Assalamu alaikum dear readers!
In this article, I will show that Jesus fails all the criteria of the Tanach for the jewish messiah.
Introduction:
+Who is the most debated about historical figure of all time? Is it Donald Trump? Though his name is certainly pulling in a hell of a lot of traction, its not him! What about John f Kennedy? Sure, debates about his assasinaytion still rage on, but its certainly not him! What about Lionel Messi, the goat of football? That debate will never end, and he sure is the goat, sue me if you happen to think otherwise! Nevertheless, its certainly not him. Have you tried considering Jesus?
For centuries, Jesus has always been discussed by many religious groups. Every religious group acknowledges that he existed, if not that he was an ethical teacher or someone with a mission from God. But why is he so debated? Simple. Everyone’s views on him are different. While Christianity believes that he is the second person of the trinity, a God man, and the one who would die for our sins, Judaism has a completely different understanding. Jews believe that Jesus is not the jewish Messiah, and he is not in any way shape or form considered God. Their basis for rejecting him comes from their scriptures, the Tanach, IE, old testament. In this article, we will go over each and every single criteria for the jewish messiah, provide scriptural support for that criteria, and go over if Christ of the new testament passed or failed. After that, we will delve into the Islamic belief about Jesus, peace be upon him.
Clearing some things up:
Before we delve into the criteria for the messiah, we need to cover some foundational ground. Jews and Christians believe in the same concept of the messiah, with fundamental theological differences. The Christians believe in The messiah, the figure that will die for the sins of the world. The jews, however, believe in the concept of מָשִׁיחַ, mashiach, which is a specific person that is said to do several things. the old testament places more emphasis on what the Messiah will do, rather than who he is.
For the jews, there is no such thing as ha mashiach, meaning the, messiah. many people are called messiah, mashiach, see below.
Saul is called the lords anointed, מָשִׁיחַ, mashiach:
1 samuel 24:10, "Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD had given you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord , for he is the LORD’S anointed.
2 samuel 1:14, Then David said to him, "How is it you were not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy the LORD’S anointed?"
David is called the lord’s anointed, מָשִׁיחַ, mashiach:
2 samuel 22:51, "He is a tower of deliverance to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever.
2 Samuel 23:1, Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse declares, The man who was raised on high declares, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel.
Cyrus is called the lord’s anointed, מָשִׁיחַ, mashiach:
Isaiah 45:1, Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the righthand, To subdue nations before him And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut.
Now that we understand the difference between the jews and the Christians on this issue, we can get right into the first criteria.
1. Universal knowledge of God:
Scripture testifies that when the Messiah comes, everyone will know God.
Isaiah 11:9 says:
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 45:
23
By myself I have sworn,
my mouth has uttered in all integrity
a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow;
by me every tongue will swear.
24
They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
are deliverance and strength.’”
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.
Isaiah 54:13, All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace.
Isaiah 66:
18. “And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.
19. “I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations.
Geremiah 3:
17. At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.
18. In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your ancestors as an inheritance.
Ezekiel 38:23, And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’
Zacharia 8:
20. This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come.
21. and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’
22. And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.”
23. This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”
Does Jesus pass?
Though one could certainly make the case that Jesus spread the knowledge of God to other nations, and that is certainly correct, it does not match up with what is shown in the old testament.
The old testament describes people of all different nations, languages and ethnicities following a jew to go to Jerusalem to seak and honor God. This has not quite happened yet. it also describes God showing himself to many nations, which also hasn’t happened. So, I guess Jesus gets half points for this one.
2. Universal peace:
Scripture describes the messianic era as being one of universal peace and no conflict.
Isaiah 2:4:
He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
Isaiah 65:25:
The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
and dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.
Geremiah 33:
9. Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’
10. “This is what the Lord says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more,
11. the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying,
“Give thanks to the Lord Almighty,
for the Lord is good;
his love endures forever.”
For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the Lord.
12. “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate and without people or animals—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks.
13. In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord.
14. “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
15. “‘In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
16. In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.
Ezekiel 34:
25. “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety.
26. I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.
27. The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them.
28. They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid.
Does Jesus pass?
For this one, there is no ambiguity. Jesus never did any of the actions described within these passages. He never ushered in an era of universal peace on the earth. So he definitely fails this one.
3. Engather the jewish people.
Scripture states that the messiah will engather the jewish people, meaning he will regroup the jewish people that have been skattered previously.
Isaiah 11:12, He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel. he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.
Isaiah 43:
5
Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
6
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth.
See also geremiah 3:18, referenced in criteria 1.
Geremiah 31:
7 This is what the Lord says:
“Sing with joy for Jacob;
shout for the foremost of the nations.
Make your praises heard, and say,
‘Lord, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.’
8
See, I will bring them from the land of the north
and gather them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind and the lame,
expectant mothers and women in labor;
a great throng will return.
9
They will come with weeping;
they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead them beside streams of water
on a level path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,
and Ephraim is my firstborn son.
Ezekiel 37:21, say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.
Does Jesus pass?
This one isn’t up for debate. Jesus never ingathered the jewish people during his earthly ministry. The old testament describes a period in which the entirety of Israel will be regrouped from all over the earth where they once were. This is not at all what christ did. So he fails this one too.
4. Rebuild the temple:
Scripture states that the third temple will be rebuilt, and sacrifices will continue. This and the last criteria are a double wammy for Christians. You’ll see how later. Anyways, to the passages!
Isaiah 2:2, In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains. it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
Isaiah 60:7, All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple.
Isaiah 66:
20. And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels.
21. And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
Geremiah 33:
17. For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel
18. nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.’”
Ezekiel 43:
6. While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple.
7. He said: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. The people of Israel will never again defile my holy name—neither they nor their kings—by their prostitution and the funeral offerings for their kings at their death.
Ezekiel 44:15, “‘But the Levitical priests, who are descendants of Zadok and who guarded my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat and blood, declares the Sovereign Lord.
Does Jesus pass?
This one is abundantly clear. Jesus didn’t rebuild the temple, and sacrifices didn’t resume during his ministry. So, we can conclude that Jesus fails this criteria too.
5. National resurgence of torah observance, double wammy!
As stated before, this last criteria and the one before it are the most detrimental to christian doctrines about Jesus being the promised jewish messiah. See the answer to objection 2 for more details.
Geremiah 31:
31
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them, ]”
declares the Lord.
33
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34
No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
Ezekiel 36:
26. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
27. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Ezekiel 37:
21. say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.
22. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.
23. They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
24. “‘My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.
25. They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever.
26. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever.
27. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.
28. Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.’”
Ezekiel 44:
23 They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.
24 “‘In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges and decide it according to my ordinances. They are to keep my laws and my decrees for all my appointed festivals, and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy.
Does Jesus pass?
Once again, not at all! Actually, according to Christianity, Jesus doubly fails this one. You’ll see how later. However, on the outset, Jesus never brought an era in which the law would be observed nationally by Israel. As a matter of fact, according to Christianity, he did the exact opposite!
To conclude, we have gone over five criteria for what the messiah will do. We have provided scriptural basis for every criteria, and we know that Jesus never did any of the things described within these passages. Therefore, from the old testament, Jesus can never be the promised jewish messiah.
Answering objections:
Objection: How do you know that these prophecies are messianic? They never mention the term מָשִׁיחַ anywhere within them. This is just selectively picking out prophecies which go against Jesus:
Answer: There are many things to note here. First off, I quite honestly believe that any person who poses this objection is frankly ignorant on their bible. You and I both know that a prophecy does not directly have to mention the term מָשִׁיחַ to be considered messianic. Otherwise, this would eliminate all the missionary favorites. The term is nowhere mentioned in Isaiah +53, Isaiah 7, Isaiah 9, psalms 22 or Daniel 7, yet they are constantly applied to the messiah Jesus by Christians today. Furthermore, certain passages I made reference to, such as Ezekiel 37 and geremiah 33, make mention of a figure from David’s line. Christians and jews believe that the messiah will come from David’s line, so those passages are messianic. Finally, certain passages, such as Geremiah 31, Isaiah 11, and any passages within the servant songs are viewed by Christians as messianic. Therefore, its not selectively picking verses that fit with my agenda.
Objection: These prophecies will be fulfilled during Christ’s second coming.
Answer: This seems like a coppout. Never is it mentioned within the book of revelation that Christ will do these things when he returns. The book of revelation, which is filled with vivid details about Christ’s second return and what he will do then, never mentions the engathering of the jewish people, establishing universal peace for the Isrealites, rebuilding the temple and most definitely not keeping the law!
Additionally, even if I was to grant this argument, some of the actions that are described within these prophecies cannot be fulfilled in the second coming without it being a major issue for Christianity. Remember when I said that the torah observance was a double wammy? Well your about to find out how!
According to Christians, Jesus was the final sacrifice for the world’s sins. The entire message of Christianity is that none can be righteous by observing the commandments and the law of Moses, and the messiah, being Jesus, was sent down to be the final atoning sacrifice for the world’s sin. Paul had this to say about the torah.
Galatians 3:13, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”
So even if I was to grant that the other messianic prophecies will be fulfilled during the second coming of Christ, the latter ones can never be fulfilled since the law has already been repealed. Hence, all of these prophecies, even if they are to be fulfilled during the second coming, contradict the core doctrines of Christianity.
The Islamic belief:
Now that we have examined the jewish and Christian beliefs, let us examine how the quran corrects both extremes in the following verse.
Quran 4:171, O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion, and do not say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, is the Messenger of Allah, and His Word that He conveyed to Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and do not say, “Three.” Refrain—it is better for you. Allah is only one God. Glory be to Him—that He should have a son. To Him belongs everything in the heavens and the earth, and Allah is a sufficient Protector.
This quranic verse is profound as it corrects both extreme views about jesus. On one hand, the verse says, the messiah Jesus, correcting the jewish understanding that Jesus is not the messiah. However, on the other hand, it states that Jesus, peace be upon him was no more than a messenger, and the verse reprimands anyone who ascribes a son to Allah almighty, correcting the Christian extreme that Christ is a god-man who came to die for the sins of the world.
Conclusion:
To conclude, jesus Christ takes up a slot in every religion. Whether jews, who reject him and constantly defend their Tanach from constant misquoting and misinterpretations, to christians, the ones that do the misinterpreting and who view him as a god-man. However, we know that the tanach gives a criteria for what the messiah will do, and what the messianic age will bhe like, and Jesus of the new testament fulfills none of them. Finally, we know that there is no other faith that intellectually rationally can call Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, the Messiah, other than Islam.
Embrace Islam, the only one true religion of God, and the prophets.
Jesus cannot be the jewish messiah!
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by
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