It's commonly maintained that Isaiah 53 was never considered messianic by rabbis and Jewish sages. Sometimes the statement is phrased as, "Judaism teaches" that Isaiah 53 refers to the nation of Israel. The fact is that Isaiah 53 (more precisely, 52:13 to 53:12) has been interpreted in messianic terms by…
Modern Judaism eschews the idea that a man can be God, and this is often cited as an objection to the messiahship of Jesus. But Zechariah forces us to consider the validity of this objection, as the prophet repeatedly refers to the Messiah-king figure as Lord." Zechariah 14:9: "The Lord…
Written by Barry Rubin Oftentimes, Jews who come to believe in Jesus are told by their unbelieving families, "If you'd only known more about Judaism, if you'd only studied your own religion, you never would have come to believe this way." My parents never said that to me because, before…
Written by Garrett Smith How can we reconcile the two very ways in which the Jewish scriptures portray the messiah? View PDF version Literature throughout the ages is replete with stories of mysterious and enigmatic kings, cryptic characters whose rule is often full of uncertain sorrows, yet strangely hopeful. Aragorn,…
Written by Rachmiel Frydland The subject was never discussed in my pre-war-Poland Hebrew school. In the rabbinical training I had received, the fifty-third chapter of the book of Isaiah had been continually avoided in favor of other, weightier" matters to be learned. Yet, when I first read this passage, my…
Written by Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum More than any other book of the Hebrew Scriptures, the writings of the prophet Daniel confront us with evidence of the time of Messiah's coming—evidence that many people would rather not see. But it is there and cannot be ignored. That Daniel was indeed a…
Where the Messiah would be born. But as for you Bethlehem, Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from You one will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from everlasting. (Micah 5:1 in the Hebrew Scriptures; in…
Written by Susan Perlman A point by point look at Jesus' claims, attitudes, actions and how he has effected the world. Would you be surprised to hear a prominent Jewish leader make the following statement? Most portrayers of the life of Jesus neglect to point out that Jesus is in…
It is important to begin by saying that for one who has already made up his or her mind that Jesus is not the Messiah, no amount of evidence will be convincing. But for those who are honest in asking, the evidence speaks for itself. When sincerely asked, this question…
Some say...there is no real evidence that he ever existed We disagree with Jane Kathryn Conrad's letter in view of the following: (Adapted from Appendix 6 of the book, Y'shua, the Jewish Way to Say Jesus.) Josephus Jewish Antiquities (c.93 C.E.) (later interpolations in brackets) "Now, there was about this…