Never, perhaps, was the expectancy of such a teacher so confident or so general.
Fulfillment of Prophecies 'Abdu'l-Baha writes:-- When Christ appeared, twenty centuries ago, although the Jews were eagerly awaiting His Coming, and prayed ever day, with tears, saying: "O God, hasten the Revelation of the Messiah," yet when the Sun of Truth dawned, they denied Him and rose against Him with the greatest enmity, and eventually crucified that divine Spirit, the Word of God, and named Him Beelzebub, the evil one, as is recorded in the Gospel.

The reason for this was that they said: "The Revelation of Christ, according to the clear text of the Torah, will be attested by certain signs, and so long as these signs have not appeared, whoso layeth claim to be a Messiah is an impostor.

Among these signs is this, that the Messiah should come for an unknown place, yet we all know this man's house in Nazareth, and can any good thing come out of Nazareth?
The second sign is that He shall rule with a rod of iron, that is, He must act with the sword, but this Messiah has not even a wooden staff.
Another of the conditions and signs is this: He must sit upon the throne of David and establish David's sovereignty.

Now, far from being enthroned, this man has not even a mat to sit on.

Another of the conditions is this: the promulgation of all the laws of the Torah; yet this man has abrogated these laws, and has even broken the sabbath day, although it is the clear text of the Torah that whosoever layeth claim to prophethood and revealeth miracles and breaketh the sabbath day, must be put to death.