yeshua messiah

Jesus the Messiah? An Enlightening, Compelling, Easy to Understand Argument for Every Jew and Gentile

“Jesus was a magician!”

That was the strong rebuke I received from my dad when I tried to explain to him I believed Jesus is the Messiah. My dad (God rest his soul) was Jewish and had been told years ago that Jesus was not the promised Messiah but instead was a phony, a sorcerer, a magician.

Where did my dad get that thinking from?

From a host of ancient Sages (rabbis).

In a powerfully convincing book, Refuting Rabbinical Objections to Christianity and Messianic Prophecies, Eitan Barr, an Israeli Jew who believes Jesus (Yeshua) is the Messiah, explains that after Jesus’ death and resurrection, unbelieving rabbinical scholars began to purposely confuse their students and the general population with propaganda designed to instill fear upon anyone who considered Yeshua to be God’s promised redeemer.

While the rabbis continue to belittle Yeshua as a fake, or a magician, Barr examines the Messianic Biblical prophecies that contend the Messiah must be a descendant of David (1 Chronicle 17), be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5), appear before the destruction of the second Temple and executed in 32CE (Daniel 9), be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7), enter Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9), heal otherwise incurable conditions (Isaiah 35), be rejected by the leaders of his own people (Isaiah 53, Psalm 22), be a blessing to the Gentiles (Psalm 118), and be crucified (Pslam 22, Isaiah 53, Zechariah 12), and be raised from the dead…!

This scholarly book is an easy read and very enlightening.

This book is a must for:
– All Jewish people who are genuinely searching for the truth.
– For all Messianic Jews who desire to deepen their spiritual roots.
– For Gentile Christians who want to affirm the foundation of their salvation and be able to better share their faith with a Jewish friend.

By the way, my dad acknowledged Yeshua as his Savior about an hour before his departure into eternity.

 

The real question: why Jesus?

Let’s blow right through Madison Avenue’s favorite holiday and cut right to the chase: Why Jesus?

Because the God of All Creation chose a line of people–the Hebrews–to reveal his  character to the world.  However, rather than expect the non-Hebrew, gentile masses to “convert” to Judaism and adopt all of the customs, rituals (including animal sacrifices for the atonement of sin) and other odd accoutrements of the Chosen People, God had a plan.

He chose to come to earth in the form of a human to save humanity from the sin that filled the world.  God did this, fully knowing that this Savior, whose Hebrew name would be Yeshua (Jesus, or “God with us”) would be rejected by the very world he created.

This Son of God came and revealed himself exclusively to the Hebrew/Jewish people, proclaiming, “I am the way, I am the truth, I am the light.  No one comes to my father but through me.”

Many of God’s Chosen did believe, sadly many others did not.

Seen as a threat to both the religious establishment and the Roman government, Yeshua was eventually executed, but this too was a part of the plan.  His death would serve as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of all people–past, present and future.

And, proving that the Savior had power even over the grave, Yeshua rose from the dead and revealed himself as the long promised Messiah, in accordance with the Hebrew Scriptures.

By embracing his sacrificial death, believing that he indeed was raised him from the dead, and realizing that he will be coming back to someday establish an eternal Kingdom, all men and women from every corner of the world may be saved.

Why Jesus?

Because the God of Israel so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever shall believe in him shall have everlasting life.

I’m honored to have been born into a Jewish family, but even more awestruck that somehow my sinful eyes were opened to the Truth.  Thus, I must share this good news with anyone willing to hear.
 
That in mind, I conclude with a meaningful Jewish saying, “May your name be found in the Book of Life.”