Reflecting on Matthew 26:57-67
“Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” (Matthew 26:63)
As followers of Jesus, we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.
But what exactly do these words mean?
The word messiah means ‘anointed one’ in Hebrew.
In Greek the word is christ, a title we still use today.
For the people of Israel, this meant the coming king like David.
David was remembered as a king after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22).
He established Israel on the map, overcoming their enemies.
The people were desperate for this ‘David’ to come and restore God’s kingdom.
Does that word have the same emotional punch for us today?
The phrase ‘Son of God’ has come to mean ‘divine One’.
Our logic is, ‘if a son of man is human, a son of God is divine’.
But that is not what it meant in Bible times.
Adam was “the Son of God” (Luke 3:38), and Jesus was like him.
A God-like human being, reflecting God’s character and purpose.
Jesus is the new Adam, reclaiming authority over God’s creation.
In Jesus, we are restored as sons and daughters of God.
Jesus affirms Caiaphas’s question, but then adds something.
He calls Himself “the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One.”
The Son of Man was another great messianic hope.
From the beginning God had promises a serpent-crushing son of Adam and Eve:
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
This human offspring, or ‘son of man’ was also predicted by Daniel:
“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 peoples of every language worshiped 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)
Jesus is saying that he is the promised God-like serpent-crushing human.
He will restore God’s kingdom (like David), and it will never end.
This is blasphemy (dishonouring to God) to the religious leaders.
Not because He is claiming to be God (here He is not).
But because He is saying He represents God, that God is like Him.
His mission, His teaching, His actions are equal to God’s.
And the religious leaders rejected Him as anti-God, contrary to God’s Law.
As a Jesus follower, I believe that Jesus fully represents God’s heart.
His mission, His teaching, His actions are equal to God’s.
His humility, His grace, His compassion, His suffering — this is God!
God is not a power-asserting, sword-yielding, people-controlling warrior.
God is, according to Jesus, a humble servant king!
And this God, through this Jesus, will restore God’s kingdom.
The church today needs to recover this vision of God in Jesus.
We show we believe in Jesus as God’s messiah by following His way.
Not by making our countries great again (so-called ‘christian nationalism’).
Not by reclaiming the government and imposing God’s laws.
Not by attacking ‘sinners’ and forcing people to submit.
We are to lead and rule like Jesus, not like worldly rulers.
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)
We reign WITH Christ/Messiah when we reign LIKE Christ/Messiah.
Failure to be like servants is failure to affirm Jesus as Messiah.
And this is the failure I see in many churches today.
They are seeking to rule like the religious leaders of Jesus’s day.
Instead of crushing the serpent the Jesus Way…
They are crushing people the serpent way!
Crucifying those who they think are dishonouring God today.
We need to hear anew Jesus’s claim to be the Messiah, Son of God, Son of Man.
The God-anointed, God-like serpent-crushing kingdom-restoring servant of all!
Lord Jesus, help us to believe that Your Way is God’s Way, and therefore ought to be our Way. Help us to ‘reign’ with You, like You and for You… on our knees as humble gracious servants.
And set us free from the lie that power involves making ourselves great, and controlling others or forcing others to submit. Help us to be serpent crushers, not people crushers!