The Messiah in the Tanakh (the Old Testament)
in the Light of Rabbinic Writings
Introduction
Who is the Messiah of Israel, and how can we recognize him? These questions stand at the heart of the Christian faith. Appealing to the prophecies of the Old Testament is Christianity’s oldest apologetic approach—one that Jesus himself used when he declared to his followers and opponents:
If you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. (John 5:46)
All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me. (Luke 24:44)
The New Testament writers followed their Master’s example, repeatedly drawing on the Scriptures of Israel to demonstrate how Jesus fulfills God’s promises to his people. The Church Fathers continued this approach, as did Christian apologists throughout the Middle Ages and down to our own day.
The hope of the Messiah remains central to Judaism, yet the richness and depth of the messianic prophecies in the Hebrew Bible are not always familiar to readers today. When Christians point to passages such as Isaiah 53 and identify its suffering servant with Jesus, Jewish apologists often reply that Christians have taken the words of the Tanakh out of context and made them fit his life. They generally understand Isaiah 53 as referring to Israel, God’s servant, rather than to the Messiah. How, then, can we move beyond these familiar disagreements and see more clearly what the prophets foretold?
One especially fruitful approach is to consult the rich body of Jewish interpretation: the Jewish apocryphal and pseudepigraphal writings, such as the book of Enoch; the Aramaic targums, which translate and often expand on the biblical text; the midrashim; and the Talmud. Medieval Jewish commentators and the mystical Zohar also preserve valuable messianic traditions. The Babylonian Talmud itself records the striking opinion that “all the prophets prophesied only for the days of the Messiah” (b. Berakhot 34b). Read with care, these sources help illuminate the messianic meaning of passages disputed between Jews and Christians.
In this article, we will see how many of these Jewish sources help bring the prophetic portrait of the Messiah into sharper focus. Taken together, the prophecies point with remarkable clarity to Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah of Israel.
The Messiah will be the seed of the woman
OT Prophecy:
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. (Gen 3:15)
Commentary:
This passage speaks of an enmity between the serpent, who has just led Adam and Eve into sin, and a mysterious woman and her seed, who will bruise the serpent's head. Both Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (traditionally called Targum Jonathan on the Pentateuch) and the Jerusalem Targum connect this passage with peace in the days of the Messiah:
And they [the sons of the woman] will finally make peace in the days of the Messiah-King. (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Gen 3:15)
They will make peace in the end, at the close of the end of the days, in the days of the Messiah King. (Jerusalem Targum Gen 3:15)
At first sight this prophecy about the Messiah who is the "seed of the woman" seems meaningless—for is not everyone born of a woman? At the same time, the idea also sounds odd because descent is usually traced through the father, and “seed” commonly refers to a father’s offspring. Thus the passage possibly hints at the fact that the one who will bruise the head of the serpent will receive his human "seed" from his mother rather than from his father. Jesus, "born of a woman" (the virgin Mary) without a human father, was indeed the "seed of the woman" who came to defeat the ancient serpent (1 John 3:8; Rev 20:2, 10) and establish peace between Jews and Gentiles, as described in the book of Ephesians. Chapter 12 of the book of Revelation in particular gives us a vivid picture of the woman, her seed the Messiah, and their battle against the serpent:
NT Fulfillment:
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law. (Gal 4:4)
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity... so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. (Eph 2:14-16)
Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth... She bore a male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron... So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world... he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child... And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Rev 12:1-17)
The Messiah will be Son of Abraham
OT Prophecy:
Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham... and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD... blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen 22:15-18)
Commentary:
God promised Abraham that his seed would be a worldwide blessing and his descendants would become extremely numerous. The midrash tells us how the seed of Abraham will greatly multiply in the days of the Messiah, who will himself be a descendant of Abraham:
In the days of the Messiah, Israel will be compared to the sand of the sea. (Bamidbar Rabbah 2; cf. Santala, 41)
Jesus, of course, was a descendant of Abraham. Through Jesus, the promises made to Abraham were extended to all nations; through him, millions of Christians have come to know the God of Israel and have received the spiritual blessings that He promised to Abraham.
NT Fulfillment:
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham... (Matt 1:1)
Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "and to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "and to your Seed," who is Christ. (Gal 3:16)
The Messiah will be a descendant of Jacob
OT Prophecy:
I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel… Out of Jacob One shall have dominion, and destroy the remains of the city. (Num 24:17-19)
Commentary:
The Aramaic Targums of this passage confirm that the "Star of Jacob" will be the Messiah:
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but he is not near; when a king shall arise out of Jacob and be anointed the Messiah out of Israel, He will slay the princes of Moab, and reign over all the children of men; (Num 24:17; Targum Onkelos)
...but when a mighty king of the house of Jacob shall reign, and shall be anointed Messiah, wielding the mighty scepter of Israel, He will slay the princes of Moab... (Num 24:17; Targum Pseudo-Jonathan)
Jesus was indeed a descendant of Jacob, also called Israel:
NT Fulfillment:
Jesus… the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham… (Luke 3:34)
The Messiah will be from the tribe of Judah
OT Prophecy:
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people. (Gen 49:10)
Commentary:
This passage informs us that a figure called “Shiloh” will arise from the tribe of Judah and will rule his people. Yet how do we know that this refers to the Messiah? The targumim, the midrash, and the Talmud all reveal that this "Shiloh" is in fact the name of the Messiah, who will come from the tribe of Judah:
The transmission of dominion shall not cease from the house of Judah, nor the scribe from his children's children, forever, until the Messiah comes, to whom the Kingdom belongs, and whom nations will obey. (Targum Onkelos Gen 49:10-12)
Kings and rulers shall not cease from the house of Judah, nor scribes who teach the Torah from his seed, until the time when the King Messiah shall come, the youngest of his sons, and because of him nations shall melt away....How beautiful is the King Messiah who is destined to arise from the house of Judah...How beautiful are the eyes of King Messiah, as pure wine! (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Gen 49:10-12)
The sceptre will not depart from Judah... until Shilo (‘he’) come, this is the Messiah-King... 'Judah's sceptre' means the Great Synagogue, the Sanhedrin, which was struck and which collapsed... until Shilo come. (Genesis Rabbah 98; cf. Santala, 50)
What is the name of the Messiah-King?... The LORD (YHWH - יהוה) is his name, because Jer 23:6 says, 'This is the name by which he will be called: the LORD our Righteousness (יהוה צדקנו)... SHILOH is his name, because it is written in Gen 49:10, 'until Shiloh comes'... (Lamentations Rabbah 1:16 on Lam 1:15-17; b. Sanhedrin 98b)
Jesus fulfilled this prophecy as a member of the tribe of Judah. The promise also connects the coming of the Messiah with the continuance of Judah’s scepter—its royal or governing authority. Jesus came while Judah’s identity and institutions still endured, before the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70 brought a devastating end to that national order. The loss of the Sanhedrin’s power to impose capital punishment under Roman rule was also understood as a sign that Judah’s scepter had departed. Raymond Martin (Ramon Martí), a thirteenth-century Dominican friar and scholar of Hebrew and rabbinic literature, records a saying attributed to Rabbi Rachmon expressing distress that the Messiah had not yet appeared:1
When the members of the Sanhedrin discovered that the rights of life and death had been torn from their hands a general consternation seized hold of them. They covered their heads with ashes and their bodies with sackcloth, shouting, 'Woe to us! The sceptre of Judah has been taken away and the Messiah has not yet come.' (quoted in Santala, 103; see note 1)
NT Fulfillment:
Jesus… the son of Judah. (Luke 3:23, 33)
Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book. (Rev 5:5)
The Messiah will be a descendant of David
OT Prophecy:
"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD (YHWH) OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Jer 23:5-6)
Commentary:
This prophecy speaks of a descendant of David who will be a “Branch of righteousness,” reign as king, and bring salvation to Judah and Israel. His name will be “YHWH our Righteousness” (יהוה צדקנו). Rabbinic sources explicitly apply this divine name to the Messiah: b. Bava Batra 75b includes the Messiah among those called by God’s name, while Lamentations Rabbah 1:16 records Rabbi Abba bar Kahana’s statement that the Messiah’s name is “the Lord.” Jesus, whose name means “the LORD saves,” fulfills this promise as the Son of David who saves his people from their sins:
NT Fulfillment:
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham… (Matt 1:1)
Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. (Luke 1:30-33)
The Messiah will be born of a virgin
OT Prophecy:
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin (almah) shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. (Isa 7:14)
Commentary:
Around 735 BC, the prophet Isaiah promised a sign to Ahaz, king of Judah: a young woman or virgin would give birth to a son named “Immanuel,” meaning “God is with us.” The Hebrew word almah denotes a young woman of marriageable age, ordinarily understood in this setting as a virgin. The Septuagint renders it with the Greek parthenos, the ordinary word for “virgin,” removing much of the ambiguity of the Hebrew.
The Septuagint was a Jewish translation begun in the third century BC; its translation of Isaiah is generally dated to the second century BC, well before the Christian era. This rendering therefore predates Christianity and cannot be dismissed as a Christian alteration.
We may also ask: what would be extraordinary about a young woman conceiving through normal relations with a man? Read in the light of the promised child’s name, “God with us,” the prophecy points beyond an ordinary birth to the miraculous sign fulfilled in the virgin Mary.
As is well known, Mary conceived Jesus while still a virgin:
NT Fulfillment:
"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus..." Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:30-35)
The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem
OT Prophecy:
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. (Mic 5:2)
Commentary:
The prophet 
Micah announces that a Ruler of eternal origins will be born in Bethlehem and will reign in Israel. Targum Jonathan identifies this Ruler with the Messiah, translating Micah 5:2: "out of you will come the Messiah." Radak (Rabbi David Qimhi) likewise identifies the ruler in this passage as the Messiah-King, a descendant of David.
As Micah prophesied, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the city of David:
NT Fulfillment:
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife who was with child. And while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. (Luke 2:4–6; see also 2:7)
The Messiah will minister in Galilee
OT Prophecy:
In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. (Isa 9:1-2)
Commentary:
Isaiah prophesied that a great light would shine in “Galilee of the Gentiles.” Jesus grew up in Nazareth in Galilee and carried out much of his public ministry in this northern region, far from Jerusalem and close to the surrounding Gentile lands. Matthew explicitly identifies his ministry there as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.
NT Fulfillment:
Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles..." (Matt 4:12-16)
The Messiah will be a prophet like Moses
OT Prophecy:
The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him shall you hear… (Deut 18:15)
I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. (Deut 18:18)
Commentary:
The book of Deuteronomy announces that God will raise up another prophet like Moses. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan adds that this new prophet will be raised up through the Holy Spirit:
The Lord your God will raise up from your midst a prophet by the Holy Spirit who will be like me… a prophet I will raise up from amongst your brethren, through the Holy Spirit. (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan; cf. Santala, 58)
The midrash on Ecclesiastes also speaks of a "Last Savior" who, like the first savior Moses, will ride a donkey, and provide bread from heaven and living water to his people:
Just as there was a First Saviour so there will be a Last. Just as it is said of the First Saviour (Exod 4:20) that ‘He took his wife and sons and put them on a donkey’, so it is said of the Last Saviour that ‘He is lowly and riding on a donkey’ (Zech 9:9). As the First Saviour provided manna (Exod 16), as it is written, ‘Behold I will pour out bread from heaven upon you,’ so will the Last Saviour, as it is written (Ps 72:16), ‘Let corn abound throughout the land.’ Just as the First Saviour opened a fountain, so the Last Saviour will provide water, as it is written (Joel 3:18), ‘A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house.’ (Qoheleth Rabbah 1)
Jesus' followers recognized him as "the Prophet" whom Moses had announced. In addition, Jesus provided bread from heaven for his people and promised that he would be to them "a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life":
NT Fulfillment:
We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote - Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. (John 1:45)
If you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. (John 5:46)
Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” (John 6:14)
Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world... I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. (John 6:32-35)
Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:13-14)
The Messiah will perform miracles
OT Prophecy:
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. (Isa 35:5-6)
Commentary:
One sign of the coming of the kingdom of God is the healing of the sick and the release of God’s people from the bonds that afflict them. Healing the sick and restoring sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf were central features of Jesus' ministry:
NT Fulfillment:
And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. (Luke 7:21)
And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them." (Matt 11:2-5)
The Messiah will be a shepherd to God's people
OT Prophecy:
I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them - My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them. (Ezek 34:23–24)
David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. (Ezek 37:24-25)
Commentary:
God promised to His people a Davidic shepherd who would guide them and feed them. Both Radak and Rashi say about Ezekiel 34 that “my servant David” is the Messiah. Radak also states of the prophecy in Ezekiel 37 that “my servant David” is the Messiah-King, called David because he is of David’s seed. (cf. Santala, 177)
Jesus, Son of David, called himself "the good shepherd" who came to gather his sheep and give his life for them:
NT Fulfillment:
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep... I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. (John 10:11, 14-16)
The Messiah will be a light to the Gentiles
OT Prophecy:
And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious. (Isa 11:10)
It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth. (Isa 49:6; see also Isa 42:1,6)
Commentary:
Another sign of the Messianic age is that all nations will come to know and worship the God of Israel. Though Jesus' ministry was initially directed towards the Jews, he never turned away Gentiles who had faith in him and sought his salvation. At the end of his time on earth he commissioned his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations:
NT Fulfillment:
Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. (Matt 15:21; see the healing of the Canaanite woman’s daughter in 15:22–28)
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations... (Matt 28:19)
God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life. (Acts 11:18)
The Messiah will enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey
OT Prophecy:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; he is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zech 9:9)
Commentary:
The Talmud and Midrash confirm that the king who will enter Jerusalem on a donkey is the Son of David and Savior:
The Son of David will come only in a generation which is either altogether righteous or altogether wicked… if they are righteous he will come in the clouds. If not, he will come humbly and riding on a donkey. (b. Sanhedrin 98a; cf. Santala, 55)
Just as there was a First Saviour so there will be a Last. Just as it is said of the First Saviour (Exod 4:20) that ‘He took his wife and sons and put them on a donkey’, so it is said of the Last Saviour that ‘He is lowly and riding on a donkey’ (Zech 9:9). (Qoheleth Rabbah 1; cf. Santala, 59)
Jesus indeed rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, as a sign of humility and peace, and also of his messianic kingship:
NT Fulfillment:
Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, “The Lord has need of them…” (Matt 21:2–3; see the fulfillment in 21:6–9)
The Messiah will be a rejected cornerstone
OT Prophecy:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily." (Isa 28:16)
The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD'S doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. (Ps 118:22-23)
He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Isa 53:3)
Commentary:
Isaiah and the psalmist speak of a chief cornerstone that was rejected. Rashi applies Isaiah’s foundation stone to the Messiah and, in his commentary on Micah 5:2, connects the promised Davidic Messiah with the rejected cornerstone of Psalm 118:
Behold, I have laid a foundation... and so must it be interpreted: Behold, I am He Who has already laid [a stone in Zion. Already] a decree has been decreed before Me, and I have set up the King Messiah, who shall be in Zion as an אֶבֶן בּוֹחֵן, a fortress stone, an expression of a fortress and strength. (Rashi on Isa 28:16)
And you, Bethlehem Ephratah... from you shall emerge for me the Messiah, son of David, and so Scripture says (Ps 118:22): “The stone the builders had rejected became a cornerstone.” (Rashi on Mic 5:2)
Jesus, Messiah, Savior, and the cornerstone of Israel, was rejected by many of his own people, including the leaders who condemned him:
NT Fulfillment:
The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain. (Luke 9:22, Matt 21:42-43)
Come to Him, to that living stone, rejected by men, but chosen by God and precious... Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, " Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, " the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone," and "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense." (1 Pet 2:4-8)
The Messiah will be sold for 30 pieces of silver
OT Prophecy:
Then I said to them, "If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain." So they weighed out for my wages 30 pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter. (Zech 11:12-13)
Commentary:
The price paid for Jesus’ betrayal was thirty pieces of silver—the amount prescribed as compensation for a slave killed by an ox (Exod 21:32). Zechariah likewise speaks of thirty pieces of silver thrown into the house of the Lord “for the potter.” Matthew recounts how Judas returned the money to the Temple and how it was then used to buy the potter’s field, bringing these prophetic details together.
NT Fulfillment:
Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him. (Matt 26:14–16)
Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders... Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood." And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter’s field, as the LORD directed me." (Matt 27:3–10)
The Messiah will be betrayed by a friend
OT Prophecy:
Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. (Ps 41:9)
Commentary:
The psalm describes the poor, righteous man who is unjustly afflicted by many evils and betrayed by one of his closest friends. The same happened to Jesus, betrayed by his disciple Judas:
NT Fulfillment:
Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him." Immediately, he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. (Matt 26:48-49)
The Messiah will be meek and humble
OT Prophecy:
He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. (Isa 42:2-3)
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. (Isa 53:7)
Commentary:
Then as now, many among the people of Israel expected a triumphant Messiah who would physically deliver them from their enemies. Isaiah, however, announced a meek and humble Messiah who would remain silent even while subjected to unjust afflictions and being "led as a lamb to the slaughter." This is exactly how Jesus reacted to his unjust condemnation and death sentence:
NT Fulfillment:
And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?" But Jesus kept silent… (Matt 26:62-63)
Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. (Luke 23:34)
The Messiah will be beaten and spat upon
OT Prophecy:
I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. (Isa 50:6)
Commentary:
Jews often consider the suffering servant to be Israel. Here, however, the servant bears the striking characteristics of an individual who is tortured and humiliated, just as Jesus was.
NT Fulfillment:
Then they spit in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands. (Matt 26:67)
The Messiah will be pierced
OT Prophecy:
They pierced My hands and my feet. (Ps 22:16)
And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. (Zech 12:10)
Commentary:
Psalm 22 describes, as Jewish commentator M. D. Cassuto has said, “a man tortured in both body and soul,” feeling abandoned by God and forsaken by all. In verse 16 (v. 17 in Hebrew numbering), the Masoretic Text reads “like a lion (כארי, ka’ari) my hands and my feet.” As it stands, this phrase has no expressed verb and is difficult to understand. An alternative reading, כארו (ka’aru), differs in its final letter and has been understood as a form or spelling associated with “they dug” or “they pierced.” The difference between the Hebrew letters yod (י) and vav (ו) is slight, making a copying variation quite possible.
The pre-Christian Jewish Greek translation of the Psalms supports the verbal reading: it has ōryxan (ὤρυξαν), “they dug,” rendered in this context as “they pierced.” Thus “they pierced my hands and my feet” is not a Christian invention imposed on the Hebrew text. It rests on an ancient Jewish textual tradition and may preserve the original reading more clearly than “like a lion.” The description strikingly anticipates the wounds of crucifixion.
One interpretation recorded in the Talmud understands Zechariah 12:10 (“they will look on me whom they have pierced”) as referring to the death of the Messiah son of Joseph:
And the land shall mourn... what is the cause of the mourning?... one explained, the cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of Joseph... It is well according to him who explains that the cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of Joseph, since that well agrees with the Scriptural verse, and they shall look upon me because they thrust him through, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son. (b. Sukkah 52a; cf. Santala, 186)
Rashi and Ibn Ezra also report the interpretation that this mourning concerns the Messiah son of Joseph (commentaries on Zech 12:10).
When Jesus was crucified, his hands and feet were pierced with nails. In addition, immediately after he died, a Roman soldier pierced his side with a spear:
NT Fulfillment:
And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him… (Luke 23:33)
One of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. (John 19:34)
Men will cast lots for his clothes
OT Prophecy:
They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots. (Ps 22:18)
Commentary:
The casting of lots for the clothing of the afflicted man of Psalm 22 also accurately describes how the Roman soldiers cast lots for Jesus' clothes at the crucifixion:
NT Fulfillment:
Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: " They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots." (Matt 27:35)
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now this tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be." (John 19:23-24)
The Messiah will be given vinegar and gall to drink
OT Prophecy:
They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. (Ps 69:21)
Commentary:
Psalm 69 describes the unjust affliction of a righteous one who is "hated without a cause" (v. 4) and was given gall for food and vinegar to drink, like Jesus on the cross.
NT Fulfillment:
They gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. (Matt 27:34)
The Messiah will be sacrificed for our sins
OT Prophecy:
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth... For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. (Isa 53:4-8)
Commentary:
Jews today often consider the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 to be the people of Israel, who have suffered on behalf of the other nations to atone for their sins. Yet Isaiah describes this servant as innocent: “He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth” (Isa 53:9). He is the righteous servant who bears the sins of others (Isa 53:11–12). This contrasts sharply with Isaiah’s rebukes of Israel’s sins elsewhere (cf. Isa 1) and points to an innocent individual who offers himself for his people. A number of Jewish sources likewise associate this suffering figure with the Messiah.
The Targum translates Isa 52:13: "Behold, my servant the Messiah will prosper."
Midrash Tanhuma states that "this is the King, the Messiah, who will rise and be greatly exalted, higher than Abraham, greater than Moses, above the worshipping angels."
Midrash Ruth, commenting on Ruth 2:14, discusses the "Messianic meal": "The fifth interpretation of [Ruth 2:14] makes it refer to the Messiah. Come hither: approach to royal state. And eat of the bread refers to the bread of royalty; and dip thy morsel in the vinegar refers to his sufferings, as it is said, but he was wounded because of our transgressions (Isa 53:5). (Ruth Rabbah 5:6)
Rabbi Elijah de Vidas writes: "Thus the Messiah suffered on account of our sins, and was wounded; He who does not wish the Messiah to be wounded for our transgressions may choose himself to suffer and carry his own sins." (cf. Santala, 202)
The Talmud also associates the suffering servant with the Messiah: "What is the Messiah's name? ... the Rabbis said: His name is 'the leper scholar,' as it is written, surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God, and afflicted (Isa 53:4). (Sanhedrin 98b)
A remarkable passage also occurs in a liturgical poem attributed to Eleazar ha-Kallir and preserved in some Yom Kippur prayer books, including the Mahzor Rabbah cited by Santala:
Then, before the creation, he already set up the Temple and the Messiah… the Messiah our righteousness has turned away from us, and can find no-one who can justify us. The yoke of our sins and our transgressions is a burden to us; and he was wounded for our transgressions, he suffered on his shoulders our iniquities; there is forgiveness for our sins. In his wounds we are healed; it is time to create forever a new creation… (Mahzor Rabbah for the Day of Atonement, quoted in Santala, 207)
The New Testament, of course, interprets Isaiah 53 as referring to Jesus, the paschal lamb sacrificed for the sins of the world:
NT Fulfillment:
A man of Ethiopia... was reading Isaiah the prophet... "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, and who will declare His generation? for His life is taken from the earth." So the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?" Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. (Acts 8:27-35)
For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. (1 Cor 5:7)
He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. (Heb 9:26)
See also:
Jews for Jesus: Jewish Messianic Interpretations of Isaiah 53
Not one of his bones will be broken
OT Prophecy:
In one house [the Passover lamb] shall be eaten... nor shall you break one of its bones. (Exod 12:46)
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken. (Ps 34:19–20)
Commentary:
The command not to break any of the Passover lamb’s bones, together with the psalm’s promise, was fulfilled when the soldiers found Jesus already dead and did not break his legs (John 19:33–36).
NT Fulfillment:
… When they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. (John 19:33)
The Messiah will rise from the dead
OT Prophecy:
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. (Ps 16:10)
Commentary:
The ancient hope in the resurrection from the dead, expressed by David in Psalm 16, remained unfulfilled in David's own life, as the apostle Peter explained to the Jews assembled in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Christ's resurrection, however, fulfilled this promise of ultimate victory over death.
NT Fulfillment:
The angel answered and said to the woman, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen." (Matt 28:5-6)
...the patriarch David... is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. (Acts 2:29-32)
The Messiah will ascend into heaven
OT Prophecy:
You have ascended on high, you have led captivity captive; you have received gifts among men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God might dwell there. (Ps 68:18)
Commentary:
Psalm 68 celebrates God’s victorious ascent and the leading of captives. Ephesians 4:8–10 applies this passage to Christ’s descent and ascension: Jesus has triumphed over the powers that held humanity captive and gives gifts to his people. Ascended to the Father, he also prepares a place for his followers in the Father’s kingdom.
NT Fulfillment:
I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:2-3)
Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. (Acts 1:9)
The Messiah will be seated at the right hand of God
OT Prophecy:
The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool." (Ps 110:1)
Commentary:
Who are the two Lords spoken of in this psalm? The midrash on the psalms tells us that this dialogue here is between the LORD and the Messiah:
"Sit at my right hand," – he says this to the Messiah; and his throne is prepared in grace and he will sit upon it. (Midrash Psalms; cf. Santala, 124)
Jesus claimed that he was the one who would sit at the right hand of God:
NT Fulfillment:
Jesus said to him, "…hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." (Matt 26:64)
The Messiah will be a priest like Melchizedek
OT Prophecy:
The LORD has sworn and will not relent, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." (Ps 110:4)
Commentary:
Psalm 110 speaks of a mysterious priest "according to the order of Melchizedek." In the New Testament, the epistle to the Hebrews describes how the Aaronic priesthood, temporary and unable to bring worshippers to perfection, finds its fulfillment in a new and greater priest "who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life" (Heb 7:16). Jesus is the eternal high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
NT Fulfillment:
So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: "You are my Son, today I have begotten You." As He also says in another place: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." (Heb 5:5-6)
We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man. (Heb 8:1-2)
The time of the Messiah's coming was predicted
OT Prophecy:
In the traditional Christian interpretation, the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Dan 2) and the four beasts in Daniel’s dream (Dan 7) represent four kingdoms: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. At the time of the fourth kingdom (Rome) "the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." (Dan 2:44)
Commentary:
The Talmud records a tradition in which two thousand years of Torah are followed by two thousand years of the Messiah, while explaining that Israel’s sins delayed the expected fulfillment:
The tradition of Elijah teaches that the world is to exist for six thousand years; in the first two thousand desolation; in the next two thousand the Torah will flourish and the next two thousand are the days of the Messiah but on account of our sins, which were great, things turned out as they did. (Sanhedrin 97a)
According to the traditional Jewish calendar, creation is dated to 3761 BC. The Talmud’s two thousand years of Torah begin with Abraham, rather than with the giving of the Law at Sinai (b. Avodah Zarah 9a). On this reckoning, the following two thousand years—the days of the Messiah—begin around AD 240. The striking point remains: this rabbinic tradition places the expected beginning of the messianic age long in the past and explains its delay in terms of Israel’s sins.
NT Fulfillment:
Jesus appeared and proclaimed the kingdom of God at the time of the Roman occupation in Judea, within the timeframe of Daniel's prophecies.
The Messiah will be cut off before the destruction of the temple
OT Prophecy:
...from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks... And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. (Dan 9:25-26)
Commentary:
The following is one possible calculation of Daniel’s prophecy. It depends on the starting date, the use of 360-day “prophetic years,” and the reconstruction of ancient calendars; its precise dates should therefore be treated as proposed rather than certain.
- The prophecy: 69 “weeks” (of seven years each) after the command to rebuild Jerusalem, the Messiah will be "cut off," after which the city and sanctuary will be destroyed.
- On this interpretation, the command to rebuild Jerusalem is identified with King Artaxerxes’ authorization in Nisan of the twentieth year of his reign (Neh 2:1–8).
- Artaxerxes began to reign in 465 BC. This calculation dates his twentieth year to 445 BC and takes the 1st of Nisan (Nissan) as its starting point, conventionally equated here with March 14, 445 BC.
- Daniel's prophecy predicts that there will be 7+ 62= 69 weeks from the command to rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of the Messiah (1 "week" = 7 years).
- 69 “weeks” × 7 years = 483 prophetic years. Taking each prophetic year as 360 days gives 173,880 days. This is a schematic prophetic year, rather than the actual length of the Babylonian lunisolar calendar year.
- 173,880 days are approximately 476 Julian years plus 21 days (using an average Julian year of 365.25 days).
- Counting 476 years from 445 BC brings us to AD 32, allowing for the absence of a year zero.
- Adding approximately 21 days to March 14 brings us to around April 4, AD 32. On these assumptions, the sixty-nine weeks reach the period of the Messiah’s final entry into Jerusalem and his being “cut off” soon afterward.
- Passover fell around April 10, AD 32. If the crucifixion occurred at that Passover, the correspondence with the proposed prophetic timeline is striking. AD 32 is thus a likely crucifixion year within this chronological scheme, though the year and exact calendar dates remain uncertain.
The Talmud also reports ominous changes in the Temple service during the forty years before its destruction—that is, from around AD 30, close to the time of Jesus’ crucifixion. The crimson strip associated with the Yom Kippur scapegoat, whose whitening had signified forgiveness, no longer turned white. The western lamp would not remain burning, the lot “for the Lord” no longer came up in the high priest’s right hand, and the sanctuary doors opened by themselves:
During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-coloured strap become white, nor did its westernmost lamp shine; and the doors of the sanctuary opened themselves. Then Rabbi Johanan Ben Zakkai rebuked them, saying, “Temple, why dost thou grieve so? I know this about thee, that thou shalt be destroyed.” (b. Yoma 39b; cf. Santala, 105)
It is remarkable that such dramatic changes in the Temple service mysteriously occurred right around the time of Jesus' crucifixion!
NT Fulfillment:
On the calculation outlined above, Artaxerxes’ authorization in 445 BC (Neh 2:1–8) leads through sixty-nine “weeks” of prophetic years to AD 32, the likely crucifixion year within this reconstruction. The precise chronology remains uncertain, but the central correspondence is clear: Jesus the Messiah was “cut off” before the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70. The Talmud’s report of ominous signs in the preceding forty years is particularly striking in this light.
The Messiah has two missions to carry out
OT Prophecy:
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God." (Isa 61:1-2)
Commentary:
Isaiah refers here to the Messiah's two missions: the first consists of preaching, healing and setting people free from their bondage, and of announcing his second mission: the day of judgment, the "day of vengeance of our God." Jesus has completed the first mission in his own life and he now continues to carry it out through the Church, awaiting the day and hour of his return to judge the world.
NT Fulfillment:
The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. (Matt 11:5)
For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. (Matt 16:27)
All people will worship the Son of Man
OT Prophecy:
In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (Dan 7:13-14)
Commentary:
Daniel's Son of Man here appears to be much more than a mere human, for he receives an everlasting authority over all the world, and all nations and people of the earth worship him!
Rashi writes that this son of man is the King-Messiah. (Rashi on Dan 7:13).
Rabbi Saadia Gaon explains that:
He is the Messiah Our Righteousness; and is it not of the Messiah that it is written, 'he is humble and rides on a donkey'? He will come humbly, not proudly on horseback. Regarding the 'coming with the clouds,' this concerns the host of the heavenly angels; and here is the greatness which the Creator will grant the Messiah." (Rabbi Saadia Gaon on Dan 7)
In the book of Revelation, in a vision similar to Daniel's, we see Jesus reigning over all creation and receiving worship and honor from all creatures:
NT Fulfillment:
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!" And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: " Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!" Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever. (Rev 5:12-14)
The Messiah is called "Son of God"
OT Prophecy:
Why do the nations rage, and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One [...] 'Yet I have set My King on my holy hill of Zion.' I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession [...] Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way [...] (Ps 2:1-2, 6-8, 12)
Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name, if you know? (Prov 30:4)
Commentary:
It is often asserted that the idea of God having a Son is entirely foreign to the Hebrew Scriptures. Yet Psalm 2 calls the Lord’s anointed one—his Messiah—“Son” and promises him the nations as his inheritance. The Midrash on the Psalms sees in this figure the “one who is to come,” the “Messiah-King” before whom all will bow down, and the “son of man coming with the clouds” of Daniel 7:13. These texts prepare the way for the New Testament’s revelation of Jesus as the Son of God.
Rashi explicitly reports the rabbinic interpretation of Psalm 2 as referring to the Messiah-King, while explaining its plain sense in relation to David himself (Rashi on Ps 2:1). Ibn Ezra likewise considers David’s anointing and a messianic interpretation (cf. Santala, 119). The Talmud also applies Psalm 2 to the Messiah son of David, connecting it with the tradition of the suffering Messiah son of Joseph:
The Rabbis have said that this means the Messiah, the Son of David, who is to come quickly in our time. The Holy One will say to him: ‘Ask of me, and I will give it to you,’ as it is said... ‘this day I have begotten you; ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance.’ And because he saw the Messiah, the Son of Joseph, who was killed… I will ask you for nothing more than life… (b. Sukkah 52a; cf. Santala, 120)
Santala also cites a striking passage from the Zohar that brings together the Holy One, his Son, and his Spirit. Its language offers an intriguing point of contact with Christian faith, without amounting to a formal statement of the doctrine of the Trinity:
"You are the good shepherd; of you it is said, ‘Kiss the Son.’ You are great here below, the teacher of Israel, the Lord of the serving angels, the son of the Most High, the son of the Holy One, may his name be praised and his Holy Spirit." (Zohar, part III, p. 307, Amsterdam edition, quoted in Santala, 121)
NT Fulfillment:
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt 3:16-17)
See also:
Jews for Jesus: The Son of God
Jews for Jesus: Is Psalm 2 considered messianic by the rabbis and Jewish sages?
The Messiah existed before the creation of the world
OT Prophecy:
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting." (Mic 5:2)
Commentary:
We have already examined this verse from Micah and seen how Jewish commentators apply it to the Messiah. Yet is this Messiah merely human? His origins “from of old, from everlasting” point us toward the mystery of his preexistence. Radak identifies the promised ruler as the Messiah-King and relates his ancient origins to his descent from David. Other Jewish traditions speak even more directly of the Messiah’s existence before creation.
From you shall come forth for me the Messiah, for he will be of the seed of David, who was from Bethlehem. (Radak on Mic 5:2 [Hebrew 5:1]; translated from the Hebrew)
In Genesis 1:2 we read: "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." The midrash Rabbah says in this context that "this was the spirit of the Messiah" who was already present at creation. (Genesis Rabbah 2:4, on Gen 1:2; cf. Santala, 35)
According to the Talmud, the Messiah's name is one of the seven things which were ordained before creation. (b. Pesahim 54a, Nedarim 39b; cf. Santala, p. 52)
The apocryphal book of Enoch also presents the Messiah and Son of Man as pre-existent before the creation of the world:
And at that hour that Son of Man was named In the presence of the Lord of Spirits, and his name before the Head of Days. Yea, before the sun and the signs were created, before the stars of the heaven were made, His name was named before the Lord of Spirits. He shall be a staff to the righteous whereon to stay themselves and not fall, and he shall be the light of the Gentiles, and the hope of those who are troubled of heart. All who dwell on earth shall fall down and worship before him, and will praise and bless and celebrate with song the Lord of Spirits. And for this reason hath he been chosen and hidden before Him, before the creation of the world and for evermore. (1 Enoch 48:2-6)
These traditions show that the Messiah’s heavenly origins and preexistence have deep roots in Jewish interpretation. They prepare us to recognize the fuller mystery revealed in the New Testament: Jesus is the eternal Son through whom all things were created.
NT Fulfillment:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth... All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. (Col 1:15-17)
The Messiah is called "God"
OT Prophecy:
"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (YHWH Tsidkeinu).” (Jer 23:5-6)
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:6)
Commentary:
These two verses indicate that the Davidic king, Messiah and "Son" will be divine. The divinity of the Messiah is a vast subject that will be dealt with elsewhere. For now, suffice it to say that the midrash on Lamentations also attributes the name of God to the Messiah:
What is the name of King Messiah? R. Abba b. Kahana said: His name is 'the Lord'; as it is stated, and this is the name whereby he shall be called, the Lord is our righteousness. (Lamentations Rabbah I.16.51)
NT Fulfillment:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." (John 8:58)
And Thomas answered and said to [Jesus], "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28)
To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Pet 1:1)
See also the article on the Divinity of the Messiah
The main source for this article: Risto Santala, The Messiah in the Old Testament in the Light of Rabbinical Writings. Jerusalem: Keren Ahvah Meshihit, 1992.
See also the article by the same author: How Can We Be Convinced that Jesus is the Messiah?
See also: Messianic Prophecies* (PowerPoint)
Note
- Santala (p. 103) cites Fred John Meldau, who attributes this saying to “Rabbi Rachmon” and references The Chosen People. The quotation appears in that magazine’s December 1937 issue (vol. XLIII, no. 3), p. 3. An earlier occurrence is found in Lémann’s Jesus Before the Sanhedrim, ch. II, which cites Raymond Martin’s Pugio fidei, Leipzig edition (1687), p. 872. The latter page contains the passage in Hebrew with a Latin translation, explicitly attributed to “R. Rachmon,” whose identity remains uncertain. The familiar English rendering mentions ashes; Martin’s text instead describes sackcloth and making the head bald. These are documented occurrences of the passage; direct borrowing between every intermediary has not been established. ↩
