Did Jesus Know He was the Messiah?

Ancient Israel anticipated the coming of their promised Messiah. While they didn’t know exactly who he would be, they had some basic ideas about him. For example, they knew he would descend from the line of David (2 Sam 7:12-14), be born in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2), conquer their enemies (Ps 2), and establish an eternal kingdom (Isa 9:6-7). All of this is based on Old Testament prophesy.

Turn to the Gospels, and we read that people are giving Jesus of Nazareth the title Jesus Christ. For many, Christ might appear to be Jesus’ last name. My last name is Leasure, Jesus’ last name is Christ. But that’s a misunderstanding. Christ is actually a title. It comes from the Greek word Christos which means the Anointed One. It’s the Greek word for Messiah. A more literal interpretation would be Jesus the Christ or Jesus the Messiah.

Most of the New Testament authors refer to him as Jesus Christ. Not only in the epistles, but also in the Gospels. But where did they get that idea? Why did they think he was the Messiah? Did Jesus ever indicate that he was, in fact, the Messiah?

The fact of the matter is that he does, contrary to what some skeptics might think. While I could provide several instances, I’ll give three examples.

PETER’S CONFESSION (MATT. 16:13-17)

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?”he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.

At this point in Jesus’ ministry, his reputation is soaring. People from all over Galilee have heard of this man’s miraculous powers and authoritative teaching. Yet, there’s confusion on his exact identity. Some think he’s one of the Old Testament prophets or perhaps even John the Baptist back from the dead.

In fact, prior to this conversation, the disciples seem to be confused on Jesus’ identity also. For example, when Jesus calms the storm in Mark 4:41, it states, “[the disciples] were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” That is, they still didn’t know his identity.

But here in Matthew 16, Peter proclaims that Jesus is the Messiah — the Christ — the Son of the living God. To which Jesus affirms Peter’s confession.

JESUS’ RESPONSE TO JOHN THE BAPTIST (LK. 7:20-23)

When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’” At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

A little context is helpful here. Remember, at the beginning of his ministry, John the Baptist heralded, “One who is more powerful than I am is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie his sandals” (Mk 1:7). John’s words here are, of course, in reference to Jesus. It seems early on that John believed there was something special about Jesus — that he was no ordinary man.

Fast forward to Luke 7, however, where John has been imprisoned by Herod, and it appears he begins to doubt Jesus’ identity. This doubt is almost historically certain because of its embarrassing nature. That is, John’s doubt of Jesus would have made early Christianity look bad. After all, if a prophet from God doesn’t believe in Jesus, why would anyone else? We have good reason, therefore, to believe this exchange is historically authentic.

Notice how Jesus responds to John’s question of whether Jesus is the promised one to come. Instead of giving a straightforward “yes,” he points to his miraculous actions to back up his identity. It’s one thing to say, “yes, I’m the Messiah.” It’s another thing to say, “look, I’ve given sight to the blind, made the lame walk, cleansed the lepers, raised the dead, and preached to the poor.” In other words, who else could do all these things?

Yet there’s one more critical piece of information. In Jesus’ response, he’s quoting from Isaiah 35:5-6 and 61:1 which are direct references to God’s coming Messiah. John the Baptist, who as a prophet would have known these prophesies well, would have made an instant connection. He would have understood Jesus to say, “yes John, I am the promised Messiah. I’m doing exactly what Isaiah prophesied the Messiah would do.”

JESUS’ TRIAL AND DEATH (MK. 14:61-65)

Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.

On the night Judas betrayed Jesus into the Jewish leaders’ hands, they asked him a pointed question. “Are you the Messiah?” Jesus responds in the affirmative. This, of course, leads to their outcry. Furthermore, they condemned Jesus to death.

After Jesus’ “trial,” the Romans brutally flogged and crucified him. And per Rome’s custom, they nailed a placard above his head on the cross signifying his crimes. It’s as if the Romans wanted to warn everyone that walked by not to get any ideas. That is, “don’t think you can get away with whatever this person did.” So what did Jesus’ placard say?

We read in Mark 15:26 that Jesus’ crime was simply, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.” That is, they crucified Jesus because he claimed to be the Jew’s Messiah. The Jewish leaders, of course, didn’t believe Jesus’ claim. After all, Jesus’ modus operandi didn’t align with their Messianic expectations. They expected a military leader — a conquering king — who would deliver them from Roman oppression. They didn’t grasp that Jesus came to defeat their greater enemies of sin, Satan, and death.

The Romans, also, wanted to squash any notion of insurrection. Since Jesus claimed to be the Messiah — the conquering king of Israel — the Romans better make an example of him. In the end, the Romans didn’t crucify Jesus because he was merely a good moral teacher or apocalyptic prophet. No, they crucified him because he posed a threat to them as the Jews Messiah.

JESUS CLAIMED TO BE THE MESSIAH

Why do you suppose that Jesus’ followers came to be known as Christians and not, let’s say, Jesusians? The best explanation is that Jesus’ identity was so closely associated with the Jewish Messiah to the point where Jesus and Christ almost became synonymous terms. But where did this association originate? Based on the texts above, it appears it originated with Jesus. Jesus himself claimed to be the Messiah.