Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus Vol. 3 : Messianic Prophecy Objections

by Brown, Michael L.

• ISBN13: 9780801064234
• ISBN10: 0801064236
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-03-01
• Publisher: Baker Books

Summary

What does the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament really say about the Messiah? Did Jesus fulfill the prophecies? A messianic Jew gives thorough answers.

Author Biography

Michael L. Brown (Ph.D., Near Eastern Languages and Literature, New York University) is a Jewish believer in Jesus and founder of the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry in Pensacola, Florida, where he resides. He is also founder and president of the FIRE School of Ministry and has served as a visiting professor of Jewish apologetics at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Mission.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Part 4 Messianic Prophecy Objections
If Jesus is really the Messiah, and if he is so important, why doesn't the Torah speak of him at all?	3	(10)
Nowhere in the Hebrew Bible are we told that we must ``believe in the Messiah.''	13	(4)
Isaiah 7:14 does not prophesy a virgin birth! And it has nothing whatsoever to do with Jesus, since it dealt with a crisis seven hundred years before he was born	17	(15)
Isaiah 9:6[5] does not speak of a divine king (or Messiah)	32	(8)
If you want to know what Isaiah 53 is talking about, just read Isaiah 52 and 54. The context is the return of the Jewish people from Babylonian exile, 550 years before Jesus	40	(9)
Isaiah 53 speaks of the people of Israel, not Jesus (or any Messiah)	49	(8)
The rabbis only applied Isaiah 52:13--15, not 53:1--12, to the Messiah son of David	57	(1)
It is not true that the medieval rabbis were the first to apply Isaiah 53 to Israel instead of the Messiah. The Israel interpretation is actually very ancient	58	(4)
Isaiah 53 contains the words of the repentant kings of the nations rather than the words of the Jewish people	62	(4)
Several key words in Isaiah 53 speak of a servant in the plural	66	(1)
Isaiah 53 cannot refer to Jesus because it says no one was interested in the servant of the Lord or attracted to him, yet the New Testament records that large crowds followed Jesus	67	(4)
Isaiah 53 cannot refer to Jesus because it says the servant of the Lord was sickly and died of disease	71	(3)
Isaiah 53 does not actually say the servant would die	74	(2)
Isaiah 53 does not say the servant will rise from the dead	76	(1)
Isaiah 53 cannot refer to Jesus because it says the servant of the Lord did no violence, yet Jesus drove out the Temple money changers with a whip	77	(3)
Isaiah 53 cannot refer to Jesus because it says the servant of the Lord would not lift up his voice or cry out, yet Jesus cried out several times on the cross, once in near blasphemy (Psalm 22:1)	80	(3)
Isaiah 53 cannot refer to Jesus because it says the servant of the Lord would see seed, an expression always meaning physical descendants when used in the Hebrew Bible	83	(3)
Daniel 9:24--27 has nothing to do with the Messiah	86	(6)
Daniel 9:24 was clearly not fulfilled by Jesus	92	(8)
Christian translations of Daniel 9:24--27 divide the seventy weeks incorrectly, and the dates have no relation to the times of Jesus	100	(9)
Daniel 9:24--27 speaks of two anointed ones	109	(2)
Psalm 2:12 should not be translated as ``kiss the Son.'' Only the King James Version and modern Christian fundamentalist translations still maintain this incorrect rendering	111	(3)
Psalm 16 does not speak of the resurrection of the Messiah	114	(3)
Psalm 22 is the story of David's past suffering. There is nothing prophetic about it	117	(5)
Psalm 22 does not speak of death by crucifixion. In fact, the King James translators changed the words of verse16[17] to speak of ``piercing'' the sufferer's hands and feet, whereas the Hebrew text actually says, ``Like a lion they are at my hands and feet.''	122	(5)
Some of the so-called Messianic prophecies in the Psalms actually speak of the psalmist's sin and folly. How can you apply this to Jesus?	127	(2)
Psalm 40 is absolutely not Messianic in any way	129	(2)
Psalm 45:6[7] does not say the Messiah is God	131	(2)
Psalm 110 does not say the Messiah is Lord. Also, the psalm is not written by David about the Messiah. Our traditions indicate it may have been written by Eliezer about his master, Abraham, and then added to the collection of the Psalms by David many years later. Or David wrote it for the Levites to recite about him (or a court poet wrote it about David). This much is sure: It does not teach that the Messiah is God!	133	(12)
You claim that Haggai 2 points to the fact that the Messiah had to come before the Second Temple was destroyed, since it says in verse 9 that the glory of the Second Temple would be greater than the glory of Solomon's Temple. Actually, Haggai is speaking about only the physical splendor of the Second Temple, which surpassed Solomon's Temple in the days of Herod	145	(3)
Zechariah 12:10 has nothing to do with Jesus	148	(4)
Jesus fulfilled none of the Messianic prophecies!	152	(6)
Jesus fulfilled none of the provable Messianic prophecies!	158	(6)
Even modern Christian scholars reject the so-called Old Testament proof texts about Jesus. Just check most modern Christian Bible commentaries and translations	164	(3)
Jesus cannot be the Messiah because the Messiah was to be a reigning king, whereas Jesus was despised, rejected, and crucified	167	(3)
Jesus cannot be the Messiah because the Messiah had to rebuild the Temple, yet the Temple was standing in Jesus' day	170	(9)
The only true prophecy about Jesus in the Hebrew Scriptures is found in Zechariah 13:1--6---a passage dealing with false prophets. It even makes explicit reference to his crucifixion!	179	(2)
Paul claimed that the Hebrew Scriptures prophesied the resurrection of the Messiah on the third day. Nowhere in our Bible is such a prophecy found	181	(3)
I can find prophecies in the Bible that point to Muhammad just as easily as you can find prophecies that point to Jesus. That's because all of your so-called proofs are either distortions, make-believe creations, or Jewish midrash---free, homiletical interpretations---of the worst kind	184	(5)
Appendix	189	(6)
Notes	195	(40)
Glossary	235	(4)
Subject Index	239	(8)
Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Writings	247