Prophecies of Messiah
MESSIANIC PROPHECIES OF THE OLDER TESTAMENT
Since reference will be made to a number of different portions from Rabbinical literature a brief description of some of them would be in order.
TENACH - This is the Older Testament or the Jewish Scriptures consisting of the Law (5 books of Moses also known as the Torah) the prophets (Neviim), and the writings.
(Ketubim). The word Tenach is an acronym for T(orah) N(eviim) K(etubim) The Hebrew letters are pronounced Tenach.
TARGUM: In Hebrew Targum means translation. It is usually applied to the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. An Aramaic translation of the Old Testament was needed to enable it to be understood by the large numbers of Jews who spoke Aramaic for many years after the time of the Second Temple.
The best known of the Targums is the "Targum Onkelos", which is almost an entire literal translation of the Old Testament. It is said that Onkelos had been a pupil of Rabbi Galmaliel, and his Targum is dated at about the Second Century BC
The other Targums are generally paraphrases of the Old Testament into Aramaic. "Targum Jonathan" dates from about the Fourth Century BC, and the "Targum Palestine", also named the "Targum Yerushalmi" and "Pseudo Jonathan", dated from about the Seventh Century BC
TALMUD: The Talmud interprets Biblical laws and commandments, and goes into many areas of Knowledge. It consists of two distinct parts. There is "The Mishnah" and its commentary "The Gemara". The Mishnah is mainly the interpretation of the Biblical Law, and was compiled and edited by Rabbi Jehudah Hanassi in A.D. 230. There are two Gemaras. One is the "Palestinian" which was compiled in Tiberias by Rabbi Johann in approximately A.D. 400. The other is the "Babylonian" which was compiled in Babylon about A.D. 512. The "Mishnah" and "Palestine Gemara" are called the "Palestinian Talmud"; and the Mishnah" and the "Babylonian Gemara" are the "Babylonian Talmud".
MIDRASH: The word "Midrash" comes from the Hebrew, meaning "to search". Basically the "Midrashim" are homiletical interpretations of the Bible, which developed mainly in Judea during the period of the Second Temple.
I. PROPHECIES CONCERNING MESSIAH'S BIRTH
A. Born of the Seed of Woman
O.T. Prediction Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."
N.T. Fulfillment Galatians 4:4
(Gal 4:4) But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
That this verse was taken to be messianic is clear from the following Jewish sources:
Targum Pseudo Jonathan - Targum Onkelos - Bereshith Rabba (the Midrash or commentary on Genesis)
"This is That Seed" that is coming from another place, and who is this? This is the King Messiah."
Rabbi David Kimchi (lived in France and lived 1160‑1235) is quoted as saying concerning this verse
"As thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people by the hands of Meshiha, the Son of David, who shall wound Satan, who is the head, the King and Prince of the house of the wicked."
This is the first Promise of the way that God would bring reconciliation between man and Himself. In essence what we have here is the good news that the woman’s seed (the messiah) would ultimately defeat Satan and his seed (Gal. 4:4–5). It is from this point on that the stream divides: Satan and his family (seed) oppose God and His family. God Himself put the enmity (hostility) between them, and God will end the war when Satan is cast into hell (Rev. 20:10).
The concept of Hell comes from the Hebrew word (1.) Sheol, occurring in the Old Testament sixty-five times. This word is derived from a root-word meaning “to ask,” “demand;”. It is interpreted “grave” thirty-one times (Genesis 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31; 1 Samuel 2:6, etc.). The inhabitants of sheol are “the congregation of the dead” (Proverbs 21:16). It is (a) the abode of the wicked (Numbers 16:33; Job 24:19; Psalm 9:17; 31:17, etc.); (b) of the good (Psalm 16:10; 30:3; 49:15; 86:13, etc.). Sheol is described as deep (Job 11:8), dark (10:21, 22), with bars (17:16). The dead “go down” to it (Numbers 16:30, 33; Ezekiel 31:15, 16, 17).
Review the Parable of the Tares in Matt. 13, and note that Satan has children just as God does. In Gen. 4, Cain kills Abel, and 1 John 3:12 informs us that Cain was “of that wicked one”—a child of the devil. The Tenach is the record of the two seeds in conflict; the NT is the record of the birth of the promised Messiah and His victory over Satan through his atonement.
B. Born of a Virgin
O.T. Prediction - Isaiah 7:14
(Isa 7:14) "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
N.T. Fulfillment
Matthew 1:18; cf. Luke 1:26‑35
(Mat 1:18) Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
The Hebrew word used of virgin here is almah. Rabbis say that this word almah does not mean "virgin" but a young woman.
Many quote from Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Izaaki ‑ 1040‑1105, lived in France, and considered founder of modern school of Jewish interpretation) He said "almah should mean "young woman" in this passage. But Rashi didn't always translate almah as "young woman". The word almah is found in the Song of Solomon 1:3 and 6:8. Here Rashi says almah means "virgin". Here we can see, Rashi did use the word almah to mean "virgin" in other places regardless of how he dealt with it in Isaiah 7:14. During Rashi's time he was going against the traditional view of Isaiah 7:14 as viewed by Jewish scholars. They translated almah as "virgin". Rashi was essentially trying to counteract Christian polemics when he translated almah this way.
The Septuagint (LXX) (Greek 250 BC translation of the Old Testament) made almah to read parthenos, which in Greek means "virgin."
Babylonian Talmud "...this man is the King Messiah of whom it is said, (Psalm 2:7), This day have I begotten thee."
C. Born at Bethlehem.
O.T. Prediction
(Micah 5:2)
"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity."
N.T. Fulfillment
Matthew 2:1‑6;
(Luke 2:4,10,11; John 7:42)
“. . . Jesus was born in Bethlehem”
Many Jewish sources agree that this prophecy refers to the Messiah who will come forth from Bethlehem. Some of these sources are as follows:
Targum Palestine: "Out of thee Bethlehem shall Messiah go forth before me to exercise dominion over Israel."
Targum Jonathan: Rabbi David Kimchi: "...out of thee shall come forth unto me a Judge to be Ruler in Israel, and this is the King Messiah."
D. Of the House of David
O.T. Prediction
Jeremiah 23:5-6
"Behold, the days are coming declares the Lord, When I shall 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 the name by which He will be called "The Lord is our righteousness".
N.T. Fulfillment
Matthew 1:1
Mt. 9:27, 15:22, 20:30-31, 21:9,15,22, 22:41-46
Mark 10:47-48, 12:35-37
Luke 18:38-39; John 7:42
Acts 13:22-23; Rev. 22:16
"The Book of the Geneolgy of Jesus Christ, the son of David,..."
The idea that the Messiah would be from the House of David is found in many Jewish sources:
Targum Jonathan: Rabbi Joseph Albo (lived in Spain, died in 1444) - "The Scripture calleth the name of the Messiah "Jehovah Zidkenu", because He is the Mediator through whom we shall get the righteousness of the Lord."
Rabbi David Kimchi: - "The name of the Messiah is therefore called "Jehovah Zidkenu", because in His days will the righteousness of the Lord be a continual support for us." Jesse had at least eight sons, but God eliminates all of them except one, David, as being the line of the Messiah. This descendant of David is given the very name of God,
Jesse had at least eight sons, but God eliminates all of them except one, David, as being in the line of the Messiah. This descendent of David is given the very name of God, Adonai Tzidkenu, which means "The Lord our righteousness". This name can only apply to God himself, and so we see a glimpse of the concept that the Messiah would be a man yet fully God himself.
E. Come as God
O.T. Prediction
Isaiah 9:6
"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace".
N.T. Fulfillment
Matthew 3:17; Luke 1:32,35
John 3:16, 8:58, 10:30
"and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". "He will be called the Son of the Most High"; "... the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God."
Jewish sources on this verse comment as follows:
Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, born 1135 in Spain, and died 1204 in Egypt) "God named Him (the Messiah) with six names as He says concerning Him: . . . That He calleth Him God in a distinctive manner, is to say with it, that His glory surpasses that of all other children of man"
Rabbi Abraham ben Ezra (born 1093 in Spain, died 1167 in Rome) - "There are some interpreters who say that 'Wonderful Everlasting Father' are names of God and only 'Prince of Peace' is the name of the child. But according to my view the interpretation is right (which says): all are the names of the child".
F. Come as The Son of God
O.T. Prediction
Psalm 2:7-12, Prov. 30:4
I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, "Thou art my son, Today I have begotten thee... Do homage to the son, let He become angry, and you perish in the way... Blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
... What is His name or His son's name? Surely you know!
N.T. Fulfillment
Matthew 3:17, 17:5; Mark 9:7;
Luke 9:35, 22:70; Acts 13:33;
Hebrews 1:5, 5:5
"... Are You the Son of God then? And He said to them, Yes, I am".
"that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'Thou art My Son; today I have begotten Thee'".
Looking at some Jewish sources we see the following mentioned:
Targum Jonathan:
"The Kings of the earth stand up and the Rulers are united together to rebel before the Lord, and to contend against His Messiah".
Rabbi Abraham ben Ezra:
"But if it be interpreted of the Messiah, the matter is clear".
Babylonian Talmud:
"It is the tradition of the Rabbis that Messiah, the Son of David, who is to be revealed speedily...the Holy One said unto Him, Ask of me anything and will give it thee, for it is said, "I will declare the decree, etc., Today have I begotten thee'."
Zohar; (the principal work The Cabala. It was issued by Moses ben Shemtob de Leon in Spain (1250‑1305)
"This is the faithful shepherd; of Thee it is said, 'Kiss the son', thou art the prince of the Israelites, the Lord of the earth...the son of the Most High, the Son of the Holy God...and the Gracious Shecinah".
Publish Date:August 7, 2009 :: Author: Roy Schwarcz
Is the Virgin Birth Myth?
One of the strongest Jewish objections to Jesus is this argument: "Christian claims about the virgin birth are simply legends borrowed from pagan religions and have no scriptural basis in the Hebrew Scriptures."
According to one story, the Roman Emperor Augustus's mother was worshipping in the temple of Apollo when she fell asleep and was impregnated by the god Suetonius. Krishna was born of the virgin Devaki; Dionysus was born of the virgin Semele, Buddha too was born of a virgin, and there are others as well.
Josh McDowell notes
“Some have claimed that Buddha, along with a host of other pagan 'gods', also have had virgin births. Some have attempted to account for the virgin birth by tracing it to Greek or Babylonian mythology. They argue that the Gospel writers borrowed this story from the mythology of their day. This view does not fit the facts, for there is not any hero in pagan mythology for which a virgin birth is claimed, and moreover it would be unthinkable to the Jewish mind to construct such a story from mythology. (note: the writers of the Gospels were all Jews- RS.)
"Many deities among Greeks, Babylonians and Egyptians were reported born in an unusual manner, but for the most part these beings never actually existed. The accounts are filled with obvious mythological elements which are totally absent from the Gospel narratives. They are reports of a god or goddess being born into the world by sexual relations between some heavenly being or by some adulterous affair among the gods and goddess."[1]<!--[endif]-->
There is probably no aspect of the Christian faith that has been subjected to more abuse than the doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus. But the virgin birth is not just a Christian doctrine it is rooted in the Jewish Scriptures as well.
The very first prophecy concerning the virgin birth comes from Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." This is God speaking to the serpent after Eve had been enticed by him to eat of the forbidden fruit. It was through the woman that sin entered the race. By the seed of the woman also, salvation would come. The Rabbi’s teach this as well. Rabbi David Kimchi in his commentary on Genesis 3 interpreted it as Messianic because he wrote, "As thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy people by the hand of Messiah the son of David, who shall wound the head of Satan, the head, the king and prince of the house of the wicked." Also Midrash Rabbah 23 states, "Rabbi Tanchuma said in the name of Rabbi Samuel, Eve had respect to that Seed which is coming from another place. And who is this? This is the Messiah, the King."
In Isaiah 7:14 the Prophet says, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." While it is true that the Hebrew word for "virgin” means "a young, unmarried woman and not literally virgin; the word was later translated by the Rabbis in the authorized Greek translation known as the Septuagint as “virgin”.
If the virgin birth is to be regarded as a myth, similar to Greek and Roman mythologies, who is to say whether the resurrection and the second coming of Jesus are in the same category. The testimony of the New Covenant stands or falls as a whole. Either you accept all of it or you reject all of it, one of the two.
The virgin birth of Jesus takes the crucifixion of Jesus out of the category of human sacrifice which is strictly prohibited by God’s Law, and puts it in the category of God's justice and mercy. In His death, Jesus was carrying out the purpose for which He entered the world, that justice might be executed through Him. God was punishing man’s sin but providing His righteous servant to take man’s place as the prophet Isaiah foretold in Chapter 53.
He was God, voluntarily paying the penalty He had imposed on sinful man. The virgin birth attests to the identity of Jesus - namely, that He was God in the flesh. If Jesus was not God, then His sacrifice for our sins was meaningless. No imperfect man could have died for our sins, because his death would not have satisfied God’s demand for justice. To bear our sin the Messiah had to be a perfect man, and thus he had to be divine.
The Jewish prophets pointed to the divinity of the Messiah. Isaiah said He would be "Immanuel," meaning "God with us" (Isaiah 7:14). Isaiah also said the Messiah would be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). Micah stated that the Messiah would be one who had existed "from the days of eternity" (Micah 5:2).
If Jesus was the Messiah, as He claimed to be (Mark 14:61-64 & John 4:25-26), then He had to be God in the flesh. That requires a miraculous conception, because all people born of human parents are born with a fallen sin nature (Psalm 51:5). To deny the virgin birth is to deny the deity of Jesus.
The virgin birth is essential to the deity of Jesus. And the deity of Jesus is essential for His death to have the effect that it has had upon the world. A Rabbi from Tarsus named Saul ties it all together in Galatians 4:4-5: "God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons."
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Since reference will be made to a number of different portions from Rabbinical literature a brief description of some of them would be in order.
TENACH - This is the Older Testament or the Jewish Scriptures consisting of the Law (5 books of Moses also known as the Torah) the prophets (Neviim), and the writings.
(Ketubim). The word Tenach is an acronym for T(orah) N(eviim) K(etubim) The Hebrew letters are pronounced Tenach.
TARGUM: In Hebrew Targum means translation. It is usually applied to the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. An Aramaic translation of the Old Testament was needed to enable it to be understood by the large numbers of Jews who spoke Aramaic for many years after the time of the Second Temple.
The best known of the Targums is the "Targum Onkelos", which is almost an entire literal translation of the Old Testament. It is said that Onkelos had been a pupil of Rabbi Galmaliel, and his Targum is dated at about the Second Century BC
The other Targums are generally paraphrases of the Old Testament into Aramaic. "Targum Jonathan" dates from about the Fourth Century BC, and the "Targum Palestine", also named the "Targum Yerushalmi" and "Pseudo Jonathan", dated from about the Seventh Century BC
TALMUD: The Talmud interprets Biblical laws and commandments, and goes into many areas of Knowledge. It consists of two distinct parts. There is "The Mishnah" and its commentary "The Gemara". The Mishnah is mainly the interpretation of the Biblical Law, and was compiled and edited by Rabbi Jehudah Hanassi in A.D. 230. There are two Gemaras. One is the "Palestinian" which was compiled in Tiberias by Rabbi Johann in approximately A.D. 400. The other is the "Babylonian" which was compiled in Babylon about A.D. 512. The "Mishnah" and "Palestine Gemara" are called the "Palestinian Talmud"; and the Mishnah" and the "Babylonian Gemara" are the "Babylonian Talmud".
MIDRASH: The word "Midrash" comes from the Hebrew, meaning "to search". Basically the "Midrashim" are homiletical interpretations of the Bible, which developed mainly in Judea during the period of the Second Temple.
I. PROPHECIES CONCERNING MESSIAH'S BIRTH
A. Born of the Seed of Woman
O.T. Prediction Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."
N.T. Fulfillment Galatians 4:4
(Gal 4:4) But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
That this verse was taken to be messianic is clear from the following Jewish sources:
Targum Pseudo Jonathan - Targum Onkelos - Bereshith Rabba (the Midrash or commentary on Genesis)
"This is That Seed" that is coming from another place, and who is this? This is the King Messiah."
Rabbi David Kimchi (lived in France and lived 1160‑1235) is quoted as saying concerning this verse
"As thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people by the hands of Meshiha, the Son of David, who shall wound Satan, who is the head, the King and Prince of the house of the wicked."
This is the first Promise of the way that God would bring reconciliation between man and Himself. In essence what we have here is the good news that the woman’s seed (the messiah) would ultimately defeat Satan and his seed (Gal. 4:4–5). It is from this point on that the stream divides: Satan and his family (seed) oppose God and His family. God Himself put the enmity (hostility) between them, and God will end the war when Satan is cast into hell (Rev. 20:10).
The concept of Hell comes from the Hebrew word (1.) Sheol, occurring in the Old Testament sixty-five times. This word is derived from a root-word meaning “to ask,” “demand;”. It is interpreted “grave” thirty-one times (Genesis 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31; 1 Samuel 2:6, etc.). The inhabitants of sheol are “the congregation of the dead” (Proverbs 21:16). It is (a) the abode of the wicked (Numbers 16:33; Job 24:19; Psalm 9:17; 31:17, etc.); (b) of the good (Psalm 16:10; 30:3; 49:15; 86:13, etc.). Sheol is described as deep (Job 11:8), dark (10:21, 22), with bars (17:16). The dead “go down” to it (Numbers 16:30, 33; Ezekiel 31:15, 16, 17).
Review the Parable of the Tares in Matt. 13, and note that Satan has children just as God does. In Gen. 4, Cain kills Abel, and 1 John 3:12 informs us that Cain was “of that wicked one”—a child of the devil. The Tenach is the record of the two seeds in conflict; the NT is the record of the birth of the promised Messiah and His victory over Satan through his atonement.
B. Born of a Virgin
O.T. Prediction - Isaiah 7:14
(Isa 7:14) "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
N.T. Fulfillment
Matthew 1:18; cf. Luke 1:26‑35
(Mat 1:18) Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
The Hebrew word used of virgin here is almah. Rabbis say that this word almah does not mean "virgin" but a young woman.
Many quote from Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Izaaki ‑ 1040‑1105, lived in France, and considered founder of modern school of Jewish interpretation) He said "almah should mean "young woman" in this passage. But Rashi didn't always translate almah as "young woman". The word almah is found in the Song of Solomon 1:3 and 6:8. Here Rashi says almah means "virgin". Here we can see, Rashi did use the word almah to mean "virgin" in other places regardless of how he dealt with it in Isaiah 7:14. During Rashi's time he was going against the traditional view of Isaiah 7:14 as viewed by Jewish scholars. They translated almah as "virgin". Rashi was essentially trying to counteract Christian polemics when he translated almah this way.
The Septuagint (LXX) (Greek 250 BC translation of the Old Testament) made almah to read parthenos, which in Greek means "virgin."
Babylonian Talmud "...this man is the King Messiah of whom it is said, (Psalm 2:7), This day have I begotten thee."
C. Born at Bethlehem.
O.T. Prediction
(Micah 5:2)
"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity."
N.T. Fulfillment
Matthew 2:1‑6;
(Luke 2:4,10,11; John 7:42)
“. . . Jesus was born in Bethlehem”
Many Jewish sources agree that this prophecy refers to the Messiah who will come forth from Bethlehem. Some of these sources are as follows:
Targum Palestine: "Out of thee Bethlehem shall Messiah go forth before me to exercise dominion over Israel."
Targum Jonathan: Rabbi David Kimchi: "...out of thee shall come forth unto me a Judge to be Ruler in Israel, and this is the King Messiah."
D. Of the House of David
O.T. Prediction
Jeremiah 23:5-6
"Behold, the days are coming declares the Lord, When I shall 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 the name by which He will be called "The Lord is our righteousness".
N.T. Fulfillment
Matthew 1:1
Mt. 9:27, 15:22, 20:30-31, 21:9,15,22, 22:41-46
Mark 10:47-48, 12:35-37
Luke 18:38-39; John 7:42
Acts 13:22-23; Rev. 22:16
"The Book of the Geneolgy of Jesus Christ, the son of David,..."
The idea that the Messiah would be from the House of David is found in many Jewish sources:
Targum Jonathan: Rabbi Joseph Albo (lived in Spain, died in 1444) - "The Scripture calleth the name of the Messiah "Jehovah Zidkenu", because He is the Mediator through whom we shall get the righteousness of the Lord."
Rabbi David Kimchi: - "The name of the Messiah is therefore called "Jehovah Zidkenu", because in His days will the righteousness of the Lord be a continual support for us." Jesse had at least eight sons, but God eliminates all of them except one, David, as being the line of the Messiah. This descendant of David is given the very name of God,
Jesse had at least eight sons, but God eliminates all of them except one, David, as being in the line of the Messiah. This descendent of David is given the very name of God, Adonai Tzidkenu, which means "The Lord our righteousness". This name can only apply to God himself, and so we see a glimpse of the concept that the Messiah would be a man yet fully God himself.
E. Come as God
O.T. Prediction
Isaiah 9:6
"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace".
N.T. Fulfillment
Matthew 3:17; Luke 1:32,35
John 3:16, 8:58, 10:30
"and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". "He will be called the Son of the Most High"; "... the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God."
Jewish sources on this verse comment as follows:
Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, born 1135 in Spain, and died 1204 in Egypt) "God named Him (the Messiah) with six names as He says concerning Him: . . . That He calleth Him God in a distinctive manner, is to say with it, that His glory surpasses that of all other children of man"
Rabbi Abraham ben Ezra (born 1093 in Spain, died 1167 in Rome) - "There are some interpreters who say that 'Wonderful Everlasting Father' are names of God and only 'Prince of Peace' is the name of the child. But according to my view the interpretation is right (which says): all are the names of the child".
F. Come as The Son of God
O.T. Prediction
Psalm 2:7-12, Prov. 30:4
I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, "Thou art my son, Today I have begotten thee... Do homage to the son, let He become angry, and you perish in the way... Blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
... What is His name or His son's name? Surely you know!
N.T. Fulfillment
Matthew 3:17, 17:5; Mark 9:7;
Luke 9:35, 22:70; Acts 13:33;
Hebrews 1:5, 5:5
"... Are You the Son of God then? And He said to them, Yes, I am".
"that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'Thou art My Son; today I have begotten Thee'".
Looking at some Jewish sources we see the following mentioned:
Targum Jonathan:
"The Kings of the earth stand up and the Rulers are united together to rebel before the Lord, and to contend against His Messiah".
Rabbi Abraham ben Ezra:
"But if it be interpreted of the Messiah, the matter is clear".
Babylonian Talmud:
"It is the tradition of the Rabbis that Messiah, the Son of David, who is to be revealed speedily...the Holy One said unto Him, Ask of me anything and will give it thee, for it is said, "I will declare the decree, etc., Today have I begotten thee'."
Zohar; (the principal work The Cabala. It was issued by Moses ben Shemtob de Leon in Spain (1250‑1305)
"This is the faithful shepherd; of Thee it is said, 'Kiss the son', thou art the prince of the Israelites, the Lord of the earth...the son of the Most High, the Son of the Holy God...and the Gracious Shecinah".
Publish Date:August 7, 2009 :: Author: Roy Schwarcz
Is the Virgin Birth Myth?
One of the strongest Jewish objections to Jesus is this argument: "Christian claims about the virgin birth are simply legends borrowed from pagan religions and have no scriptural basis in the Hebrew Scriptures."
According to one story, the Roman Emperor Augustus's mother was worshipping in the temple of Apollo when she fell asleep and was impregnated by the god Suetonius. Krishna was born of the virgin Devaki; Dionysus was born of the virgin Semele, Buddha too was born of a virgin, and there are others as well.
Josh McDowell notes
“Some have claimed that Buddha, along with a host of other pagan 'gods', also have had virgin births. Some have attempted to account for the virgin birth by tracing it to Greek or Babylonian mythology. They argue that the Gospel writers borrowed this story from the mythology of their day. This view does not fit the facts, for there is not any hero in pagan mythology for which a virgin birth is claimed, and moreover it would be unthinkable to the Jewish mind to construct such a story from mythology. (note: the writers of the Gospels were all Jews- RS.)
"Many deities among Greeks, Babylonians and Egyptians were reported born in an unusual manner, but for the most part these beings never actually existed. The accounts are filled with obvious mythological elements which are totally absent from the Gospel narratives. They are reports of a god or goddess being born into the world by sexual relations between some heavenly being or by some adulterous affair among the gods and goddess."[1]<!--[endif]-->
There is probably no aspect of the Christian faith that has been subjected to more abuse than the doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus. But the virgin birth is not just a Christian doctrine it is rooted in the Jewish Scriptures as well.
The very first prophecy concerning the virgin birth comes from Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." This is God speaking to the serpent after Eve had been enticed by him to eat of the forbidden fruit. It was through the woman that sin entered the race. By the seed of the woman also, salvation would come. The Rabbi’s teach this as well. Rabbi David Kimchi in his commentary on Genesis 3 interpreted it as Messianic because he wrote, "As thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy people by the hand of Messiah the son of David, who shall wound the head of Satan, the head, the king and prince of the house of the wicked." Also Midrash Rabbah 23 states, "Rabbi Tanchuma said in the name of Rabbi Samuel, Eve had respect to that Seed which is coming from another place. And who is this? This is the Messiah, the King."
In Isaiah 7:14 the Prophet says, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." While it is true that the Hebrew word for "virgin” means "a young, unmarried woman and not literally virgin; the word was later translated by the Rabbis in the authorized Greek translation known as the Septuagint as “virgin”.
If the virgin birth is to be regarded as a myth, similar to Greek and Roman mythologies, who is to say whether the resurrection and the second coming of Jesus are in the same category. The testimony of the New Covenant stands or falls as a whole. Either you accept all of it or you reject all of it, one of the two.
The virgin birth of Jesus takes the crucifixion of Jesus out of the category of human sacrifice which is strictly prohibited by God’s Law, and puts it in the category of God's justice and mercy. In His death, Jesus was carrying out the purpose for which He entered the world, that justice might be executed through Him. God was punishing man’s sin but providing His righteous servant to take man’s place as the prophet Isaiah foretold in Chapter 53.
He was God, voluntarily paying the penalty He had imposed on sinful man. The virgin birth attests to the identity of Jesus - namely, that He was God in the flesh. If Jesus was not God, then His sacrifice for our sins was meaningless. No imperfect man could have died for our sins, because his death would not have satisfied God’s demand for justice. To bear our sin the Messiah had to be a perfect man, and thus he had to be divine.
The Jewish prophets pointed to the divinity of the Messiah. Isaiah said He would be "Immanuel," meaning "God with us" (Isaiah 7:14). Isaiah also said the Messiah would be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). Micah stated that the Messiah would be one who had existed "from the days of eternity" (Micah 5:2).
If Jesus was the Messiah, as He claimed to be (Mark 14:61-64 & John 4:25-26), then He had to be God in the flesh. That requires a miraculous conception, because all people born of human parents are born with a fallen sin nature (Psalm 51:5). To deny the virgin birth is to deny the deity of Jesus.
The virgin birth is essential to the deity of Jesus. And the deity of Jesus is essential for His death to have the effect that it has had upon the world. A Rabbi from Tarsus named Saul ties it all together in Galatians 4:4-5: "God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons."
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