Before the Sanhedrim, in Matthew 26:63, the high priest asked Jesus, "Tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God?" In
response, He affirmed that He was the Messiah, the Son of God. His
audience understood, without a shadow of doubt, that whosoever was the
the Messiah was equally the Son of God, and being the Son of God, such a
person was in nature, equal to God. So, when Jesus told them that He
was the Messiah, they understood that He was by that claiming equality
with God. Upon this claim, the Jews exclaimed: blasphemy!
And it was on this account that He was condemned, and eventually crucified. In the Jewish religious order, the terms, Messiah, and Son of God were convertible. The Messiah is the Son of God, and the Son of God is the Messiah. This is seen in Matthew 16:16 when Peter confessed, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Whoever claims to be the Messiah was equally claiming to be the Son of God, and by implication, claiming to be God. You can't separate the two.
Toni
And it was on this account that He was condemned, and eventually crucified. In the Jewish religious order, the terms, Messiah, and Son of God were convertible. The Messiah is the Son of God, and the Son of God is the Messiah. This is seen in Matthew 16:16 when Peter confessed, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Whoever claims to be the Messiah was equally claiming to be the Son of God, and by implication, claiming to be God. You can't separate the two.
Toni
