Apologeticae sive Theologiae Fundamentalis, Tomus I: Demonstratio Christiana

Now that the messianic concept as it prevailed before Christ has been explained, it is easy to see that Jesus Himself rejected the rabbinic and eschatological messianism of later Judaism, but accepted and perfected the prophetic messianism of the Old Testament.¹

1. Jesus rejected rabbinic messianism. The older evolutionism maintained that Jesus merely appropriated for himself the messianic ideas commonly bandied about by the rabbis. That this contention is insipid is evident from everything we have said concerning the actual messianic testimony: throughout the whole time of his preaching Jesus most carefully keeps from himself the politico-national messianism of the Pharisees, and at length he is visited with the punishment of the cross because he had constantly turned this messianism away from himself.

2. Jesus rejected eschatological messianism. On the contrary, many modern rationalists think that Jesus subscribed to eschatological messianism.¹ But they are refuted by their own confession that Jesus shrank from rabbinic messianism. For we have proved that eschatological messianism almost coincides with the rabbinic, in that both dream of the Messiah as a political king and of a national and material kingdom of God. Since Jesus repudiates these, by that very fact he repudiates eschatological messianism as well.

Messianic eschatology differs from the theology of the rabbis, as we have seen, only in the properly eschatological element, i.e., in this, that the apocalyptic writers maintain that the Messiah and his kingdom will not exist in this age and worst of worlds, but that, this world having been destroyed, he will at length come as judge in a transcendental age and world. Yet that this eschatological element was foreign to Jesus escapes no one.

For although Jesus professes himself to be also the future judge of the world, nevertheless he wishes to be, and to be acknowledged as, the Messiah already in this age and world.

To John the Baptist, who asks whether Jesus is the Messiah that is to come, he answers that the Messiah is already present in himself, indeed that he has proved himself to be the present Messiah by his works.²

At Caesarea Philippi he praises and rewards Peter's confession: "Thou art the Messiah," and thus acknowledges that even now, in the present life and time, he is the Messiah.³

The Samaritan woman, expecting a Messiah by no means eschatological, says: "I know that the Messiah cometh; when therefore he is come, he will tell us all things."⁴ To her Jesus: "I am he, that speak with thee." Finally he elicits from the Samaritans the confession: "For we ourselves have heard and know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world."⁵

The Jews challenge Jesus: "How long dost thou hold our soul in suspense? If thou art the Messiah, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them by appealing to the messianic works already wrought by himself: "I speak to you, and you believe not. The works that I do in the name of my Father, these bear witness of me."⁶

Caiaphas interrogates him: "Art thou the Messiah, the Son of the blessed God?" But Jesus said to him: "I am." The high priest urges: "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou art the Messiah, the Son of God." Jesus says to him: "Thou hast said it." But they all said: "Thou art then the Son of God?" He said: "You say that I am. And you shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the power of God, and coming with the clouds of heaven."⁷

Pilate asks: "Art thou the king of the Jews?" i.e., the king Messiah. But Jesus, answering, said: "Thou sayest that I am a king. For this was I born, and for this came I into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth."⁸

Therefore Jesus wills to be the Messiah already in the present life and world, although messianic glory will shine most brightly in the judgment and the future age.

The same holds of the messianic kingdom of Jesus. According to the Gospels the kingdom of God will indeed be perfect and complete only in another world. At the last judgment, at length, Jesus will say to his elect: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."⁹ "Then shall the just shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."¹⁰

Notwithstanding this, the kingdom of God begins and develops already in this world. Jesus at once announces that the kingdom of God has drawn near,¹¹ and then that it has come: "The kingdom of God is come upon you."¹² "Behold, the kingdom of God is within you."¹³ Gradually, throughout all Galilee and Judea, he preaches "the gospel of the kingdom of God,"¹⁴ and performs "the mystery of the kingdom of God"¹⁵ works by which the present kingdom of God is proved and established,¹⁶ while the kingdom of Satan is overthrown.¹⁷ He compels all, leaving behind every impediment, to seek the kingdom of God.¹⁸ He spends his whole life, and that of his disciples as well, that the kingdom of God may advance more and more. Hence by word and deed he excludes the apocalyptic eschatology which maintains that the kingdom of God will at length, at the last judgment and in the future world, fall like lightning from heaven. What has been said thus far is confirmed by what follows, in which Jesus positively defines his kingdom and his person.

Jesus fully ratified the doctrine of the Old Testament concerning both the kingdom and the person of the Messiah and attributed it to himself; yet he did not simply transcribe prophetic messianism, but interpreted, illustrated, and elevated it. And indeed:

1. He explains the new, universal, and spiritual kingdom of the Messiah according to the norm of the Old Testament, but more clearly, more distinctly, and more perfectly.

a) The prophets had declared more than enough that the new kingdom of the Messiah would succeed to the place of the synagogue. Nevertheless, for the most part the Jews thought that the ancient law of fear would remain in force together with the new religion of grace. Jesus, however, as is shown in detail throughout all theology, instituted faith, sacraments, and worship wholly distinct from Mosaism. He openly opposes this new religion to the old when he sets forth his truths and precepts by repeating: "It was said to the ancients ... but I say to you ...".¹ This new order of things so excels the old law that the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist, who nevertheless had been the greatest prophet of the old covenant and the forerunner of the new.² Whence also the old law, strictly so called, is abrogated,³ that it may yield to the gospel of the kingdom of God: "The law and the prophets were until John: from that time the kingdom of God is preached."⁴

That this new religious kingdom no longer looked to the Jews alone, but would be:

b) The prophets had proclaimed a universal kingdom aloud. Nevertheless, to the readers of the Old Testament it seemed that the sons of Israel and the land of Palestine would remain pre-elected also in the messianic kingdom. And Jesus indeed, that they might have no excuse, preaches the kingdom of God, especially with the apostles, to the house of Israel.⁵ But he vigorously restrains the national particularism of the Jews from his kingdom. For he likens the kingdom of heaven to "a grain of mustard seed, which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is greater than all herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and dwell in its branches"⁶ To the Jews who spurn the kingdom he says: "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and shall be given to a nation yielding its fruits."⁷ Nay more, he commands the apostles: "Going into the whole world, preach the gospel to every creature."⁸ And although the kingdom of God spreads only gradually, nevertheless before the judgment it will be propagated throughout the whole earth: "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations: and then shall the consummation come."⁹

That this kingdom of the gospel would in no way be political and material, but wholly:

c) A spiritual kingdom is undoubtedly concluded from the Old Testament. Nevertheless, the prophets depicted the messianic kingdom under the type of an earthly kingdom so vividly that the Jews understood the messianic goods as political and sensual realities favorably disposed. Against this, Jesus, as we have abundantly proved, firmly and consistently declines the political conception of the kingdom of God. With the same care he repels the sensual conception of the kingdom. He only took care that those seeking the spiritual kingdom should not lack what is necessary for sustenance on this earth: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you."¹⁰ He certainly compares the delights of the kingdom in heaven to a banquet,¹¹ signifying, however, by this simile only the "eternal life" of the vision and fruition of God.¹²

2. Likewise, he defines the person of the Messiah exactly according to the Old Testament as Son of David, Son of man, Servant of God, Son of God. But he explains these messianic titles and accommodates them to himself in such a way as to exclude all ambiguity and false interpretation.

a) In the Old Testament the Messiah is everywhere declared to be the Son of David.¹³ Yet incautious and carnal men wrongly interpreted this of the Messiah as a political king of the Jews. Whence it was of the greatest concern to Jesus both to avert this error of the Jews and nevertheless to fulfill the prophecy concerning the Son of David. Jesus enters this world hailed by the angel as Son of David.¹⁴ The Gospels repeatedly testify that he traces his origin from the seed of David.¹⁵ He tacitly approves the crowds when he is saluted by them as Son of David.¹⁶ He heals the sick whenever they invoke him: "Have mercy on us, Son of David."¹⁷ But he never calls himself Son of David, lest he should be regarded by the Jews as the Messiah, a temporal king.¹⁸

For the rest, he insists less on the glorious title of Son of David, because he chiefly wished to be regarded as:

b) Servant of God: Jesus, the Savior, the redeemer of sins. As such the Messiah had been foretold in the Old Testament. But because these prophecies of the vicarious redemption of sins to be accomplished through the Messiah seemed rarer and more obscure, they were consigned to oblivion by the carnal messianism of the Jews. On the contrary, they wholly fill the gospel. Already the angel imposes and interprets the very name of Jesus: "And thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins."¹⁹ Jesus constantly retains this name and this mission of the Savior.²⁰ He spends his whole life in order to redeem and remit sins.²¹ Nay more, he bestows even bodily benefits upon men, "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaias the prophet, saying [of the Servant of God]: He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases."²² A fortiori Jesus undergoes passion and death to that very end, that he might loose the whole human race from the bonds of sins: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting... For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by him ... I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep."²³ "The Son of man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a redemption for many."²⁴

"This is my body, which is given for you ... This is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins."²⁵

c) The Son of man, as he is described by Daniel 7, 23 sq., delineates only the eschatological person of the Messiah. Whence the Jewish apocalypse falsely interpreted that passage of an exclusively eschatological messianism. Jesus, however, both overturns this error and completes the prophecy itself. For under the title of Son of man he comprehends both his messianic life and activity on earth,²⁶ and the glory of the heavenly judge and king.²⁷

There remains the most exalted quality by which the Messiah is named in the Old Testament:

d) Son of God, or Emmanuel. That Jesus also conspicuously explained and assigned to himself this messianic title, testifying to his divine nature and filiation, will be shown at greater length presently.