For hundreds of years, Christianity has asserted that Jesus Christ was the long awaited Jewish messiah. God sent his only begotten son to die on the cross and redeem all humanity of its sin. Who else could qualify for the position of messiah? At times, Christians have been known to express bewilderment at the refusal of the Jews to accept 'their own messiah', chalking it up to a case of sinfulness or ignorance. Apologist and author Lee Strobel interviewed a pastor who claims that Jews persistently reject Jesus as the messiah because they do not know the messianic prophecies so well.

Is this really the case though? Have countless generations of Jews truly ignored these scriptures, despite the intense Torah study taken up by Rabbinical organizations throughout the ages? Perhaps there is more to the story than we are being given. In fact, there is a lot more, and it comes from a fuller understanding of the Jewish teachings on the messiah that we will be able to see how the Christian version is actually quite alien to Hebrew scripture.

I. What is a Messiah?

Mashiach is the Hebrew word for messiah, and its literal translation is 'anointed one'. We read in Exodus 30:25-31 that a sacred anointing oil was commissioned for use in the election of priests, kings, and prophets of the Israelite nation. For years to come, Israel would consecrate its leaders in this way, but this word for messiah is even used for foreign rulers, as in Isaiah 45:1, where the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great is addressed as mashiach. What this means then is that there were many anointed ones, or messiahs, and all of these were mortal human men, not divine incarnations or literal sons of God. There is no indication in scripture that this future messiah of the Jews would be anything but a mortal man.

To begin to understand who this expected messiah will be, it is important to know how to recognize messianic prophecies. These passages usually express a sense of finality in future tense, using phrases such as "the days are coming" (Jeremiah 23:5), "in that day" (Isaiah 10:20), and "it shall come to pass" (Isaiah 66:23). Messianic prophecies also commonly refer to the messiah as the "branch of David", "root of Jesse", or the general kingdom of David (Jeremiah 23:5, 30:8-9, Isaiah 11:1,10). The age of the messiah's reign is another sign of messianic prophecy, marked as an age of total peace between nations and beasts, when the Jews will all return to Israel (Hosea 3:4-5, Isaiah 2:4, Isaiah 11:6-9).

Messianic prophecies are not in all books of the bible though, nor are they even in all the prophetic books. The majority of the prophecies come primarily from Isaiah and Jeremiah, with a few others sprinkled about in Ezekiel, Hosea, and other texts. If it's not in the prophets, it's not likely to be messianic prophecy, but if it is in the prophets, that doesn't make it messianic prophecy either. These factors all need to be weighed in on the question of whether or not a passage qualifies as messianic prophecy. Christians may love it, but Psalm 22 is not messianic prophecy, as it was not a prophetic book and has no signs like those just mentioned before.

With that in mind, let's turn to some of the authentic messianic prophecies in the Hebrew bible and see what they have to say about the messiah.

II. Identifying the Messiah

The chart on the right provides a summary of the prophecies surrounding the messiah's identity and his allegedly divine mission. Did Jesus fulfill any of these? Even though the authors of Matthew and Luke both incorporated genealogies into their gospels that attempt to trace Jesus' lineage back to King David, the two accounts do not match up at several junctions, and it's interesting that both of them list Joseph as Jesus' father. Matthew and Luke are also the two gospels that describe a virgin birth, and if Jesus was no blood relation to Joseph, then a genealogy from Joseph is quite meaningless. Jesus did not show very much respect for the law of God either, according to the four gospels. In Mark 7:18-19, he taught against the food law, declaring "nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'." He ignored the Sabbath law in Matthew 12:1-8, allowing his disciples to pick grain (while in Numbers 15 God orders a man killed for gathering wood on the Sabbath). It can also be argued that Jesus' statement in Matthew 12:47-48 was disrespectful to his family, as he asked "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" when he was notified of their arrival. It is not clear at all that Jesus fulfilled the first two prophecies in the chart, and scriptural evidence seems to indicate that he did not.

Prophecies of the Messiah: A descendant of King David "'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land'." -Jeremiah 23:5 Knowledgeable and observant of God's law "The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him� the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding... the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD... with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth." -Isaiah 11:2-4 He will reunite the Jews in Israel and restore Jerusalem "In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people... He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth." -Isaiah 11:11-12 (also see Hosea 3:4-5, Jeremiah 23:7-8 & 30:3) He will create a central world government in Israel "In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it... The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples." -Isaiah 2:2-4 (also see Isaiah 11:10 & 42:1) He will rebuild the temple and resume sacrifices in it "For this is what the LORD says: 'David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices'." -Jeremiah 33:17-18 (also see Malachi 3:3-4 & Ezekiel 37:27-28)

As for the remaining prophecies, Jesus certainly did not fulfill them during his brief time on earth. Yet according to Christians, he will bring these last ones to fruition when he returns. There are no messianic prophecies to support the idea of a second coming of the messiah though, and in fact there are none to support the death of the messiah either. Judaism has always viewed premature death as one of the signs of a failed messiah, even in the case of Simon Bar Kokhba, who led a successful revolt against Rome in 132 AD that resulted in the recapture of Jerusalem, the creation of an independent Jewish state, and the issuance of currency in its name. Bar Kokhba had planned to rebuild the temple and resume sacrifice as well, but his life was cut short before he could accomplish it. Although he came closer to fulfilling the messianic prophecies than perhaps any other person, Jews do not regard Bar Kokhba as the messiah, because he died without having completed the mission. No tales of a second coming have been proposed so far.

If there was an historical Jesus, the doctrine of the second coming would have been a fantastic means for his followers to resolve cognitive dissonance over his death. It's extraordinarily difficult for a dead man to fulfill any prophecies, so the idea of a resurrection or return to earth would be necessary to accomplish those remaining, unachieved prophecies. But for Christians to put forward this doctrine today to whitewash the messianic failures of Jesus ignores the fact that virtually every book of the New Testament points to an imminent return. In my article, The Second Coming: Coming Soon!, I explain how Jesus himself even prophesied his return to be within the lifetime of his congregation. The second coming is no excuse for the messianic prophecies Jesus did not fulfill.

III. Signs of the Messianic Age

Prophecies of the Messianic Age: Nations will coexist in perpetual peace "They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." -Isaiah 2:4 Predators and prey will coexist peacefully "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat... The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain." -Isaiah 11:6-9 All of God's people will follow his laws "My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees." -Ezekiel 37:24 All humanity will recognize and worship Yahweh as the one true God "The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name." -Zechariah 14:9 No sin or immorality "The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will speak no lies, nor will deceit be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid." -Zephaniah 3:13

In addition to the prophecies about the identity and mission of the messiah, there are also prophecies that signify the time of the messiah's reign. This time is formally called the messianic age or messianic era, and like the endtimes prophecies that provide warning signs of the apocalypse, the signs of the messianic age serve to alert attentive observers to the existence/reign of the messiah. The chart to the left provides a look at these prophecies and signs of the messianic age. Once again, Christians typically interpret these prophecies as referring to the second coming, but there is never any such indication given. These are signs to accompany the appearance of the messiah, not signs to be fulfilled after a return from death and a heavenly ascension. That interpretation is a projection of Christian theology, in an effort to reconcile dissonance, and it is not supported by any messianic Hebrew scripture. The Jewish messiah is very Jewish, to be sure. His mission is more about the restoration of Israel to its former glory, and less about total renovation of Jewish theology, as is the Christian vision for the messiah. This is even true for the new covenant under Judaism, as I explain in the article on Christianity's Unbiblical Covenant. One of the stipulations for the messianic age or future kingdom is that "everyone will die for their own sins" (Jeremiah 31:29-30), which is an idea that flips the Christian concept of salvation on its head, as well as the doctrine of original sin. Instead of Jesus bearing all of our sins, we each bear our own.

Another crucial aspect of Christian salvation that you will not find prophesied for the messiah in Hebrew scripture is that of faith. No mention is ever made of the Jewish people, let alone Gentiles, having to believe in the messiah to be saved. The covenant God had made with the Jews was to have faith only in him, and there is no prophecy of the messiah being God in the flesh. If Yahweh and Jesus are really the same being, it is an incredibly confusing and sudden change indeed from the Hebrew law to the theology of Christian salvation!

IV. Messiah in Mind Only

It is imagination and conservation of belief that elevate Jesus to the status of messiah, not any biblical prophecy. Three of the most important elements of Christian faith are not found in the Old Testament teachings on the messiah. There is no prediction of the messiah being God incarnate, there is no prediction of the messiah dying and returning to life to complete his mission, and there is no prediction of faith in the messiah's sacrifice becoming the new and exclusive path of salvation. On the other hand, the prophecies at the core of the Jewish messiah were never fulfilled by Jesus in his lifetime. He did not reunite the Jews, he established no Zion and did not free Jerusalem, nor did he rebuild the temple and reinstate sacrifices. The Jewish messiah began to appear in literature around the time of Babylonian captivity, so it is not at all surprising that the figure reflects a liberator and political leader more than the Christ of the New Testament.

Jesus was only a make-believe messiah. There was a great mixing of religious ideas in the first century, including many mystery god cults and messiah claimants all borrowing from each other, and it is certainly conceivable that Jews were affected by it too. The early Christians may have been Jews or Greeks who embraced a man, a conglomeration of men, or even simply concocted a supernatural messiah-god. Whatever the case, the Hebrew scriptures offer no support for declaring Jesus Christ the Jewish messiah. In more ways than one, the believer is forced to rely on blind faith once again.

1. Strobel, L. (2005) The Case for Christmas. p.80.