The Crucified Messiah

Christ’s disciples are called to self-sacrificial service for others just as Jesus gave his life to ransom many from sin’s bondage  – Mark 10:35-45. After predicting his death, two disciples began jockeying for high positions in Christ’s Kingdom. Thinking according to the ways of this world, they did not comprehend just what kind of Messiah Jesus is and what it meant to follow him. Nevertheless, he would demonstrate in Jerusalem how his followers become his disciples and achieve “ greatness ” in the Kingdom of God.

On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus explained to his disciples what it meant to be the Messiah of Israel. In the city of David, he was about to face his final confrontation with the Temple authorities which would end in his violent and unjust death at the hands of the Romans. Was not Jerusalem the appointed place where the prophets sent to proclaim God’s word to Israel were slain, where the Messiah himself must suffer rejection and death, according to the Scriptures?

Jesus submitted to a shameful death on the Cross, and he summons us to follow his example and path . Jesus tells us that if we wish to be his disciple, we must “ d eny ourselves, take up his cross, and follow him .” This was more than metaphorical language when he made this pronouncement on his final journey to Jerusalem. In the City of David, he would demonstrate just what it means “ to take up the cross .”

Jesus is the King from the House of David and the Servant of the Lord who endures death to save his people . Jesus is identified in the Gospel of Matthew as the Son of David and the Servant of the Lord. In his ministry and death, Christ demonstrates what it means to be the Messiah of Israel, and he does so by accepting the role of the suffering Servant of the Lord.

Jesus started proclaiming the Kingdom of God after the arrest of John the Baptist, an incident that foreshadowed the opposition that would characterize his own ministry. Palestine consisted of three territories - Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, and the latter included a mixed population of Jews and Gentiles. His ministry commenced in the villages of Galilee. Unlike the prophets of Ancient Israel, his mission did NOT begin or center in Jerusalem, though it certainly ended there - (Matthew 4:13).

After his baptism, the Spirit “ drove Jesus into the wilderness… for forty days and nights .” Like Moses on Mount Sinai, the Messiah of Israel found himself alone in the Judean wilderness where he was confronted by the Devil. His only guide was the Word of God. Like Israel, he was “ tested .” Unlike that nation, he overcame every challenge and emerged victorious from the experience “ FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ,” and he then began to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom in the villages of Galilee.