MESSIANIC HOPE IN THE APOSTOLIC COLLEGE

As already mentioned in other posts, there was in Israel, at the time of Christ, a strong messianic hope. They awaited the arrival of a King Anointed, a political-nationalist leader, to expel the Romans and restore the kingdom of Israel. Many have seen in Jesus that Messiah. In the episode of the multiplication of bread, John narrated: "after the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, "surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world". Jesus Knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself"(6.14,15).

The apostles also nurtured this sentiment. On the way to Jerusalem, where Jesus was soon to be killed, James and John asked him for privileged positions in the kingdom that they thought Jesus was about to implant (Mark10.35-45). At the moment of Jesus' arrest, it surprises the fact that Peter is armed with a sword and reaches to hurts the high priest's servant (John 18:10). Apparently, however, not only was he armed, because someone asked, "Lord, will we attack with swords?" (Luke22.49).

Among the apostles there was one or perhaps two disciples, former members of the Zealots. These constituted a group of Jews zealous in the Law, but who preached the armed struggle against Rome. Clearly, we know of "Simon the Zealot" (Matthew10.4) and possibly "Judas Iscariot." Scholars understand that the word "Iscariot" may characterize him as "sicary." The sicarii were a radical strand of the Zealots who killed Jews in the crowds, sympathizers of the Romans with daggers. Judas seems to have never paid attention to Jesus' teaching, for he has betrayed him as a leader of rebellion (Matthew26.14-16). Jesus said to the officers, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs?" (Luke22:52).

After the resurrection, another moment when one observes this misconception about the person of Jesus on the part of the disciples is when the Lord appears to two of them on the way to Emmaus. During the conversation they reveal their disappointment: "but we had hope that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel" (Luke24.21). At the last moment of Christ with the disciples, when He was about to ascend to heaven, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? "(Acts 1. 6).

Jesus, in fact, was the expected Messiah. However, He rejected this title because of the mistaken connotation that it had of a political-nationalist leader of an earthly kingdom. So much was the Messiah who accepted, on several occasions, to be called "son of David," a Messianic title. After his arrest, the high priest asked him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One? I am, said Jesus. And you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven" (Mark14.61-62)

Antônio Maia – M.Div.

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