How did the apsotles know Jesus was the Messiah

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what do catholics believe?

what i would like to know is this, how did the contemporaries of Jesus know that he was the messiah?

what led them to claim that he was the promised deliverer?
 
I’m in the dark and on my way out so I can’t find the verse but somebody will be here in a moment to do it. When Jesus asked his disciples directly Who do men say I Am? they responded, some say Elijah or John the Baptist. He asked, Who do you say that I AM? Peter responded you are the Messiah. Jesus said, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father. God revealed the Truth to those who needed to know it, when they needed it, and charged them with the task of proclaiming the Truth to the world. In the Transfiguration Jesus demonstrated the way in which this truth was gradually imparted to the apostles, and the fact that they came to the full realization of the meaning of this revelation in stages. It is really more helpful if we keep posts in the proper forum because it is hard to track them for ongoing discussion.
 
There are numerous instances in the Bible where the apostles professed that Jesus was God. You have one example already where Peter professed that he was the Christ. Some others: After the resurrection Jesus appeared to all but Thomas and Thomas doubted. At this next appearance when Thomas was present, he offered the wounds to put his hands into and Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God”. When Christ first described the Eucharist he asked the apostles if they too wished to leave and Peter professed that he had the words of eternal life, clearly a reference to his divinity. When John and Andrew first mentioned Christ to Peter, they claimed to have found the Messiah. There are many other references as well. Also, look at the Acts of the Apostles where they lived their faith after Christ ascended into heaven and read what they preached, some to the point of being killed. Lastly, if you look at the writings of the early Church fathers (those who were contemporaries of the original apostles or one generation removed) you will see that they universally believed in Christ’s divinity (although there were some early heretical beliefs about the exact nature of that divinity).
 
algebra said:
… what led them to claim that he was the promised deliverer?
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There are some good ideas already posted, but I think here are a couple more…
  1. In the New Testament, we read that the Pharisees had asked Jesus for a miracle, but He indicated that the only miracle to be given is that of the sign of Jonah, who spent 3 days and 3 nights in the big fish. Like Jonah, He too will spend 3 days and 3 nights, but in the “depths of the earth” (see Mt 12:40).
  2. Recognising that the crucifixion took place at Passover was a sign that Jesus was the sacrificial lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (see Jn 1:29 and 1 Co 5:7).
 
Note that Jesus told the Samaritan Woman [John 4], that He was the Messiah. I wonder how the Evangelists learned of that conversation?
 
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