The Jews had been enslaved and mistreated by the Roman Empire for many years. The prophets, the most well-known being Isaiah, had foreseen the coming of a saviour, the Messiah, also known as ‘Mighty God’, ‘Eternal Father’ and ‘Prince of Peace’ (Isaiah 9: 6-7) who would make the blind see, give hope to the poor, free them from Roman rule and much more. But when the Messiah came, the Jews weren’t sure that he met all their hopes and expectations.
A prophet named Samuel (2 Samuel 7: 12-15) says that one of his descendants will be the blessed Son of God and a great King.Many Jews may have been doubtful of this for most of Jesus’ life, as he was born in a stable to a poor couple and lived the first 30 years of his life in the quiet town of Jerusalem, working in a carpenters shop (this is clearly told in the poem ‘One Solitary Life’). He lived a very ordinary and poor life. Although it is very clear that the Romans were extremely worried that Jesus would overthrow them e.
g. when King Herod heard the rumours, he had all the Jewish baby boys killed in a desperate attempt to find Jesus.The fact that the Romans were taking The Messiah very seriously may have helped convince many Jews that he was the Son of God. When the Messiah finally did reveal himself, he appeared to study the scriptures and prophecies a lot, which may have raised some suspicion amongst the Jewish people. This may have been the reason for some people claiming that he was another prophet (Mark 8: 27-30). Jesus then began carrying out the foreseen events, sometimes in an unexpected way or not doing some altogether.
One of the most significant examples is in Psalm 110: 1-3 which says that the Messiah will rule over his enemies, meaning that Jesus would overpower and defeat the Romans and lead the Jews to freedom in his Kingdom. But instead of leading a battle against the Romans, Jesus simply encouraged the Jews and showed them how to lead a better life. This was most likely what raised the most doubts about Jesus being the Messiah who had come to free the Jewish people, but I think that this is what proves that he is.Jesus was not suffering for no reason and leaving the Jews helpless, but clearing their consciences and showing them the way to prove themselves morally rather than physically better than the Romans and that their souls will always be free to make the right choices and live a good life. Like in Jesus’ parable, ‘Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a life time’.
Jesus did not come to free the Jews from Roman rule, but to teach them how to free themselves. Therefore, I think that Jesus was the Messiah that millions of people had been waiting for.
