While in the years that followed Isaiah’s prophecy the Jewish nation came to refer to this awaited ruler as the Messiah, or anointed one, the identity of the Messiah has long been an issue. History tells of numerous people over the centuries who have claimed to be the Messiah, each one rising and falling in popularity. Jewish anthropologist Raphael Patai noted “the readiness of the masses to give credence to any imposter or self-deluded dreamer who claimed to be the Messiah.” And, as could be expected, those who put their hope in a false Messianic claimant ended up in bitter disappointment. This surely shows how cautious we need to be in identifying the Messiah.

As the modern Jewish historian Abba Hillel Silver pointed out: “The first century . . . especially the generation before the destruction [of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.], witnessed a remarkable outburst of Messianic emotionalism.”

The first-century historian Flavius Josephus also reported this phenomenon, saying the following about a group of men who arose at this time: “Deceivers and impostors, under the pretence of divine inspiration fostering revolutionary changes, they . . . led [the multitude] out into the desert under the belief that God would there give them tokens of deliverance.”

While many of those in the first century who claimed to be the Messiah succeeded in attracting a large following, only Jesus of Nazareth has any popularity today.

Historically, those who claimed to be the Messiah in that era were, with the exception of Jesus of Nazareth, political revolutionaries. The Book of Jewish Knowledge states: “The extraordinary thing about these first-century claimants for Messianic distinction was that each served as a rallying point for Jewish revolt against Roman rule. Unlike Jesus, . . . the other ‘messiahs’ of that period were, without exception, militant firebrands and patriots.”