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Questions & Answers
Jesus as the Messiah?
by
Rabbi Eliezer Gevirtz |
Question: Why do Jews not accept Jesus as
a god or a messiah? —Jonas
Answer: Almost since the inception of Christianity, some Christians
have made it their life's work to convert others, including Jews.
At times, these missionaries have used torture and other coercions
to gain their goal, such as during the Spanish Inquisition. More
recently, Christian missionaries have employed different techniques-using
friendly arguments and slick propaganda-for the same purpose. Missionaries
have aggressively confronted Jews with misleading arguments and
incorrect Biblical quotes. Lately, they have even resorted to using
Jewish names and Hebrew songs to mislead Jews into thinking that
they, too, are Jewish. Thus, we have the rise of the "Jewish
Christians" who claim that the only "fulfilled" Jew
is the one who believes in JC (called by them, "Yeshua").
Judaism respects the right of
Christians to worship as they please. It, however, condemns those
who try to impose Christianity on Jews through deceit or any other
way. The missionaries show a dangerous degree of intolerance towards
Judaism, implying that it is a false religion. Jews should therefore
be ready to defend their religious beliefs, and to counteract missionary
propaganda. Jews must know that missionary arguments can readily be
answered, for they are misleading and based on false premises. Jews
cannot sit idly by watching missionaries misleading their fellow religionists.
There are too few Jews in the world today for us to afford defections
to Christianity.
Missionaries say that JC is both the son of G-d and the long-awaited
Messiah. Jews reject both claims, for the following reasons:
a) No Man Can Be a G-d. The Torah makes it clear that there
is only one omnipotent, indivisible G-d: "The L-rd He is G-d;
there is none else besides him" (Deuteronomy 4:35)." G-d
is unique unto Himself, and does not consist of a trinity: "The
L-rd He is G-d in heaven above and upon the earth below; there is
none else" (Deuteronomy 4:39). JC himself accepted G-d's
uniqueness: "And he (JC) said unto him, 'Why callest thou
me good? There is none good but one, that is, G-d." (Matthew
19:17). How, then, could a mortal man-one who was born and who died
on a cross-be a segment of an immortal, indivisible G-d? There is
no concept of infinity possible if G-d is a man or a Trinity. The
Torah states clearly: "G-d is not a man" (Numbers 23:19).
b) JC did not accomplish the tasks of the Messiah. If
JC had indeed been the Messiah, he would have fulfilled the Messianic
prophecies mentioned in Tanach. For instance, the Moshiach (Messiah)
will bring about universal peace and tranquility: "And they
shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning
hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall
they learn war any more" (Isaiah 2:4). The Moshiach will bring
about universal respect for G-d, and lead all people to follow His
ways: "The knowledge of G-d will fill the earth. The world
will be filled with the knowledge of G-d as the water covers the
sea" (Isaiah 11:9). He will cause an ingathering of the Jewish
exiles: "Then the residue of his brethren shall return with
the children of Israel" (Micha 5:2) and will bring about the
rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdosh:. "In that day will I raise
up the Tabernacles of David that is fallen" (Amos 9:11). He
will also bring physical cure to all who are sick: "Then the
eye of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be
unstopped. Then the lame man will leap as a hart, and the tongue
of the dumb will sing" (Isaiah 35:5-6). Furthermore, he will
accomplish these tasks within his own lifetime: "He shall not
fail or be crushed until he has set the right in the earth"
(Isaiah 42:4).
The clear-cut fact is that JC did not fulfill any of these tasks.
The Beis Hamikdosh has not been rebuilt, and the Jews are still
in exile. (Incidentally, it is hard to see how JC could rebuild
the Beis Hamikdosh or return the Jews to Israel when the Beis Hamikdosh
was still in existence and the Jews were still in Israel during
his lifetime.) Suffering and pain still abound, and the world is
certainly less religiously-inc lined today than it was during JC's
day. Immorality, corruption, and crime are definitely in evidence
to this very day, and the past 2,000 years have seen one war after
another.
If the Messiah has already come, why is the world in such a sad
state?
Christian theology has come up with the explanation that JC
will reappear during a Second Coming, when he will finally fulfill
the Messianic prophecies. But there is no reference to such a delayed
second coming of the same Messiah anywhere in the Torah. JC himself
promised his followers that he would succeed in his own era: "Verily
I say to you that there be some of them who stand here, which shall
not taste of death until they have seen the kingdom of G-d come
with power" (Mark 9:1); "Verily I say to you that this
generation shall not pass, till all these things be done" (Mark
13:30). But the things were not done, and JC was instead killed.
c) JC did not keep Jewish law. The Moshiach is expected
to keep all the laws of the Torah, and to inspire others to do likewise.
(See Deuteronomy 13). However, at times JC considered himself
to be above the law: "For the Son of Man is master even of
the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8). He broke the laws of the Sabbath
part of the Ten Commandments-and reviled the Rabbis, who are accorded
great respect by the Torah. JC did not even always espouse peace:
"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not
to send peace, but a sword" (Matthew 10:34). Can one who denies
G-d's sacred law be His Messiah?
d) Lack of Jewish support. JC lived at the time of Roman
suppression of the Jews. The Jewish people eagerly looked forward
to the arrival of the Moshiach. They were certainly well-versed
in the requirements to be filled by the true Moshiach, and would
definitely have accepted the Moshiach if it was clear that he had
appeared. Yet the Jews of that time—and especially the learned
Sages—rejected JC' claims to be the Messiah. They knew and
saw JC in the flesh, and found him wanting; on the other hand,
Paul of Tarsus, who established the Christian religion, never knew
JC personally. If JC were indeed the Messiah, why did his
fellow Jews, who had every reason to want a Messiah, almost unanimously
reject him?
Missionaries often say that they have Biblical proof of JC'
divinity or Messianic role. However, these arguments often rely
on misquotes and faulty reasoning.
One such "proof" comes from Isaiah 7:14, which they translate
as follows: "Behold the virgin is with child, and she will
bear a son, and his name will be called Immanuel." The unsuspecting
individual might think that this is a prophecy of the New Testament's
account of JC' birth. However, one who studies the verse in its
original Hebrew will note that the term used is “almah”,
which means "young woman", not "virgin". (The
Hebrew word for virgin is “besulah”, as mentioned in Leviticus
21:3). In any case, the verse refers to the birth of King Chezkiah,
and has nothing at all to do with the Moshiach.
Another supposed "proof" is the verse in Micha 5:1: "But
you, Bethlehem Ephrasah, which are little to be among the thousands
of Judah, out of you shall come forth ' onto Me that is to be ruler
in Israel, whose going forth are from old, from ancient days."
Missionaries claim that this refers to JC, who they say was
born in Bethlehem. But the verse really refers to the fact that
the Moshiach will come from the lineage of King David, who was born
in Bethlehem. And Christians cannot claim that JC came from King
David, for the lineage follows the father, and they say that JC
had no earthly father.
Finally, there is the so-called "proof" from Isaiah 53,
which refers to a "Suffering Servant". Missionaries will
say that this means JC, who suffered on the cross. But the term
"servant", when used elsewhere in Isaiah, refers to the
Jewish nation, whose members are G-d's dedicated servants. They
have certainly suffered throughout the years-yet they have survived
for a long time, unlike JC, who died childless at the age of
33, and the verse refers to the servant's prolonged days and "seed"
(children).
There are other such arguments, with accurate and concise Jewish
responses to each. All Jews must be aware that missionary claims
should not be taken at face value, and that the Jewish rejection
of the Messiahship of JC has a sound Biblical basis.
Reprinted
from L'hovin U'lhaskil - A Guide to Torah Hashkofoh by Rabbi Eliezer
Gevirtz (Feldheim 1988) |
