Messianic Prophecy CA314 LESSON 05 of 24 Louis Goldberg, ThD Experience: Professor of Theology and Jewish Studies, Moody Bible Institute We are tracing the messianic idea. We had already mentioned that we see already the first intimation very early in the Pentateuch, and I might also say that a parallel collateral book to read at this point would be [Joseph] Klausner, The Messianic Idea in Israel [New York: Macmillan, 1955]. We see the first intimation of the promise of a redeemer in Genesis 3:15. It s difficult to try to explicate this passage, and we ll be handling it in our study within the Scripture; however, there was a promise made to Eve at this point that somehow this redeemer would finally finish off Satan and so quite properly it is a messianic prophecy and does have some aspect of the messianic idea. Then in Genesis 9:25 27 certain promises were made concerning the sons of Noah Ham, Shem, and Japheth. Special promise is indicated with regard to Shem because his name is linked with Yahweh, the particular name of redemption, and so here we see a narrowing down of the division of the human race, the division of Shem. When we come to the end of Genesis 11 and the first part of Genesis 12, the division of the race is narrowed down now to one family, the family of Abraham. And then when we get down to Genesis 35, there is a further narrowing down and, Jacob, of the descendants of Abraham, is selected. In Genesis 49:10, a difficult passage to try to handle, many scholars do regard Shiloh as a personal name. At any rate, at this point it is the tribe of Judah that comes into specific and special prominence, and we would say that we have a further narrowing down of the tribes of Jacob and now, specifically, Judah, and we see that there is a messianic selection. Still a further narrowing down comes when David is selected by the prophet Samuel. In 1 Samuel 16:10 12 David is selected, and here we have a representation of the house of Jesse. So, again, the messianic idea is narrowing down: Jesse of the tribe of Judah and the specific one of the family of Jesse, and we have now the man, David. So in a sense this is the reason why he is a man after God s own heart. It is an emphasis concerning David as the special one who ultimately will become the anointed and 1 of 6
of his descendants and particularly one of those descendants. We see this in 2 Samuel 7 when the prophet Nathan comes to David with a specific promise, and the messianic idea now specifies the house of David as unique: the seed of David in general where there would be kings but then ultimately one would be singled out. And not only this, but a kingdom is mentioned concerning the descendants of David. And when we re taking about David s greater son, we re talking about a kingdom that will be associated with the regal authority of David s greater son. As we see this spelled out, I think we see something extremely significant when we come to the end of the first commonwealth. We see the prophet Jeremiah indicating a specific curse concerning Coniah or Jehoiakim or Jehoiakin, and in Jeremiah 22:28 30 there is a curse upon this line. Let me read: Is this man Coniah [or Jehoiakin] a despised, shattered jar? Or is he an undesirable vessel? And then in verse 30: Thus says the Lord, Write this man down childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man of his descendants will prosper Sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah. Ezekiel seems to pick this up, and in that situation the Holy Spirit is taken from the Holy of Holies in successive, progressive, stages: first at the gate, then finally on the Mount of Olives, and then He is gone. But the prophet Ezekiel says of the last king of Israel he doesn t even call him a king and in Ezekiel 12:10 he speaks of this one, Zedekiah, Thus says the Lord GOD, This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem. He doesn t even call him a king so that already the prophecy of Jeremiah is being fulfilled. Then in Ezekiel 21 the prophet has something further to say and in verse 25 we read these words: And you, O slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, and here again Ezekiel refers to Zedekiah merely as a prince. But then in verse 27 the prophet makes a very significant statement: A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I will make it, referring now to Jerusalem. But then the prophet adds, This also will be no more until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him. Here the prophet mentioned David s greater son and referred someday to a kingdom with Jerusalem as the capital and the greater son of David ruling. 2 of 6
Now some might say, What about Jesus? What about His claims to be the king over this kingdom? And it is very significant how the New Testament puts together the record regarding the background of Jesus. The Holy Spirit recognizes the curse that was placed upon the line of David through Solomon and, therefore, concerning Jesus, He could not be biologically related to His foster father, Joseph, who was of the line of Solomon. That is why Luke traces the genealogy of Jesus through the mother, Mary, and this comes back to David, another son of David by the name of Nathan. So that Jesus is biologically related to David through His mother, Mary, but He inherits the right to sit upon the throne from His foster father, Joseph. But He is not biologically related to Joseph because of the curse that was placed upon the line. Then we note, also, in this messianic idea many statements made in the messianic psalms, that is, we note psalms which are referred to as messianic. And in these so-called messianic psalms there is the creation of a kingly image that far surpasses earthly kings. There are three views on trying to explain this matter of messianic psalms, and [Gustav F.] Oehler in his Old Testament Theology [New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1883] presents these three views. He presents Calvin s view that of an ideal Israelite king. For example, in Psalm 2:2 this would be a reference to an Israelite king who has the right to universal sovereignty, or Psalm 110 again, some Israelite king who has or takes the everlasting priesthood along with the kingship. But it is Calvin s opinion that the Israelite king typically points to a future realization of a theocratic kingship. Still another view is that of [Ernst Wilhelm] Hengstenberg, who rises to view an individual in whom the messianic idea is perfectly realized. In other words, Hengstenberg speaks of the messianic psalms presenting the idea of the coming Messiah. And so, therefore, Psalm 2 is a picture of and an actual reference to a coming Messiah who would inherit the kingdoms of the earth. In Psalm 72 we have the picture of the king, a messianic king, who would reign righteously. And then in Psalm 110, this would be the messianic king who would subdue the nations and yet also would be a priest of an everlasting priesthood. There s a third view, and that is to take these messianic psalms and find the historical context: that is, we have the picture here of a historical king, for example, in Psalm 45. Here is the picture of a king, probably Solomon, on the day of his wedding being married to the daughter of Pharaoh, and in a grand, regal manner we find the marriage of this king and the daughter of Pharaoh. 3 of 6
In subsequent usages of this psalm it takes on, by application, a messianic and prophetic significance. This was true especially with regard to Psalm 45 that in later Jewish thinking it had this messianic significance, and certainly it had it and does have it in church use. So, in other words, in this third view we find the historical background of the psalm, and then there is a messianic significance or application of a Messiah and in His full-orbed ministry. Now, frankly, from my own point of view, and what I am going to suggest for the student, is that first of all we will need to find historical background in these various messianic psalms. And so this third view should be the first approach to the study of the messianic psalms, but failing to find any kind of historical background, then we would proceed to the second view and recognize that we re talking about a messianic king. So in the third view we recognize the historical background and then by way of application we proceed to recognize messianic significance. There are many messianic psalms, of course, which do not have historical background, and then we recognize a picture of the Messiah in the messianic kingdom. This is the case, for example, of Psalm 2 when this son is going to have the earth for his inheritance, or in Psalm 72, as we have already pointed out, that here is the messianic king who will reign in righteousness. Certainly in Psalm 110, here is the messiah king who at the same time will be the priest of an everlasting priesthood. In this messianic idea we also have to recognize the humanity of the Messiah. Not very difficult to recognize, but nevertheless we need to see that the Messiah does have a birthplace; the prophet in Micah 5:2 tells us that His birth is in Bethlehem, Bethlehem of Ephrathah, little among the thousands of Judah, yet He is to come forth; that is, the human governor, is to come forth from Bethlehem. Further information concerning the humanity of the Messiah is seen in Isaiah 7:14, and here we note that there is a birth concerning a particular individual. It is also indicated that He is Immanuel, but He does have a birth of a particular individual. In chapter 9 and verse number 7 we note that He is the human governor, and upon His shoulder will rest the responsibility for human government. Another aspect of His humanity is in Isaiah 53. We re not trying at this point to assess the various viewpoints; it is enough right now to indicate that Isaiah 53 refers to a special, specific, unique person who was suffering, but nevertheless as a human being. And then in Psalm 22:16, a messianic psalm, there 4 of 6
is a death of this One in a very specific manner; his hands and his feet are pierced, so that we see the humanity of the Messiah. We also need to see the deity, and this becomes a particular problem for a number of people. There are many people who can recognize the Messiah but not necessarily recognize that He is deity, and I refer especially to the Arius controversy in the third century. Here was one who opposed Athanasius, and Arius insisted that Jesus be considered as the one who had a beginning at a certain point. In other words, he was not willing to say, as Calvin suggested several centuries later, the eternal Son of the eternal God. Arius would insist that this Messiah or Jesus had a certain beginning at a certain point. In talking about the deity of the Messiah we are actually emphasizing this matter of Jesus as the Messiah. When we use the phrase Jesus Christ, we are already making the identification that it is Jesus as the Messiah. But in dealing with this matter of the deity we need to perhaps see a number of passages from the Old Testament and then at the same time to bring in some New Testament corroboration. We note that it is David who received a first direct disclosure concerning the deity of the Messiah. In a proclamation by Nathan regarding a specific covenant, in 2 Samuel 7:14 the prophet says, I will be his father and he shall be my son, as Nathan speaks for God. This is picked up again and emphasized in Hebrews 1:5 when indicating that the Messiah is a special, unique person this phrase was not meant of any angels. We also again note from Psalm 2:7 [King James Version], I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. It is verse 2 that identifies the speaker with the Lord s Messiah. We note the corroboration by the New Testament in Hebrews 1:5, to which we have already referred. But we also note in chapter 5, that is, Hebrews 5:5, the same emphasis again. It is further mentioned in Proverbs 30:4 a special, unique relationship. On that occasion there is a long description concerning what God is able to do. There the wisdom writer asks some questions: Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name? 5 of 6
If we could stop here at this point, we would have to answer that this is God Himself. But then the prophet goes on to also ask, What is His son s name? Many critics try to minimize this passage. Some refer the Son to Elijah in the sense that Elijah is a son in the prophetic sense. Some seem to make the question a form of sarcasm: that no one could really know this one, and if you can t know this one, why in the world would you ever know his son? But I don t think we can escape the implications of this passage taken at its literal face value. There is a mystery in this passage, and we re talking here about a special, unique person who is regarded as the Son of the Highest. Still another passage comes in the correlation between Psalm 110 and Matthew 22:44. Perhaps you ought to take a look at the Matthew passage, because here it is quite significant. It is one of Jesus last arguments, and He asks of the Pharisees, the separatists, the conservatives of the day..., Who do you think Messiah is? Whose Son is He? And they very readily answered Him, He is the Son of David. Then Jesus asks another provoking question; that is, He wants them to think, and so He says, Then how does David in the Spirit call Him Lord? And what we have here is the picture of David taking a subservient position with regard to some unique individual. And the Messiah, that is Jesus, quotes him in verse number 44, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand. But the significant phrase is here the Lord said to my Lord. Now comes the tough question: If David then calls Him Lord, [then] how is He [that is, Messiah] His Son? You need to ponder this a bit. But you see, David recognizes that of his son, some particular individual, that He is to be the Messiah, but David takes a subservient position with regard to Him and refers to Him as Lord. And not just simply as a sir or anything of this nature; he is referring to Him as some sort of divinity or deity. And this was not a very easily answered question; in fact, when you read Matthew 22:46, No one was able to answer Him a word. I think the significance of what Jesus was trying to say came in hard on particular held religious views concerning the Messiah. The whole emphasis here was that Jesus was emphasizing that while Messiah is a son of David, the greater son of David, yet at the same time He is also in special, unique relationship with God. In other words, in a mystery now Messiah is also regarded as divine. Admittedly this is a difficult passage to try to handle, and we ll be coming back to it again in order to establish it, but it would be good for you to ponder this passage at the end of Matthew 22 and correlate it with Psalm 110. I think it will be one of the best arguments that we have concerning the deity of the Messiah. Christ-Centered Learning Anytime, Anywhere 6 of 6