THE two disciples whom John the Baptist sent to the Master faced him with the eager inquiry, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" The implication plainly is that the Messiah had long been expected; and because of the marvelous works Jesus was performing, his fame had reached John, who, desirous of learning the Master's true status, sent to inquire.
The hope of Israel for a Messiah who should come in the fullness of anticipated glory had long persisted. In the book of Genesis the Messianic hope is expressed thus: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come." As recorded in the book of Numbers, the prophet foresaw the coming thus: "A Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab." In Deuteronomy the prophecy took this form: "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee...; unto him ye shall hearken." In definite terms Isaiah and Malachi foretold the coming of the Messiah, who should establish a kingdom of glory. Yet none, it seems, foresaw the form and manner of the coming. Many who observed the works of Jesus were convinced that at last the ancient Messianic hope had been fulfilled, even though the manner of that fulfillment was very unlike the traditional concept. When Jesus fed the multitude from a few loaves and a few fishes, this assurance found expression in these words: "This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world." The ancient concept of the Messiah more commonly held was of a kingly man who should restore Israel's ancient glory and temporal power. Christian Science presents another view, however, which perfectly clarifies the situation.
In "No and Yes" (p. 46) Mrs. Eddy raises the question whether the future shall have a type of Christianity to heal the sick, or cling to material remedies and a superficial religion. "The advancing hope of the race, craving health and holiness, halts for a reply," she declares; "and the reappearing Christ, whose lifegiving understanding Christian Science imparts, must answer the constant inquiry: 'Art thou he that should come?'" The reappearing Christ, revealed and elucidated through Christian Science, is answering this question affirmatively; and in proof thereof, after the manner of Jesus' reply to the messengers of John, the demonstrators of spiritual truth to-day attest the Messiah's presence; for the sick are healed, the blind made to see, the deaf to hear, and the so-called dead are wakened to a new and higher sense of life, through the life-giving understanding of the Christ-presence.
