The whole shape of the tradition indicates that Jesus—in contrast to other figures in Jewish history of the era, such as Bar Kochba—persistently refused to claim that he was the Messiah (cf. John 10:24). His whole message entailed a rejection of the violence and nationalism implied in the popular understanding of that title. Yet his words and deeds incited in the people a vivid expectation that he might, after all, be the one who would deliver Israel. There is a deep irony here. One might almost see Jesus as a victim crushed between the jaws of opposing historical forces.
