CHAPTER 12

Jesus

The Long-Awaited King

Steven C. Hawthorne

Steven C. Hawthorne leads a mission and prayer mobilization ministry called WayMakers. After co-editing the Perspectives course and book in 1981, he launched a series of research expeditions among unreached peoples in Asia and the Middle East.

For many generations the people of Israel expected that God would raise up a kingly ruler, referred to as the “messiah,” which means “anointed one.” They hoped this leader would triumph by the power of God over Israel’s enemies, overcome evil powers, and bring about a prolonged time of peace and abundance. This prolonged time was sometimes called “the kingdom of God”—a time when God Himself would govern all things, exerting His reign through a human ruler.

In the centuries before Jesus, a militant movement had arisen to overthrow the Greek and later Roman foreign powers that had dominated Israel. These powers compelled Jewish people to defile their temple in order to worship Greek gods. In response, some of the Jewish leaders rebelled and resisted the imperial Roman powers, eventually working out a fragile peace. In the time that Jesus came, there were expectations that another messianic leader would arise. But the hopes for a messiah to bring God’s kingdom were confused and complicated with militant ideas.

Three Models of the Messiah

In the Scriptures, the prophets and psalmists presented three different models of the hoped-for Messiah: the Son of David, the Son of Man, and the Servant. Each of these models of the Messiah is well attested in biblical teachings. Even though they seem to differ in important ways, each will be fulfilled.

Son of David: A Miraculous Military Leader

The Son of David was expected to lead Israel to overwhelm all her enemies in miraculous power, much like King David of old (2 Sam 3:17–18; Ps 89:20–29; etc.). Numerous biblical prophecies anticipated a Davidic figure ruling a kingdom over all peoples (Isa 55:3–5).

I have found David My servant;

With My holy oil I have anointed him, . . .

I also shall make him My firstborn,

The highest of the kings of the earth.

My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever,

And My covenant shall be confirmed to him.

So I will establish his descendants forever,

And his throne as the days of heaven. (Ps 89:20–29 NASB)

In Jesus’s day, people wondered if Jesus might be the kind of champion who would rise up against the Roman imperial powers that ruled over them.

Son of Man: A Human Entrusted with Authority

The second model of the expected Messiah was “the son of man,” which simply refers to a human. The prophet Daniel describes a God-given vision of the transfer of authority:

And behold, with the clouds of heaven

One like a Son of Man was coming,

And He came up to the Ancient of Days

And was presented before Him.

And to Him was given dominion,

Glory and a kingdom,

That all the peoples, nations and men of every language

Might serve Him. . . .

And His kingdom is one

Which will not be destroyed (Dan 7:13–14 NASB)

There is no mention of this person’s lineage or any kind of military power. The Son of Man figure is entrusted with authority and kingly power to rule over all peoples and places.

God’s Servant: The Surprise

Another model of the coming Messiah is found in the passages of Isaiah that refer to the Servant: Isaiah 42:1–12; 49:1–6; and 52:13–53:12. These passages tell us that the Servant will suffer and His rule will extend to all the nations. Instead of vanquishing the powerful, the Servant will aim to bring God’s life among the poor in unconventional ways. Isaiah portrays the Servant as disappointing many and suffering greatly. But the Servant eventually becomes God’s light to the nations. Isaiah shows clearly that even though the Servant will be misunderstood and suffer, He will come to have ruling influence amid many nations (52:13–53:12).

After John Finished, Jesus Began

This prophetic and historical background helps us understand how Jesus was recognized and rejected. The first public appearance of Jesus was at the revival gatherings around the person we refer to as John the Baptist. John had denied that he was the Messiah: “‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him’” (John 3:28 NASB). When Jesus heard that John had been arrested and imprisoned by Herod, He began to preach in Galilee, declaring the same message as John: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 4:17 NASB).

Jesus did more than simply repeat the message of John. Jesus began to go throughout Galilee, “teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind” of malady and sickness (Matt 4:23 NASB). Jesus also taught people to live in a way that they would do “the will of My Father” (Matt 7:21 NASB): to follow Jesus and obey Him as if He was, in fact, King of all.

Relational: Living as If Jesus Was King

The obedience Jesus taught was not a better lifestyle or a way to do good deeds. Jesus called people into a relational reality—to freely and gladly serve Him as though Jesus was indeed one’s king. This relational reality is the essence of the kingdom of God. The teaching of Jesus opened the way for people to enter the kingdom, or to receive the kingdom, and sometimes both: “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all” (Mark 10:15 NASB). To know and to love Jesus was, and still is, to obey Him. “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word” (John 14:23 NASB). Many of those that He had healed or taught “followed Him” (Matt 12:15 NASB).

Are You the Coming One? Or Do We Wait?

John the Baptist had been imprisoned by Herod, but John still had some people who were his disciples. The reports of what Jesus was doing in Galilee came to John. He sent some of his followers to ask Jesus: “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” (Matt 11:2–3 NASB). The long-awaited Messiah was often referred to as “the coming one.” We can only guess what John was hoping to hear. It could have been John’s way of getting his followers more interested in Jesus.

Many expected the coming messiah to subdue false kings and overthrow imperial oppressors. And if any-body was this kind of false messiah, it was “King” Herod. Instead of offering John and his followers this kind of small hope, Jesus instructed them to tell John what the people were actually hearing and seeing. Jesus used a couple of phrases from Isaiah to say that the weak, sick, powerless, and poor were the focus of Jesus’s endeavors. Then Jesus said, “Blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me” (11:6 NASB). “Stumbling over” Jesus was a way of describing being offended or disappointed with the way Jesus was coming as Messiah.

What Kind of Messiah Was Jesus?

Shortly after His response to John’s followers, Jesus was challenged about what He was leading others to do on the Sabbath. In reply, He claimed messianic identity and authority for Himself by declaring “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (12:8). To say that any person was “Lord” was a bold claim. At the time, it seemed like Jesus was finally going to announce that He was the long-awaited Messiah.

Immediately after this, Jesus surprised His followers by telling them never to speak openly about who He was (12:16). Why didn’t Jesus want to be known as the Messiah? This must have seemed odd. Jesus was openly proclaiming the coming of God’s kingdom, but He did not want to go public with His identity as the Messiah.

Matthew, the writer of the Gospel, described why the disciples were not to announce that Jesus was the Messiah. He said that Jesus was fulfilling “what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet.” Then Matthew quoted some important lines from one of Isaiah’s prophecies about the Messiah coming as a servant. This is why He was keeping His identity as the servant a secret:

Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen;

My Beloved in whom My soul is well-

pleased;

I will put my Spirit upon Him,

and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel, nor cry out;

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. . . .

And in His name the Gentiles will hope. (12:18–21 NASB, from Isa 42:1–4)

Was Jesus the Servant?

In the original language, the word that Isaiah uses for “Gentiles” is “peoples.” So the Servant was prophesied to be one who would proclaim God’s way of bringing justice to all peoples and languages around the world. He would do this without arguing His case or mustering a movement with standard political methods. The Servant would never campaign to get more people on His side. Instead, He would lead many people to a different kind of victory that was not political or militant. This Servant would overcome every kind of evil power to give lasting hope to all peoples.

Was Jesus the Triumphant Son of David?

Immediately after this incident, a demonized man, blind and mute, was brought to Jesus. Many people were familiar with him. Jesus healed him, casting out the demons. Imagine what it must have been like. This man had never seen the light of day. He had never spoken to other people. Suddenly, he could see everyone and say what was on his mind. It was then that many of the watching crowds began to say to each other, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” (12:23 NASB).

Those opposed to Jesus had to acknowledge that He had done an amazing, powerful thing, but they claimed that Jesus had done it by being in league with satanic powers. Then Jesus said, “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (12:28). This meant that the kingdom of God had come, not by overthrowing armies or by setting up a political regime but rather by over-whelming the powers of evil.

So, within a few pages of the story, as Matthew tells it, Jesus is identified as the Son of Man, the Servant, and the Son of David. Which kind of Messiah is He? Jesus remained focused on the coming of God’s kingdom by contending with and over-coming evil powers. Jesus was indeed the Messiah. He was confronting evil powers that had long ago subverted and subjugated every people throughout the world. His work of liberating people from satanic powers reveals that He was seeking to overcome the powers of darkness in order to release people from the grip of evil powers so that they could live under the kingship of the Messiah. Jesus made it clear that if He “cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (12:28 NASB).

Overcoming the Ruler of the World

Jesus knew that He eventually would die in order to accomplish God’s purpose of liberating people from a world system dominated by evil powers. He described His dying as bringing about “judgment upon the world” that would effectively defeat and disempower satanic darkness, or in Jesus’s words, “the ruler of this world” would “be cast out” (John 12:31 NASB).

He described His death, as being “lifted up from the earth” so that He could “draw all people” to Himself (12:32 NASB). Immediately after saying these words about drawing all people, some of those hearing Him wanted to argue about how He could say such a thing about the Messiah:

The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” (12:34)

Jesus was indeed the Son of David. He often referred to Himself as the Son of Man. But the way that He would inaugurate His kingdom was to defeat satanic powers as God’s suffering Servant. He was, what we could call, a “surprise Messiah.” By His death He conquered the power of satanic evil. By joining with the death of Jesus, people can now live and walk in the power of the resurrected life of Jesus.

Not a Kingless Kingdom

It has become common in our day for the kingdom to become detached from the person of Jesus, the King Himself. Following “the way of Jesus” can be abstracted from the person of Jesus. If the King becomes separated from the kingdom, then the kingdom is easily reduced to a bundle of dreams and values. For some, the kingdom is not much more than a narrative that frames and drives favorite causes or agendas. I suppose we could call it a kingless kingdom.

There may be something similar when we hear the word “kingdom” used as an adjective. So we speak of kingdom gatherings, kingdom prayer, kingdom outreach, and . . . well, you get the idea. Kingdom is used as an adjective to authenticate all kinds of endeavors. Kingdom can become a brand. There may be fine expressions of altruism and idealism to which Bible verses can be attached. But if the kingdom we seek is merely ethics and activism, we will find ourselves not only disappointed, we’ll be exhausted and perhaps a bit lonely. The kingdom we proclaim is not a cause or an agenda. We proclaim that broken men, women, and children, from any people or place, can meet God in Jesus Christ and learn to love and serve Him.

RETURN TO LESSON 3: Your Kingdom Come