You thought that the Messiah was only coming for Israel. The Lord God made it clear in Genesis that through your seed, would all the nations of the earth be blessed!
God speaking to Abraham:
“And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:18).
I have been reading that many in Israel are searching and researching about the long awaited Messiah. I remember as a child, at the Passover table, we would leave a seat for Elijah the Prophet. It remained empty each year, and we would say “Maybe next year in Jerusalem.” My family, like yours, was waiting for the promised Messiah.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ELIJAH AT THE TABLE:
“The most common tradition is to have a cup for Elijah the Prophet at the table that is usually filled with wine near the end of the Seder. I’ve never seen anyone designate a seat for Elijah, but I have seen the tradition cited in a book of customs called “Minhag Yisrael Torah”. There is a common tradition to designate a seat for Elijah at a circumcision.
Here’s a simpler explanation cited for the custom: At this point in the Seder we pour a new cup of wine to carry out, at least symbolically, our announcement at the opening of the Hagadah, “All those who are in need, come and eat!” The new cup is prepared for a guest who would come. At this time when we recount the redemption of the Jews from Egypt in the Hagadah we also express our hope for the future redemption with the coming of the Messiah. The tradition is that Elijah the Prophet will be the one to announce the coming of Messiah. In fact, there’s a tradition that Messiah will come in the month in which Passover occurs – “Nissan” on the Jewish calendar. The cup is called “Elijah’s Cup” to express our hope that our guest will be Elijah himself coming to inform us of Messiah’s coming and the rebuilding of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. This theme of the future redemption rings throughout the Hagadah, and is stated explicitly at the beginning and the end in the words “Next Year in Jerusalem!” [1]
Every year, I would wonder when the Messiah would ever come. It left me with profound sadness. As a Jewish child, I had no idea that Yeshua (Messiah) had already come! We were taught that the world was misled and that Jesus was merely a prophet.
Even in the synagogue, they would teach us that the disciples of Jesus stole His body and hid it, to make people think that He had risen from the dead. When I was very young, I believed this. But as I got older, and my heart was always searching for the truth about Jesus, I was more skeptical about this story.
ISAIAH 53 PROPHESIED THE COMING OF MESSIAH
FROM GOTQUESTIONS.COM
Question: “Is Isaiah 53 ‘The Suffering Servant’ a prophecy about Jesus?”
Answer: Perhaps the greatest of all Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures / the Old Testament) concerning the advent of the Jewish Messiah is found in the 53rd chapter of the prophet Isaiah. This section of the Prophets, also known as the “Suffering Servant,” has been long understood by the historical Rabbis of Judaism to speak of the Redeemer who will one day come to Zion. Here is a sampling of what Judaism has traditionally believed about the identity of the “Suffering Servant” of Isaiah 53:
The Babylonian Talmud says: “The Messiah, what is his name? The Rabbis say, The Leper Scholar, as it is said, ‘surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God and afflicted…’” (Sanhedrin 98b).
Midrash Ruth Rabbah says: “Another explanation (of Ruth 2:14): He is speaking of king Messiah; ‘Come hither,’ draw near to the throne; ‘and eat of the bread,’ that is, the bread of the kingdom; ‘and dip thy morsel in the vinegar,’ this refers to his chastisements, as it is said, `But he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities.’”
The Targum Jonathan says: “Behold my servant Messiah shall prosper; he shall be high and increase and be exceedingly strong.”
The Zohar says: “’He was wounded for our transgressions,’ etc….There is in the Garden of Eden a palace called the Palace of the Sons of Sickness; this palace the Messiah then enters, and summons every sickness, every pain, and every chastisement of Israel; they all come and rest upon him. And were it not that he had thus lightened them off Israel and taken them upon himself, there had been no man able to bear Israel’s chastisements for the transgression of the law: and this is that which is written, `Surely our sicknesses he hath carried.’”
The great (Rambam) Rabbi Moses Maimonides says: “What is the manner of Messiah’s advent….there shall rise up one of whom none have known before, and signs and wonders which they shall see performed by him will be the proofs of his true origin; for the Almighty, where he declares to us his mind upon this matter, says, `Behold a man whose name is the Branch, and he shall branch forth out of his place’ (Zechariah 6:12). And Isaiah speaks similarly of the time when he shall appear, without father or mother or family being known, He came up as a sucker before him, and as a root out of dry earth, etc….in the words of Isaiah, when describing the manner in which kings will harken to him, At him kings will shut their mouth; for that which had not been told them have they seen, and that which they had not heard they have perceived.”
Unfortunately, modern Rabbis of Judaism believe that the “Suffering Servant” of Isaiah 53 refers perhaps to Israel, or to Isaiah himself, or even Moses or another of the Jewish prophets. But Isaiah is clear – he speaks of the Messiah, as many ancient rabbis concluded.
The second verse of Isaiah 53 confirms this clarity. The figure grows up as “a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground.” The shoot springing up is beyond reasonable doubt a reference to the Messiah, and, in fact, it is a common Messianic reference in Isaiah and elsewhere. The Davidic dynasty was to be cut down in judgment like a felled tree, but it was promised to Israel that a new sprout would shoot up from the stump. King Messiah was to be that sprout.
Beyond doubt, the “Suffering Servant” of Isaiah 53 refers to Messiah. He is the one highly exalted before whom kings shut their mouths. Messiah is the shoot who sprung up from the fallen Davidic dynasty. He became the King of Kings. He provided the ultimate atonement.
Isaiah 53 must be understood as referring to the coming Davidic King, the Messiah. King Messiah was prophesied to suffer and die to pay for our sins and then rise again. He would serve as a priest to the nations of the world and apply the blood of atonement to cleanse those who believe. There is One alone to whom this can refer, Jesus Christ!
Those who confess him are his children, his promised offspring, and the spoils of his victory. According to the testimony of the Jewish Apostles, Jesus died for our sins, rose again, ascended to the right hand of God, and he now serves as our great High Priest who cleanses us of sin (Hebrew 2:17; 8:1). Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, is the one Isaiah foresaw.
Rabbi Moshe Kohen Ibn Crispin said, “This rabbi described those who interpret Isaiah 53 as referring to Israel as those “having forsaken the knowledge of our Teachers, and inclined after the `stubbornness of their own hearts,’ and of their own opinion, I am pleased to interpret it, in accordance with the teaching of our Rabbis, of the King Messiah. This prophecy was delivered by Isaiah at the divine command for the purpose of making known to us something about the nature of the future Messiah, who is to come and deliver Israel, and his life from the day when he arrives at discretion until his advent as a redeemer, in order that if anyone should arise claiming to be himself the Messiah, we may reflect, and look to see whether we can observe in him any resemblance to the traits described here; if there is any such resemblance, then we may believe that he is the Messiah our righteousness; but if not, we cannot do so.” [2]
Surprisingly, many Jews have never seen Isaiah 53; or if they have, then the evil one has blinded them to the truth. Isaiah 53 is so clearly a picture of Messiah Yeshua – the “Suffering Servant.”
FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT
In Romans 11, Paul tells us why there was a partial hardening of the Jews – why most did not receive Yeshua as the promised Messiah. Romans 11 is so vitally important to understand why the Jewish people did not recognize their Messiah.
ROMANS 11
Israel’s Rejection Not Total
“I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”? But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Just as it is written:
“God has given them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes that they should not see
And ears that they should not hear,
To this very day.”
And David says:
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
A stumbling block and a recompense to them.
Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see,
And bow down their back always.”
Israel’s Rejection Not Final
I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”
Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”
“Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”
ISRAEL – God is not through with you! He brought you back to your rightful home in 1948! Though the nations of the world are standing together against you, your God sees everything, and will defend you, and all the nations of the world will see His power and His might and His love for His people Israel!
There is so much more I want to tell you, but the most important thing now is for you to realize that Yeshua (Jesus) IS your Messiah. Because you missed His coming, this enabled the Gentiles to be able to come into God’s Kingdom! How glorious is that?
Have you ever wondered why the only friends that Israel has left on the planet are Evangelical Christians? When they were born again and came into God’s Kingdom, they naturally had a great love for the Jews and for Israel. They know that their Messiah Yeshua came from the Jewish people, as did the Law and the Prophets!
I don’t know why the Lord opened my eyes many years ago to understand that Jesus is the Messiah of the whole world. I’m so glad that He did. There are many Jews who understand that He is the long awaited Messiah of Israel.
During this most troubling time in Israel, I felt led to share this with my people. I pray that many eyes will be opened to the truth. There is a time coming when all of Israel will know that Yeshua is their Messiah. This will be during a time of Tribulation like the world has never seen, nor will ever see again. My prayer is that He opens your eyes now.
He will be coming back to take His people to heaven before Tribulation begins. You can be with Him when He returns!
Shalom b’Yeshua
AM YISRAEL CHAI!