The Christian Presentation of Jesus as the Messiah

Through the long process of polemic activity, Judaism has narrowed down the scope of the Hebrew Scriptures until very few passages are considered Messianic. The early Jewish Messianic thought was quite different from this. As demonstrated earlier, much of the material covered in this chapter was traditionally accepted as Messianic in nature by the ancient interpreters. It is therefore evident that the Christian exegesis of the Hebrew prophecies was not a Gentile Christian invention, but rather was in agreement with many of these older rabbinic sources. The present Jewish polemic material which denies these passages and their Messianic application, is not only attacking the Christian faith but ancient Judaism as well.Judaism has learned in its struggle with Christianity that the most successful way to resist the evidence for Jesus’ Messiah-ship is to simply deny the Messianic nature of the Scriptures which have found fulfillment in Him. Many within Judaism (Reform Judaism) totally deny the personality of the Messiah and instead view the Messianic prophecies as finding fulfillment in a Messianic Age or Influence. This has been, in their case, the easiest and most effective means of denying Jesus and His Messianic qualifications. Nevertheless, this does not change the truly remarkable manner in which Jesus has completed and fulfilled many prophetic predictions. The Scriptures stand as a cornerstone of evidence revealing that Jesus is truly the Messiah. If one honestly examines the passages presented in this presentation, I believe that a verdict will be reached that Jesus of Nazareth is the Anointed One, the Messiah of Israel .The summation of all of these Messianic predictions can be presented in the following (8) historical facts.Eight Clear Prophetic and Historical Signs that Point to Jesus (Yeshua) as the Messiah of the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus was born in the Judean town where the Messiah was prophesied to come from – Micah 5:2.Jesus was born into the exact time period predicted by the witness of the prophets – Isaiah 11:1; Daniel 9:24-27; Malachi 3:1; Haggai 2:7-9.Jesus was preceded by a messenger – Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1-3.Jesus was a miracle-worker of an unprecedented nature in accordance with the Scriptures – Isaiah 11:2; Isaiah 61:1,2.Jesus was rejected, forsaken and betrayed by His own people and friends – Zechariah 13:7; Isaiah 53:3; Psalm 41:9.Jesus suffered, died and was buried in exacting detail as predicted in the Scriptures – Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22.Jesus rose from the dead and defeated death according to the Scriptures – Psalm 16:10; Psalm 68:18; Psalm 110:1.Jesus is the great light and witness of the true and living God to all people – Isaiah 46:9; Isaiah 42:6,7; Isaiah 9:1,2.Within these (8) categories are numerous historical details that have taken place in the life of Jesus and these facts are what form the basis of faith in Jesus Christ.A description in one word for the Christian faith is facts. The Christian message rests on the facts recorded in the New Testament. A description in one word for Judaism is tradition. Whether one is speaking of Judaism in light of the Reform, Conservative or Orthodox traditions, the very core of Judaism will still be tradition.The Christian appeal to Judaism asks that the facts of Jesus’ life and ministry be examined and not refused for the sake of tradition. Is the Gospel true? Is Jesus the Messiah spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures? Did Jesus rise from the dead? These questions must be answered honestly and without traditional bias by the genuine seeker of truth.The Three Steps of the Gospel Presentation:There are three steps that should be used in a defense and a proclamation of the Gospel. First, the historical reliability of the Gospels must be established. Second, the Messianic prophecies that have found fulfillment in Jesus should be presented. And third, the factual truthfulness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ should be demonstrated.The Historicity of the Gospels.There are those who exam these (8) prophetic/historical signs presented here (and the list of 63 prophecies stated earlier) and yet still do not believe that Jesus is the predicted Jewish Messiah. So we have to ask the questions: It is possible that all of these Scriptural witnesses are merely coincidence or a part of some kind of “proof-texting” process? Could all of this be simply the result of deceptive and false narratives created by the writers of the New Testament?The reality of history confirms that nothing like this happens by coincidence and if proof texting did take place, it would certainly become evident as the historicity of the New Testament documents are tested and examined. Yet when we look at the historical reliability of the New Testament records, they are not only based on early eyewitness testimony, but they have all of the earmarks of reliable historical narratives. ( See the article – Are the New Testament Gospel Documents Reliable?)Judaism reacts to the New Testament with traditional unbelief and skepticism. The unbelieving Jewish person refuses the historicity of the New Testament and on this basis rejects the Messiah-ship of Jesus and the application of the Hebrew prophecies in relationship to Him. The Christian, on the other hand, responds to the New Testament with believing faith which is based on the historical facts of the Gospel. The Christian then interprets the Hebrew prophecies concerning the Messiah through the light of these New Testament facts. Receiving Jesus as Messiah, Savior and Lord requires believing the facts concerning Him that are found in the New Testament. The Christian apologetic to Judaism must then start by establishing the historicity of the New Testament documents. In the article “ Are the New Testament Gospel Documents Reliable? , material is provided which attempts to demonstrate that the New Testament documents are reliable and trustworthy, fully supported by archaeological and historical data. If the historicity of the New Testament is rejected, to be consistent, one must likewise reject all of ancient history as well, because the New Testament has as great a support for its historicity as that of any historical document of equal date.

Messianic Prophecies

The next step in the apologetic approach is to demonstrate that the Hebrew prophecies did indeed find fulfillment in Jesus and were not the result of proof texting or manipulating of Scripture. The Old Testament prophecies found fulfillment in Jesus because the historical facts of Jesus’ life were predicted by the Hebrew prophets. It is very easy to simply assert that the writers of the New Testament created a caricature of Jesus and that the result of this was the production of the mythological New Testament Gospel documents. But there are many problems with this assertion. There is very good evidence that the writings of the New Testament were based on eyewitness testimony.The New Testament Gospel documents were all written within 30-50 years of Jesus’ life and ministry. There were too many contemporaries alive during this time (both pro and con) that would have served as a correcting influence against the development of non-truthful information regarding Jesus.The short time span between the composition of the Gospel and the life of Jesus (30-50 years) would not have allowed for the development of myth-like traditions regarding Jesus to have formed. Mythologies (based on proof texting in this case) generally require much more time than this to fully develop. The New Testament documents were circulated throughout both the Jewish and Gentile churches during the first century. This open dissemination of material provided ample opportunity for the early living witnesses of the life of Jesus to have confronted and corrected any false and misleading information about Him.The truthful assertions of the writers of the New Testament regarding their narratives and the willingness to die if necessary for the factual nature of what they were reporting speaks loudly against the deception of proof texting.The primary intellectual basis for the attacks by liberal scholars against the historicity of the New Testament is based on the presumption that “miracles do not happen”. Any document that contains miraculous narratives, such as the New Testament, is on this basis rejected. However, this exact same approach is taken by liberal scholarship in its rejection of the historicity of the Hebrew Scriptures. The miracles recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures disqualifies it from any consideration by these scholars. The majority of Jewish (Orthodox and Conservative) polemicists would defend the Hebrew Scriptures against these very same “anti-miraculous” arguments that are used against the New Testament. When the Jewish polemicists use the “proof texting arguments” proposed by liberal New Testament scholars, they are not being consistent with their own positions. In this examination, a number of Hebrew Scriptural passages applied to Jesus in the New Testament are examined. The Christian exegesis of these Messianic passages is both explained and defended and also supported by ancient rabbinical interpreters. In no manner is the Christian interpretation fallacious historically or contextually nor is it inconsistent with the methodology of early 1st and 2nd century Jewish Messianic thought. When the Christian exegesis of the Hebrew prophecies is coupled with the historical reliability of the New Testament, the verification of the Scriptural fulfillment in Jesus as Messiah is strengthened. The fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies in the person of Jesus of Nazareth is on this basis, well established.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The last step in this Gospel apologetic approach is to present the resurrection of Jesus. This is essentially the key to this evidential presentation; therefore, it will be covered in some detail. The New Testament claims that Jesus died for our sins and that He rose again from the dead. The writers of the Gospels serve as the eyewitness sources for this event (John 20:24-31; Acts 1:1-3; I John 1:1-3.)The evidence of the origin and growth of the Church also points as a witness to the factual nature of the resurrection. The Church began about A.D. 33 in the city of Jerusalem and survived amidst persecution and hostile attitudes. 144 If the resurrection events were not true, the declarations regarding its truthfulness in the very city of the actual occurrence, would have been quickly diffused and dismissed. But instead, 3,000 people believed after hearing the Gospel message given by the Apostle Peter (Acts 2:41) and the church grew to 5,000 believers a few days later (Acts 4:4). The book of Acts reports that multitudes of people within and around Jerusalem believed the truthfulness regarding the resurrection (Acts 5:12-16; 6:7,8). If the resurrection was not true, hostile eyewitnesses with the support of the Roman and Jewish leadership, most certainly would have presented evidence of this deception, such as finding and presenting the body of Jesus. However, no such action took place.Historical evidence, such as the worship by Christians on the first day of the week (the day of Christ’s resurrection) also indicates the importance and general belief by the early Church of the resurrection event. The early Christians were Jews, who rigidly held to the observance of the Sabbath. Yet they were willing to change their day of worship from Saturday (Sabbath) to Sunday (resurrection day), despite their long-held tradition, for one reason: to honor Christ on the day that He rose from the dead.The ordinances of water baptism and communion (which identify with Christ’s death and resurrection) date back into the early Church, before the establishment of the New Testament canon of Scripture. 145 The reason these ordinances originated and survived is because they found their meaning in the historical fact of Jesus’ death and resurrection.The lives of the disciples were also drastically changed by the resurrection. During the days surrounding the crucifixion, the disciples were fearful and lacked the courage to follow Jesus. But after the resurrection, nothing could stop their bold proclamation of Christ. Reliable church history reveals that eleven of the twelve apostles went on to die for the faith that they preached. 146The conversion of skeptical men as Thomas, Saul (Paul) and James, also points to the fact that the evidence for the resurrection fully persuaded non-believers.A final evidence for the resurrection is the changed and transformed lives of thousands of people who have trusted and believed in the living Messiah as their resurrected Savior and Lord.When all of this evidence is examined, the conclusion is that the resurrection did take place and it verifies that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.Pinchas Lapide, an Orthodox Jewish scholar, agrees with the evidence presented here and asserts that Jesus did rise again from the dead. He believes that Judaism and Christianity are two roads which both lead to God. He has written a book in which he relates that Jesus became through his death and resurrection, the Messiah and Savior of the Gentiles. 147 He says,“Without the resurrection of Jesus, after Golgotha, there would not have been any Christianity.” 148… Thus, according to my opinion, the resurrection belongs to the category of the truly real and effective occurrences, for without a fact of history, there is no real act of true faith. In other words: Without the Sinai experience – no Judaism; without the Easter experience – no Christianity. Both were Jewish faith experiences whose radiating power, in a different way, was meant for the world of nations. For inscrutable reasons, the resurrection faith of Golgotha was necessary in order to carry the message of Sinai into the world.” 149He continues and says,“Jesus, therefore, without doubt belongs to the praeparatio messianica of the full salvation which is still in the future. He was a “paver of the way for the King Messiah” as Maimonides calls him, but this does not mean that his resurrection makes him the Messiah for the Jewish people.” 150Lapide said concerning the return of Jesus as the Messiah of Israel, “I cannot imagine that even a single Jew who believes in God would have the least thing against that…. Should the coming one be Jesus, he would be precisely as welcome to us as any other person whom God would designate as the redeemer of the world. If he would only come.” 151It is refreshing to see an Orthodox Jewish scholar who has examined the evidence for the resurrection and recognized that it is indeed an historical fact. The only problem with Mr. Lapide’s appraisal of the resurrection is that he fails to see this event in the full force that God demands for it to have. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus is unlike any resurrection experience recorded in the Holy Scriptures. Jesus predicted His death (Matthew 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; John 2:19-21; 10:17,18; 13:7) and then claimed that He had the power to raise Himself from the dead, defeating man’s greatest enemy – death (John 19:17,18). He pointed to the resurrection as the God-given sign that He was Who He claimed to be, the Messiah, the Son of God (Matthew 12:39,40; Romans 1:4).The New Testament goes on to declare that the resurrection of the Messiah has brought about the assurance of everlasting salvation (Acts 17:31; Romans 4:25; 1 Corinthians 15:17), the promise of eternal life (John 11:25-26) and a future bodily resurrection for all believers in Jesus (John 6:39; 2 Corinthians 4:14; Romans 8:11).If one rejects the evidence for the resurrection and the verification that it provides concerning the Messiah-ship of Jesus, it must be done blindly. Thomas Arnold, a historian and former holder of the chair of modern history at Oxford University stated concerning the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus,“I have been, for many years, used to study the histories of other times, and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them and I know of no fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort, to the fair inquirer, than the great sign which God hath given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead.” 152One of the greatest legal scholars in the history of Great Britain, John Singleton Copley stated,“I know pretty well what evidence is; and I tell you such evidence as that for the resurrection has never broken down yet.” 153The resurrection of Jesus is an established fact of history and it provides the basis to the Gospel presentation. The evidence for faith in Jesus as Messiah is rooted in history and when one receives Jesus Christ, it is not some kind of blind, faith gamble, but instead is a faith that rests on solid facts and evidence. This faith produces a real and lasting relationship with God through Jesus Christ the Savior.

Conclusion:

So what is the answer to the questions that we have examined here: Is Jesus the Messiah spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures? Is He the resurrected Messiah and Lord? Jewish polemicists offer numerous candidates whom they feel meet the requirements of the prophetic passages we have examined. Kings and rulers such as David, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Cyrus, the “warrior Messiah – Ben David”, a future unknown Messiah and even the nation of Israel. It is certainly possible to find different interpretations for the various passages of Messianic Scripture as the Jewish polemicists have demonstrated. However, there are so many details in numerous Scriptures that point to no viable candidate other than “Yeshua” – Jesus, that the probability of the evidence points exclusively to Him. If someone does not want to believe the evidence, denial is relatively easy. As the old saying goes – “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still” applies here.It cannot simply be overlooked, alternately explained or counted as coincidence that Jesus fulfills so many of these prophetic pictures. The argument that Jesus’ life is the result of deceptive proof texting has no basis in historical evidence. My humble position is that Jesus’ birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection provides for the honest seeker of truth ample reasons to believe and trust in Him. Jesus fits all of the criteria. He alone provides the key that unlocks the door that the Scriptures present to us. It’s either Jesus or no one else!

Here is what Jesus Christ stated:

1.) Jesus claimed that His words would never pass away. What mere man could claim that? No one has ever spoken words like Jesus Christ of Nazareth. His words have had the greatest impact of any person in all of human history.“Heaven and earth will pass away but My Words will never pass away”. – Luke 21:33.2.) Jesus Christ claimed to be without any sin or human failure. No one but Jesus could ever make such a claim.“Which of you convicts Me of sin? …. I always do those things that please Him ( God the Father)” – John 8:46, 29.3.) Jesus claimed to be one with God the Father and to see Him (Jesus) was to see God”. No ordinary man can make such a claim.“Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long and yet you have not known Me Phillip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father, so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me or else believe Me for sake of the works themselves.” – John 14:9-11. “I and My Father are one”. – John 10:30.4.) Jesus was worshipped by men and He received their worship. Who else but God should be worshipped?rnJesus said – “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve”. – Matthew 4:10“And behold a leper came and worshipped Him saying, ’Lord if you are willing you can make me clean’. Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him saying “I am willing; be cleansed” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” – Matthew 8:3,4.“Then those who were in the boat (His disciples) came and worshipped Him saying, “Truly You are the Son of God”. – Matthew 14:33rn(See Matthew 2:10-12.)After Jesus rose from the dead He appeared to the disciples and Thomas. – “ Then He said to Thomas, Reach your finger here and look at My hands and reach your hand here and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving but believing. And Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Thomas because you have seen Me you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”. – John 20:27-29.5.) Jesus forgave sin. No one but God the Creator can forgive sin.“When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic; Son your sins are forgiven you. But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, Why does this man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” – Mark 2:5-7.6.) “Jesus said that He was to be honored in the same manner as God the Father”.“All should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life and will not come into judgment but has passed from death into life”. – John 5:23,24.7.) Jesus claimed that He was to be the Judge of all men. God alone is the Judge of all men.“Most assuredly I say to you, the hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His (the Son’s) voice and come forth – those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation”. – John 5:25-29.8.) Jesus predicted that His death was not by means of human intervention but that He would freely lay down His life and would take it back again ( by the resurrection). No one in all of human history has ever made this claim and then see it come to pass.“No one takes it ( my life) from Me but I lay it down of Myself. I have the power to lay it down (death) and I have the power to take it again (resurrection)”. – John 10:189.) Jesus claimed that His death was to be for the ransom (to secure the release) of men. He came to seek and save that which was lost. What death of any human being could have this kind of power and purpose?“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many”. – Mark 10:45.“For ( Jesus) the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost”. – Luke 19:10.Prior to Jesus’ death on the cross Jesus spoke to His disciples at the last supper – “And He (Jesus) took bread gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them saying – ‘This is my body which is given for you, do this in remembrance of Me’. Likewise He also took the cup after supper saying ‘This is the new covenant in My blood which is shed for you”. – Luke 22:19,20.Jesus said – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. – John 3:16.10.) Jesus claimed to be the Giver of Life. No one can come to know God and have eternal life except through Him. No other individual in all of human history has made such claims.“Jesus said to her I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this? She said to Him, Yes Lord I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who is come into the world”. – John 11:25,26.“Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”. – John 14:6If these two statements are true, they require a decision by each of us – If Jesus Christ is Who He claims to be, it changes everything. If Jesus Christ is God, then nothing can be the same again. It can’t be business as usual in our lives or in our decisions because the consequences of Who Jesus is are too great.The Gospel provides a very clear picture – Jesus Christ claims to be Messiah, Lord, the Savior of all mankind. Only through Him can we find our real purpose for living and that purpose is to know and love God. What will you do with Jesus Christ? If Jesus is Who He claims to be; if His diagnosis of the human condition that we are sinners and separated from God is correct; if His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave truly provides the remedy and cleansing of our sin and unites us into a relationship with God; if our eternal destination is found only in Him, then we must decide for Him. However, just as there are people who believe the claims of Jesus Christ, there are others who reject Him. There are three options regarding Jesus that we have to consider . Was Jesus a Legend, a Liar or Lord?1.) A Legend – Is Jesus the construction of an overstated and exaggerated person by second, third and fourth century over-zealous religionists or is He a complete mythological personage? Let’s look at the evidence. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is mentioned by Jewish contemporary sources, secular sources and by first century Christian sources who claimed to have direct links back to the disciples of Christ. The most complete and reliable historical information that we have on the life of Jesus are the first century New Testament documents. These are without question narratives that are based on eye witness accounts. This is not what legends consist of. The time period in which these witnesses record their information is close enough to the events that they describe so that there is essentially not enough time for mythological and legendary material to develop. It takes at least several generations of time to pass in order for legends and myths to develop. But these first Christian documents appear within the first generation of the actual events (20 -30 years). The actual eye witnesses of the life of Jesus Christ would still be alive and would provide a corrective influence if this information was incorrect. (See note #6.)2.) A Liar – Could Jesus Christ have fooled and manipulated people with trickery and cunningly formulated a presentation of Himself for some deluded and diabolical reason? This is possible. But how then do we account for the resurrection and the changed lives of the disciples? How do we account for the growth of the Church in the midst of persecution and death? How do we account for the fulfilled prophecies of the Old Testament in His life and ministry? How do we account for the witness of these early disciples who were willing to die for their testimony of the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Men may die for something they believe is true but no one dies for something they know to be false. Reliable church history informs us that at least 9 of the 12 disciples died for their testimony regarding the death and resurrection of Christ. Jesus taught the absolute importance of the truth and that He was the Truth itself. If Jesus Christ was a liar then He was the worst and most destructive liar in all of human history. 3.) The Lord – Is Jesus Lord? The Man Jesus Christ claimed to be the Divine Son of God – God in human flesh. (See note #7). His birth, life, ministry, miracles, death , resurrection and ascension confirm this. rnJesus Christ is the Man of history indeed but He is also the Man of Heaven – the Savior of all who will come to Him. So what will you do with the evidence regarding Jesus Christ? Jesus said in John 8:23,24 and John 18:37 – “ You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world” – 8:23. – “ Pilate therefore said to Him, Are you a king then? Jesus answered, You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” – 18:37. Jesus concluded His remarks to the religious leaders in John 8:23,24 – Therefore I say to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins”. This is not just an intellectual decision but it is also a matter of the heart and will. It is a matter of surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord. If we reject Him we will die in our sins, but if we will believe and trust Him we will have forgiveness of sin and eternal life with Him.