The prophets of the Old Testament completed their work in about 400 B.C. They had spoken often of the coming King, also called the “Messiah,” a Hebrew term meaning the “Anointed.” In Israel’s tradition, the nation’s leaders were appointed or officially recognized by having oil poured on their heads, that is, they were anointed. The same term in Greek is “Christ.” Among predictions about the future leader, perhaps the most intriguing came in the closing pages of the Old Testament:
[The Lord says,] “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple.” (Malachi 3:1)
For whom will the messenger prepare? Me, says the Lord God (YHWH). Is the Lord coming in person? What about the preparing messenger, how will he be recognized? The prophet Malachi says more:
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. (Malachi 4:5 cf. Isaiah 40:3-5)
During the 400 years when no prophet wrote, copies of the completed Old Testament were spreading across the Mediterranean world, speeded by its version in Greek, the common language of that time. More and more people were looking for the arrival of the “messenger” and, after him, “the Lord.” Expectations grew. Excitement was high.