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Tough Topics - Messiah
Belief in and longing for a person or force that will bring about a perfect age—the ‘Days of the Messiah’—is a defining characteristic of Jewish life and thought. Yet there is considerable diversity in the views about the nature of the Messiah of the Messianic Age.
The Hebrew for ‘Messiah’ is from the verb to ‘anoint’: sovereigns were anointed with oil and the Jewish Bible does not use ‘Messiah’ for a future redeemer. It does, however, express many beliefs in, and promises of, a time when oppression and suffering will end and there will be an age of peace and harmony. Where the prophets speak of the one who will usher in this age, it is a descendant of King David—but the word ‘Messiah’ is not used.
In Jewish sources, it is not until the early centuries of the Common Era that the word ‘Messiah’ began to be used. Then it applied to a redeemer who was variously seen as a political or military leader, a supernatural being or an ordinary person with hidden qualities. Over the centuries, numerous people have been heralded—or have heralded themselves—as the Messiah. From a Jewish viewpoint, however, they have all been failed or false messiahs because, according to Jewish expectations, the Messianic Age has not arrived.
There is no uniformity to Jewish beliefs about the nature of either the Messiah or the events that will prompt the Messianic Age. On the whole, far less thought is given to the Messiah than to the Messianic Age. A traditional belief is that the Messianic Age will be preceded by ‘birth pangs’—a particularly painful period. For this reason, Jewish messianic expectations become stronger in times of great difficulty, oppression and suffering. They were strong amongst Jews in medieval Europe, when they were sometimes linked to mystical experiences.
For the most part, Jews believe that the Days of the Messiah will arrive as a response to Jewish goodness. It is not simply something that they will receive passively but rather, as God’s partners, they can play an active role in making it happen. Because God would respond to efforts at ‘healing the world’ and would complete the healing, Jews could effectively bring the Messiah.