“‘Behold, the days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, “The Lord our righteousness”’”
(Jeremiah 23:5–6)
The coming of the Messiah is a fundamental belief of Judaism. Orthodox Jewish people pray every day for the coming of the Messiah. Most Jewish people believe, when the Messiah comes, there will be world peace. Thankfully, the Bible gives us much more detail about the coming of the Messiah and exactly what He will accomplish.
Thoughts for you to consider:
Who is the Messiah within Judaism? The Hebrew word for Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ, mashiach) comes from the root word מָשַׁח (mashach), which means “to anoint.” There are numerous anointed ones in Israel’s history. Prophets, priests, and kings were anointed. When Israel’s kings continued to fail, the people began to realize their need for the Messiah, supernaturally anointed by God. Psalm 2 speaks of the worldwide reign of the Lord’s anointed, which was not fulfilled by King David, King Solomon, King Hezekiah, or any other king.
The traditional Jewish view of the Messiah teaches:
- The Messiah will be a great political leader and a descendant of King David (Jeremiah 23:5).
- The Messiah will be well-versed in Jewish law and observe God’s commandments (Isaiah 11:1–5).
- The Messiah will judge rightly and bring justice to the land (Jeremiah 33:15).
Perhaps you are thinking Yeshua could not be the Messiah because He did not fulfill any of the accomplishments noted above. Indeed, you very well might be thinking circumstances worsened for Jewish people after Yeshua’s arrival in the first century.
Regarding this question, Who is the Messiah?, Scripture teaches us a few more details you might have never read or heard (again, we ask you to take some time and read all the Scripture verses for yourself in your own Bible):
- The Messiah is the Son of God (Psalm 2:7).
- The Messiah would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14).
- The Messiah would be from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10).
- The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:1; verse 2 in some Bibles).
- The Messiah would even be the Lord Himself (Jeremiah 23:5–6).
Questions to consider:
- While growing up, did you hear about the Messiah?
- If you had heard about the Messiah, what did you hear?
- Were you surprised to read Isaiah, a prophet of Israel, speaking of the virgin birth of the Messiah?
- Were you surprised to read King David describes the Messiah as the Son of God?
- Do the Messianic prophecies above point to anyone about whom you have heard?
- If so, tell us your thoughts.
Thoughts for you to consider:
What will the Messiah do? We will now focus on the activities of the Messiah, the Son of David. The traditional Jewish view of the Messiah teaches:
- He will be victorious over the enemies of Israel (Zechariah 14:3).
- He will reign as King of Israel in Jerusalem as its capital (Isaiah 2:2–3).
- He will bring Jewish people back to Israel (Ezekiel 36:24).
- He will rebuild the Temple (Zechariah 6:13).
- He will come on the clouds of heaven and will then establish His Kingdom (Daniel 7:13–14).
Regarding this question—what the Messiah will do—the traditional view focuses on the end of days when He ushers in a time of peace. We agree with the rabbis He will do so. However, the Scripture reveals another aspect of the work of the Messiah you might find quite fascinating:
- He will heal people (Isaiah 53:5–6).
- The Messiah would perform many miracles (Isaiah 35:5–6).
- He would ride into Jerusalem, hailed as a king by the people, yet riding humbly on the colt of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
- He must come before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 ce (Daniel 9:26).
- He would die a horrible death, His hands and feet being pierced (Psalm 22).
- He would be the sin-bearer, the ultimate sacrifice for sin (Isaiah 53:4).
- He would rise from the dead (Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 53:10).
Questions to consider:
- Have you ever heard of any of the miracles Yeshua performed?
- Can you describe any accounts of Yeshua’s miracles?
- Did you know the Messiah’s death was foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures?
- Do you think it is possible the Messiah would die?
- Did you know the timeframe of the Messiah was foretold in the book of Daniel?
- How does this compare with your view of the coming of the Messiah?
- Have these Scriptures changed your view of the Messiah?
- If so, how?
Thoughts for you to consider:
Could Yeshua be this Messiah of Whom we read in the Jewish Bible? The rabbis believe, when the Messiah comes, He will give us new insight into the Torah. When Yeshua came, He gave us new insights about how the prophets wrote about the Messiah centuries before in the Jewish Scriptures. Yeshua introduced us to the idea there are two pictures painted of the Messiah in the Jewish Bible. The rabbis focus on the victorious Son of David Messiah, reigning in righteousness. Yeshua points us to the picture of a humble Messiah Who would die for the sins of humanity, commonly referred to as the Suffering Messiah. The New Testament paints this picture in vivid detail. It tells us the Messiah would come first as a sacrifice for sin and then return as King.
Let us look at how Yeshua fulfilled the prophecies we have already read in the Hebrew Scriptures:
- Yeshua was born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18–23).
- Yeshua was from the lineage of David, from the tribe of Judah (Matthew 1:1–2).
- Yeshua was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:5–6; Luke 2:4–12).
- Yeshua performed miracles (Luke 4:16–21; Luke 7:17–23).
- Yeshua was declared the Son of God (Matthew 3:16–17; Matthew 17:1–13).
- Yeshua rode into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey while the people hailed Him as King (Matthew 21:6–9).
- Yeshua died (Matthew 27:35–50).
- Yeshua was born in the days of Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1) and died during the time Caiaphas held the office of High Priest in Jerusalem (John 18:13–14, 24) before the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 ce.
- Yeshua told the Jewish leaders, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58).
- Yeshua is our sin-bearer, our ultimate sacrifice for sin (Matthew 8:17).
- Yeshua suffered and was resurrected (Luke 24:25–27, 44).
- Yeshua, our Passover, was sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7).
- Yeshua rose from the dead (Matthew 28:1–20; Luke 24:1–7; John 20:1–10).
- Yeshua will return on the clouds of heaven (Matthew 24:30).
- Yeshua will return to Jerusalem with His redeemed (Revelation 19:14).
- Yeshua will establish His eternal Kingdom in Jerusalem (Revelation 21:1–2).
Questions to consider:
- Are many of these verses new to you?
- Please note which verse has the biggest impact.
- Have you, in the past, heard about or read of Yeshua fulfilling messianic prophecies?
- Can you put in your own words the two pictures of the Messiah found in the Bible?
- Why is it important the Messiah would come first as a suffering Servant?
- Do you believe Yeshua could indeed be the Messiah described in the Jewish Bible?
Final thoughts for you to consider:
If God is real and did reveal the Messiah through the prophets of Israel as the Suffering Servant and as King, then perhaps the Messiah’s death and return might be possible.
Congratulations on completing the Bible study series on Isaiah 53. There is so much more to discuss than what we could cover in four lessons. If you are interested in continuing the study with one of our staff, please email us at [email protected], and we will have someone get back to you right away.
