What does it mean to call Jesus “Christ,” and what difference does it make to answer that question correctly?
That question is what lies at the heart of a new book by Kyle Idleman and Mark Moore: The Missing Messiah: The Jesus We Can No Longer Ignore. Their concern is that we have “created a personalized Savior who exists primarily to meet our individual needs, bless our lives, and guarantee our spots in heaven,” and in doing so we have “domesticated a revolutionary claim” about who Jesus really is (p. 3).
Idleman and Moore set out to correct this by helping us understand what the title “Christ” actually means, why we have a hard time appreciating its significance today, and what difference it will make when we get this right.
Summary
The book is organized in three parts, or movements as the author’s call them. The first movement focuses on seeking to understand who Jesus is as the Christ. It explores the meaning of the word “christ” and shows some of the historical factors that cause us to miss the depth and significance of this title. The aim of this section is to enlarge our understanding of Jesus as Messiah based on what that title originally meant in the world of first-century Judaism and in the Bible itself.
Part 2 sets out to show that Jesus indeed fits the bill for the Messiah. It explains the significance of the title “Son of God,” and shows all the ways Jesus exceeded the expectations for the Messiah and what he accomplishes as the Messiah. The section concludes by demonstrating that the resurrection is the indispensable validation of Jesus’ identity as the Messiah.
The book concludes in part 3 with two chapters calling us to follow Jesus. Not merely to know about him. Not simply to believe in him. But follow him as his disciples in relationship with other disciples.
Who Will Benefit Most
Although this book can be useful to pastors, especially in helping them understand why people in their church think about Jesus the way they do, I think the people who’d benefit the most from it are Christians who are looking to grow more in their faith. Whether they are newer to following Jesus or have been in the church for a while but are now more eager to learn and grow, the material covered will provide them a good introduction to who Jesus is and what it means to follow him as Messiah.
“Whether they are newer to following Jesus or have been in the church for a while but are now more eager to learn and grow, the material covered will provide them a good introduction to who Jesus is and what it means to follow him as Messiah.”
My One Critique
This book is accessible and easy to read, and it covers a lot of ground, which leads to my one major critique. The book covered such a wide range of material—the meaning of the word “Christ,” how that shows up in the Gospels, historical background from the time between the testaments, sociological assessments of our present time, some basic apologetics, and more—that it wasn’t really capable of digging into specifics. So there are a lot of broad brushstrokes and few details.
This makes the book more of an introductory survey of a number of topics related to the meaning and significance of Jesus as Messiah rather than a detailed study of any particular subject. That’s not necessarily bad; it’s just good to know what you’re getting with this book. And even though it’s more of a survey, there’s some really helpful material here.
What I Found Most Helpful
I found two chapters to be particularly useful.
Chapter 4, “Morphing the Messiah,” provides a helpful historical survey of the meaning of the word “Christ” to make this point: “Many modern Christians understand a ‘Christ’ shaped centuries of interpretation, philosophical ideas, and cultural shifts” (p. 70). The chapter covers the messianic vision among the Jews from Saul in the Old Testament through the Jewish revolt of A.D. 66. It then surveys the changes to our understanding of “Christ” from the days of Jesus and a Jewish Messiah through the Greek world up until the Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451. All of this aims to help us see how we often believe in a “christ” made in our own image. 
The next chapter, chapter 5, follows up that historical survey with a bit of sociology, showing how western individualism has reshaped our understanding of Jesus as Messiah using the acronym WEIRD (from a referenced sociological study). WEIRD refers to Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies. The chapter explores the cultural assumptions of WEIRD societies and how those assumptions have led to the present experience of a Jesus who is more of a personalized savior to meet our needs rather than King over the whole universe.
In my opinion, these two chapters were the strength of the book and provided helpful context for why people in Western cultures approach Jesus the way they do. Because of this struggle, the book regularly offered good suggestions for what people can do to recover a more accurate, biblical understanding of who Jesus is as the Messiah and what it means to follow him as such.
“The book regularly offered good suggestions for what people can do to recover a more accurate, biblical understanding of who Jesus is as the Messiah and what it means to follow him as such.”
Some of these suggestions are basic and fundamental: for example, reading the Bible regularly and learning the background and history. Some add a new twist on old things, such as reading the Bible in community with others and with people from different cultures. It emphasizes talking about following Jesus more than believing in Jesus and prioritizing submission to him. It invites us to be self-aware and self-critical, coming to terms with the limits and deficiencies of our own culture and time in history. All of these can help us come to know Jesus more fully and more accurately.
Don’t Miss the Appendices
One last note: don’t overlook the appendices of the book simply because they’re tucked in at the end. One of them includes a list of Messianic prophecies fulfilled by Jesus which is valuable. Another gives a list of New Testament citations of these prophecies. There are six appendices altogether and they’re all helpful.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a book that introduces people to what it means to say Jesus is the Messiah (which is greater than “our personal Savior”), The Missing Messiah is a helpful, readable guide. And also beneficial are the pastoral suggestions for resisting the cultural forces that often reduce our understanding of Jesus and for faithfully following Jesus as our Messiah King.
