Jesus: Is He the Messiah of Israel?: “Who will Declare His Generation?” A Dialogue Based on the Tanakh, Talmud, and Targumim; the Dead Sea Scrolls; and the New Testament

Jesus: Is He the Messiah of Israel?

Who will Declare His Generation?A Dialogue Based on the Tanakh, Talmud, and Targumim; the Dead Sea Scrolls; and the New Testament

Magnus N. Keehus

Jesus: Is He the Messiah of Israel?

Who will Declare His Generation? A Dialogue Based on the Tanakh, Talmud, and Targumim; the Dead Sea Scrolls; and the New Testament

Copyright © 2011 Magnus N. Keehus. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Tanakh, Ancient Writings, and Jesus of Nazareth

Chapter 2: The Davidic Lineage of Jesus and His Fulfillment of Messianic Prophecies

Chapter 3: Jesus’ Miracles, Natural Law, and Messianism

Chapter 4: Resurrection and Skepticism: Jesus Rose from the Dead

Chapter 5: Messianic Prophesies Fulfilled by Jesus

Chapter 6: Parables and Teachings of Jesus

Bibliography

I dedicate this book to my wife Stacy, my best friend and supporter in all that I do.

Abbreviations

Dead Sea Scrolls, Listed by Scroll Number

1QH The Hymns Scrolls (Thanksgiving Hymns)

1QIsa Isaiah

1QM War Scroll

1QS 4Q246 4Q285 4Q385

4Q491 War Scroll [1QH and 4Q491-496 are known

as the War Scroll]

4Q451 Prayer C

4Q521 4Q540 4Q541 11Q13

Bible Versions

CSB Christian Standard Bible

DRB Douay-Rheims Bible

ESV English Standard Version

KJV King James Version

NASV New American Standard Version

NIV New International Version

NKJV New King James Version

RSV Revised Standard Version

Introduction

Sitting here in Jerusalem reflecting on this work and the sources and various texts used for this project, some of which are highly controversial and under much debate, I am all the more reminded of the religious turmoil in today’s Holy Land concerning the person of Messiah. One could only imagine what it must have been like to live during the time of Jesus and how things transpired when he revealed himself as Messiah, not to mention how the lives of his followers changed subsequent to the resurrection of Messiah and his ascension. What really were the experiences of his disciples and early followers, who went to their graves for their messianic proclamation?

While here in Israel, filming three documentaries concerning Messiah and Christian truth, which are continuations to this book, the various sites and inquisitive nature of people here amazes me. Yet, there is a common attitude of unwillingness among many who choose not to look further into this issue of who Israel’s Messiah is. The opinions on the topic are endless—many are unfounded and historically inadequate.

This book was mainly written to share my perspective, as well as that of others, on the nature and mission of Yeshua the Messiah. In addition to addressing various passages from the Hebrew Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls, and the New Testament, I have also included various rabbinical sources, whose commentary and interpretations are most helpful in assessing the nature of Messiah in the Jewish Scriptures.

The various ways in which Judeo-Christians have viewed Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah are not only based on their interpretation of Jesus having fulfilled hundreds of prophesies in the Hebrew Bible; their belief in Jesus also seems to fit various interpretations provided from Jewish thinkers, who wrote in a very Jewish context on the subject of who and what Messiah was to be, prior to the advent of Christ.

Interestingly, as the reader shall discover, many rabbinical interpretations today are not the same as they were in certain writings before the first century. Some say that it almost seems too perfect a scenario for Jesus to be the declared Messiah, as he himself also proclaimed, after one takes a close look at the prophecies he fulfilled, in accordance with a Judeo-Christian interpretation. However, it is of no surprise that once a diligent and openhearted person, even a modern rabbi, sincerely reads the New Testament, he or she will come to a saving faith in Yeshua (Jesus’ real name). Michael Solomon Alexander comes to mind as an example of such a person. I pray that if you know Messiah, proclaim him. If you do not know Messiah, embrace him.

As to the structure of this book, I chose to put the content into a dialogue format to make the material more accessible and easy to understand. The quotes used throughout the book are made to stand out, as opposed to being read like a dry treatise. The sources used are also set up in such a way as to be ready made for quick use as a reference. I hope it will benefit the seeker as well as the believer, especially my dear friends at Israel College of the Bible.

Finally, I want to thank Drs. Norman Geisler (Veritas Evangelical Seminary), Arnold Fruchtenbaum (Ariel Ministries), Randall Price (Liberty University), and Wayne House (Faith Seminary) for their inspiration. I also want to mention that in producing this work, I am also indebted to other great professors. It is almost impossible to reference every idea on the matter, although I have been most attentive in giving credit where credit is due. My apologies if any mental properties have over lapsed.

1

The Tanakh, Ancient Writings, and Jesus of Nazareth

As the navel is set in the center of the human body, so is the land of Israel the navel of the world, . . . situated in the center of the world, and Jerusalem is the center of the land of Israel, and the sanctuary in the center of Jerusalem, and the holy place in the center of the sanctuary, and the ark in the center of the holy place, because from it the world was founded.¹

Jeremiah, an Israel Defense Forces soldier in training, happens to befriend David, an officer in the force. The two meet in the Judean region by the Dead Sea. Seeing archaeologists excavating nearby at Qumran, Jeremiah asks, What are they unearthing in those caves? ²

Cave 4, Qumran

David replies, They are searching for additional scrolls and Essene artifacts.

Jeremiah, a young man with an eager intellect and appetite for religious truth, contemplates David’s mysterious words. As time goes on, the two engage in a most life-changing and intellectually fascinating conversation as they read and discuss texts from the Tanakh, Talmud, Targumim, Dead Sea Scrolls, and New Testament.

The Essenes

Jeremiah: Who were the Essenes and what is the big deal about these scrolls?

David: The Essenes were a Jewish sect that left Jerusalem for Qumran. They are an important group to archeologists and theologicalns because of their writings.

Jeremiah: What things did they write about?

Qumran Scrolls

David: They copied much of the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, and produced numerous commentaries, or writings encompassing their Tanakh interpretations, sectarian rules, and rituals, and so on.³ In fact, their commentaries on various portions of the Tanakh have demonstrated a certain type of interpretation, otherwise not too well known (or perhaps unknown) in much of Judaism,⁴ specifically regarding interpretations of messianic prophecies. The discovery of this knowledge dating back some two thousand years ago has revolutionized much of the way we view messianic thinking of that time.

Dead Sea Messianism

David: Furthermore, this Jewish community occupied Qumran between 250 BC and AD 68 and literally left us with hundreds of scrolls and thousands of fragments—some of the earliest writings concerning the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). However, the earliest Hebraic form of lettering known today are the silver scrolls. These silver amulets were discovered in the Hinnom Valley (south Jerusalem) and contain an abbreviated version of Num 6:24–26. They have been dated at ca. 700 BC.⁵

Jeremiah: What types of things did they write about concerning Messiah?

David: Believing in a certain Messiah of the Last Days,⁶ a Warring Messiah,⁷ as well as a kind of Suffering Servant,⁸ a Messiah whose duties include the performance of resurrections,⁹ a Son of God (Apochryphon of Daniel [4Q246], literally, Son of the Most High¹⁰), and so on, they are unique in many ways. While many scholars differ on how to interpret Qumran writings, in all, we see distinctive messianic concepts in this sect. Some interpretations are more difficult than others. For example, the idea of an eternal destruction is clear:

And God’s hand will strike . . . for eternal destruction . . . and they will atone for you. (War Scroll [4Q; cf. 1QM] line 4)¹¹

But as to how and when this destruction is to occur exactly is another thing.

As said, the Qumran sect also maintained that messianic duty included some form of performing resurrections, as is evident from the following:

They who lie in the dust will raise a flagstaff and the worms of the dead will lift up an ensign. (Thanksgiving Hymns [1QH] vi.34)¹²

Jeremiah: What is this Messiah of War all about?

David: First, from a biblical view, as early as Gen 14:1, some Jewish thinkers have argued that this passage concerns the coming of Messiah during a time when the nations of the world war against one another;¹³ however, that was long ago and is not an interpretation given by many Jews today. And, of course, followers of Jesus hold that Messiah will come a second time and save Israel from final destruction caused by the satanic influence of the antichrist.

And, according to Edersheim:

In the Jerusalem Targum on Num. 11:26 the prophecy of Eldad and Medad is supposed to have been with regard to the wars in the latter days against Jerusalem, and to the defeat of Gog and Magog by the Messiah.¹⁴

Moreover, the Warring Messiah in the Dead Sea Scrolls is just as descriptive and breathtaking.¹⁵ The members of the sect saw themselves as the sons of light, almost like troopers for God, whose destiny was to conquer the sons of darkness and Belial (Satan). A last days Messiah of War was soon to come, they thought, and upon his arrival, they would be ready to fight and conquer darkness and its forces.

Jeremiah: That is some extreme business, David.

David: I know, so get ready!

Jeremiah: What else is unique about the Dead Sea community?

David: As a sect, they were deeply religious, productive, and exclusive. Equally important, they left us copies of biblical books and fragments of all of the Hebrew Bible except for Esther.

Can We Trust the Hebrew Bible?

Jeremiah: Did their copies differ from the Tanakh today? In other words, have our writings changed since then? After all, wouldn’t hand copying a text change it and cause it to become distorted over time?

David: It’s actually the other way around. These scrolls serve as evidence for the reliability of the Tanakh. Now, slips of the pen and grammatical issues are nothing new, but as far as doctrinal differences, there are none.¹⁶ Also, imagine discovering scrolls and fragments dating back twenty-two hundred years and in turn comparing them with the copies we have today from the Masoretic Text (which dates to some thousand years ago), only to discover that the writings have not changed. This discovery proves the Scriptures to be reliable.

Jeremiah: How about stylistic changes?

David: Sure, there are always stylistic changes. Shakespeare, for example, did not write as we do today. The same can be said of the King James Bible. But the one important observation that scholars are quick to make is whether there are any doctrinal changes or omissions, and in that category, the Tanakh has proved itself in the test of time.

Why the Essenes Left Jerusalem

Jeremiah: Interesting! But the Essene community, why did they leave Jerusalem?

David: They left for a couple of reasons. Their teacher, referred to as the teacher of righteousness, was facing persecution. The Qumranites also felt that the Sadducees, were perhaps corrupting much of what priestly duties were supposed to be about and that their teachings were also tainted by Roman influence. The Pharisees and Sanhedrin on the other hand, according to sectarian views, were a corrupted religious elite who did not live according to the messianic expectancy, as maintained by the Essene community.

Jeremiah: But the Essenes at the Dead Sea caves lived in seclusion. This, it seems, would not enhance their messianic message.

Why Qumran?

David: Although it is a bit strange, from our mindset, for a group or people to move further into the desert seeking to usher in the messianic age while in seclusion, R. K. Harrison observes:

It is one of the numerous ironies of Jewish history that this profoundly religious community, which was seeking in all earnestness to recapture that which was of abiding spiritual value in the tradition of the Hebrew people, was prevented by its very exclusiveness from ushering in the Messiah of Israel for those whose coming it was striving so resolutely.¹⁷

And, is it not tragic that the part of the Essene community that decided to move to Qumran actually missed the arrival of Messiah?

Jeremiah: Now that’s irony!

David: But we must also remember they did not just leave to usher in the some kind of messianic era but also to seek purity by escaping a certain corruption of the city.

Sadducees and Pharisees

Jeremiah: You mentioned the three sects within Judaism at the time. How were the Sadducees different from the Pharisees and the Essenes?

David: The Sadducean order only believed in the Torah—the first five books of Moses. They also rejected miracles and resurrection.

Jeremiah: . . . and the Pharisees?

David: The Pharisees, on the other hand, held to the entirety of the Tanakh. They embraced the entire writings of the Hebrew Bible as the oracles of God. But even more so, they also believed in the oral law, holding that God said more to Moses on Mount Sinai than what was written.

Jeremiah: I’m amazed at these different schools of thought.

Now, the Essenes, since they left Jerusalem, what were their main differences with these two Jewish establishments?

David: These sectarians, like the Pharisees, maintained that the entire Hebrew Bible derived from God. However, they differed in their messianic beliefs. Also, in contrast to Pharisaic theology and Sadducean belief, the Essenes had a more vivid eschatological (end-time) orientation.

Jeremiah: I see. But isn’t it a bit extreme to leave Jerusalem for the Dead Sea? I mean, it is one thing differ on certain teachings, yet to leave due to doctrinal positions seem a bit odd.

Essenian Beliefs

David: The Essenes didn’t think so. They wanted to seek God more closely. Their belief was that the coming of the Messiah of Israel was imminent. Again, they maintained that this Warring Messiah was to appear shortly and establish a kingdom of God and eliminate evil, including the Roman Empire and the sons of darkness. They saw themselves as the true remnant of Israel—the sons of light—preparing for the way of the Messiah, or messiahs.

Essenes versus the Way

Jeremiah: But didn’t the Christians¹⁸ call themselves the Way too, claiming similar exclusivity?

David: They claimed exclusivity as far as being the sole group which understood the truth (salvation in Yeshua), but the truth for them was entirely different. The Essenes were not devotees of the Anointed One;¹⁹ the Essenes lived at Qumran both before and after the life span of Jesus of Nazareth.

Jeremiah: You know, I never understood this issue of exclusivism as in I have the truth and others are mistaken.

David: The truth is this: every claim, whether it be a theological proposition or not, is a truth claim.

Jeremiah: What do you mean?

David: Think about it. Even the religious pluralist claiming all religions are adequate for salvation are making a truth claim, namely a truth claim for pluralism. This would mean that all who are opposed to pluralism are mistaken. Therefore, even pluralism is exclusive.²⁰

Jeremiah: Interesting! But isn’t that just semantics?

David: No! It’s the nature of thought! Let me ask you this: could God exist (as in theism) and not exist (as in atheism) at the same time?

Jeremiah: No!

David: Then we’ve at least made some progress. Furthermore, can God be all and not all (as in pantheism)?

Jeremiah: No!

David: Could God be many (as in polytheism) and not many at the same time?

Jeremiah: It seems not.

David: Based on that alone, we can draw the conclusion that theism, pantheism, and polytheism cannot all be true at the same time and in the same way since they are all in contradiction, right?

Jeremiah: I suppose so.

David: The fact is this: all religions do make exclusive claims concerning truth and salvation, no matter what the case. The point is this: they all cannot be true. Thus the question: which one is true?

Jeremiah: But it seems more fair to say that all religions are true, David.

David: It’s not an issue of what seems fair but an issue of truth. And should you be correct, then this is what follows: (1) all religions are true, (2) Christianity is a religion, (3) therefore Christianity is true.

Jeremiah: What’s wrong with that argument?

David: Christianity²¹ says the others are false, yet you say they’re all true. Which is it? Can they all be the only true way?

Jeremiah: Of course not!

David: Then the question is this: if God exists and has revealed Godself,²² does it make sense for such a being to give contradictory claims about Godself?

Jeremiah: Not if God is the source of all truth and wisdom.

David: Moreover, if God has the power to create the universe, then God is equally powerful to give humanity a message, as in a roadmap for getting home. This is precisely why God first sent prophets and finally the Son (Heb 1:1–3). The fact that Jesus fulfilled hundreds of prophecies; verified his message by a ministry of miracles, such as exorcisms, healings, and resurrections; and finally conquered death by his resurrection vindication who he truly was and is.

Jeremiah: Miracles and resurrection?

David: We’ll talk about that a bit later. But do you see the point that all religions cannot be true any more than atheism and Christianity can be true at the same time?

Jeremiah: I get that point; a thing cannot be what it is not.²³

David: Amen!

Theological Divide

Jeremiah: But since Judaism shares the same Hebrew Bible, why were there such differences between these Jewish sects? They all seem so distant from one another.

David: Well, the Sadducees’ denial of a literal resurrection and also their rejection of the remaining books following in the Tanakh led to a huge difference in interpretation.²⁴ In contrast to the Sadducees, the Pharisees would defend the remaining Tanakh. This group held to a resurrection in the end, the general resurrection, and also lived in some form of messianic expectation.²⁵

But something changed. In fact, we see this throughout Jewish history. Writes Julius Scott:

Something happened in Jewish history to change the nature of hope and expectation. No longer could the reward for righteousness be spelled out in terms of living long in an earthy Land of Promise (Deut 4:26; 5:33; 11:9; 30:18; 31:13; 32:47). Already in the latter part of the divided kingdom the pious Hebrews had to reckon with the possibility of a violent and early death. Defeat by Babylonia, life amidst hostile peoples, the life-and-death struggle against tyrants like Antiochus Epiphanes and their ideology heightened this likelihood [as also seen in the persecution of Jews and Christian Jews]. The apocalyptists gave up hope for earthly deliverance and salvation. The events, which really determine human fate, they believed, lie beyond this world; final vindication and retribution, real rewards, ultimate salvation come at the end, in the other world.²⁶

Clearly, we see that this history of violence affects us all, and especially God’s people. If we discard salvation here and merely look for it in the end or in the hereafter, it is a sure thing that messianic expectancy and hope weakens, if it does not shatter completely.

Messiah in Isaiah

Jeremiah: Before much of this messianic expectation weakened, or was given up by some, what was this messianic expectation based on? More specifically, for those who did believe and had not lost hope, where were their beliefs grounded?

David: In the prophet Isaiah (e.g., Isa 53) we read of the Suffering Servant. We see the same figure—Messiah prophetically woven into Ps 22 and other traditional messianic passages. Have you read these?

Jeremiah: Not yet. What do they say?

David: Concerning Messiah being despised, Isaiah wrote:

He was despised and rejected by mankind,

a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. (Isa 53:3)

Jeremiah: Can we be sure Isaiah writes about Messiah here? Wouldn’t many disagree that this is such a reference to Messiah?

David: Of course denial is possible; however, I think Isaiah is clear. The question we must ask is this: if it is not Messiah, then who is it? The prophecy cannot refer to a nation or country since the context refers to a person. Of course, many rabbis claim this is strictly speaking of Israel being persecuted, but this was not the case until rabbis like Rashi interpreted the passage, approximately eleven hundred years after the crucifixion of Jesus.

Jeremiah: We have been and still are persecuted, but I admit it does say he, as in a person.

David: The text seems, perhaps, not only to imply national persecution but also a specific persecution of a messianic figure, and since the Messiah is also Jewish, such persecution, and more, is not surprising. We could safely say that the passage (and we will read more about Isaiah in a minute) has at least a twofold meaning. It refers to the remnant of the nation of Israel, and yet the servant undergoing all this seems to be a specific person of innocence (vv. 4–6) who dies as sinless—fully innocent (vv. 7–9); if he is not sinless, then he cannot atone for sin. It is true that the Jewish people have suffered more than any other group of people.

Jeremiah: Will this suffering figure only carry Israel’s sorrows or also that of others?

David: Isaiah 52:15 says, So he will sprinkle many nations, which includes Gentile nations. There’s only one Israel, but nations is plural, so it must mean more than one. Isn’t that clear?

Jeremiah: Not so fast. What do the rabbis say about this passage?

David: That depends on which rabbi you read.

Jeremiah: What do you mean? Is the disagreement that vast?

David: You will discover that rabbinical interpretations were different in the centuries prior to the coming of Jesus and in the centuries following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70.

Jeremiah: Can you give me a few examples?

David: As touched on a moment ago, in the eleventh century Rabbi Rashi was primarily responsible for interpreting this passage of Scripture as referring to the nation of Israel. Prior Targumim suggest otherwise.

Jeremiah: Like what?

Messianic Death

David: The Targum Isaiah, dating approximately to 150 BC, states:

Behold my servant the Messiah shall prosper; he shall be exalted and great and very powerful. The Righteous One shall grow up before him, lo, like sprouting plants; and like a tree that sends its roots by the watercourses, so shall the exploits of the holy one multiply in the land which was desperate for him. His appearance shall not be a profane appearance, not the awe of an ignorant person, but his countenance shall radiate holiness, so that all who see him shall become wise through him. All of us were scattered like sheep . . . but [it was] the will of God to pardon the sins of all of us on his account . . . Then I will apportion unto him the spoil of great nations . . . because he was ready to sufferer martyrdom that the rebellious he might subjugate to the Torah. And might seek pardon for the sins of many.

You have to admit that the Targum is very clear and precise in its declaration that the will of God to pardon the sins of all of us on his account involves messianic death through someone who is ready to sufferer martyrdom in order to seek pardon for the sins of many.

Jeremiah: So far, this is plain.

An Afflicted and Wounded Messiah

Jeremiah: Who else speaks of Messiah suffering to the point of death in order to provide forgiveness for sins?

David: Isaiah further writes:

Surely he hath borne our grief, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement for our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (53:4–5 KJV)

Jeremiah: If this is talking about the Messiah, it seems that he will bear our griefs and sorrows. But being smitten and wounded for our iniquities and somehow being healed by his stripes, is a bit strange. How and why would this be necessary?

Iniquities Lie on the Lamb for Slaughter

David: Let’s have Isaiah answer that:

And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted. . . . He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter . . . so he openeth not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare his generation? (53:6b–8a KJV)

You see, in evaluating much of the writings of Jewish antiquity, some 456 Old Testament passages have been considered messianic in nature: 75 in the Pentateuch, 243 in the Prophets, and 138 from the hagiographa, and the concept of Messiah is also supported by more than 558 separate quotations from Rabbinic writings.²⁷

Jeremiah: Five hundred and fifty eight rabbinical quotations? That’s a big number; I had no idea.

David: Jesus of Nazareth fits the messianic picture and fulfillment of prophecy perfectly.

Jeremiah: So far so good.

Messiah to Be Cut Off

Jeremiah: Getting back to the death of Messiah, what reason does Isaiah give us?

David: The words of Isaiah are hard to miss pertaining to messianic death:

For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. (53:8b–9 KJV)²⁸

A Pierced Messiah

Jeremiah: So, then, Messiah died for transgressions?

David: Yes we also see a kind of piercing to the point of death. We see interesting language concerning "pierced in both Psalm 22 and Zechariah. And, noteworthy here is the Babylonian Talmud comments on Zechariah 12:10: What is the cause of the mourning? It is well according to him who explains that the cause of the slaying of Messiah, the Son of Joseph, since that well agrees with the Scriptural verse, ‘And they shall look upon me because they have thrust him through, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son’ (Sukkah 52a). And, according to Edersheim, in his comments on Psalm 22:7, he has noticed a somewhat clear connection to Isa. 60.

On Ps. 22:7 (8 in Hebrew) a remarkable comment appears in Yakult on Isa. 60, applying this passage to the Messiah (the second, or son of Ephraim), and using almost the same words in which the Evangelists describe the mockings . . . [in] Ps. 22:15. . . . There is a similar remarkable application to the Messiah of this verse in the Yakult.²⁹

The idea of Messiah dying from being pierced is therefore not a foreign idea.

Midrash and Messianic Suffering

David: But let’s get back to Isaiah. According to ancient rabbinical belief, this passage was considered messianic. For example,

Isa. 53 is applied in the Targum on the passage to the Kingdom of the Messiah. Verse 5 is messianically interpreted in the Midrash on Samuel (ed. Lemberg, p. 45a, last line), where it is said that all the sufferings are divided into three parts, one of which the Messiah bore—a remark which is brought into connection with Ruth 2:14.³⁰

Jeremiah: So there are clear connections in rabbinical writings to the messiah prior to the advent of Jesus Messiah?

David: Yes, and we have only scratched the surface, my friend.