reprinted by permission of Messianic Literature Outreach
There
are over 1,000,000 people who believe that one of our people who lived in
Eretz Yisrael(land of Israel)
was unique, that he was the Messiah, the Ben elohim(Son of God)
.
They believe in the Brit Hadasha(New Testament) which was written by Jews.
They also believe in the Tenach(Old Testament), in Moses, and the Jewish
Prophets. As a result many of them have gone
to distant parts of the earth. They have spent their lives teaching
the heathen faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
and in His Messiah, and translating for them our Bible. All this they
did and do because they believe in a Jew, born of flesh and bone,
that He is the Messiah of Jew and Gentile.
Does it mean that they are all meshuga (crazy)?
Or could it be that we have made a mistake in relation
to Him?
The Prophets Agree
Our Prophets agree that our Messiah will also come to redeem
the Gentiles. Ya'acov Avinu (Jacob our Patriarch) says in Bereshit (Genesis
49:10) that: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from
between His feet until Shiloh come, and unto Him shall the gathering of
the people be." (Hebrew: "Velo Yikhat Amim" = Him shall the nations obey).
Yeshayah Hanovee (Isaiah the Prophet) says: "And in that day there shall
be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign to the people; to it
shall the Gentiles seek: and His rest shall be glorious." (11:10)
Further it is written: "And He (the Lord) said, It is a
light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up Israel. I will
also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation
unto the end of the earth." (The "Servant" raises and restores Israel but
is not identical with Israel).
The Prophet Haggai ( 2:7) speaks of the desire of all nations
(Hebrew: Goyim) who shall come. Will you then agree that at least part of
these prophecies have been fulfilled in the Jewish Messiah whom the nations
worship, namely Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth?
Modern Rabbinical Thought
Some of our Orthodox Rabbis told us the worst stories about
Jesus. They said that He performed the miracles by stealing away the Shem
Hamphorash (Sacred Name of Jehovah) and sewing it into the calf of His foot.
Now does it stand to reason that God Himself would permit such a horrible
impostor, as these Rabbis picture Him, to use God's Holy Name to perform
miracles, and that millions of people should be misled to this very day?
Modern Jewish Rabbis and scholars have a lofty opinion about
Jesus. He is considered by some a great prophet, a great ethical teacher,
the best of men and even the Messiah of the Gentiles. (Eg., Graetz, Montefiore,
Joseph Klausner, Sholem Asch) Now if He was such a good man, he surely would
not have told a lie when He continually claimed to be the Messiah.
This Is The Answer
We Jews who believe that He is the Messiah say with Yeshayah
Hanovee (Isaiah 53:4-6): Surely He has borne our griefs 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 of our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way,
& the Lord(Jehovah) hath laid on Him the iniquities of us all.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government
shall be upon His shoulder:
and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The
Father of Eternity, The Prince of Peace.
(Isaiah 9:6)
The time will come when Zechariah's prophecy
will be fulfilled: "They (the Jewish people) shall look upon me whom they have pierced,
and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall
be in bitterness for him,
as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." (12:10)
For further information
contact: -MENORAH MINISTRIES - P.O. Box 460024
Glendale, CO 80246-0024
Voice: 303-355-2009 Fax: 303-355-6901
E-mail: menorah@menorah.org
Internet Page: http://www.menorah.org