Who do you say that Jesus, or Yeshua, is? Myth, prophet, philosopher, social reformer, or... Messiah and son of God? Your answer determines the way you think and live your life. 

  "You are the Messiah,..." To say that He was anything other than Messiah falls short. Christians most often use the title "Christ", which is taken from the Greek translation of Messiah. I actually prefer "Messiah", because I think the word communicates an idea that reaches outside of the boundaries of typically defined Christianity. The concept of Messiah was hinted at from the very beginning, when God cursed the serpent, or Satan.

 "...AND BETWEEN THY SEED AND HER SEED; IT SHALL BRUISE THY HEAD, AND THOU SHALT BRUISE HIS HEEL" (in Genesis 3:15). 

Thereafter, within an Old Testament that spoke to us about the birth and rise of the nation of Israel, the concept of Messiah was represented in symbols and shadows. At the pinnacle of the nation's existence, Messiah was whispered between the lines of the songs and poems of King David. Later came the time of exile and captivity (Babylonian), when prophets came forth and spoke specific prophecies of Messiah's coming - even telling us when. Then, when it was time, He came to us. It took about 4000 years for humanity, a nation, no... a bloodline, to be far enough removed from the original curse to where our Holy God could literally step into humanity. The point of this readiness was Mary, but it began with Eve. Messiah, so important to humanity. 

So many religions speak of Messiah, even though the others do so incompletely or in error. To make a point, I will use water as a symbol for human thought: The great rivers of thought that we call Judaism, Christianity, and Islam diverge and then converge again at the point of Messiah. The Buddhisms are great lakes of denial for the need of Messiah and say, "we make our own path to enlightenment". Even so, the Buddhisms speak of the rock that is Messiah, which skips across its surface  creating ripples in the water. So, Messiah is denied... yet acknowledged. The flows of Hinduism are the same in this, as were/are most of the other pools of paganism. 

And what of this modern sea of science, with its ever shifting tides of sensory-based conclusions? It serves humanity. But in its depths is another kind of religion, with its own "preachers" and "leaps of faith". Such damnable depths drown even the most learned among us. And now, in this age of expanding liberalism and individualism, individual drops of consciousness form an ocean of collective denial, each drop denying Messiah in his or her own individual way.

But we need Messiah. Since the dawn, even in our average, everyday tales there is the time-honored place of hero, or savior. It is imprinted on our DNA - we need to be saved! You doubt this? Look around.