The spiritual blindness of Israel resulted in the nation believing what they wanted to believe regarding prophesies about their Messiah, despite scriptures such as Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22. In the eyes of Judaism, Jesus was a failure as Messiah. The combined eisegesis of the pharisees and their zeal to enforce their delinquency in interpreting scripture led to the death of the one man they were hoping for, thus fulfilling the very scriptures they found problematic. Jesus called them blind guides (Matthew 15:14), and they still struggle to come to terms with Christ.
The apprehension expressed by many Jews regarding Jesus also stems from the inherent understanding of scriptures such as Psalm 49:7-9, where the Psalmist writes, “No Man can redeem the life of another or give God a ransom for him – the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough – that he should live on forever and not see decay.”
However, in light of 1 Corinthians 15:3, where Paul teaches that “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,” it becomes apparent the Jesus was no ordinary man. His identity as Messiah is further underscored in His statement, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26).
WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR MESSAGE…
The prophet Isaiah predicts that the Messiah, would be rejected by the Jews and put to death in what is perhaps the most vivid description of Jesus’ persecution, written some 700 years beforehand. The fifty-third chapter of Isaiah begins, “Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1). He then goes on to describe the Messiah not as a conquering hero, but as a humble servant that would be despised and rejected.
Isaiah paints a picture with the words, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” (Isaiah 53:2-3a). In verses four and five Isaiah adds, “Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”
The prophecy continues: “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgement He was taken away. Yet who of His generation protested? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people He was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7-9)
The prophet Zachariah reiterates a couple of centuries later (still 500 years before Christ): “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of supplication. They will look on Me, the one they have pierced, and mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn Son.” (Zachariah 12:10). Zachariah is fully engaged with the concept that it is God Himself who is pierced and he equates this notion with the significance of the one and only Son (John 3:16).
Furthermore, the concept of the suffering Messiah was beyond the parameters of first century Jewish perception. The people were looking for deliverance from Roman oppression, not from their sins, which they believed were covered by the temple sacrifices. They could not accept a Messiah that had no place to lay his head and whose only garments were taken away from Him and gambled for in fulfillment of Psalm 22 (Matthew 27:35).
THE HERO MESSIAH
Israel desired the hero Messiah of Daniel 7:13. In Daniel’s prophecy, the Messiah is elevated to godly stature, “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man, coming on the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
In Mark 14:61, the high priest asks Jesus point blank if He is the Messiah, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” In the next verse we read, “’I am,’ Jesus replied. ‘And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’” In verse 63, the high priest tears his clothes and proclaims, ”Why do we need any more witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”. And with that he pronounces the charge of blasphemy upon Jesus.
When Jesus fulfilled the prophecy recorded in Isaiah 53, that predicted that the Messiah would be rejected by His people, suffer and die a painful death, and that God would accept His suffering and death as atonement for the sins of all people, the Jews refused to accept it. To this day, Isaiah 53 is problematic for the Jews and isn’t read in synagogues.
Even two thousand years after His death, the Jews remain in denial of their Messiah and refer to Jesus as Yeshu, which means, “May his name and memory be blotted out.” This is in sharp contrast to the meaning of Yeshua, which means “salvation or God saves.”
Many modern Jews remain in denial of Jesus as the Messiah and blame Christians for the persecution they have suffered for two millennia. They therefore continue to reject Jesus today. Interestingly, this continued spiritual blindness was written about by the apostle Paul in Romans 11:25. “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of Gentiles has come in.”
Paul also reasoned that, “We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read.” (2 Corinthians 3:14).
Several reasons the Jews don’t believe Jesus is their Messiah are listed on the website: https://www.jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/videos/six-reasons-why-jews-don-t-believe-in-jesus. According to the author, they don’t recognize Jesus’ lineage being from the tribe of Judah and the house of David as traced through Mary (Genesis 49:10; 1 Chronicles 22:9-10; 2 Samuel 7:12-14; Numbers 1:1-18).
Additionally, they believe Jesus failed to bring about the gathering of the Jews from all nations (Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 30:3, 32:37; Ezekiel 11:17,36:24). That Jesus did not achieve world peace (Micah 4:1-4; Isaiah 2:4, 60:18). Nor did He fulfill Jeremiah 31:32-33, whereby all Jews would have God’s laws written on their hearts and in their minds and every knee shall bow (Ezekiel 11:19-20, 36:26-27, 38:23; Isaiah 45:24; Psalm 86:9; Zechariah 14:9).
Isaiah 53 doesn’t end with the death of the Messiah, however. Even though “it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand.” (Isaiah 53:10). Despite being cut off from the land of the living, the Messiah’s days would be prolonged and God’s will would continue to be facilitated through Him. There is more.
In verse twelve, the prophet adds: “Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.” Jesus rose from the dead and all who believe in Him become children of God (John 1:12).
Furthermore, Paul declares, “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9).
JESUS PREDICTED THAT ISRAEL WOULD REJECT HIM
Jesus predicted that Israel would reject Him and that the nation would pay the price. “Jesus left the temple and was walking away when His disciples came up to Him to call His attention to its buildings. ‘Do you see all these things?’ He asked. ‘I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.’” (Matthew 24:1-2).
Luke 21:24 records Jesus prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish diaspora. “They will fall by the sword and be taken away as prisoners to all nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” This has indeed been the case for the last two thousand years. However, our generation is witness to the fulfillment of Christ’s prediction as the nation of Israel is once again in the land of their forefathers and Jerusalem is once more her capital city.
In Romans 11:7, Paul concedes, “What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.” And in verse eleven, he adds, “Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.” Messianic Jews accept this truth.
The hardening of Israel was predicted by the prophets and also their salvation. All Israel will be saved (Romans 11:20). The mystery of God’s redemptive plan is still unfolding even if most Jews don’t perceive it. The very scriptures cited as the logic for their disbelief in Jesus are in the process of being fulfilled or have already been fulfilled through Christ.
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