GSC Module 21/ Moshe Rabbeinu and the Messianic King

GOOD SHEPHERD CHURCH SEMINARY

MODULE 21

MOSHE RABBEINU AND 
THE MESSIANIC KING

Objectives; By the end of this Module you should;

• Know about Jesus' Confrontation with satan
• Have knowledge about the signs of proof of the Messiahship of Jesus
• Be able to discuss Jewish thinking about the Messianic king
• Know the qualities God desires in a king

Contents;
Jesus the Man - Jesus' Public Ministry
1.  Ministry in Full Swing
2.  Winds of Change
3.  Moshe Rabbeinu
4.  Messianic King


1. Ministry in Full Swing
  With His disciples recruited and their training in hand, Jesus got down to His task. As Messiah, He had a window of opportunity until full confrontation with satan for worldly dominion became inevitable.
  Jesus, empowered with Face-to-Face prayer with the Father and consultations with Moses, Elijah and the angels, planted the flag of the Heavenly Kingdom here on earth.
  He annexed earth and all generations for the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus' master plan was to prove beyond reasonable doubt that

• Jesus is the Son of God
• He fulfils the ancient promises made by God's prophets
• The Kingdom of God was unequivocally annexing earth from satan's power
• The annexation of the earthly kingdom from satan's dominion was good news
• God and His Messiah mean only good for humanity
• Integral damage, both body and soul, has been sustained by each individual as direct fallout from 
• The Fall
• God offers healing to all of the effects of the Fall, and invites each individual to become a full member of the eternal and heavenly Kingdom of God
• God offers proof to all of the authenticity of the above claims through His Son, Jesus Christ
• The signs of proof of the Messiahship of Jesus Christ offering radical salvation to humanity are fivefold; 1. Healings   2. Deliverance [or exorcisms]     3. Miraculous events     4. Resurrections from the dead [that is, returning from the state of earthly death to earthly life]   5. Miraculous signs in nature

2. Winds of Change

  Jesus had discovered within Himself supernatural healing powers.

This power is Divine Power, and caused much consternation when the Heir to the Heavenly Throne began to make public use of this power.

  A number of factors need to be kept in mind.

Firstly, Jesus did not arrive in a vacuum to begin His Messianic ministry.

  There had been a sequence of events over a number of centuries pointing to the fact that something momentous was coming in Israel.

  It had not escaped the Temple authorities that one of their respected leaders, Zechariah, had received an angelic visitation and been struck dumb after angelic prophecy.

A priest staggering out of the capital's Holy of Holies with a withered tongue was fuel for Temple gossip.

  Added to that the unexpected pregnancy as result of prophecy of his long menopausal wife was further cause for speculation.

  The birth of the fine baby boy to the respected Temple elder and the subsequent healing of Zechariah's tongue were certain portents. The winds of change were in the air.

  Foreign dignatories had caused political unease when they visited Israel following an unusual and prophetic stellar constellation.

  They came to pay homage to the new King - but did not recognize any at King Herod's court as the new Heir to Israel.

  The events that followed shocked the nation when Herod, determined not to have contender to his throne, had all the baby boys under two in Bethlehem executed.

  Many mourned. The politicians and political families, the Sanhedrin and Temple Staff, all knew that signs of the Messiah had begun clustering around Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem.

  The testimony of the holy Israelite prophets Simeon and Anna spoke to all in the Temple who would listen that the Messiah had at last come among them. A baby had been born, the new leader of Israel as God's prophecies in the Holy Torah had long promised.

  All mourned the infant leader who had been executed by Herod - or so they thought.

  Saved from execution in His Infancy by His earthly family's flight into Egypt as refugees carrying the helpless Infant with them, Jesus now returned to the Israelite stage in the prime of His life.

  The Infant become Man confidently came to take the reins of leadership into His Hands.

  Members of the Sanhedrin and the Temple remembered past events and the rumours of a prodigy child theologian and philosopher from Nazareth who had stunned teachers with His supernatural learning and wisdom.

  Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were thoughtful and stroked their beards as they listened to the Rabbi's teachings in the Temple.

  A fresh perspective indeed, but was this teaching from God?

As they pondered, members of the royal political classes listened to Jesus' words and accepted Him as coming from God; Pilate's wife was deeply impressed by His kingly demeanour.
  Joanna, the wife of Chuza the manager of Herod Antipas' household, supported Jesus as a disciple during His travels.
  The highest levels of Jewish, Roman and Temple governances were all aware of Jesus' growing authority and influence.
  People from their ranks were following Jesus' every move, and in some cases, were following Him as disciples.

3. Moshe Rabbeinu
  Jesus was an extraordinary rabbi, but He was so much more than that.
  The Jewish people were expecting a Messiah, a deliverer; they expected a new Moses.
Many in Israel were expecting the new Moses to deliver them from Roman occupation.
  Jesus - who came in the dust of the footprints of the great Prophet Moses - realized that Moses was not only Israel's great deliverer; he was also Israel's great teacher, known as Moshe Rabbeinu, 
"Moses Our Teacher/Rabbi" - written in Hebrew as מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ
  Moses was honoured by the Jewish people for bringing them the Torah after his encounter with God on Mount Sinai.

  As Jesus set out on His Messianic task, He - like Moses - was bringing God's Word to earth.
  However, much more than that, Jesus is God's Word Incarnate.
His move from carpenter to Jewish rabbi was logical; in life and death He is our Great Teacher and Deliverer, redeeming and bringing us to new and eternal life.
  Jesus came to show in Himself the perfect Torah.
He took the guiding blueprint of the rules of the Torah, and showed us in His Life what human beings - created in God's Image - were meant to develop into.

4. Messianic King
  What was Jewish thinking about the coming Messianic King?
The Scriptures predicted the messianic king would be a great teacher of the Torah.
  The King - as first citizen of the nation - is the living embodiment of the Torah.
  The King is the holder of immense and unbridled power, and he does not rest until His people know the rigors of Torah study.
  The King is not to be above the law; He is to be the best possible role model for living out the Torah. 1

God made clear the qualities He desires in a king; 'Be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your GOD chooses ... When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law ... It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his GOD and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees.' 2

  God thus decided that the best way to teach people to be like Him was to walk the earth as a rabbi.
  He would give concrete evidence to rational minds of His credentials as Messianic King by fivefold signs of proof.
  He would complete His mission by accepting whatever fate the powers of darkness and fallen humanity would deal to Him for daring to emblazon the Truth on earth. 
  And Jesus began His mission with the first sign of proof, healing.


1. Rabbi  Meir Zlotowitz, Ruth; A New Translation with a Commentary Anthological from Talmudic, Midrashic and Rabbinic Sources [Brookly, NY; Mesorah Publications], xxxi-xxxiii]

2. Deuteronomy 17; 15-19 

Rev Catherine

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