 1794 Carey opened, at his own cost, what is considered the first primary school in all of India. The public school system that Carey initiated expanded to include girls in an era when the education of the female was considered unthinkable. Carey's work is considered to have provided the starting point of what blossomed into the Christian Vernacular Education Society providing English medium education across India" (William Carey, missionary, Wikipedia, Aug 05, 2022). He was also the most prominent campaigners to end the practice of "Sati" (Bengal Sati Regulation, 1829, Wikipedia, Aug 06, 2022).
Some more Antidotes for Social evils in India -
●1773 - East India Company passed Regulating Act where Judiciary was based on equality.
●1795 - through Article 11 British made law by which Shudras were able to posses wealth.
●1804 - through Article 3 British banned "Female Foeticide/Infanticide".
●1813 - British made law and gave "Right to Education" to the people of all Castes and Religions.
●1813 - Abolised Slavery.☆
●1817 - British made "Uniform Civil Code" (before this punishment was on the basis of Varna).
●1819 - by Article 7 "Purification" of the Shudra women was banned (after the marriage of a Shudra bride instead of going to her husband's house, she has to go to the house of Brahmin and serve him atleast three nights).
●1820 - "Ryotwari System" was first introduced by Thomas Munro in Madras Presidency. Lord Hastings (1813 - 1823) was the Governor General when Ryotwari System was introduced. This made ryots were given land ownership. The government would set taxes rate and collect taxes directly from ryots. This system was expanded to Bombay Presidency as well.
●1829 - In the month of December (17th), "Sati" (Sautee) was abolished.
●1830 - "Human Sacrifices" was banned (to appease gods and goddesses Brahmins used to sacrifice Shudra men and women banging their heads in the temple).
●1833 - Article 87 Discrimination in Government Services was banned (either on the basis of birth, religion, caste or complexion).
●1835 - British banned Sacrifice of First Son to the Ganges.
●1835 - March 7th, Lord McCauley made English as the language of Higher Education.
●1835 - Law gave Shudras to sit on chair.
●1848 - J.E.D.Baton opened school for girls.
●1854 - British opened three Universities in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.
●1902 - University Commission was constituted.
●1860 - October 6th, British formulated Indian Penal Code.
Lord McCauley set free the Shudras who were shackled and implemented Uniform Criminal Law irrespective of Caste, Varna, or Religion.
●1863 - British made a Law and banned "Charak Puja" (while building Palaces and Bridges, Shudras were sacrificed alive. It was believed that because of this the Palaces and Bridges would last for longer times).
●1871 - British started "Caste-based Census" in India, this continued till 1941. In 1948, Jawaharlal Nehru made a law and stopped it.
●Britishers created "Mahar and Chamar Regiments" and recruited them in the Army. But because of the pressure by Brahmins, recruitment of the Untouchables in the army was stopped in 1892.
●1918 - British sent Southborugh Committee to India. This committee came for giving representation to all Castes in the Legislature. Upon prodding by Shahu Maharaja, the leader of Backward Classes Bhaskarrao Jadhav and the leader of Untouchables Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, gave memorandum to the commission for representation to their people in Legislature.
●1919 - banned appointment of Brahmins as Judges. They said Brahmins do not have Judicial character.
●1925 - "Devadasi System" was abolished by Lord Reading (1947 - Dr.Muthu Lakshmi).*
This is how the Messiahship of Jesus worked in India. The fragnance that gave liberty, hope and fraternity to the people of India. The people of Galilee comparing Jesus with their prophets, who are their leaders and thought of Him as they have comeback again. However, they were wrong in expecting Jesus to be one, because Jesus says that, "He was greater than Solomon", and "He was there before Abraham was" (Matt 12:42; Jn 8:58). Such was our Messiah. The question remained is, who is your Messiah and what is his Messiahship to be like?
☆Post Script -
Willam Wilberforce, an evangelical christian, (whose mother and grandfather were staunchly Church of England members) was a british politician, who headed the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade for 20 years until the passage of the "Slave Trade Act of 1807". Wilberforce took the data that was personally enquired by Thomas Clarkson, an abolitionist campaigner and first historian of the British abolition movement. Clarkson was a son of a Reverend in the Church of England. He was an ordained deacon but never proceeded to priest's orders. He helped found "The Society for Effecting the Abolition of Slave Trade" and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act 1807, which ended the British trade in slaves. Clarkson travelled 35,000 miles across Brtain to some of the slave cities such as Bristol, Liverpool, London and able to get vast numerical data that confirmed the brutality of the "Middle Passage", the stage in which millions of Africans were transported in slave ships across Atlantic to the Americas. Using the information he had received from interviews with over 20,000 sailors, Clarkson was able to accurately calculate the mortality rate aboard slave vessels (ships), by the time they had reached the other side of the Atlantic. This information was used by William Wilberforce in his speech to the "House of Commons" in 1789. The physical evidence had slave chains, leg-shackles, thumbscrews, branding irons of the intials of owners, and whips. The autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, published in 1789, were used as pamphlets, in anti-slavery campaign. The campaign printed 7,000 copies of a plan of a slave ship known as "Brooks" illustrating the inhumane and cramped conditions endured by Africans aboard a vessel (ship) that sailed from Liverpool to Jamaica in the late 18th century. By the end of 1780 they gathered millions of signatures, petitions, with this information William Wilberforce could now lobby those in power. Thomas Clarkson's friend, Josiah Wedgewood, a Unitarian believer, a supporter of the anti-slavery casuse designed a logo, for Clarkson's, The Society for Effecting the Abolition of Slave Trade and had them widely distributed, which there by became a popular and celebrated image. The Wedgewood anti-slavery medallion was the most famous image of "a black slave knelt and shackled, seen uttering the words, "Am I not a man and a brother"" in all 18th century art, which was fashioned by William Hackwood or Henry Webber. William Wilberforce after the Slave Trade Act 1807, continued for a little time and resigned in 1826 due to health reasons. But he continued his involvement for the complete abolition of slavery, led to the "Slavery Abolition Act 1833", which abolished slavery in most of the British Empire. Wilberforce died after 3 days of this Act's approval.
[Compilation of information from Wikipedia pages, William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson, Josiah Wedgewood, (on Aug 10, 2022), and article "5 Key Campaigning Tools used by Abolition Society" by Luke Thomas, 16th Oct 2020].
*Used with permission from "Sakshi Apologists".
