Today's Scripture Reading (December 12, 2020): Luke 18
The Messiah. In Jewish literature, the concept
of a Messiah is not just a simple system of beliefs; at least, it is not as
simple as we sometimes make it out to be. It is not just that the Hebrew people
are still waiting for their Messiah, while Christians believe that the Messiah
has already come. Part of the problem is that this coming Messiah is so complicated
that the Jewish Rabbinical teachings began to teach that there had to be more
than one. They struck on the number four and the idea of the Four Craftsman.
The four Messiahs were Messiah ben David, the triumphant king, and Messiah ben
Joseph, the Suffering Messiah descending from Ephraim's tribe, the son of
Joseph who was the son of Israel. It was the Messiah ben Joseph who would
rebuild the Temple. And then rounding out the four craftsmen were Elijah and
The Righteous Priest.
Many things have been written about these
Messiah's, but the most common teaching, likely because it was the most
pleasurable teaching, was concerning the Triumphant Messiah. He would come, and
the world would bow down before him. He would rule over the world in much the
same way as his ancestor, King David. And there was little or no understanding
that the triumphant Messiah ben David and the suffering Messiah ben Joseph
could be the same person; after all, they were prophesied to be from different
tribes.
And so, Jesus continues to tell his disciples
that he would be handed over to the Gentiles, that they will mock him, insult
him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. Jesus is a descendant of David; he is
the Triumphant Messiah, yet what he describes seems to be much closer to the
suffering Messiah ben Joseph.
Because of this, it is likely, not surprising
that the disciples did not understand. As with much of Jesus's legacy, Jesus's
teaching didn't fit neatly into the boxes that had been created for the
Messiah. The disciples were busy trying to make Jesus fit into the preconceived
teachings, and because of that, they struggled to understand some of the things
that Jesus taught.
We struggle with the same issue. We want to fit
Jesus into our boxes and, sometimes, we force the fit. And, maybe, at no time of
the year is this more real than at Christmas. In less than two weeks, we will
once again celebrate the birth of Christ. The event that we celebrate tells the
story of a child who did not fit any of our expectations. Jesus was a king who
was born in a stable, with lowly shepherds as the first invited guests to see
the child. He grew up to be a rabbi who didn't fit, and today he continues to
be a Messiah that disturbs what it is that we think we know. But just because the
teaching is unexpected does not mean that it is not valid. Just because a
teaching does not fit into our boxes does not mean that God is not trying to
tell us something. It was a lesson that the apostles had to learn repeatedly
and a truth that I try to confront daily.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Matthew 21
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