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Note: We have borrowed this particular post from our "Letters to the Editor Readers' Comments" section because of the number of e-mails we get that pose the exact same questions. These questions, surprisingly come from not only the Orthodox Jews, but also from Christians who insist that Jesus is Messiah but NOT God!
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1. MANY MESSIAHS IN THE BIBLE: There are many Messiahs in the Bible. Since every King and High Priest was anointed with oil, each may be referred to as "an anointed one" (a Mashiach or a Messiah). For example: "G-d forbid that I [David] should stretch out my hand against the L-rd's Messiah [Saul]..." I Samuel 26:11. Cf. II Samuel 23:1, Isaiah 45:1, Psalms 20:6.
2. JOHN IS OR ISN'T ELIJAH: According to Biblical tradition, Elijah the prophet will reappear before the coming of the Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6). In the Greek Testament, Jesus claims that John the Baptist was Elijah (Matthew 11:13-14, 17:10-13). However, when John the Baptist was asked if he was Elijah, he denied it (John 1:21). The Gospel of Luke 1:17 tries to get around this problem by claiming that John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah. However: a] Malachi predicted that Elijah himself would return, and not just someone coming in his spirit. The prophesy about the return of Elijah says that he would restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. There is no evidence that John the Baptist accomplished this.
3. MESSIAH COMES FROM A CURSED FAMILY LINE? According to the Jewish Bible, the Messiah must be a descendent of King David. (Jeremiah 23:5, 33:17; Ezekiel 34:23-24) Although the Greek Testament traces the genealogy of Joseph (husband of Mary) back to David, it then claims that Jesus resulted from a virgin birth, and, that Joseph was not his father. (Mat. 1:18-23) In response, it is claimed that Joseph adopted Jesus, and passed on his genealogy via adoption. There are two problems with this claim: a) there is no Biblical basis for the idea of a father passing on his tribal line by adoption. A priest who adopts a son from another tribe cannot make him a priest by adoption; b) Joseph could never pass on by adoption that which he doesn't have. Because Joseph descended from Jeconiah (Mat. 1:11) he fell under the curse of that king that none of his descendants could ever sit as king upon the throne of David. (Jeremiah 22:30; 36:30). To answer this difficult problem, apologists claim that Jesus traces himself back to King David through his mother Mary, who allegedly descends from David, as shown in the third chapter of Luke. There are four basic problems with this claim: a] There is no evidence that Mary descends from David. The third chapter of Luke traces Joseph's genealogy, not Mary's. b] Even if Mary can trace herself back to David, that doesn't help Jesus, since tribal affiliation goes only through the father, not mother. Cf. Num. 1:18; Ezra 2:59. c] Even if family line could go through the mother, Mary was not from a legitimate Messianic family. According to the Bible, the Messiah must be a descendent of David through his son Solomon (II Sam. 7:14;I Chron. 17:11-14, 22:9-10, 28:4-6) The third chapter of Luke is useless because it goes through David's son Nathan, not Solomon. (Luke 3:31) d] Luke 3:27 lists Shealtiel and Zerubbabel in his genealogy. These two also appear in Matthew 1:12 as descendants of the cursed Jeconiah. If Mary descends from them, it would also disqualify her from being a Messianic progenitor.
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1. MANY MESSIAHS IN THE BIBLE:
RESPONSE: There is no doubt that the title "messiah" is a general term that has been given to many people in Biblical times. The term "messiah" simply means "anointed", or "one set aside for a specific task or calling by God". David, Saul and Moses would all be considered as a "messiah" in their days. Even some of the prophets could be called this as well.
But you would have to agree that Judaism over the millennia has been looking for "the messiah" not just "a messiah". Not just one who will come and change a single generation or two, but one who will come and change the direction of the entire world for all times. I'm sure that you know that the Rambam himself was looking for "the" messiah; in fact in his thirteen principles of faith, number twelve states "I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah. How long it takes, I will await His coming every day." Unlike Rambam, I believe that Yeshua is that messiah that our people have been looking for. He even refers to himself as this messiah in John 4:25-26: The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming when that One comes, He will declare all things to us." Yeshua said to her, " I who speak to you am He."
2. JOHN IS OR ISN'T ELIJAH:
RESPONSE: I do not believe that this John was a type of reincarnation of the prophet, or an apparition of the long dead prophet Elijah. Did John believe that he himself was Elijah? No, not if we can believe what he said in the verse that you quoted. But just because he did not believe that he was fulfilling the prophecy, or that he was not the prophet come back from the dead, doesn't mean that he was correct in his assessment of himself. Instead of taking John's word for who he saw himself as, I would rather believe what messiah himself said in Matthew 11:12-15: "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
I do not know the changes that occurred in people's hearts surrounding the ministry of this John (the new covenant simply does not give us that information, but the new covenant does say that there were big changes in the hearts of many people because of what this John did). Matt 3:1-6 --Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, "THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!'" Now John himself had a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being immersed by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins."
Jerusalem and all Judea? Confessed their sins? This seems to have been a large impact on the people of that day as John was preparing their hearts for the presentation of Messiah.
3. MESSIAH COMES FROM A CURSED FAMILY LINE?
RESPONSE: The following explanation was taken from the Yale Judaica edition translated by William G. Braude and Israel J. Kapstein (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1975), pp. 376-77:
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The Problem of the Curse on Jeconiah in Relation to the Genealogy of Yeshua
The problem can be laid out in this way:
According to the genealogy in Matthew 1:12, Yeshua is a descendant of Jeconiah. But Jeconiah was cursed in Jeremiah 22:24 and 22:30:
"As surely as I live," declares the LORD, "even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. This is what the LORD says: "Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule any more in Judah."
Since no descendant of Jeconiah could ever sit on the throne, if Yeshua is a descendant of this cursed king, then he is automatically disqualified from being the Messiah.
If this is true, then what is Jeconiah doing in the genealogy of Yeshua in Matthew's gospel? And how can Yeshua qualify to be the Messiah? First of all, we have to wonder why Matthew would ever have included Jeconiah among the ancestors of Yeshua if this so obviously disqualified Yeshua from being the Messiah. In fact, we will see that not only do the Scriptures show that the curse was only short-term, if not altogether reversed by God, but this is substantiated by our own Rabbis as well!
There are three parts to the curse on Jeconiah (who is also called Jehoiachin or Coniah, so these names can be used interchangeably):
- that he would be childless (this is how the Hebrew text literally reads)
- that he would not prosper in his lifetime
- that none of his descendants would rule in Judah
But the Scripture clearly shows that, for some reason, none of the parts of this curse took place. And if the curse didn't take place then either God did not tell the truth, or there must have been a reason for God to not bring the curse about!
Though the Hebrew literally reads in Jeremiah, "Record this man childless," Jeconiah in fact did have children. The descendants of Jehoiachin the captive: Shealtiel his son, Malkiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama and Nedabiah -- 1 Chronicles 3:17-18. Therefore the first part of the curse did not come about.
Next, he did actually prosper in his day (albeit while in capivity).
In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin from prison on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month. He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. -- 2 Kings 25:27-28. Therefore the second part of the curse did not come about.
Next, his own grandson Zerubbabel prospered and ruled. In fact the same words God used in rejecting Jeconiah were deliberately used in establishing Zerubbabel as the leader!
When pronouncing the curse, Jeconiah is symbolically referred to as a 'signet ring'. "As surely as I live," declares the LORD, "even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. -- Jeremiah 22:24
Yet when God established Zerubbabel, Jeconiah's grandson, as a leader of the people, God used this same term 'signet ring' as a symbol of Zerubbabel. "'On that day,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the LORD, 'and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the LORD Almighty." -- Haggai 2:23
Though Zerubbabel did not sit on the throne as king, the fact that Haggai 2:23 uses the same terminology as Jeremiah 22:24 shows that Haggai intended to indicate a reversal of the curse.
We have to conclude that in Jeremiah 22:30, "in his lifetime" qualifies the following phrases, and "for" explains that no descendant of his will prosper and rule during his lifetime.
We find rabbinic sources that also agree that God reversed the curse on Jeconiah, which they themselves attribute to repentance on Jeconiah's part. We even find the idea that the Messiah will descend from Jeconiah -- exactly the opposite of what some say is impossible! Some of these sources are as follows:
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Sources stating that Jeconiah repented and so God reversed the curse:
Sanhedrin 37b-38a
R. Johanan said: Exile atones for everything, for it is written, Thus saith the Lord, write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days, for no man of his seed shall prosper sitting upon the throne of David and ruling any more in Judah. Whereas after he [the king] was exiled, it is written, And the sons of Jechoniah, -- the same is Assir Shealtiel his son etc.(1) [He was called] Assir, because his mother conceived him in prison. Shealtiel, because God did not plant him in the way that others are planted. We know by tradition that a woman cannot conceive in a standing position. [yet she] did conceive standing. Another interpretation: Shealtiel, because God obtained [of the Heavenly court] absolution from His oath.(2)
(1) I Ch. III, 17. Notwithstanding the curse that he should be childless and not prosper, after being exiled he was forgiven.
(2) Which He had made, to punish Jechoniah with childlessness. --Soncino Talmud edition, with selected footnotes
Pesikta de-Rab Kahana (5th c.)
I accepted the repentance of Jeconiah: shall I not accept your repentance? A cruel decree had been imposed upon Jeconiah: Scripture says, This man Coniah is a despised, shattered image ('sb) (Jer. 22:28), for Jeconiah, according to R. Abba bar Kahana, was like a man's skull ('sm) which once shattered is utterly useless, or according to R. Helbo, like a wrapper of reed matting that dates are packed in, which, once emptied, is utterly useless. And Scripture goes on to say of Jeconiah: He is a vessel that none reaches for with delight (ibid.), a vessel, said R. Hama bar R. Hanina, such as a urinal; or a vessel, said R. Samuel bar Nahman, such as is used for drawing off blood. [These comments on Jeconiah derive from] R. Meir's statement: The Holy One swore that He would raise up no king out of Jeconiah king of Judah. Thus Scripture: As I live, saith the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim . . . were the signet on a hand, yet by My right, I would pluck thee hence (Jer. 22:24), words by which God was saying, explained R. Hanina bar R. Isaac, "Beginning with thee, Jeconiah, I pluck out the kingship of the house of David." It is to be noted, however, that the Hebrew for "pluck thee" is not as one would expect 'tkk, but the fuller and less usual 'tknk, which may also be rendered "mend thee"--that is, mend thee by thy repentance. Thus in the very place, [the kingship], whence Jeconiah was plucked, amends would be made to him: [his line would be renewed].
R. Ze'era said: I heard the voice of R. Samuel bar Isaac expounding from the teacher's chair a specific point concerning Jeconiah, but I just cannot remember what it was. R. Aha Arika asked: Did it perhaps have some connection with this particular verse -- Thus saith the Lord: Write ye this man childless, a man [who] will not prosper in his days (Jer. 22:30)? "Yes, that's it!" said R. Ze'era. Thereupon R. Aha Arika went on to give R. Samuel bar Isaac's interpretation of the verse: In his days Jeconiah, so long as he is childless, will not prosper, but when he has a son, then he will prosper by his son's prosperity.
R Aha bar Abun bar Benjamin, citing R. Abba bar R. Papi, said: Great is the power of repentance, which led God to set aside an oath even as it led Him to set aside a decree. Whence the proof that a man's repentance led Him to set aside the oath He made in the verse As I live, saith the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim were the signet on a hand, yet by My right, I would pluck thee hence (Jer. 22:24)? The proof is in the verse where Scripture says [of one of Jeconiah's descendants] In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel . . . the son of Shealtiel . . . and will make thee as a signet (Haggai 2:23). And the proof that a man's repentance led God to set aside a decree He issued in the verse Thus saith the Lord: Write ye this man childless, etc. (Jer. 22:30)? The proof is in the verse where Scripture says, The sons of Jeconiah the same is Asir Shealtiel his son, etc. (1 Chron. 3:17). R. Tanhum bar Jeremiah said: Jeconiah was called Asir, "one imprisoned," because he had been in prison ('asurim); and his sons called "Shealtiel" because he was like a sapling, newly set out (hustelah), through whom David's line would be continued.
R. Tanhuma said: Jeconiah was called Asir, "imprisoned," because God imprisoned Himself by His oath in regard to him; and Jeconiah's son was called Shealtiel, "God consulted," because God consulted the heavenly court, and they released Him from His oath.
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