Apologeticae sive Theologiae Fundamentalis, Tomus I: Demonstratio Christiana

That Jesus of Nazareth professed himself to be the messianic legate of God is proved by the tenor of the Gospels, by the consensus of Christians, by the concession of unbelievers

1. The tenor of the Gospels. Nothing is more manifest than the testimony that Jesus gives on almost every page of the Gospels concerning his messianic consciousness and vocation. Both his words and his deeds inculcate this one thing, that he is the messianic legate sent by God. Once this testimony is removed, the whole Gospel history vanishes. Unless, therefore, we favor an absolute biblical scepticism, rejecting all sound criticism, we must concede the fact of Jesus' messianic profession.¹

2. The consensus of Christians. The whole primitive Church professed Jesus to be the Messiah. Peter on the day of Pentecost urges in Jerusalem: "Let all the house of Israel, therefore, know most certainly, that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus, whom you crucified."² Paul preaches at Damascus: "That this is the Messiah";³ at Thessalonica he cries out: "That this is Jesus the Messiah, whom I announce to you";⁴ at Corinth he insists, "testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah";⁵ at Ephesus "he mightily refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah".⁶ All the apostles "ceased not, every day, in the temple and from house to house, teaching and preaching Jesus as the Messiah"⁷. But this unanimous faith and this constant preaching of the disciples could in no way be explained, unless the Master himself had professed himself to be the Messiah.

3. The concession of unbelievers. Overcome by this testimony of the Gospels and of the disciples, the rationalists themselves, a few of the more radical excepted, admit that Jesus' messianic profession is the most certain of all facts, one that no person of serious mind would deny.⁸ They contend only this, that Jesus did not from the beginning of his preaching hold and present himself as the Messiah, but that gradually, during his public life and above all in the last days of his life, he persuaded himself that he was the messianic legate of God. To this opinion adhere those who maintain that Jesus did not receive his messianic vocation from God, but acquired it by a natural psychological development. Hence it is of great moment to prove that the messianic preaching of Jesus took its beginning already at the very outset of his public life, its growth in the progress of his public life, and its completion at the close of his public life.

By no means is it to be expected that Jesus, from the very outset of his public life, revealed his messianic consciousness and teaching in a perfect and complete manner. For this was prevented both by the wisdom of divine pedagogy and by the folly of the disciples and of the Jews. Nevertheless, as soon as Jesus begins his public life, his messianic manifestation also begins: by accepting the messianic testimony rendered to him by others and by himself presenting himself as the messianic Son of Man.

1. By accepting the messianic testimony rendered to him by others, namely by the precursor, by God, by the disciples, and by the demons.

John the Baptist announced by word and baptism that the kingdom of heaven, i. e. the messianic kingdom,¹ and the Messiah were drawing near, whose precursor he declared himself unworthy to be.² To the envoys of the Sanhedrin, however, who suspected that John himself was the Messiah, he replied: "Because I am not the Messiah. But in the midst of you there has stood one whom you do not know."³ A little later "John saw Jesus coming toward him and said: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sin of the world".⁴ When Jesus was baptized, the Spirit of God descended upon him and the voice of the Father testified from heaven: "This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased."⁵ All agree that by the descent of the Holy Spirit the messianic anointing of Jesus is signified; likewise, that the title "Son of God" signifies the Messiah, although it is not restricted to such a signification. In fact, Jesus understood this event concerning his anointing and messianic mission.⁶

In the same sense the tempting demon likewise acknowledges the messianity of Jesus, repeatedly calling him Son of God and challenging him to perform the miraculous works foretold of the Messiah.⁷ Soon many demons join the tempter, openly confessing Jesus as the Messiah: "Because they knew him to be the Messiah ... the anointed of God ... the holy one of God ... the Son of God ... the Son of the Most High".⁸

The first disciples likewise greet Jesus as the Messiah. Andrew announces to Simon: "We have found the Messiah, which is interpreted Christ."⁹ Philip warns Nathanael: "We have found Jesus, of whom Moses wrote in the law, and the prophets."¹⁰ Nathanael, scarcely having found Jesus, acclaims him: "Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel."¹¹

All these messianic testimonies rendered to him Jesus accepts; indeed, he joyfully approves and confirms them.¹² He only forbids that the demons make his messianity public,¹³ both because he did not wish to be recognized with the help of demons, and because he first wished to correct the messianic concept of the Jews, who expected a merely political Messiah. Therefore Wellhausen, Wrede, and other moderns do wrong when, from that prohibition imposed upon the demons, they conclude that Jesus never, or at any rate not yet, held himself to be the Messiah.

2. By himself presenting himself as the messianic Son of Man. Jesus indeed does not yet assume the title of Messiah, because — as we have already said and shall show more fully in another place — the Jews falsely understood this title of a political Messiah, i. e. of a certain glorious son of David and king of Israel who was to overthrow the Roman empire. Hence, if he had at once publicly called himself the Messiah, the Jews would have turned his messianic work into a national insurrection. For this reason Jesus, meanwhile omitting the name of Messiah, takes upon himself the title "Son of Man". From the first day of his manifestation he calls himself the Son of Man¹⁴ and loves this name of his above all others even unto death.¹⁵

Since none of the disciples calls him the Son of Man, this appellation is found eighty-two times in the Gospel from the mouth of Jesus.

The reason why Jesus chose for himself the name of Son of Man is open and manifest. This term, on the one hand, did not at all admit of a political interpretation; on the other hand, it possessed full messianic significance. "Son of Man" (barnaša) in the Aramaic language indeed simply means man. Yet by usage, after the prophecy of Daniel 7, 13 sq., the Son of Man was commonly called also the Messiah promised in the Old Testament.¹⁶ It escapes no one that Jesus claimed this title for himself with a messianic meaning. For to what purpose, after all, would he have said with emphasis throughout his whole life that he was a man! Indeed, from the beginning of his manifestation he clearly declared that he was the messianic Son of Man.¹⁷ Moreover, as his public life proceeded, he bound to this title "Son of Man" his entire messianic preaching.

Indeed, in the course of his Galilean sojourn Jesus manifested his messiahship ever more clearly day by day: by attributing to himself the privileges of the Messiah, by performing the works of the Messiah, by claiming for himself the name of Messiah.

1. By attributing to himself the privileges of the Messiah. With the apostles chosen, Jesus traverses all of Galilee, preaching the gospel of the messianic kingdom.¹

But the greatest part of this gospel consisted in this, that the Son of man attributed to himself the excellent endowments and offices which pertain to the Messiah. The Son of man descended from heaven and will return to heaven.² The Son of man was sent and anointed by God.³ The Son of man calls all to the messianic kingdom and saves all sinners.⁴ The Son of man teaches with divine authority.⁵ The Son of man by his own power adds the New Testament to the Old.⁶ The Son of man will come again at the end of time as the glorious prince of the kingdom of God and the judge of the whole world.⁷ Hearing these things, no one could doubt that Jesus ascribed to himself messiahship taken in the strictest and most sublime sense.

2. By performing the works of the Messiah. To win for himself the faith of Jewish witnesses, Jesus continually strengthens and confirms the gospel of the Son of man with miracles. He works almost innumerable signs upon the elements, the sick, the possessed, and the dead. For Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would perform very many and very great miracles.⁸ The Jews knew this prophecy very well; as the Gospel testifies, they said: “When the Messiah comes, will he do more signs than this man does?”⁹ But Jesus himself also continually appeals to his miracles as the criteria of his messianic mission.¹⁰

He invokes these criteria more solemnly when John inquires through envoys about the messiahship of Jesus. For the Forerunner, “when he had heard in prison of the works of Christ, sending two of his disciples,¹¹ he said to him: ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’”¹² But Jesus, multiplying miracles before the eyes of the two envoys, answers: “Go and report to John what you have heard and seen: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the gospel preached to them, and blessed is he who is not scandalized in me.”¹³

3. By claiming for himself the name of Messiah. Indeed, the Jews were still scandalized at him because he refused to play the role of the political Messiah expected by them. Therefore, having seen and experienced his miracles, very many indeed recognized him as a great prophet, but not as the Messiah.¹⁴ The few, however, who seemed to believe for the moment, believed only on this condition, that they would forthwith make Jesus the Messiah-King by stirring up an insurrection against the Romans.¹⁵ For this reason Jesus did not yet dare to bear the name of Messiah publicly before the Jews.¹⁶

With the Samaritans he could converse more openly, because they did not know the political-national Messiah of the Jews. Hence also before the Samaritan woman he declares in express words that he is the Messiah. After he had first shown himself to her as a “prophet” by revealing her hidden life, the woman said: “I know that the Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when therefore he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus says to her: “I am he, who am speaking to you.” And from that city many of the Samaritans believed in him and said: “For we ourselves have heard and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”¹⁷ Behold true faith in a spiritual Messiah!

Before the apostles too (who were gradually educated in the faith by divine patience¹⁸), Jesus claims for himself the name of Messiah. For when they had come to Caesarea Philippi toward the end of the Galilean sojourn, Jesus asks them: “But who do you say that I am?” Answering, Simon Peter said: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” But Jesus, praising and extolling the messianic confession of Peter, said: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah: because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”¹⁹

At the time when Jesus, toward the end of his life, remained in Judaea and Jerusalem, he set the crowning touch upon the testimony of his messiahship: by correcting the messianic conception of the disciples, by perfecting the messianic instruction of the people, by completing the messianic confession before the judges.

1. By correcting the messianic conception of the disciples. The disciples already believed in the messiahship of the Master with full faith, although they did not yet regard Jesus as establishing a politico-messianic kingdom. Indeed, they had no doubt at all that he would soon erect this glorious kingdom of David. To correct this erroneous conception, Jesus "from that time [after the confession of Peter] began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and scribes and chief priests, and be killed, and on the third day rise"¹ and "so enter into his glory"² Hitherto he had spoken of his death only in parables.³ From then on he is wholly intent upon teaching the apostles that the Messiah was to suffer and die, and so to erect the spiritual kingdom of God.

This messianic conception, however, the disciples could scarcely, if at all, grasp. Peter rebukes Jesus when he speaks of the passion⁴ and likewise, at the time of the passion, intends to fight with the sword, thinking that the politico-messianic kingdom was at hand.⁵ The sons of Zebedee likewise desire to obtain the first places in that kingdom.⁶ Indeed, not even after the death of Jesus do the disciples understand the suffering Messiah,⁷ but rather hope that he will immediately restore the kingdom of Israel.⁸ Once the fact of the resurrection is fully understood, the apostles at last lay aside political messianism.

2. By perfecting the messianic instruction of the people. Jesus likewise, toward the end of his life, instructed the Jewish crowds more and more from day to day, publicly illustrating his messiahship by words⁹ and by wonders.¹⁰ With the greatest care, too, he warns the people believing in him¹¹ that he has not come as an earthly king of the Jews, but rather as the spiritual savior of the whole world: "For the Son of man also is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a redemption for many."¹² He will not enter messianic glory except through passion and death.¹³ "For as the lightning flashing from under heaven shines upon the things that are under heaven, so will the Son of man be in his day. But first he must suffer and be rejected by this generation."¹⁴

This teaching the people did not grasp. Many indeed acclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, but as a politico-national Messiah. Therefore they lead him into Jerusalem in triumph, acclaiming: "Hosanna to the son of David!"¹⁵ "Blessed is the king who comes!"¹⁶ "Hosanna, blessed is the king of Israel!"¹⁷ "Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes!"¹⁸

3. By completing the messianic confession before the judges. The Pharisees and the scribes avail themselves of the messianic ovation of the people in order to destroy Jesus.¹⁹ Before the Jewish judges they accuse him of having preached an apolitical messianism; before the Roman judge they denounce him as one preaching a political messianism, making himself a king and stirring up the people. On both occasions Jesus professes his messiahship in the most solemn manner.

When, namely, the judges of the Sanhedrin were assembled, the high priest interrogates Jesus: "I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God." Jesus says to him: "You have said; nevertheless I say to you, from now on you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of God and coming on the clouds of heaven."²⁰

Brought before the Roman governor²¹ and asked by him: "Are you the king of the Jews?" he answers: "My kingdom is not of this world",²² signifying that he possesses a kingdom above the world. Asked again: "Then you are a king?" he answers Pilate: "You say that I am a king. For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice!" He professes, therefore, that he has been sent into this world as the teacher of absolute truth and the prince of the spiritual messianic kingdom. But such a king and such a kingdom Pilate does not grasp.²³ Hence he judges that Jesus aspired to the politico-messianic kingdom dreamed of by the Jews. And this he announces in the words written above the cross of Jesus: "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews".²⁴

In reality, however, Jesus had throughout his whole life recoiled from this messianism. To restrain his followers from this pseudo-messianism, he had devoted the most diligent effort. At the beginning, in the progress, and at the end of his preaching he professed himself the Messiah, but a Messiah foreign to the ideas of his Jewish contemporaries.