The OT Messianic Expectations as fulfilled in the Incarnation of Jesus – Points for Reflection for Christians

Abstract

That Jesus is the Messiah is acclaimed and professed by Christians right from the early times. That he is the Messiah who has been expected right from the OT times could also be said to be common knowledge for many Christians. But what this statement actually means as well as its full implications are not clear to many people, Christians and non-Christians alike. This paper, therefore, sets out to explain how the OT messianic expectations are fulfilled in the Incarnation of Jesus, a term that encompasses Jesus’ earthly life, ministry, death and resurrection, i.e. the entire mystery of Christ’s redemptive work. The method employed in this work is historical-theological, augmented with the Historical Critical method, when necessary, in the analysis of pertinent biblical passages. The information is that the people of Israel in the OT were, in different epochs, always expecting a Messiah, a liberator to be sent by God. They associated this Messiah with the successive kings of the Davidic dynasty through the Oracle of Nathan in 2 Sam 7:12, on the one hand, and with other historical and messianic figures, on the other. But after the exile, during the last pre-Christian centuries of Palestinian Judaism, these expectations narrowed down to an individual liberator and ultimately to Jesus, in the NT, as is amply explained in many NT passages. The recommendation is for all Christians to recognize and cherish the depth of our Christian heritage in the OT and in the lives of the people of Israel, a depth which gloriously highlights God’s universal plan of salvation as one. All this would invariably lead Christians to the greater appreciation of their faith and its praxis as well as further enhance Jewish Christian relationship as one commonly founded on a single divinely instituted history of salvation. This work is also a very useful tool for all teachers and students of religion, as well as biblical scholars and researchers, in the pursuit of their various endeavours.