Stay alert! Watch out! Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, searching for someone to devour. Stand up against him, firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:8-9a TLV).
HaSatan failed to subvert the breaking-in kingdom of God. The African proverb, “roaring lions kill no prey,” typifies his angst and, notably, his diminished potential. The blunt force of the Savior’s resurrection thumped that old serpent on the head. Moreover, this proverb lends a wholly empowering interpretation to the apostle’s statement quoted above. And while a loud, wounded lion catches no prey, they are more dangerous.
If HaSatan were a healthy lion, he would be in stealth mode—patient and silent as the night. Messiah’s death and resurrection dealt him a lethal blow; he roars in anger and agony, prowling about. Society experiences the tumult between the forces of good and evil—the Lion of Judah and the Lion of Lies. Nonetheless, we stand firm and watchful lest we grow weary, discouraged, or, God forbid, deluded.
In a first-century flashback, I imagine Yeshua’s followers felt discouraged and without direction immediately after his death. Their messianic hope, like several self-appointed wanna-be’s, had been publicly humiliated, tortured, and given a criminal’s death. Had the Jesus Movement joined the dismantled ministries of autogenic messiahs (cf. Acts 5:34-39)? In three days, they would better understand those cryptic clues laid by the Messiah: "He would rebuild the temple in three days” (Matt 27:40).
Yes, historically, the Jews considered other candidates because differing messianic expectations existed. Hence, the apostle’s confusion at Yeshua’s death; their hopes for the olam haba would have to wait.
Mashiach b. David: The conquering human king, who sits upon the throne of David, divinely authorized, ushering in peace and national independence, remained a hope under Roman rule. Many considered this the olam haba, the world/era to come after the vanquishing of Israel’s foes. In other words, the Messiah was perceived as an eschatological figure.
Mashiach b. Yosef: The Messiah is depicted as a suffering servant commensurate with Isaiah’s vision in chapters 52-53. The suffering Messiah is often considered separate from the conquering king's image. However, some thought these figures to be two manifestations of the same person (J. Julius Scott, Jr., Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament, 309). Again, others believe the nation of Israel to be the agent of salvation.
Divine or Human Messiah? This debate still ensues. The early church councils agreed with the apostolic writers, advocating for a divine messianic figure. This raises the question, then, whether he was sent from heaven by the Father (God) or if he was God incarnate, coming down from heaven. My answer is “yes”—to both. However, we all must search the Scriptures and seek divine insights, so let that, dear reader, be your guide.
Son of Man is the Messiah: See my Substacks on this topic.
“And at that hour, the Son of Man was named in the presence of the Lord of Spirits, and his name before the Head of Days … he shall be the light of the nations … hope for those whose hearts are troubled” (1 Enoch 48:2, 3b, 4a, 3c.BCE-1c. CE)
Son of Man is Divine: “In my vision at night, I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all nations and people of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14, final form 2c. BCE).
Son of Man is Messiah and a Divine Being: “Jews at the time of Jesus had been waiting for a Messiah who was both human and divine and who was the Son of Man, an idea they derived from the passage in Daniel 7” (Daniel Boyarin, The Jewish Gospels: The Story of the Jewish Christ, The New Press. Kindle Edition, 75).
Similitudes 48 (Late first century CE):
“And in that hour that son of man was named in the presence of the Lord of Spirits, and his name, before the Head of Days. Even before the sun and the constellations were created, before the stars of heaven were made, his name was named before the Lord of Spirits. He will be a staff for the righteous, that they may lean on him and not fall; And he will be the light of the nations, and he will be a hope for those who grieve in their hearts. All who dwell on the earth will fall down and worship before him, and they will glorify and bless and sing hymns to the name of the Lord of Spirits” (Ibid, 79).
Psalms of Solomon 17:32, 36: This is a pseudepigraphical text, narrowly dating between 70 and 45 BCE (James H. Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 641).
“And he will be a righteous king…their king shall be the Lord Messiah…free from sin…he will expose officials and drive out sinners by the strength of his word.”
Philo of Alexandria: (Hellenistic Jew of the late first century BCE into the first century CE)
Like the Gospel of John, Philo's theology notes a divine Logos as an active agent of God and who is God manifest. He appears to men and reveals his will and purpose, representing divine wisdom (George Moore Lightfoot, Judaism, Vol. 1, 416).
The Esoteric World of Jewish Mysticism*: The Kabbalah speaks to this messianic figure. Like Philo, the Logos is an aspect of God. Ein Sof (Without End), sometimes called the Godhead in kabbalistic literature, is the Infinite Being who contracts (tzimtzum) his essence, allowing humanity glimpses of his reality. For the kabbalist, creation and even the primordial light before the separation of light and dark are emanations of the Infinite One possible only through a self-limiting act. As in Romans 1, we see and perceive God through his creation and acts of power.
Furthermore, these glimpses, in the form of emanations (sefirot), include Adam Kadmon, the first emanation, according to kabbalistic thought. Colossians 1 expresses the idea of an invisible God who is made visible in Yeshua, the firstborn of creation (Col. 1:15). Similarly, Adam Kadmon means the “primordial man,” yet was also identified as Ein Sof (Lurianic Kabbalism). New Testament literature deals with the concept of a first and second Adam in 1 Cor. 15:45 and Romans 5:14.
*This material is accessed through the Israel Bible Center, “Kabbalism and the Bible 1,” by Dr. Yeshaya Gruber.
As the season of Messiah’s resurrection nears, reflections on the ancient Jewish messianic expectations and approaches shed light on the controversies surrounding Yeshua during the Passover week. Excited crowds heralded him as a priestly king, waving palm fronds and shouting Hoshiana! This shift in focus angered temple priests. His closest followers were perplexed by his cryptic farewells. He, himself, agonized.
Nonetheless, he went willingly, knowing the severe “thumping”—a blow to the serpent’s head—that would take place when supreme light broke the bonds of death. The indwelling Spirit of Messiah can help us do some “thumping” ourselves. Indeed, a new lion is in town—the Lion of Judah—and he’s taking names!
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