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UriYosef

 

Virtual Yeshiva

Used with Permission

Second part.  First part located at “Help Wanted:  Jewish Messiah”).

 

III.            Christianity's Candidate –

Appraisal of Qualifications & Performance 

According to the New Testament, the Messiah of Christianity is Jesus.  Rather than accept (on faith) the claims made by Christian missionaries about Jesus being the (Jewish) Messiah promised in the Hebrew Bible, he will be considered here as an applicant for the position of Jewish Messiah, whose credentials and performance will be evaluated using the requirements listed in the "Job Requisition". 

A. Prior Job Experience
 

According to the explanation given in Section II.A, and as Christianity's candidate for the job, Jesus satisfied this criterion. 

B. Qualifications – Did Jesus Qualify for the Job?

1.  Seed of David through Solomon 

Although the New Testament authors claim that Jesus was the "son of David" (e.g., Mt 1:1; Mk 12:35), the manner of his allegedly miraculous "Virgin Birth" (e.g., Mt 1:18-25; Lk 1:27-35) rules out the possibility of a Davidic lineage for him.  According to Jewish Law (e.g., Num 1:18), and as confirmed by recent genetic research, tribal lineage - a blood right - is passed exclusively by a father to his biological sons (via the Y-Chromosome) and, therefore, cannot be transmitted in any other manner, including adoption.  Since, according to the New Testament, the Holy Ghost, not Joseph, impregnated the "Virgin Mary", Jesus has no identifiable tribal lineage. 

Another problem with the claim to the Davidic throne by Jesus is the matter of the two hopelessly irreconcilable genealogies in the New Testament (Mt 1:1-17; Lk 3:23-38).  Christians still cannot agree on whether the genealogy in the Gospel of Luke belongs to Joseph or to Mary.  Either way, this is a moot point, since that genealogy goes through Solomon's brother Nathan and, too, a female's genealogy is irrelevant to lineage according to the Hebrew Bible.  Perhaps this is the reason that Paul, recognizing the problems with these two genealogies, wrote: 

1 Timothy 1:4(KJV)  Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do
                                                                                              

Titus 3:9(KJV) - But avoid foolish questions, and geneaologies, and contentions, and strivings about the law;  for they are unprofitable and vain.

Note here how Paul, to whom Christian missionaries refer as "Rabbi", teaches Christians that some parts of the Bible – genealogies in this case, which include those of Jesus – are akin to fables and foolish questions, which must not be given heed and should be avoided. 

2.  Spiritual and Military/Political Leader of Israel 

 

 

 

 

When did Jesus serve as spiritual and military/political leader of a unified people of Israel?  Though Jesus is referred to as "King of the Jews" in the Four Gospels (e.g., Mt 27:29; Mk 15:9; Lk 23:38; Jn 18:39), there is no historical record or other validated evidence to substantiate that Jesus ever served in such a capacity.  Moreover, there exists no extant factual evidence that he was ever recognized as a Torah scholar and authority, or that he ever led soldiers to war and was victorious on the battlefield. 

3.  Married with Children 

Was Jesus ever married and did he (biologically) father any children?  The authors of the New Testament are silent on this matter.  According to the New Testament, Jesus never married nor did he father any children.  Though Christians generally refer to themselves as the "spiritual" children of Jesus, this is not the same as biological children, which are also referred to as seed, offspring, and progeny.   "Candidate" Jesus passes the "Prior Job Experience" test.  However, he does not possess the requisite "Qualifications" to be a viable candidate for the job.

 

 

 C.  Performance Appraisal Criteria – Did Jesus Do the Job Right?

Christianity has claimed Jesus as its Messiah.  Therefore, the evaluation process continues in order to determine whether he performed that job as required.

 1.  Arrival of Elijah the Prophet

 Jesus claimed that John the Baptist was Elijah: 

Matthew 11:10-14(KJV) – (10)   For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. (11)  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than  John the Baptist:  notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.  (12) And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.  (13)  For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.   (14) And if ye will receive it,  which was for to come                    .

 Yet, according to the New Testament, John the Baptist himself denied it: 

John 1:21(KJV) - And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias?  And he saith, I am not.  Art thou that prophet?  And he answered, No. ‘

Jesus also claimed that Elijah, when he showed up, was mistreated: 

Matthew 17:12(KJV) - But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed.  Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.

 Yet, nowhere in the Hebrew Bible is such treatment of Elijah foretold, and his mission will be the opposite of that which is described in the New Testament: 

Malachi 4:5-6(KJV)[3:23-24 in the Hebrew Bible] – (5) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:  (6)  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

 Moreover, it seems that John the Baptist, alleged to have been Elijah, was rather unsure about Jesus being the Messiah: 

Luke 7:19-20(KJV) – (19)  And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus saying, Art thou he that should come?  Or look we for another?  (20) When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?

Given that Elijah will be the one announcing the arrival of the Messiah, how is it possible that he will not know who the Messiah is?  Does this make any sense?  The conclusion is that Elijah has not yet returned. 

2.  Building the Third Temple in Jerusalem

The authors of the New Testament are silent about Jesus having built the Third Temple in Jerusalem, and there is no mention of the Third Temple built after his death on the cross.  The historical record of the first century C.E. testifies to the fact that the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E., and that the Third Temple has not yet been built.

 3.  In-Gathering of Jewish Exiles to Israel 

The authors of the New Testament are silent on whether this occurred during the lifetime of Jesus.  The historical record of the first century C.E. testifies to the fact that not only where the all the Jewish people not repatriated to the Holy Land, they were exiled and dispersed into the Diaspora much more than what happened during the previous exile following the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.E. 

4.  Reunification of Judah and Israel into One People

According to Hebrews 8:8, a misquoted verse from the Hebrew Bible, this was not yet the situation at the time of the writing of Hebrews during the first century C.E.  Eight centuries after the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel with its population dispersed into exile by Assyria, only a Judean remnant populated the Holy Land.

 5.  World Peace

The historical record of the first century C.E. testifies to the fact that war, not peace, was raging all over the region of the Holy Land and elsewhere in the known world of that time.

 6.  Universal Knowledge of G-d 

The historical record of the first century C.E. testifies to the fact that paganism was rampant, and that a new religion, which quickly embraced many of these pagan principles, further diverted people from a universal knowledge of G-d. 

7.   Resurrection of the Dead 

Both the historical record of the first century C.E. and the conflicting accounts in the New Testament lead to the conclusion that no resurrection of the dead ever took place, and that the story of the alleged "rising from the dead" of Jesus is a myth. 

The performance of "Candidate" Jesus did not meet the stated "Performance Appraisal Criteria". 

 

 

 

D. Candidate's Score Card

 

As was already demonstrated, Jesus did not possess the necessary credentials to qualify him as a candidate for the position of Jewish Messiah.  Yet, owing to the fact that he is the declared Messiah of Christianity, it was actually possible to evaluate his performance on the job using the criteria provided in the Hebrew Bible.  Together, the results of the two phases of the evaluation clearly demonstrate that Jesus did not meet the requirements that would entitle him to the title of Jewish Messiah.  Table III.D-1 replicates the "Job Requisition" and includes a scoring column to indicate whether "candidate" Jesus, the Messiah of Christianity, satisfied each of the listed requirements.

 Table III.D-1 – Did Christianity's candidate meet the job requirements?

"Candidate" Jesus, the Messiah of Christianity, satisfied one out of the eleven requirements described in the "Job Requisition" for the position of Jewish Messiah.  Does he qualify for the title of Jewish Messiah?  Would you hire him? 

 

 

 

 

 IV.  Summary

According to the requirements stated in the Hebrew Bible, and as the historical record testifies, the position of Jewish Messiah has not yet been filled and remains vacant to this day.  Christianity has proclaimed Jesus as it's Messiah, and the New Testament contains the "evidence" of the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies in the "Old Testament". 

An analysis of the requirements for identifying the  משיח  as set forth in the Hebrew Bible, demonstrates that Christianity’s claims concerning its Messiah are incompatible with the vision of the Jewish prophets.  The events detailed in the Hebrew Bible as part of the messianic agenda did not occur to have been fulfilled.  In fact, and quite to the contrary, history teaches that exactly the opposite conditions prevailed from the alleged time of the birth of Jesus, during his ministry, and long after his death, even to the present time.

In terms of the “Job Requisition” model used in this essay, this may be summarized in terms of two questions and their answers:

Question:  Did Jesus, Christianity's "candidate" for the position of Jewish Messiah, qualify for the job?

Answer:  Jesus did not possess the requisite qualifications for the job. 

Question:  Did Jesus, the Messiah of Christianity, do the job right? 

Answer:  Jesus did not meet the performance objectives of the job.

The events detailed in the Hebrew Bible as part of the messianic agenda did not occur nor have they been fulfilled.  In fact, and quite to the contrary, history teaches that exactly the opposite conditions prevailed from the alleged time of the birth of Jesus, during his ministry, and long after his death, even to the present time.

 

 

 

 

Copyright © Prof. Uri Yosef, 2001—2006 for the Messiah Truth Project, Inc.  All rights reserved.  Reprinted with permission of the author.

 

 

 

 

] One such example is, 300⁺ Messianic Prophecies: Prophecies From the Old Testament that Reveal that Jesus is the Messiah
Chapter/Verse numbers shown in square brackets, e.g., [4:5-6], are those used in Christian Bibles.

Kosher Judaism ©

Conclusion:  Jesus failed to qualify as a candidate for the job

Conclusion: Jesus failed to do the job right

The position of the Jewish משיח   Messiah, remains open!

Kosher Judaism

 כַּשְרוּת יַהֲדוּת