Gospel from the Old Testament. The Old Testament is the story of man’s sin and resulting separation from God. Beginning with the first chapters of Genesis on through to the last sentence in the book of Malachi, it clearly shows our need for a Redeemer and sets the stage for His arrival. Jesus pointed to Old Testament Scrip-


tures to prove He was the Messiah. Some scholars believe He referred to Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 53, Zechariah 12:10, and Mal- achi 3:1—all Old Testament verses in this passage from Luke’s gospel.


He [Jesus] said to them, “How fool- ish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spo- ken! Did not the Christ have to suf- fer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scrip- tures concerning himself.


—Luke 24:25-27


Acts 28:23 tells us that the Apostle Paul expounded on the Scriptures to show that Jesus was the promised Messiah. There was no New Testament for them to use—these guys hadn’t written it yet. They were busy fulfilling their call to “go and tell.” The record of their experiences is the New Testa- ment. They used Jewish Scriptures to prove that Yeshua was exactly who He claimed to be. You can do the same with a little study. The Hebrew Scriptures contain many references to Yeshua: the virgin birth, the rejection by His People, His atoning death on the cross. Just keep in mind, however, that we must not just assume that Jewish People know the Old Testament chapter and verse. Most of them don’t, especially not in America. I’ve seen statistics that indicate only about ten percent of all Jews are actively involved in reading and studying the Bible. Most Jews reject Jesus because they’ve been told that you can’t be Jewish and believe in Jesus. As previously mentioned, a strong message over two thousand years that Jesus is not for Jews has helped to feed that belief. Beyond that, there are many theological complexities. It is simply tradi- tion for others.


2. Scriptures you can use


There are some particular Scriptures that can help open Jewish eyes to the Mes- siahship of Yeshua:


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Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak?


Who has established all the ends of the earth?


What is his name, and the name of his son? Tell me if you know!


—Proverbs 30:4 Obviously, this passage refers to God


and clearly states that He has a Son. Then there is Isaiah 53. The entire passage is a treasure to both Jew and Christian, so rich in its depiction of God’s purpose. Limited space prohibits reprinting it in its entirety here, but I urge you to look it up and even read it aloud. God sent Yeshua to pay the price for the entire burden of sin for all mankind—which had separated God from His People. Isaiah saw it all a full eight centuries before the Messiah came, but he saw what was required and realized that God’s plan called for providing a Savior who would willingly sacrifice His life for all. God’s purpose was and is to set us free, and therefore, reconcile us to Himself. Both John and Paul quoted Isaiah 53


verse 1 (see John 12:38 and Romans 10:16). To me, it is clear that Isaiah was


And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.


—Daniel 9:26 NKJV This powerful passage places the arriv-


al and death of the Messiah before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, which occurred in 70 A.D. under Titus when Rome crushed Israel, sacked Jerusa- lem, and burned and destroyed the Tem- ple. As an added bonus, we are told that the Messiah will be cut off, or put to death, but not for his own wrongdoing.


God sent Yeshua to pay the


price for the entire burden of sin for all mankind—which had sepa- rated God from His People.


describing an individual in verse 2—the Messiah—who would bear the sins of the world. Matthew (see v. 8:17) witnessed Jesus healing people and was reminded of the text from Isaiah 53:4. Peter then expanded on it in 1 Peter 2:24 when he said Yeshua died, bearing our sins in His body on a tree.


The psalmist David’s portrayal of the crucifixion in Psalm 22 is another proph- ecy that is so completely accurate in its detail. Granted, David was a psalmist and didn’t consider himself to be a prophet. But in verse one, when he asks why God had forsaken him, David takes us immedi- ately to Yeshua’s words from the tree of death. When he wrote the psalm, it appeared to David that God had separated Himself from him, yet assurance had returned by verse 24 when he said, “He [God] has not hidden his face…but has listened to his cry for help.” I personally don’t believe it is possible


to read that Scripture with an open mind and remain unmoved by its depiction of the genuine suffering that Yeshua endured as He died for the sins of mankind.


3. Jewish objections to Yeshua Yeshua’s claim of divinity is one of the biggest objections Jewish People have with regard to Yeshua as Messiah. They’ll tell you that there are no passages in the Old Testament to indicate that Messiah will be anything more than a man. He’ll be very special and even anointed, but He won’t be divine.


They also object to teachings on the


Trinity and say that Christians believe in three gods, while Jews believe in only one. And yet, right in the first chapter of Gene- sis, the Creator says,


Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness...


—Genesis 1:26 (emphasis mine)


Another good passage to overcome Jewish objections to Yeshua is Micah 5, which refers to a ruler whose origins are from of old:


“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel,


CONTINUED ON PAGE 19 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 Jewish Voice Today | 9


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