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A MORE COMPLETE EXPLANATION...
You must understand that although both Jews and Christians use
the word "messiah,' the meaning of the word is quite different in each
faith. The Christian understanding is that their messiah, Jesus, died
for the sins of the people. The messiah, according to this Christian
definition, is supposed to be a human offering: a blood sacrifice
necessary for the forgiveness of sin. But we are taught in our Bible
that no one can die for the sins of another. In Deuteronomy 24:16 it
says this unequivocally:
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither
shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be
put to death for his own sin. [Deuteronomy 24:16]
(Please see Essay #1, 'Jews Believe That No One Can Die for the Sins of Another,' and Essay #2, 'Jews Believe That a Blood Sacrifice Is Not Required for Forgiveness of Sins').
The Bible is clear, in verse after verse: no one can die for the sins
of another. Regarding what the Bible says about human sacrifice, please
see Essay #4, 'Gd hates human sacrifices.'
Jews do not believe that after forbidding human sacrifice, Gd had a
change of heart and decided to require it; and we certainly do not
believe that it was the sacrifice of Gd's own human 'son' that Gd
wanted. After telling Israel to stay away from pagan practices and
pagan beliefs, did Gd change Gd's mind and say, 'Okay, now go ahead and
believe in a human sacrifice, just as these very pagans believe?' No --
as we saw in Malachi 3:6, Gd is constant and unchanging. (Please see
Essay #1, 'Jews Believe That No One Can Die for the Sins of Another').
Gd tells us that any human sacrifice is an abomination, something Gd
hates, and so horrible that it would never even come into Gd's mind to
demand it of us. Human sacrifice was practiced by the pagans -- those
who worshipped and made offerings to one or more imaginary deities --
it was NOT to be practiced by believers in the One Gd.
It should be understood that the Christian definition of the
term 'messiah' is pagan. How do Christians define the term messiah?
They understand it exactly as the pagans understood their dying-saving
man-gods and heroes. The ancient world is filled with examples. Mithra,
Adonis, Dionysis, Attis, Ra, and many others were born in the Winter,
died in the Spring, and came back to life. This should sound familiar
to anyone conversant with Christian theology.
Alongside this, they believed that their followers would have immortal
life, since the death of the hero-god acted as the sacrifice for their
sins. This should also sound familiar. The pagan world was filled with
gods who were the product of a human mother and a god for the father.
Heracles had Zeus for a father, and a human mother named Alcmene.
Dionysus’s human mother was Semele, and his father was Zeus; Dionysus
was considered a savior god. The parallels to Christian theology are
plain to see.
When the earliest Christians would come into the synagogues and
missionize, they would get kicked out; they were not allowed to stay
and preach. They were rejected because their message was pagan and was
recognized as such by the Jews. Thus, they were removed and separated
from the Jewish people. This shows the real reason why Judaism and
Christianity parted ways, dating from the very beginnings of
Christianity. It also shows that one cannot be a Jew and a Christian at
the same time. (Please see Essay #9 'Jews' for Jesus, Messianic 'Jews', and 'Hebrew' Christians are not Jews').
So how have we Jews, who invented the term, always defined the term 'messiah?' Our definition is based on Scripture:
1. The Messiah is born of two human parents, as we
said.
But Jesus, according to Christian theology, was born of the union
between a human woman and Gd (as were many other pagan deities, see
above) rather than two human parents.
2. The Messiah can trace his lineage through his human biological
father, back to King David
(Isaiah 11:1,10; Jeremiah 23:5; Ezekiel 34:23-24; 37:21-28; Jeremiah
30:7-10; 33:14-16; Hosea 3:4-5). According to Christian theology,
Jesus's father was Gd. Therefore, Jesus' lineage does not go through
his human 'father' -- Joseph, the husband of Mary.
3. The Messiah traces his lineage only through King Solomon
(II Samuel 7:12-17; I Chronicles 22:9-10). But according to Luke 3:31,
Jesus was not a descendant of Solomon, but of Solomon's half-brother
Nathan. Therefore Jesus was not a descendant of King David through King
Solomon, and fails this test as well.
4. The Messiah may not be a descendant of Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, or Shealtiel,
because this royal line was cursed. (I Chronicles 3:15-17; Jeremiah 22:18,30).
But according to Matthew 1:11-12 and Luke 3:27, Jesus was a descendant of Shealtiel.
5. The Messiah is preceded by Elijah the prophet who, together with the Messiah,
unifies the family (Malachi 4:5-6). This is contradicted by Jesus himself (Matthew 10:34-37).
According to the traditional Jewish definition of the term, the
Messiah will make changes in the real world, changes that one can see
and perceive and be able to prove, precisely because they take place in
the real world. It is for this task that the Messiah has been anointed
in the first place, hence the term, messiah -- one who is anointed.
These perceptible changes include: 6. The Messiah reestablishes the
Davidic dynasty through his own children (Daniel 7:13-14).
But Jesus had no children.
7. The Messiah brings an eternal peace between all nations, all peoples, and all people
(Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-4; Ezekiel 39:9). Obviously there is no peace. Furthermore, Jesus said that
his purpose in coming was to bring a sword, and not peace (see Matthew 10:34, as referenced above).
8. The Messiah brings about the world-wide conversion of all peoples to Ethical Monotheism
(Jeremiah 31:31-34; Zechariah 8:23; Isaiah 11:9; Zechariah 14:9,16).
But the world remains steeped in idolatry.
9. The Messiah brings about an end to all forms of idolatry (Zechariah 13:2).
But the world remains steeped in idolatry.
10. The Messiah brings about a universal recognition that the Jewish idea of Gd is Gd (Isaiah 11:9).
But the world remains steeped in idolatry.
11. The Messiah leads the world to become vegetarian (Isaiah 11:6-9).
12. The Messiah gathers to Israel all of the twelve tribes (Ezekiel 36:24).
13. The Messiah rebuilds the Temple (Isaiah 2:2; Ezekiel 37:26-28).
14. After the Messiah comes, there will be no more famine (Ezekiel 36:29-30).
15. After the Messiah comes, death will eventually cease (Isaiah 25:8).
16. Eventually the dead will be resurrected (Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2; Ezekiel 37:12-13; Isaiah 43:5-6).
17. The nations of the earth will help the Jews materially (Isaiah 60:5-6; 60:10-12).
18. The Jews will be sought out for spiritual guidance (Zechariah 8:23).
19. All weapons will be destroyed (Ezekiel 39:9,12).
20. The Nile will run dry (Isaiah 11:15).
21. Monthly, the trees of Israel will yield their fruit (Ezekiel 47:12).
22. Each tribe of Israel will receive and settle their inherited land (Ezekiel 47:13-13).
23. The nations of the earth will recognize that they have been in error, that the Jews
had it right all along, and that the sins of the Gentile nations - their persecutions and the murders
they committed - have been borne by the Jewish people (Isaiah 53).
These biblically-based changes in the world are very real, perceptible,
noticeable, and knowable. The changes that Christianity claims were
made by Jesus are not perceptible at all. They must be accepted on
faith, and faith alone. How can one establish that Jesus died for one's
sins, except by faith? The changes made by the Messiah according to
Judaism would be provable, but the changes made by the messiah
according to Christianity can only be taken on faith.
Even Christians recognize that the changes the real Messiah
will make, according to the Bible and Judaism, have not yet happened.
This is why Christianity had to invent the idea of a Second Coming. The
real Messiah has no need to come a second time to do those things -- he
must do them the first time around in order to actually be the Messiah.
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