Is Yeshua the Promised Messiah?

By the mere fact that this question is being raised, some Christians may feel uncomfortable or become enraged even. But this is a legitimate question when it comes to a person who is yet to accept Yeshua (Jesus’ true Hebrew name) as the Messiah. In my personal journey, I like many other Christians believed in the Old Testament because I believed in Jesus. But now I can confidently say that I believe in Yeshua because of the Tanakh (Old Testament).

The Scriptures were the basis for the New Testament writers to prove that Yeshua was truly the promised Messiah. Over and over, throughout the Gospels, we see the writers bring references from the Torah, Writings & Psalms to show how Yeshua fulfilled specific Prophecies, thereby proving to the reader that He is the promised One.

To the most part, Christians have grown up with the belief that Yeshua is this promised Messiah, and have had no need to question its authenticity.

Those who claimed to be or was pronounced to be Messiah

1. Todah (Theudas) mentioned in Acts 5:36
2. Judah HaG’lili (Judas of Galilee) mentioned in Acts 5:37
3. Bar-Kosiba pronounced as Messiah by Rabbi Akiva in 132AD and given the name Bar-Kochva
4. Sabbatai Zevi pronounced as Messiah in 1666
5. Jacob Frank who proclaimed to be a Messiah in 1759
6. Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994) who is believed to be the Messiah among the “Chabad” movement, and is said to be coming again.
7. and many others…

Why believe Yeshua is the promised Messiah?
There are many prophecies about the Messiah in the Scripture, of which some prophecies are significant and clear while others are not. The clearest way to convincingly answer whether Jesus/Yeshua could be the promised Messiah would be to compare these Scriptures against His story. This story is laid out in detail throughout the 4 Gospels and some of the other Books and Letters of the New Testament. The main purpose of the Gospels were to prove to the reader that Yeshua is this promised Messiah. So let us compare the Prophecies and the fulfillments of the prophecies mentioned in the New Testament writings according to the witness of these writers who laid their lives for what they believed.

PROPHECY (Messiah must…)	Scripture Reference	Fulfillment
Be the Seed made of a woman bruise the head of the serpent	Gen 3:15	Gal 4:4, 1Jn 3:8
Be the Seed of Abraham	Gen 12:3	Mat 1:1, Gal 3:16
Be the Seed of Isaac	Gen 17:19, 21:12	Mat 1:2, Luk 3:34, Heb 11:17-19
Be the Seed of Jacab Be the Star of Jacob	Gen 28:14, Num 24:17-19	Mat 1:2, Luk 3:34, Rev 22:16
Descended from Judah	Gen 49:10	Mat 1:2-3, Luk 3:33, Heb 7:14
Descended from David Heir to the Throne	2Sam 7:12-13, Jer 23:5, Isa 9:6,7, 11:1-5	Mat 1:6, Rom 1:3, Luk 1:32
Exist Forever	Micah 5:2	Joh 8:58, Col 1:15-19
Be the Son of God	Psalm 2:7, Pro 30:4	Mat 3:17, Luk 1:32
Bear the Name of God (YHVH)	Jer 23:5,6	Philip 2:9-11
To appear 69×7 Yrs after rebuilding the Wall of Jerusalem	Dan 9:25,26	Mat 2:1,16,19. Luk 3:1,23
Born in Bethlehem	Micah 5:2	Mat 2:1, Luk 2:4-7
Be born of a Virgin	Isa 7:14	Mat 1:18-25, Luk 1:26-35
Be Revered by Kings	Psa 72:10,11	Mat 2:1-11
Follows a messenger who prepares the way	Isa 40:3-5, Mal 3:1	Mat 3:1-3, Luk 1:17, 3:2-6
Be anointed by the Spirit of God	Isa 11:2, 61:1, Psa 45:7	Mat 3:16, Joh 3:34 Act 10:38
Be a Prophet like Moses	Deut 18:15,18	Act 3:20-22
Liberate the afflicted, proclaim freedom to the prisoners and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor	Isa 61:1,2	Luk 4:18,19
Engage in a Healing Ministry	Isa 35:5,6, 42:18	Mat 11:3-5
Lead a Ministry in Galilee	Isa 9:1-2	Mat 4:12-16
Be Caring, Compassionate, Meek & Humble	Isa 40:11, 42:1-3	Mat 12:15-21, Heb 4:15
To be Sinless	Isa 53:9	1 Pet 2:22
Bear the Transgressions of others	Psa 69:9, Isa 53:12	Rom 15:3
Be a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek	Psa 110:4,	Heb 5:5,6, 6:20, 7:15-17
Enter Jerusalem riding on a Donkey	Zec 9:9	Mat 21:1-11, Mar 11:1-11
Enter the Temple with authority	Mal 3:1	Mat 21:12 – 24:1, Joh 2:13-22
Be hated without a cause	Psa 69:4,	Joh 15:24-15
Undesirable and rejected by His own people	Isa 53:2, 63:3, Psa 69:8	Mar 6:3, Joh 1:11, 7:3-5
Rejected by the rulers	Psa 118:22	Mat 21:42, Joh 7:48
Rejected by Jews & Gentiles alike	Psa 2:1,2	Act 4:25-27
Betrayed by a friend	Psa 55:12-14	Act 1:16-18 Mat 26:21-25, 47-50;
Be sold for 30 Pieces of Silver	Zec 11:12	Mat 26:15
Pay the price for the Potter’s field	Zec 11:13	Mat 27:3-10, Act 1:18,19
Must be abandoned by His disciples	Zec 13:7	Mat 26:31,56
Be beaten with a Rod	Mic 5:1	Mat 27:30
Be Beaten and Spat upon	Isa 50:6	Mat 26:67, 27:30,31
Have His Feet and Hands Pierced	Zec 12:10, Psa 22:16,17	Mat 27:35, Luk 24:39 Joh 20:25,27
Be craving of Thirst	Psa 22:15	Joh 19:28
Be given Vinegar to Drink	Psa 69:21	Mar 15:36, Joh 19:29
Have none of His bones broken	Psa 34:20,	Joh 19:33-36
Be Considered a Sinner	Isa 53:12	Mar 15:28, Luk 22:37
Be put to death after 69×7 Yrs after rebuilding the Wall of Jerusalem	Dan 9:24-26	Mat 2:1, Luk 3:1,23 1Pet 3:18
Be a whose Death will be atonement to all mankind	Isa 53:5-7,12	Mar 10:45, Joh 1:29, 3:16, Acts 8:30-35
Be Buried among the Rich	Isa 53:9	Mat 27:57-60
Rise again from the dead	Isa 53:9-10, Psa 16:10, Psa 2:7	Mat 28:1-20, Act 2:23-36, Act 13:33-37
Be lifted up to the right hand of God	Psa 16:11, 68:18, 110: 1	Luk 24:51, Act 1:9-11, Act 7:55, Heb 1:3
Perform priestly duties in Heaven	Zec 6:13	Rom 8:34, Heb 7:25, 8:2
Be the Cornerstone of God’s Congregation	Isa 28:16, Psa 118:22,23	Mat 21:42, Eph 2:20, 1Pet 2:5-7
Be the Person to whom even the Gentiles will turn to	Isa 11:10, 42:1	Mat 12:21, Rom 15:12, Act 10:45
Be accepted by the Gentile Nations as Ruler	Isa 49:1-12, Psa 18:49, Deut 32:43, Psa 117:1	Rom 15:9-11
Fulfill God’s Appointed Days	Lev 23	View the graph

Conclusion
While there are many claimants to the Messiah-ship of God, there is only one person in history who fulfilled a large array of Scriptures to prove that He is indeed the Messiah. Any person who is unsure whether He truly matches this position must read and compare the Scriptures with the writings of the New Testament to see whether these match up. To those of us who firmly believe that Yeshua is indeed the promised Messiah, we should also know the reason for that belief is all of the evidence laid out in the New Testament pointing at the Scriptures. The Scriptures and the many pieces of evidence it puts forth is why we believe that Yeshua, unlike other claimants, is the real “Messiah Ben Joseph” who will return someday as “Messiah Ben David”.

The unknown Assyrian Exile

Most Christians have heard of the Babylonian Exile of the Israelites. We are familiar with the story of Daniel, and have heard about the Babylonian king named Nebuchadnezzar. But what about the Assyrian Exile? Why is it that Christians do not even have a clue about this event?

Don’t believe me? Let’s turn to history. The National Geographic Society has published a book called “Essential Visual History of the World” which contains a very concise history of all the major civilizations and kingdoms of the earth. In this book, you find empires such as Egypt, Syria, Persia, India, China right upto Greece, Rome and even into modern history of the great World Wars. The interesting pages that caught my eye, was the ones that mentioned “the Israelites”. In page 42 & 43 of the book (pictured below), it clearly mentions the division of the Kingdom into North & South and of its fall into Assyria and Babylon respectively.

Click on thumbnail for expanded view

If you were like me, you would be scratching your head thinking where an Exile to Assyria is even mentioned in the Scriptures? The reason we do not know about this event is because very rarely do Christians read the lengthy, name heavy, books of Kings & Chronicles.

For a thorough examination of the Divided Kingdom of Israel, and how it effects our understanding of God’s Word, read the following posts;
Parable of the Prodigal Son and the 2 Houses of Israel
The Betrothal, Divorce and Re-Betrothal of God’s people, through Messiah

Here is a very brief look at what happened to Israel after the reign of King Solomon
1. After David, Solomon was anointed King and when Solomon was old, his many wives made him sin against God (1Kin 11:4-7).
2. As punishment, Solomon’s servant Jeroboam received 10 tribes to rule over, and the rest were ruled by Solomon’s son, Rehoboam (1Kin 11:30,31/ 1Kin 12:16,17).
3. Rehoboam ruled over the Tribe of Judah & Benjamin, collectively called the “House of Judah” (1Kin 12:23).
4. From this point onwards in the Books of 1st & 2nd Kings, Jeroboam and his Sons ruled over what was called “The House of Israel” in the north of the land while Rehoboam and his Sons ruled over what was called “The House of Judah” in the south of the land.
5. After much rebellion against God, and not giving ear to the Prophets, The House of Israel was taken captive to Assyria(2Kin 17:6,18,23).
6. The Majority of them were scattered among the nations(Hos 8:8, Jer 31:10).
7. Even though, The House of Judah, was much better than The House of Israel, they also disobeyed God and was taken captive to Babylon(Dan 1:1,2).
8. God let Judah return back to their land after 70 yrs in exile(Jer 29:10, Ezr 2:1, Neh 7:6).

The divided Kingdom of Israel, was known as the “House of Israel” & the “House of Judah” from the time after the death of King Solomon. The New Covenant was made exclusively with these two divided houses/kingdoms as we can see below.

Jer 31:31  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Heb 8:8  For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

The Scriptures do not speak of a New Covenant made with any other nation. Christ himself said “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mat 15:24). This was the same Good News prophesied by Ezekiel when he spoke of a day when the 2 kingdoms would be united under one shepherd.

Eze 37:16-24  Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.

This is the same mystery that Paul spoke of, when he explained that all believers are grafted into the Olive tree, which is God’s people “Israel” in Romans Chapter 11. (Compare Rom 11:19 and Jer 11:16). All of prophecy in the Scriptures hang on the simple fact of the division, dispersion and regathering of His people under Christ our Shepherd. How can we understand any of these complex ideas given to us in Scripture, if we do not understand the basics that even History proclaims to be true?

My prayer for each of you who have not heard of this part of history, is that you would search the Scriptures and read for yourself, so you would be able to better understand everything written by the Prophets as well as the New Testament writers such as Paul, bringing you to a closer walk with our Heavenly Father.