The Crucified Messiah

The theme of fulfillment is dominant in the New Testament. In Jesus Christ, the promises of God have found their fulfillment. He is the Son of God sent to redeem Israel and rule the nations but in a most paradoxical way. Peter confirmed that he was the “ Messiah ” but failed to understand that he would undertake that role as the “ Servant of Yahweh ” who came to “ bear the sins of many .” His true identity was revealed through his self-sacrificial act at Calvary.

The Gospel proclaimed by Jesus is NOT about reforming society or fixing governments. His message summons all men to repent and join an entirely new social order and political reality, namely, the Kingdom of God, and his message contradicts the political ideologies of the present “ evil age .” Responding positively to his invitation is vital considering the approaching end of the existing world order and its disappearance from the Earth.

In 2 Timothy , Paul discusses the future resurrection of believers as he responds to denials of this “ sound teaching ” by deceivers who were disrupting the Assembly, denials he treats as little more than idle chatter . In doing so, he demonstrates that his later theology remains well within the Apostolic Tradition and the teachings of his earliest letters. From the beginning, belief in the coming resurrection was central to the doctrine of salvatio n taught by Jesus, his Apostles, and the early Church. This teaching was and remains  “ sound ”  because it is based on the past resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Jesus is the one who unveils the mysteries of God, and only he is qualified to reveal the “ unseen God .” In him, all the promises of God find their substance. He is the interpretive key that unlocks the Hebrew Scriptures and provides the correct understanding of Bible prophecy. The proclamation of “ Christ Crucified ” is the “ power and wisdom of God ,” and there is no knowledge of the Father apart from him.

Jesus declared, “ The Spirit makes alive. The flesh profits nothing. The words which I have spoken to you, they are spirit, and they are life .” His statement echoes the principle that life and the Spirit of God are inextricably linked. The “ flesh ” is not inherently evil, but it has no lasting life apart from the Holy Spirit. This principle was demonstrated at the original creation, and now the same Spirit is essential for the bodily resurrection of believers and everlasting life in the age to come.

God has spoken His decisive and superior “ word ” in His son, and He did so “ upon the last of these days .” This refers to the end of the period epitomized by the Levitical code with its priesthood and repeated animal sacrifices, a system of worship centered in the Tabernacle and the later Jerusalem Temple. With the appointment of Jesus as the High Priest “ after the order of Melchizedek ,” a new and final era of salvation commenced.