Two Camps, One Messiah
"But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be he shepherd of my people Israel." ~ Micah 5:2
In Jesus's day, some Jews believed that the Scriptures proclaimed that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. And, in those days when people did not move frequently (even for generations), it is no wonder that there was some confussion caused by Jesus' having grown up in Nazareth. Even Nathanael, "a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false" proclaims "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" (John 1:47)
I've been reading John's Gospel, and I've been struck by how vital this issue of the Messiah's origin was to them. Apparently there were two camps: those who believe the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, and those who believed that no one would know where the Messiah had come from. Apparently, God is big enough for both of them to meet both requirements.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem as we know (John omits this story, by the way), but during his own day there was much confussion about where he was from. Twice in John, Jesus did not travel to Jerusalem with his family and neighbors as was the custom, but arrived on his own, as if out of nowhere. He did not arrive with the caravan from Nazareth. Yet, they believed they knew where he was from. "But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from." (John 7:27)
The Pharisees were in the 'no one knows' camp. Jesus even proclaimed his Messiahship when he told the religious leaders, "you have no idea where I am from or where I am going." (John 8:14) And, when confronting the healed man who was born blind, they accidently admitted that he met the requirement. They were arguing with the man and said "We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from." (John 9:29) The man's reply shows that this should be evidence to them that Jesus is from God: "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes...If this man were not from God he could do nothing." (John 9:30-33) It's as if he were saying, "Wait! Didn't you hear what you just said? You just admitted that this man Jesus actually meets your Messianic requirement! Besides, he has done miracles never seen before." (Such miracles were another requirement for the Messiah. cf. John 1:18; 6:30; 9:32; 11:48; 12:9...) In fact, it seems to me that the rejction of the religious leaders actually moved this man from believing that Jesus was a Prophet to proclaiming Him as the Christ.
Anyway, I'm not sure what it all means, yet. But, I think it's interesting.
In Jesus's day, some Jews believed that the Scriptures proclaimed that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. And, in those days when people did not move frequently (even for generations), it is no wonder that there was some confussion caused by Jesus' having grown up in Nazareth. Even Nathanael, "a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false" proclaims "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" (John 1:47)
I've been reading John's Gospel, and I've been struck by how vital this issue of the Messiah's origin was to them. Apparently there were two camps: those who believe the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, and those who believed that no one would know where the Messiah had come from. Apparently, God is big enough for both of them to meet both requirements.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem as we know (John omits this story, by the way), but during his own day there was much confussion about where he was from. Twice in John, Jesus did not travel to Jerusalem with his family and neighbors as was the custom, but arrived on his own, as if out of nowhere. He did not arrive with the caravan from Nazareth. Yet, they believed they knew where he was from. "But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from." (John 7:27)
The Pharisees were in the 'no one knows' camp. Jesus even proclaimed his Messiahship when he told the religious leaders, "you have no idea where I am from or where I am going." (John 8:14) And, when confronting the healed man who was born blind, they accidently admitted that he met the requirement. They were arguing with the man and said "We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from." (John 9:29) The man's reply shows that this should be evidence to them that Jesus is from God: "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes...If this man were not from God he could do nothing." (John 9:30-33) It's as if he were saying, "Wait! Didn't you hear what you just said? You just admitted that this man Jesus actually meets your Messianic requirement! Besides, he has done miracles never seen before." (Such miracles were another requirement for the Messiah. cf. John 1:18; 6:30; 9:32; 11:48; 12:9...) In fact, it seems to me that the rejction of the religious leaders actually moved this man from believing that Jesus was a Prophet to proclaiming Him as the Christ.
Anyway, I'm not sure what it all means, yet. But, I think it's interesting.
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