Messiah Wanted!
I.
Introduction
Christianity is based on the claim that Jesus is the
Messiah who fulfilled all the prophecies in the Hebrew Bible. In fact, many Christian missionary websites
list hundreds of "Old Testament" prophecies, along with passages from
the New Testament as "evidence" of their fulfillment by Jesus.[1] The reality is that the messianic agenda, as
described in the Hebrew Bible, consists of a mere handful of significant items,
which are to be completed during the reign of 
(mashi'ah), the promised Jewish
Messiah.
Although it is not the spiritual concern of Judaism
and of the Jewish community at large whether Christians choose to believe these
claims are true, unfortunate situations occur when Christian missionaries use
this material for the purpose of Jewish evangelism. They try to convince their Jewish targets,
particularly those who are perceived as lacking a good Jewish education, that
this is all true and that they need to accept Jesus as Messiah in order to
become "completed Jews".
This essay focuses on what the Hebrew Bible teaches
concerning the qualifications and expectations of the . This information is then cast into a
"Job Requisition" that serves as a template that for evaluating the
suitability of a claimant to this position.
Specifically, this template is applied to Jesus, Christianity's
candidate for this position, and demonstrates, (a) that he failed to qualify
for the job, and (b) even though it is claimed he was appointed to the
position, he did not do the job right.
II.
Job
Requisition: , Judaism's
Messiah
A "Job Requisition" template for the
position of Jewish Messiah, shown in Table II-1, has been developed to describe
who, according to the Hebrew Bible, this person will be, what his known
attributes are, and what he is expected to accomplish. Further elaboration on its contents follows
the table.
Table
II-1 – "Job
Requisition" for the
|
Position Available |
|
|
Job Description |
To usher in the messianic
era, as foretold in the Hebrew Bible, and to preside over the people of |
|
Job Requirements |
To execute and successfully
complete the messianic agenda, as described in the Hebrew Bible, within one
lifetime. |
|
Prior Job Experience |
None |
|
Qualifications |
The successful candidate
will have attributes that must include, but not necessarily be limited to,
the following: 1. Be the seed (a direct descendant) of King David,
through King Solomon (e.g., 2 Sam 7:12-16) 2. Be a spiritual and military/political leader (e.g.,
Is 2:3, 11:2; Dan 7:14) 3. Be married and have children during his term (e.g.,
Ezek 46:16-17) |
|
Performance Appraisal
Criteria |
The successful candidate
will be expected to bring about certain conditions as part of his
sovereignty, though some will commence prior to his being identified as the
Messiah. These must include, but not
necessarily be limited to, the following: 1. Arrival of Elijah the
Prophet (e.g., Mal 3:23-24[4:5-6][2]) 2. Building the 3. In-gathering of Jewish exiles to 4. Reunification of 5. World peace (e.g., Is 2:4) 6. Universal knowledge of G-d (e.g., Is 11:9) 7. Resurrection of the dead (e.g., Is 26:19) |
A.
Prior Job Experience
Although Jewish tradition holds that in every
generation there lives a person who is worthy of being the promised Jewish
Messiah, this job has never before been filled.
Consequently, it is not possible to possess any prior job experience.
B.
Qualifications
The Qualifications of candidates for the job of
Jewish Messiah are the pre-requisites for consideration, and they are specified
in the Hebrew Bible.
1. Seed of David through
Solomon
The Messiah will be a biological descendant of King
David from the branch that goes through Solomon, since Solomon is the one who
built the
2
Samuel 7:12-16 – (12) When
your days will be completed and you will lie with your forefathers, then
I shall raise up your seed after you, that which will issue from your loins,
and I shall establish his kingdom. (13) He
shall build a
1
Chronicles 22:9-10 – (9) Behold
a son will be born to you; he will be a man of peace, and I shall give
him peace from all his enemies around about, for Solomon will be his name,
and I shall give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. (10) He
shall build a House in My Name, and he shall be to Me as a son, and I to
him as a Father, and I shall prepare the throne of his kingdom forever. [See
also 1 Kgs 8:15-20; 1 Chron 17:11-15, 22:9-10, 28:3-7.]
2. Spiritual and
Military/Political Leader of
The Messiah will be steeped in Torah, an authority
who will influence all of
Isaiah
2:3 - And many nations shall
go, and they shall say, "Come, let us go up to the L-rd's mount, to the
House of the G-d of Jacob, and let Him teach us of His ways, and we will go in
His paths;" for out of Zion shall
the Torah come forth, and the Word of the L-rd from Jerusalem.
The Messiah will defeat and conquer the enemies
surrounding
Daniel
7:14 - He has been given
dominion, honor, and kingship, so that all peoples, nations, and tongues will
serve him; his dominion is an eternal dominion that will never be
removed, and his kingship will not be destroyed.
3. Married with Children
Although marriage and children are not stated
pre-requisites for being the Messiah, there is a clear indication that the
Prince, who is the Messiah/King [see Ezek 34:23-24, 37:24], will have
children (via marriage) at some point in time during his reign, and they will
be entitled to inherit his property:
Ezekiel
46:16-17 – (16) Thus says the
L-rd G-d: "If the Prince gives a gift to any of his sons, it is
his inheritance to remain in their possession; it is their property by
inheritance. (17) But if he gives
a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his [the
servant's] until the year of liberty, and then it returns to the Prince; only
to his sons shall his inheritance belong.
C.
Performance Appraisal Criteria
The Performance Appraisal Criteria comprise several
significant messianic agenda items against which the performance of a qualified
candidate for the job of Jewish Messiah must be evaluated.
1.
Arrival of Elijah the Prophet
Elijah the prophet will precede the Messiah and
"pave the way" for his arrival, heralding the commencement of the
messianic era:
Malachi
3:23[4:5] – Behold, I
will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and
awesome day of the L-rd.
2.
Building the
The presence of the Third Temple is envisioned in
what is, perhaps, one of the most detailed and vivid descriptions of the
messianic era to be found in the Hebrew Bible - Chapter 37 in the Book of
Ezekiel:
Ezekiel
37:26-28 – (26) And I will
form a covenant of peace for them, an everlasting covenant shall be with them;
and I will establish them, and I will multiply them, and I will place My Sanctuary in their midst forever. (27) And My dwelling place shall be over
them; and I will be to them for a G-d, and they shall be to Me as a
people. (28) And the nations shall know
that I am the L-rd who sanctifies
Later on, in Chapters 40-48, Ezekiel provides
detailed descriptions of the
3.
In-Gathering of Jewish Exiles to
The Messiah will repatriate the Jewish people from
the Diaspora to the promised land of
Isaiah
11:12 - And he [Messiah] shall
set up a banner for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of
4.
Reunification of
The messianic agenda calls for the restoration of a
unified kingdom for the people of
Ezekiel
37:22 - And I
will make them into one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel,
and one king shall be to them all as a king; and they shall no longer be as two
nations, and they shall not be divided into two kingdoms anymore. [See also the
"lead-in", Ezek 37:16-21; Is 11:13.]
5.
World Peace
The Messiah will be recognized as a fair judge and
peacemaker, and in the messianic era, disputes between countries will be settled
through peaceful means and not by war:
Isaiah
2:4 - And he [the Messiah]
shall judge among the nations, and he shall reprove many peoples; and
they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning
hooks; nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, and they shall not
learn war anymore. [See also , Is 11:6-8, Micah 4:3-4.]
6.
Universal Knowledge of G-d
There will prevail a universal knowledge of G-d that
will put an end to destruction and violence:
Isaiah
11:9 - They shall not harm and
not destroy on all of My holy mountain; for the land shall be as filled
with the knowledge of the L-rd, as the waters cover the sea bed. [See also Jer
31:33[34]; Zech 14:9.]
7.
Resurrection of the Dead
Most, but not all, of the dead will come back to
life. The righteous will live in bliss,
and the wicked will live in misery:
Isaiah
26:19 - May
Your dead live, 'My corpses shall rise; awaken and sing, you who dwell in the
dust, for a dew of lights is your dew, and [to the] earth You shall cast
the slackers. [See also Ezek 37:12-13; Dan 12:2.]
III.
Christianity's Candidate – Appraisal of
Qualifications & Performance
According to the New Testament, the Messiah of
Christianity is Jesus. Rather than
accept (on faith) the claims made by Christian missionaries about Jesus being
the (Jewish) Messiah promised in the Hebrew Bible, he will be considered here
as an applicant for the position of Jewish Messiah, whose credentials and
performance will be evaluated using the requirements listed in the "Job
Requisition".
According to the explanation given in Section II.A,
and as Christianity's candidate for the job, Jesus satisfied this criterion.
1. Seed of David through
Solomon
Although the New Testament authors claim that Jesus
was the "son of David" (e.g., Mt 1:1; Mk 12:35), the manner of his
allegedly miraculous "Virgin Birth" (e.g., Mt 1:18-25; Lk 1:27-35)
rules out the possibility of a Davidic lineage for him. According to Jewish Law (e.g., Num 1:18), and
as confirmed by recent genetic research, tribal lineage - a blood right - is
passed exclusively by a father to his biological sons (via the Y-Chromosome)
and, therefore, cannot be transmitted in any other manner, including adoption. Since, according to the New Testament, the
Holy Ghost, not Joseph, impregnated the "Virgin Mary", Jesus has no
identifiable tribal lineage.
Another problem with the claim to the Davidic throne
by Jesus is the matter of the two hopelessly irreconcilable genealogies in the
New Testament (Mt 1:1-17; Lk 3:23-38).
Christians still cannot agree on whether the genealogy in the Gospel of
Luke belongs to Joseph or to Mary.
Either way, this is a moot point, since that genealogy goes through
Solomon's brother Nathan and, too, a female's genealogy is irrelevant to
lineage according to the Hebrew Bible.
Perhaps this is the reason that Paul, recognizing the problems with
these two genealogies, wrote:
1
Timothy 1:4(KJV) - Neither
give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister
questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.
Titus
3:9(KJV) - But avoid
foolish questions, and genealogies,
and contentions, and strivings about the law; for
they are unprofitable and vain.
Note here how Paul, to whom Christian missionaries
refer as "Rabbi", teaches Christians that some parts of the Bible –
genealogies in this case, which include those of Jesus – are akin to fables and
foolish questions, which must not be given heed and should be avoided.
2. Spiritual and
Military/Political Leader of
When did Jesus serve as spiritual and
military/political leader of a unified people of
3. Married with Children
Was Jesus ever married and did he (biologically)
father any children? The authors of the
New Testament are silent on this matter.
According to the New Testament, Jesus never married nor did he father
any children. Though Christians
generally refer to themselves as the "spiritual" children of Jesus,
this is not the same as biological children, which are also referred to as
seed, offspring, and progeny.
"Candidate" Jesus passes the "Prior
Job Experience" test. However, he
does not possess the requisite "Qualifications" to be a viable
candidate for the job.
Conclusion: Jesus failed to qualify as candidate for the job.
Christianity has claimed Jesus as its Messiah. Therefore, the evaluation process continues
in order to determine whether he performed that job as required.
1.
Arrival of Elijah the Prophet
Jesus claimed that John the Baptist was Elijah:
Matthew
11:10-14(KJV) – (10) For
this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,
which shall prepare thy way before thee. (11) Verily I say unto you,
Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John
the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven
is greater than he. (12) And from the
days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence,
and the violent take it by force. (13) For
all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. (14) And if ye will
receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
Yet, according to the New Testament, John the
Baptist himself denied it:
John
1:21(KJV) - And they asked
him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
Jesus also claimed that Elijah, when he showed up,
was mistreated:
Matthew
17:12(KJV) - But I say unto
you, That
Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever
they listed. Likewise shall also the
Son of man suffer of them.
Yet, nowhere in the Hebrew Bible is such treatment
of Elijah foretold, and his mission will be the opposite of that which is
described in the New Testament:
Malachi
4:5-6(KJV)[3:23-24 in the Hebrew Bible] – (5) Behold, I will send you Elijah the
prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the
LORD: (6) And he shall turn the heart of
the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers,
lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Moreover, it seems that John the Baptist, alleged to
have been Elijah, was rather unsure about Jesus being the Messiah:
Luke
7:19-20(KJV) – (19) And John
calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he
that should come? or look we for another? (20) When the men were come unto him, they
said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should
come? or look we for another?
Given that Elijah will be the one announcing the
arrival of the Messiah, how is it possible that he will not know who the
Messiah is? Does this make any
sense? The conclusion is that Elijah has
not yet returned.
2.
Building the
The authors of the New Testament are silent about
Jesus having built the
3.
In-Gathering of Jewish Exiles to
The authors of the New Testament are silent on
whether this occurred during the lifetime of Jesus. The historical record of the first century
C.E. testifies to the fact that not only where the all the Jewish people not
repatriated to the Holy Land, they were exiled and dispersed into the Diaspora
much more than what happened during the previous exile following the
destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.E.
4.
Reunification of
According to a misquoted verse from the Hebrew
Bible, cited in Hebrews 8:8, this was not yet the situation at the time of the
writing of Hebrews during the first century C.E. Eight centuries after the destruction of the
Northern Kingdom of Israel with its population dispersed into exile by Assyria,
only a Judean remnant populated the
5.
World Peace
The historical record of the first century C.E.
testifies to the fact that war, not peace, was raging all over the region of
the
6.
Universal Knowledge of G-d
The historical record of the first century C.E.
testifies to the fact that paganism was rampant, and that a new religion, which
quickly embraced many of these pagan principles, further diverted people from a
universal knowledge of G-d.
7.
Resurrection of the Dead
Both the historical record of the first century C.E.
and the conflicting accounts in the New Testament lead to the conclusion that
no resurrection of the dead ever took place, and that the story of the alleged
"rising from the dead" of Jesus is a myth.
The performance of "Candidate" Jesus did
not meet the stated "Performance Appraisal Criteria".
Conclusion: Jesus failed to do the job right.
As was already demonstrated, Jesus did not possess
the necessary credentials to qualify him as a candidate for the position of
Jewish Messiah. Yet, owing to the fact
that he is the declared Messiah of Christianity, it was actually possible to
evaluate his performance on the job using the criteria provided in the Hebrew
Bible. Together, the results of the two
phases of the evaluation clearly demonstrate that Jesus did not meet the
requirements that would entitle him to the title of Jewish Messiah. Table III.D-1 replicates the "Job
Requisition" and includes a scoring column to indicate whether
"candidate" Jesus, the Messiah of Christianity, satisfied each of the
listed requirements.
Table
III.D-1 – Did Christianity's
candidate meet the job requirements?
|
Category |
Requirements |
Met? |
|
Prior Job Experience |
None |
Yes |
|
Qualifications |
The successful candidate
will have attributes that must include, but not necessarily be limited to,
the following: |
|
|
1. Be a direct descendant of King David, through King
Solomon (e.g., 2 Sam 7:12-16) |
No |
|
|
2. Be a spiritual and military/political leader (e.g.,
Is 2:3) |
No |
|
|
3. Be married and have children during (e.g., Ezek
46:16-17) |
No |
|
|
Performance Appraisal
Criteria |
The successful candidate
will be expected to bring about certain conditions as part of his
sovereignty, though some will commence prior to his being identified as
Messiah. These must include, but not
necessarily be limited to, the following: |
|
|
1. Arrival of Elijah the
Prophet (e.g., Mal 3:23-24[4:5-6]) |
No |
|
|
2. Building the |
No |
|
|
3. In-gathering of Jewish exiles to |
No |
|
|
4. Reunification of |
No |
|
|
5. World peace (e.g., Is 2:4) |
No |
|
|
6. Universal knowledge of G-d (e.g., Is 11:9) |
No |
|
|
7. Resurrection of the dead (e.g., Is 26:19) |
No |
|
|
Criteria
Satisfied: 1 "Yes", 10
"No" |
||
"Candidate" Jesus, the Messiah of
Christianity, satisfied one out of the eleven requirements described in the
"Job Requisition" for the position of Jewish Messiah. Does he qualify for the title of Jewish
Messiah? Would you hire him?
Conclusion: Jesus was a failed candidate for the job of Jewish Messiah.
IV.
Summary