The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word EMMANUEL
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
E
M
M
A
N
U
E
L
More clues leading to the result EMMANUEL
- Delivery of first Christmas meal, menu having changed
- Classic novel and French articles upset Macron?
- “The Messiah” Keano & co in the heart of the melee
- College waiter upset me first
- ‘Messiah’ Manley finally shot emu when outed?
- Man from Barcelona follows me up to college
- Cambridge college’s redesigned meal menu
- Cambridge college changed meal menu
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "The Messiah" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case the messiah = emmanuel.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.