Were there "others" like Jesus?
I.) Were you aware that Jesus was not the only person who was claimed to have been born in a less than "normal" manner?
(a) Siddartha Gutama, or the original Buddha, was said to have been born after his mother dreamed of him entering her womb as an elephant.
(b) Romulius and Remus, the founders of Rome, were said to have been reared by wolves.
(c) Cyrus the Great, the King of the Persian Empire which liberated the Israelites from the Babylonina Exile in 539 CE, was said to have been born miraculously.
*** Cyrus also holds a distinctive place in the Bible...he is the ONLY NON Israelite to be referred to as the MESSIAH (Isaiah 45:1)
II.) Was Jesus the only messiah? What does the term really mean?
NO. Jesus was not the only person to be called the messiah in ancient times.The term originated in Hebrew under the form māšîah (or in Aramaic meshîha) which simply meant “anointed one.” This anointing was accomplished through the use of oil which was poured on the head of the one chosen and did not necessarily have any specific import. The term Christ is derived from the Greek christos which in turn is derivative from the Hebrew māšîah.
Therefore the very name Jesus "Christ" is more than a personal name; it is an implicit theological statement about Jesus that was made by his followers. Prior to the use of this title for Jesus as if it were an exclusive title, three specific offices were designated as worthy of, or commissioned by this anointing: kings, priests and prophets.
King: The essence of this Davidic king-messiah would be to rescue Israel from exile and servitude, oppression and war and to deliver the people to God in a manner pleasing to God. (The annointing of David, 1 Samuel 16:6-13)
Priest: The rite of anointing the high priest appears in the Priestly writings of the Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles 29:22; Sirach 45:15; and Leviticus 4:3,5,16 as examples.The meaning of this anointing is disputed today with two main proposals offered. First, the standard approach is that the anointing of the high priest signified the rite of cleansing and consecration to the holy office itself. The second position seeks to establish the possible connections between the anointing of the king and high priest in some sort of combination of the priestly and royal traditions.
Prophet: The office of the prophet is the least mentioned office in connection to the idea of anointing; it appears in only 2 places in the OT (1 Kings 19:16 and Isaiah 61:1). Because of the paucity of information in the OT regarding the use of anointing with the office of prophet, it appears as if this ritual never became a standard initiating practice for those who served the function of prophets
(a) Siddartha Gutama, or the original Buddha, was said to have been born after his mother dreamed of him entering her womb as an elephant.
(b) Romulius and Remus, the founders of Rome, were said to have been reared by wolves.
(c) Cyrus the Great, the King of the Persian Empire which liberated the Israelites from the Babylonina Exile in 539 CE, was said to have been born miraculously.
*** Cyrus also holds a distinctive place in the Bible...he is the ONLY NON Israelite to be referred to as the MESSIAH (Isaiah 45:1)
II.) Was Jesus the only messiah? What does the term really mean?
NO. Jesus was not the only person to be called the messiah in ancient times.The term originated in Hebrew under the form māšîah (or in Aramaic meshîha) which simply meant “anointed one.” This anointing was accomplished through the use of oil which was poured on the head of the one chosen and did not necessarily have any specific import. The term Christ is derived from the Greek christos which in turn is derivative from the Hebrew māšîah.
Therefore the very name Jesus "Christ" is more than a personal name; it is an implicit theological statement about Jesus that was made by his followers. Prior to the use of this title for Jesus as if it were an exclusive title, three specific offices were designated as worthy of, or commissioned by this anointing: kings, priests and prophets.
King: The essence of this Davidic king-messiah would be to rescue Israel from exile and servitude, oppression and war and to deliver the people to God in a manner pleasing to God. (The annointing of David, 1 Samuel 16:6-13)
Priest: The rite of anointing the high priest appears in the Priestly writings of the Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles 29:22; Sirach 45:15; and Leviticus 4:3,5,16 as examples.The meaning of this anointing is disputed today with two main proposals offered. First, the standard approach is that the anointing of the high priest signified the rite of cleansing and consecration to the holy office itself. The second position seeks to establish the possible connections between the anointing of the king and high priest in some sort of combination of the priestly and royal traditions.
Prophet: The office of the prophet is the least mentioned office in connection to the idea of anointing; it appears in only 2 places in the OT (1 Kings 19:16 and Isaiah 61:1). Because of the paucity of information in the OT regarding the use of anointing with the office of prophet, it appears as if this ritual never became a standard initiating practice for those who served the function of prophets
