Chapter 5. 5
Jesus, Jews
And the Messiah
Judaism vs; Christian Messiah - Paul & the
Law – Judas & the Law
Political Leader – The Suffering Servant – The
Anointed One
Virgin Birth – The House of David – Jews Return – New Temple
First Word
Why did the majority of the people that
KNEW Jesus, reject His divinity in His lifetime?
Unlike today, the Jews took the doctrine of the Torah
very serious and read it often and taught it to their children both in songs
and by teaching the “WHY” of how they did different things. When words or actions were not according to the Laws of
Moses it was considered BLASPHEMOUS and could even
result in DEATH.
Today most Christians don’t regularly read their Bible and don’t care
anything about doctrine, they just rely on the preacher to tell them what they
need to know. Most Mega-churches don’t
even teach doctrine; they just teach the FEEL GOOD message; Doctrine is out.
A gang of us would do lunch with a local
pastor and discuss controversial subjects addressed in the Bible; he would say;
which side do you want me to take? WHAT? Well,
this is one of those studies that you can pick a side and
find plenty of scripture to support your BS, your Belief System; your “World View”. As a student of the Book, I can certainly see
why it is thought that Jesus did NOT embody the qualifications of the Messianic
prophecies.
Our New Covenant had not been
written down like the Torah although Peter’s scribe Mark and three
disciples, Matthew, Luke and John would later produce the “Four Gospels”.
THERE WE HAVE THE FIRST RUB -
The Mitzvot refers to the
613 commandments given in the Torah and says that these commands REMAIN BINDING FOREVER and anyone who
attempts to CHANGE the Torah is a FALSE
PROPHET.
Jesus did NOT accomplish “ALL AT ONCE”, what was
written in the Torah
therefore He was REJECTED as the
Messiah. (The
Messiah cannot miss even one point.) The Jews are still looking forward to the
coming of their Messiah.
Christianity: Jesus Himself
said that He is the Son of God and the Messiah and performed great miracles to
prove it.
Judaism: ANOTHER RUB. Personal revelation of being the Messiah is a
very weak basis for claiming Messiahship, as multiple religions have claimed
this throughout history and some tricksters and con artist have
been granted special powers just to TEST the people of
Israel.[1] Judaism is not borne out of miracles to a FEW, but to ALL of Israel as witnesses at
the bottom of Mount Sinai when God spoke out of the thunder and smoke.
There is as much suffering, pain and
tragedy in the world today as there was ever before Jesus came on the scene.
The Jews felt it seemed somewhat EVIL that a person would be damned to hell FOREVER because they
rejected the teachings of Jesus. They
had the promises of the TORAH, the Book of the Law.
LOOK; in the name of Jesus there has been the Inquisitions, the Crusades, Persecution, Slaughter and
Massacre from those who twisted
and distorted Christianity. Jesus
Himself said; “Don’t imagine that I came
to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.[2] Why in the world would
any Jew want to follow Jesus?
Judaism Messiah
Messiah in Hebrew means the “Anointed One”
which refers to a future Jewish King who would be anointed with Holy
anointing Oil to be the King of God’s Kingdom. In Judaism the Jewish Messiah is NOT considered God or the Son of God or even Divine, but is a descendent of King David; PHYSICALLY descended from the paternal Davidic line
through King David and his son King Solomon. He will be a great human charismatic POLITICAL LEADER that will strictly follow and enforce the
laws of Judaism.
The Messiah is thought to accomplish
predetermined things during ONE future arrival:
1)
He will be a descendent of King David ushering in
the Messianic Age of global universal peace.
2)
He will teach and strengthen the observance of
the written and oral laws of the Torah.
3)
He will lead Israel to fight the wars of God and
be known as “The
Anointed One”.
4)
He will rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem on
its existing foundations.
5)
He will gather in all the Jews to Israel;
unify their tribes and restore a pure speech.
Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, a Jewish
Philosopher in the Middle Ages writings were known as “Maimonides” and he wrote about
the identity of the Messiah:
1)
A king shall arise from among the House of David,
studying Torah and occupied with commandments like his father David, according
to the written and oral Torah, and he will impel all of Israel to follow it and
to strengthen breaches in its observance,
2)
And will fight God's wars, this one is to be
treated as if he were “The Anointed One”.
3)
If he succeeded and built the Holy Temple in its
proper place and
4)
gathered the dispersed ones of Israel together,
this is indeed “The
Anointed One” for certain
5)
and He will mend the entire world to worship the
Lord together, as it is stated: "For then I shall turn for the nations a clear tongue,[3] so
that they will all proclaim the Name of the Lord, and to worship Him with a
united resolve (Wikipedia)
Political Leader
The
Jews were under oppression from Rome, particularly in the area of heavy
taxation. They were praying for redemption by a
Messiah that would come and set
up a kingdom and overthrow Rome. MOST believed that Jesus was that person, and it
would happen soon.
Simon who was one of the twelve disciples was a
member of one of the fanatical groups known as the “Zelotes” and would kill a Roman in a
heartbeat. It seems that Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus was also a Zelote at heart. He believed that an economic militant kingdom
would happen shortly and that Rome would be overthrown and he wanted to force
it to happen right away. He thought that
all the disciples would be in leadership positions and receive lots of wealth,
not realizing that it was the final reward that was of the most importance.
Judas is painted as an extremist and a patriot,
one who was politically inclined, looking to Jesus to deliver them from the
oppression of Rome and thus he himself would be a part of the new governing
authority. Judas was disappointed that
Jesus did not lead them into a revolt against Rome. I can see how Satan could instill thoughts in
Judas, that maybe this Jesus was a “False Messiah” or maybe not and he would just TEST the situation.
Judas
was not from Galilee as the others were and probably felt somewhat as an
outsider and maybe a little jealous.
He had a love of money as most of his
comments were about how to get more money into the treasury, so he could
embezzle more. Jealousy, greed, bitterness and disappointment turned into spite
and a plan was
hatched to force Jesus to TAKE ACTION and lead the INSURRECTION against the oppression of Rome.
Judaism: THE RUB, the
Messiah as king will lead the nation of Israel out from under the oppression of
Rome AND HE DID
NOT.
Christian Messiah
In Christianity, the Messiah is
called “The Christ”. The
concept of the Messiah in Christianity originated from the Messiah of
Judaism, however unlike the concept in Judaism, the Messiah in Christianity is
the Son
of God who came as the “Suffering Servant” as prophesized by the
Prophet Isaiah.
Judaism: THIS IS THE NEXT RUB; The
Messiah will be a “Mortal Man” in the
linage of King David, not a demi god.
Judaism: ANOTHER RUB; Isaiah relates
at least eleven times that Israel is known as the “Servant of God”; the scriptures in Isaiah are about Israel being
bruised and crushed and suffering, NOT
about Jesus. Besides that, the Messiah
will be a King,
a Powerful Political Leader leading
an insurrection; NOT a “Suffering Servant”.[4]
The Christian Messiah returns in two parts:
1)
The Old Testament Messianic prophecies were
fulfilled in the
First part of Christ’s coming through
His Mission,
His Death
and His Resurrection.
2)
The rest of the Messianic prophecies will be
fulfilled in the Second
part of Christ’s Coming, specifically the prophecy of a FUTURE KING who would come from the Davidic
line and usher in a Messianic Age and the New World to
Come.
Judaism: ANOTHER RUB, the Messiah
comes only ONCE,
not TWICE.
Paul and the Law
Jesus got in the face of the Jewish
leaders, telling them they were all about rituals, they had forgotten love,
compassion and justice. He re-interpreted what the laws meant and that
drove them crazy. He called them white washed
tombs and a brood of viper snakes.
According to the Book of the Law, there are
specific things that the Messiah would accomplish upon His return and failure
to accomplish just one of these things pointed to a FALSE
MESSIAH. With that said, you can see how the Jews would
be so upset with someone who claimed to be the Messiah, but DID NOT DO WHAT THE LAW REQUIRED.
Saul was Born a Jew; lived in Tarsus Cilicia
and studied the Law and was a Pharisee ZEALOUS for God. He was
probably 10 years younger than Jesus as he was referred to as a young man.[5] He
was ZEALOUS in the
persecution of all the blasphemous Christian followers of THE WAY.[6]
Originally called Saul until Christ revealed himself to him on
the Damascus Road[7]
and Saul’s name was changed to Paul.[8] After
Paul’s conversion, he took the Gospel to the Gentiles as a Teacher and an
Apostle[9]
although he was NOT one of the
inner circle of the Twelve.
Anointed One
Judaism; anointing refers to the ritual of “consecrating someone” by
pouring Holy
Oil upon their head by the Levitical
Priest; the Messiah will be called the “Anointed One”.[10]
Christians believe that Jesus was anointed with Oil as was prophesied when A WOMAN poured an
alabaster jar of expensive perfumed oil over His head.[11]
Judaism; THE RUB: God would never
use a WOMAN to anoint
someone; only a
priest.
House of David
Christianity indicates that when Mary married Joseph, a
descendent of the house of David, she automatically became a descendent of the
house of David. Besides that, in the book of MATTHEW, Joseph is
mentioned in the Davidic linage,[12]
and the book of LUKE implies Mary was also in the linage of
David. LUKE describes the descendants of Heil which is Mary’s father,[13]
not Joseph’s.
Judaism: THE RUB; the Messiah will
be a descendent of the house of David,[14]
born of human
parents and not be some demi-god that possess supernatural powers. Furthermore,
descendants must
be from the father’s side, so since Jesus had no earthly father, he
could not be a descendant of King David; therefore He could NOT
possibly be the Messiah.
Virgin Birth
Christianity: A Virgin
will conceive a child called Immanuel meaning “God is with us”.[15]
Judaism: ANOTHER RUB, the word “Virgin”
is mistranslated, it actually means A
YOUNG WOMAN,
not a virgin. This Virgin concept comes
from the PAGAN
BELIEF of
mortals being impregnated by the gods.
Side Bar
In the middle ages a Jewish CHRISTIAN was required to
sign a document that committed them to GIVE UP ALL THINGS JEWISH; songs,
customs, food and traditions and change their Jewish name to a Christian name. However;
the Believing Jews wanted to be Christians, but keep their Jewish heritage Identity.
When The Jews didn’t readily accept
Christianity they were deaminized by the Christians, calling them demon
possessed, Christ Killers and anti-Christ’s.
This further separated the Jews from the Christians.
Jews
Return – New Temple
The Messiah will gather all of the Jews back from the
ends of the earth to the Land of Israel and will build the Third Temple when He
returns.[16]
Judaism: THE RUB, Jesus did not rebuild the temple nor
reestablish temple worship.
Christianity: Jesus the Messiah will establish all of this
at the second part of
His coming. When The Messiah returns He
will usher in a NEW era of world peace,
no more war; ending hatred, oppression and suffering. Bringing quiet, peacefulness, confidence of
safety; violence will disappear from the land; the desolation and destruction
of war will end. No more training and
preparation for War.
A Kabbalistic tradition within Judaism is that Messiah ben Joseph, (a son of Joseph) will gather the
children of Israel around him and lead them to Jerusalem. After overcoming the hostile powers in Jerusalem,
He will re-establish
the Temple worship and set up his own
dominion. Then
Messiah ben David (a
son of David) will usher in a period of FREEDOM and PEACE.
Judaism: THE RUB, Jesus did not bring world peace and end
violence, destruction and war.
Christianity: Jesus the
Messiah will do ALL these things at
the second part of
His coming.
Jehovah
Worshipped Universally
The Messiah will spread knowledge of the God of
Israel worldwide, uniting all humanity in the worship of the one true God. [17]
Judaism: THE RUB, Jesus did NOT cause the
knowledge of God to be spread worldwide nor cause the One Jehovah God to be
worshipped universally.
Christianity: Jesus the
Messiah will accomplish this at the second part of His coming.
Purified
Speech
The Messiah will purify the language when He
returns. The whole world will speak
Hebrew or an unknown NEW pure language.
Judaism: THE RUB, Jesus, did not bring the world to speak a new
pure language.
Christianity: The nations
will no longer use vile and vulgar language, repulsive and blasphemous talk,[18]
the nation’s languages will become pure and wholesome at the second part of the
Messiah’s coming.
Prophecies Fulfilled
If
we had to leave it with what has been said about Jesus being the
Messiah, the Christian BS; World View would be
pretty lame by just saying that, one day when Jesus returns all the other
prophecies will be fulfilled. However, I can point to at least sixteen
prophecies in the Old Testament that
Jesus as the Messiah DID fulfill as
documented in the New Testament.
PROPHECY FULLFILLMENT
1.
Zechariah
2.
Isaiah 53:7 Be
silent before accusers Matthew 27:12
3.
Isaiah 53:5 Be
scourged and wounded Matthew
27:26
4.
Isaiah 50:6 Be
smitten and spat upon Matthew
26:67
5.
Psalms
6.
Isaiah 53:12 Put
to death with criminals Matthews
27:38
7.
Psalms 22:18 Lots
cast for His garments John
19:23-24
8.
Psalms 69:21 Would
suffer thirst John
9.
Psalms 69:21 Given
gall and vinegar to drink Matthew
27:34
10. Psalms 22:1 Utter forsaken cry to God Matthew 27:46
11. Psalms 34:20 No bones would be broken John 19:33
12. Zechariah
13. Isaiah 53:9 Buried in a rich man’s
tomb Matthew 27:57-60
14. Psalms
15. Psalms 68:18 Ascend into heaven Acts 1:9
16. Psalms 110:1 Sit at the right hand of
God Hebrews 1:3
What a
difference a week makes; Great Crowds heard that Jesus was on His way to
Jerusalem and they took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!” “BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!” …“Blessed is the
king of Israel!”
Then a week later they are mocking Him,
spitting on Him, striking Him on the head and shouting CRUCIFY HIM.
John
12:12-13 – The Entry; Praise God for the King of the Jews
12 The next day, the news that
Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of
Passover visitors
13 took palm branches and went down
the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in
the name of the LORD! HAIL TO THE KING OF ISRAEL!”
(NLT)
Mark
15:18-20 – Week later; crucify the King of the Jews
18 Then they saluted him and
taunted, “HAIL! KING OF THE JEWS!”
19 And they struck him on the head
with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship.
20 When they were finally tired of
mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him
again. Then they led him away to be CRUCIFIED. (NLT)
The
Take Away
I want to jump in here to say that the
Jews took YHWH;
the God of Israel, very seriously. They would not even utter His name and for
someone to claim that they were the son of God was blasphemy and worthy of death. This is why
the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes and the Sanhedrin leaders; as well as Paul
were ready to kill Jesus and
His followers and totally eliminate the entire sect known as “The Way”.
When you reason through all the objections of Jesus being the Messiah
based on the traditions and the Belief System of Judaism, you can certainly see why Paul was so
enraged that he wanted to kill ALL the Christians,
and why Judas thought that he could put Jesus in such a position that He would
be forced to begin the insurrection against Rome.
Christianity teaches that
Jesus the Messiah will fulfill all the remaining prophecies at the second part of His Coming.
Judaism teaches that Elijah will
come first then the Messiah will come and fulfill ALL the prophecies outright;
scriptures hold NO concept of a “Coming in Two Parts”.
Christianity teaches that
John the Baptist was a Prophet of God and pointed to Jesus as the Messiah and John
had the Spirit of Elijah. Jesus
himself said that John had the spirit of Elijah.[19]
Judaism teaches that
prophecy ended with the death of the last prophets; Zechariah, Haggai and
Malachi and that Elijah will come again before the Messiah. Judaism does not recognize John the
Baptizer as a prophet because a
new prophet cannot exist until the majority of the world’s Jewish population
inhabits Israel again.
Furthermore, John the
Baptizer himself said he was NOT Elijah. John the Baptist was the Cousin of Jesus as
well as was the disciples James & John and ALL were part and
parcel of the CONSPIRACY known as “THE WAY”.
Judaism follows the
practices of the Old Covenant religion of Salvation through WORKS.
Christianity follows the New Covenant of
Salvation by GRACE, faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God. It is the WORKS of Christ that saves us from our Sins, not the WORKS of man. [20]
[1] Deuteronomy 13:1-3 – God is TESTING
you with FALSE PROPHETS
[2] Matthew 10:34 - I came not to bring peace, but a sword.
[3] Zephaniah 3:9 – Restore a clear tongue, united in worship
[4] Isaiah 53:1-12 – JESUS
was the Prophesized Suffering Servant -- Psalm 44:9-19 – ISRAEL is the Suffering Servant of
God not Jesus
[5] Acts 7:55-58 – Saul was a
YOUNG man at Stephen’s Death -- 1 Corinthians 1:27 – Saul; an UNLIKELY
candidate for an Disciple -- Acts 9:15-16 – God chooses Saul as His instrument
to carry the Gospel to the Gentiles -- 1 Corinthians 15:8 – Paul, an apostle born out
of due time -- 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 – Paul; caught up to heaven, taught
by Christ
[6] Acts 8:1-3 – Saul
persecutes the Christians, dragged them off to prison
[7] 1 Corinthians 1:27 – Saul; an UNLIKELY candidate for an Disciple -- 1 Corinthians 15:8 – Paul, an apostle born out
of due time -- Acts 9:15-16 – God chooses Saul as His instrument to
carry the Gospel to the Gentiles -- 2
Corinthians 12:2-4 – Paul; caught up to heaven, taught by Christ
[8] Acts 13:9 - Saul’s name changed to PAUL and was filled with the Holy Spirit
[9] Romans 11:13-14 – Paul an Apostle to the
Gentiles -- 1 Timothy 2:7 – Paul’s ministry; appointed as a teacher to the Gentiles -- 2 Timothy 1:10-12 –
Paul appointed to be a disciple and teacher
[10] Exodus 29:1-7 – To consecrate; a PRIEST
poured anointing Oil on the head.
[11] Mark 14:3-9 – Consecrated; a WOMAN
poured anointing Oil on the head of Jesus -- Matthew
26:6-12 – Jesus anointed with Oil by a WOMAN
for His burial
[12] Matthew 1:20 – JOSEPH
was a descendent of King David -- Matthew 1:1-16 –The LINAGE of King David was Joseph’s Son JESUS
[13] Luke 3:23-38 – HELI the father of MARY
was also a descendent of King David
[14] Isaiah 11:1 – The Messiah will be from the line of King David -- Jeremiah 23:5 – The Messiah will be a
descendant of King David -- Jeremiah
33:17 – A descendant of King David will sit on the throne forever -- Genesis 49:10 – The Ruler’s staff will not
depart from David’s descendants -- Ezekiel 34:22-24 – I will set one shepherd over them; One Ruler
[15] Isaiah 7:14 – The Virgin will conceive a child called Immanuel
[16] Isaiah 43:5-6 – The Messiah will gather ALL the Jews back to Israel -- Amos
9:13-15 – The Messiah will bring His people back to Israel and rebuild their
cities. -- Ezekiel 37:26-28 –The
Messiah will re-build the Temple
[17] Zechariah 8:23 – The World will seek out the God
of the Jews -- Jeremiah 31:33-34
– Everyone will know the God of Israel -- Hosea 2:20-22 – The World will know
God and He will answer their prayers -- Zechariah 14:9 –Jehovah God will be worshipped Worldwide -- Isaiah
2:2-3 – All Nations will worship the God of Israel
[18] Zephaniah 3:9 – No more vile vulgar or blasphemous repulsive talk
[19] Matthew 11:14 – John the Baptist had the spirit of Elijah -- John 1:19-21 – John the Baptist said he was
not Elijah re-incarnated -- 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 – The Messiah will
return a 2nd time
[20] Ephesians 2:8-9 – SAVED BY GRACE, NOT
BY WORKS
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