Analysis of Jewish Messianism - Essay Example

Analysis of Jewish Messianism Messianism is a concept or belief that the world needs a saviour or redeemer. Its main idea is that the world has come to such a state that it is beyond the capabilities of normal mortals to correct itself, hence the need for divine intervention in the form of a “messiah” a redeemer or a saviour. The concept of a messiah is prevalent in many religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Zoroastrianism. The word “messiah” comes from the Hebrew word mashiah which means ‘the anointed one’.

In the Jewish tradition a messiah would be an anointed ruler descended from the Davidic line of kings who would usher in peace and prosperity in the land of Israel. Thus God’s will and His power would be vindicated and the Holy Land of Israel would be saved for the Jewish people. The messianic concept of the Christians believed Jesus to be a messiah or the Son of God. In Christianity, Daniel prophesied that a messiah would come to rebuild the Promised Land and bring peace to Israel by defeating the wicked.

The messiah would be the Son of Man and a descendant of King David and he would redeem the Holy Land from the Philistines. The hope of such a messiah can be traced in the history of the people of Israel. The main difference in the messianic concepts of Judaism and Christianity lies in the fact that in Christianity, Jesus, the messiah, suffers for the sins of man and has to die to redeem humanity and reconcile it to God’s righteousness . In Jewish messianic beliefs the messiah is the upholder of God’s justice and His supremacy.

The other point of difference is that unlike Christianity, Judaism does not believe in the resurrection. The traditional belief amongst the Christians that the messiah must suffer and die for the cause of humanity is not resonated in the Jewish faith. Also the spread of Christianity and the retaliation reeked by the Romans led the Jews to be sceptical of messiahs. The arrival of the messiah is a belief that Jews hold very dear and await God’s benediction by following a path of intense piety and puritanical rules.

To the Jews the anointed messiah would bring the world back to God’s ways, restore the religious courts of justice, gather all the exiled under the fold of the holy land, restore the line of David, and so on. When Jesus was unable to realize all these expectations, the concept of Messianism in Christianity changed from being another Jewish messianic sect to a completely new religion. Judaism does not believe that the messiah needs to perform miracles like the resurrection for his followers to have faith in him.

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