Questions for Our Jewish Friends on Who is the Messiah

Witnesses for Jesus

Questions for Our Jewish Friends on Who is the Messiah

Discussing Isaiah 53 and Other Messianic Passages

In this video, we discuss the Messianic passages of Isaiah 53, 60:2; Isaiah 6:9-12; Daniel 7:13-14; Zechariah 9:9; 12:8-10; 13:6-9; Psalm 2:7-8 and Psalm 22. The primary focus of this video is to answer the question of whether these passages refer to the suffering of the nation of Israel as a whole, or to an individual Messiah, as fulfilled by Yeshua, Jesus when he came the first time to make atonement for our sins. References to the views of the ancient Jewish rabbis in regard to these passages are likewise considered with many relevant citations from the Jewish Talmud. With the exception of Christian New Testament, all citations of the Jewish Scriptures (the Old Testament) are from the Jewish Publication Society's Bible translation (or JPS) of 1917.

More from Is Christianity the Mormonism of Judaism?

Introduction: Is Christianity the Mormonism of Judaism? What is Noahidism?

Christina R Darlington

Jewish Rabbis claim that Christianity has distorted the teachings of Judaism in the same way that Mormonism distorts the teachings of Christianity. Are these claims that Orthodox Jewish rabbis make against the Christian religion valid? What is the B'nei Noach religion of Noahidism? How do these non-Jewish, Gentile followers of Rabbinic Judaism practice the religion of Judaism? What are the 7 Laws of Noah? How do the teachings of these anti-Christian Jewish missionaries compare to the teachings of ancient Judaism?

01 Is Isaiah 53 Messiah or Israel?

Christina R Darlington

Isaiah 53 is one of the most disputed passages of Scripture among the rabbis of the Jewish community. Early rabbinic Judaism saw shadows of a suffering Messiah while nearly every rabbi since the time of Rashi in the middle ages, has contended that this passage speaks of the suffering of the nation of Israel, rather than of the Messiah Yeshua Jesus. Which interpretation best fits the content and context of Isaiah 53.

02 Did Ancient Rabbis Believe in a Suffering Messiah?

Christina R Darlington

Today, Jewish rabbis dispute Christian interpretations of Isaiah 53 and other passages by claiming that there is no place in the Jewish Scripture that indicates that the Messiah would suffer and die for humanity. While various interpretations on Isaiah 53 and other Messianic passages abound in the Jewish Talmud, common themes seen in these ancient interpretations disagree with the current rabbinic views of these passages. Not only did the ancient rabbis see a suffering Messiah in several passages of the Old Testament, but these rabbis referred to this Messiah as “Messiah ben Yosef” or “Messiah Son of Joseph” because they saw similarities with Joseph suffering in Egypt when he was rejected by his brothers. When it came to Zechariah 12:10, these ancient rabbis even saw a Messiah who was pierced to the point of death, prior to the coming of the kingly Messiah who they called the “Messiah ben David” or “Messiah Son of David.” In this video, we examine the claims of these ancient rabbis and show beyond a shadow of a doubt that the current Christian interpretation of these passages in the Old Testament is consistent with ancient Judaism, and thus Christianity is not the Mormonism of Judaism.