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Why do Christians Believe Jesus was the Messiah?
Christians believe Jesus was the Messiah; the person who would be sent by God to save the world. But where do they get this belief from? The clues are in the Old Testament.
The Bible's 'Big Story'
The Old Testament tells us about the Fall, when sin entered the world after Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God. Because of this, humans were not close to God anymore; sin meant they were far away from him.
Throughout the Old Testament, we read about the prophets who tried to tell the Israelites to live good lives, staying close to God. They also predicted a saviour would come to rescue the Israelites and all of humanity. This saviour would restore the broken relationship that humans had with God.
Israel's History
Israel's history is also recorded in the Bible. From the Fall onwards, Israel experienced great trouble. There were many wars, and eventually, they were conquered by the Babylonians, who took them as prisoners to Babylon, where they were made to work for their enemies.
They kept going though because the prophets promised them that a saviour - the Messiah - was coming to save them and restore them back to Israel. Through the Messiah, the Israelites would be an example of how people across the world could become close to God.
Jesus' Birth
Jesus was born in Israel, around 600 years after Israel was conquered by the Babylonians. At the time Israel was ruled by the Romans. Many Israelites still held onto the belief that a Messiah was coming to rescue them, they hoped from the Romans.
Christians believe that this person was Jesus because he fulfilled so many of the Old Testament prophecies. They believe that the Old Testament prophets were talking about a spiritual rescue, rather than a warrior who would rescue them from their conquerors. Jesus came to take the punishment of all humans. Through Jesus' death on the cross, everyone can experience forgiveness if they choose to accept Jesus and, once again, be close to God.
Many Israelites did not believe Jesus was the Messiah and still await their saviour to this day. The Israelites who did believe Jesus was the Messiah became the first Christians!
The Bible contains lots of clues, which Christians believe show that Jesus was the Messiah. You can read some of these clues here.