Are You the One Who Is to Come?: The Historical Jesus and the Messianic Question

Did Jesus claim to be the long-awaited "messiah"? Going against much contemporary scholarship, Australian scholar Michael Bird argues that he did. He begins by exploring the messianic expectations in the Old Testament and Second Temple Jewish literature. Next, Bird points out weaknesses in current arguments that "Messiah," or "Christ," was a title given to Jesus by the early church but not used by Jesus himself. Bird then examines the Gospels and related literature, finding in Jesus's words and actions evidence that he saw himself as the messiah described in the Scriptures of Israel and believed that Israel's restoration hinged on the outcome of his ministry.

Michael F. Bird (PhD, University of Queensland) is lecturer in theology at Ridley Melbourne Mission and Ministry College in Australia. He is also Distinguished Research Professor of Theology at Houston Baptist University. Bird is the author of Jesus and the Origins of the Gentile Mission and The Saving Righteousness of God, and is a co-contributor to the biblical studies blog "Euangelion."