Are You the Messiah?

Gospel: John 10: 22-30

Jesus never directly states that he is the Messiah of God.  Even when directly asked in today's Gospel portion, Jesus merely refers those who ask to the works he performs.  The Messiah was said to be the healer of the nation, the liberator of Israel, and the provider for the people.  Jesus went about healing people of their infirmities, liberating them from their demons and what possessed them, and feeding people at table and in fields.  The works seemed to fit the title.

However, people in Jesus' day saw the works as a means to an end rather than the end itself.  They saw the healings and such as all well and good, but for them the important thing was to turn that work into what they saw as the real work - the use of political and military power to oust the Romans from the region and restore the kingdom of Israel.  At that point, in their view, these works of healing, exorcism, and feeding are no longer important or necessary.

But for Jesus, the works of healing, liberation, and nourishing are the end in itself.  That is the work of the Messiah, not the political and military aims.  Since that time, the debate over the Messiah continues along the same lines.  Many would use Jesus' works for political and military ends, while others see the healing, liberating, and nourishing as the work itself.  The example of Jesus makes clear what the authentic answer to the question is in every time and place.