Short answer: Yes.
Way longer answer: He does, but he never states the specific words
John 4.25-26, 28-29 GNT - 25 The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah will come, and when he comes, he will tell us everything.”
- 26 Jesus answered, “I am he, I who am talking with you.”
- 28 Then the woman left her water jar, went back to the town, and said to the people there, 29 “Come and see the man who told me everything I have ever done. Could he be the Messiah?”
Jesus’s statement can either be translated “I’m the one talking to you” or “I am; the one talking to you.” But either way he clearly means he’s the Messiah of whom
Likewise when Jesus’s best student Simon Peter also identified him as Messiah:
Matthew 16.13-17, 20 GNT - 13 Jesus went to the territory near the town of Caesarea Philippi, where he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
- 14 “Some say John the Baptist,” they answered. “Others say Elijah, while others say Jeremiah or some other prophet.”
- 15 “What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”
- 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
- 17 “Good for you, Simon son of John!” answered Jesus. “For this truth did not come to you from any human being, but it was given to you directly by my Father in heaven.”
- 20 Then Jesus ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Again, Jesus doesn’t straight-up call himself Messiah, and doesn’t need to: Peter did. And Jesus praised him, and told him he got this knowledge from the Father; it’s true. He never tells his students Peter was wrong; in fact why would he say laudatory things about Peter if he were wrong?
But: Shut up about it. We’re keeping this info private for now.
But it certainly was no secret. Plenty of other people recognized Jesus is Messiah, and used all the usual biblical euphemisms for Messiah there was.
Messiah (Heb.
So Israelis would call Jesus “king.”
People also called Jesus “son of God.”
Psalm 2.7-9 GNT - 7 “I will announce,” says the king, “what the Lord has declared.
- He said to me: ‘You are my son;
- today I have become your father.
- 8 Ask, and I will give you all the nations;
- the whole earth will be yours.
- 9 You will break them with an iron rod;
- you will shatter them in pieces like a clay pot.’ ”
Once you learn Messiah means king, and learn to recognize all this Messianic language, when you read the gospels you’ll see it everywhere. Doesn’t matter how much Jesus tried to keep it quiet.
Those people who say Jesus never did.
As I point out
Since the gospels are historical documents, what these Historical Jesus revisionists are doing is basically the opposite of historical. But they’re doing it anyway, because they don’t wanna follow him, want nothing to do with Christians, and probably wanna sell a few books, or promote their own
The reason I bring ’em up is because every so often, one of the Historical Jesus claims winds up worming its way into popular culture, and even Christendom. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Revisionists love to point out baby Jesus wasn’t really visited by magi while he was still in the manger, regardless of what nativity crèches display.
But sometimes one of their false claims burrow into Christians’ heads, and we gotta help correct our fellow Christians. And the most common false claim I bump into is the one where Jesus never called himself Messiah. “Really, he never did,” skeptics insist; “go check your bible.” So Christians do—and lo and behold, Jesus never does use the precise words, “I’m Messiah.”
And since he never said it… maybe he isn’t?
No; stop that. It’s an old attorney’s stunt to say, “Since he never said these precise words, it means he never said such a thing.” Incorrect. Jesus did say such a thing. Several times. Without using the words, “I’m Messiah.”
Most attorneys are familiar with basic logic. (Most had to study it in law school!) They’re fully aware “He never said these precise words” is a fallacious argument. But they use it anyway. ’Cause they took logic, but juries haven’t always. And sometimes judges were appointed by stupid presidents, so they’re not too bright either, and let “he never said these precise words” slide as if it’s a valid argument. It’s not.
That excuse certainly didn’t work on
Mark 14.60-64 GNT - 61 But Jesus kept quiet and would not say a word. Again the High Priest questioned him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed God?”
- 62 “I am,” answered Jesus, “and you will all see the Son of Man seated at the right side of the Almighty and coming with the clouds of heaven!”
- 63 The High Priest tore his robes and said, “We don't need any more witnesses! 64 You heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?”
- They all voted against him: he was guilty and should be put to death.
Matthew and Luke tell slight variations to this story, but the gist is the same: The senators condemned Jesus because he said he’s their Messiah. Which isn’t a crime if he is Messiah, and he is; but like the skeptics, the senators absolutely couldn’t believe him, and their only alternative was Jesus slandering God by claiming he’d anointed him as their king. And back then this’d get you the death penalty.
“Messiah” a dangerous claim.
In first-century Israel you couldn’t simply say, “I’m Messiah.” Because other people considered themselves Messiah.
Freedom of speech is a recent invention. The first governments to guarantee it were the individual states of the United States, during our Revolution. Outside the countries which guarantee freedom of speech, people get arrested for the political things they say. Not even the truth is any defense: If truth embarrasses anyone, especially people in power, it’s wrongly called “libel” and you suffer consequences. Remember, Herod Antipas threw John into prison for stating (correctly!) Antipas’s marriage violated the Law.
This is the world Jesus lived in. It’s why he constantly resorted to
True, Jesus isn’t any sort of Messiah or king like the Jews or Romans expected. But their misunderstanding doesn’t prevent Jesus from accepting these titles. And his acceptance of the title gave the Judean senate and the Romans a valid excuse to kill him.
This being the case, those who claim, “Jesus never called himself Messiah” simply have no leg to stand on. Not historically. They’re basing their statement on something other than history. Personal bias, another religion, or a lack of respect for the gospels as historical documents. But certainly not history.
