Some people feel. . .
THAT A SATISFYING, WORTHWHILE LIFE CONSISTS OF:

These are important . . . 

*All quotations from the Tenach, both English and Hebrew, 

are taken from the Jewish Bible.

1) God is the source of a satisfying, worthwhile life

DEEP DOWN, JUST ABOUT EVERYONE

WANTS A LIFE AND RELATIONSHIP LIKE THIS.

AS A JEWISH SCIENTIST PUT IT:

Why, then, aren't most people experiencing this life and relationship?

2) Man has separated himself from God.

GOD'S CHARACTER IS THE STANDARD BY WHICH MAN IS TO LIVE.

But can't man solve the problem

by living properly, by prayer, repentance and good deeds?

Human effort is not adequate because man cannot do enough to solve the problem.

GOD MUST TAKE THE INITIATIVE;
   HE MUST PROVIDE THE SOLUTION.

"But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave." Psalm 49:16

3) The sin barrier can be removed by repentance & believing faith.

Abraham was an example of how the sin barrier can be removed.

We must follow the same pattern.

But Moses said that one more thing is essential, the blood of the atonement.

So we broke the Law (personally sinned against a Holy, Just and Righteous God), but the 

Messiah  became a man to pay the fine for us. This is called the Gospel? The word "gospel" 

comes from the Greek word euangelion which is properly translated "good news." In ancient 

history, the word was given to any message of great joy. In the Scriptures, the Gospel is the 

"good news: that through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the penalty of sin 

has been paid and sinful men may be saved!

So what is the Gospel?

In accordance with the Father’s good pleasure (Gods Glory), the eternal Son, who is equal 

with the Father and the exact representation of His nature, willingly left the glory of heaven, 

was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin, and was born the God-man – Jesus 

of Nazareth. As a man, he walked on this earth in perfect obedience to the Law of God (a 

sinless man, a perfect sacrifice). In the fullness of time, he was rejected by men and 

crucified. On the cross, he bore man’s sin (personal sins against God), suffered God’s wrath 

(punishment we deserved), and died in man’s place. On the third day, he was raised from the 

dead. This resurrection is the divine declaration that the Father has accepted His Son’s death 

as a sacrifice for sin, that the penalty for man’s disobedience has been paid, the demands of 

justice satisfied, and the wrath of God appeased. Forty days after the resurrection, the Son of 

God ascended into the heavens, sat down at the right hand of the Father and was given 

Glory, honor and dominion over all. There in the presence of God, he represents His people 

and makes requests to God on their behalf. All who acknowledge their sinful, helpless, 

estate, repent, and throw themselves upon Jesus Christ will be fully pardoned, declared 

righteous, and be reconciled to God.

This is the Gospel (in short) of God and of Jesus Christ His Son!

God’s plan is to save his people from their sins – and to bring His people fully and finally to 

Himself for His Glory sake (Matt. 1:21; 2 Tim. 2:10). Followers of Yeshua (Jesus) experience 

salvation in this life in both a past and present sense, and we anticipate salvation in a future 

sense. Followers of Yeshua (Jesus) have been saved from the penalty of our sins; we are 

currently being saved from the power of sin; and one day, when God’s plan of salvation is 

complete and we are with Christ, we shall be like him, and we shall be saved even from the 

very presence of sin.

So if God has done this in Christ, what are we to do to be saved? We must turn to God in 

Christ, which entails turning back from sin? If we repent (decide to forsake and turn from) our 

sin (as best we understand it) and trust in (believe) Christ as a living person, we will be saved 

from God’s righteous wrath against our sins.

Turning to God necessarily implies our turning away from sin. The whole Bible OT & NT 

clearly teaches that to repent is to "acknowledge [God’s] name and turn from [our] sins" 

(1Kings 8:35; 2 Corn 7:14; Jer 36:3, Ezek 14:6 Acts 3:19, 8:22, 26:18; Rev.2:21-22; 9:20-21; 

16:11). We cannot start to pursue God and sin at the same time. Followers in this life still 

sin, but against our deepest desires and better judgment; our lives are not guided and 

directed by sin as before. We are no longer enslaved to sin. Though we still struggle with it 

(Gal 5:17), God has given us the gift of repentance (Acts 11:18), and we have been freed from 

sin’s dominating power.

Our response to the "good news" of the gospel is to believe and trust God’s promise in the 

Messiah, and to commit ourselves to the Messiah, the living Lord, and his disciples (follower). 

Among Jesus’ first words in Mark’s Gospel are "repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15). 

The obedience beginning with repentance, is to result from the faith and trust we have in him 

and his word (Jos. 22:16, acts 27:25). Thus sins are sometimes called breaking faith with 

God. (Ezra 10:2). Having faith in Yeshua (Jesus), which seals our union with him through the 

Holy Spirit, is the means by which God accounts Christ’s righteousness our own (Rom. 

3:21-26; 5:17-21; Gal. 2:16). Such saving faith is something that we exercise, but even so it 

is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8-9). God’s gift of salvation has been given to those who follow 

Yeshua, but the evidence of that salvation is lived out in the continual work of God’s Spirit. 

We can deceive ourselves, and so Paul encourages his readers to "Examine yourself, to see 

whether you are in the faith Test yourselves." (2 Corn.13:5). Peter encourages followers of 

Yeshua (Jesus) to grow in godliness and so become more confident of their election (2 Peter 

1). We don’t create our own salvation by our actions, but we reflect and express it and so 

grown in our certainty of it. Because we followers are liable to deceive ourselves, we should 

give ourselves to the study of God’s Word to be instructed and encouraged in our salvation, 

and to learn what is inconsistent with it. Jesus’ descriptions of his followers (Matt. 5-7), or 

Paul’s list of the fruit of the Spirit’s work in us (see Gal. 5:22-23), act as spiritual maps that 

help us locate ourselves to see if we are on the path of salvation.

      A Case for Messiah

A. Prophecies concerning his birth:

1. He would be born in Bethlehem. -- Micah 5:2

2. He would be born of a virgin. -- Isaiah 7:14

3. He would be a descendent of David. -- Jeremiah 23:5 (inter alia)

4. He would be called out of Egypt. -- Isaiah 11:1

5. He would come 434 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem -- Daniel 9:24-27

B. Prophecies concerning his ministry:

1. He would be preceded by "a voice crying in the wilderness" -- Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1.

2. Through him God would honor Galilee. -- Isaiah 9:1,2

3. He would be a "light to the Gentiles." -- Isaiah 42:6

4. He would speak in parables. -- Psalm 78:2

5. He would heal the blind, the deaf and the lame. -- Isaiah 35:5

6. He would work quietly, without fanfare. -- Isaiah 42:1-4

7. He would enter Jerusalem riding on the colt of a donkey. -- Zechariah 9:9

8. His people would reject him. -- Isaiah 49:7, 52:14, 53:3

C. Prophecies Concerning his suffering and death:

1. He would be betrayed by someone he ate with. -- Psalm 41:9

2. His " sheep " would be scattered. -- Zechariah 13:7

3. He would not protest. -- Isaiah 53:7, 12

4. His back would be beaten. -- Isaiah 50:6

5. They would spit on him. -- Isaiah 50:6. 

6. He would be sorely disfigured. -- Isaiah 52:14

7. He would die among criminals. -- Isaiah 53:9 , 12

8. His hands and feet would be pierced. - Psalm 22:16

9. People would cast lots (like drawing straws) for his clothes. - Psalm 22:18.

10. He would rise from the dead. - Isaiah 53:11,12

A. Prophecies concerning his birth:

1. He would be born in Bethlehem. -- Micah 5:2

Every Sunday School child knows that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but his mother lived in a town some 60 miles away, with, at most, a donkey for transportation. It would have been easier for Jesus to have been born in Nazareth, but because the government picked that year to take a census (for tax purposes), the Holy Family was required to make the journey to Bethlehem, and Jesus was born there just as the prophet had said.

2. He would be born of a virgin. -- Isaiah 7:14

According to Matthew, Mary the mother of Jesus had never had a man until after Jesus was born. Even those who deny this usually agree that there was something out of the ordinary about his conception. Early enemies claimed that he was the son of a soldier named Panthera, but nobody simply said he was the son of Joseph and Mary and there was nothing special about it. The fact that they feel they have to explain it in unusual terms reveals that something out of the ordinary had occurred.

3. He would be a descendent of David. -- Jeremiah 23:5 (inter alia)

Matthew traces the legal descendency of Jesus back to David (Matthew 1:17) through his adoptive father Joseph. Although not a physical descendant of Joseph, Jesus was Joseph's legal heir, and as such was entitled to all the privileges of Joseph's lineage. Luke also traces Jesus' descendency from David, through another path. It appears that Mary, too, was a descendant of David, and, as she had no brothers, was entitled to pass her inheritance on to her son, in her husband's name.

4. He would be called out of Egypt. -- Hoseah 11:1

When the Magi came in search of the "King of the Jews," they first went to Herod, assuming they would find the King they were seeking at the palace. Herod determined from the teachers of the Scriptures that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. Jealous of this rival king, he ordered all boy babies in that town to be killed. Hearing of this, Joseph took the family away into Egypt. Matthew cites this incident (Matthew 2:13-15) as a fulfillment of Isaiah 11:1.

5. He would come 434 years after the decree to rebuild

Jerusalem (after it had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar) -- Daniel 9:25. According to Nehemiah 2:1, such a decree was issued in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, i.e., 445 B.C. Calculating 434 years from that time would put us at 9 B.C. According to Compton's Encyclopedia, the birth of Jesus occurred sometime before 3 B.C. That is certainly close, and I believe if we knew the exact dates, and made proper adjustments for the differences in the calendars, the date would coincide with prophecy exactly.

B. Prophecies concerning his ministry:

1. He would be preceded by "a voice crying in the wilderness" -- Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1.

Mark cites John the Baptist as the fulfillment of these prophecies, and that certainly fits. John lived as a sort of wild man, wearing a coat of camel's hair (rather than the woven cloth of a city man) and ate "locusts and wild honey," i.e., he lived off the land rather than tilling the soil or buying food in the marketplace. He lived and preached in the wilderness. People went out to the wilderness to see him; he did not come into the city.

John claimed to be the precursor of someone greater, "whose sandal-thong I am not worthy to untie" (Mark 1:7). John later claimed Jesus was the someone he had spoken of. (John 1:29-34)

2. Through him God would honor Galilee. -- Isaiah 9:1,2

In Bible time, Galilee was the part of the country known for being rather lax in its responsibilities toward God. Religious people of that day might have expected the Messiah to come to Jerusalem, where the temple was and where the great centers of religious learning were headquartered. But the prophet Isaiah here states that God would honor Galilee. Although he was born in Bethlehem (in accordance with prophecy), Jesus' family home was in Nazareth, in the north. It was there that he grew up, and as an adult, he centered his ministry in Capernaum, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. (Matthew 4:12-16)

3. He would be a "light to the Gentiles." -- Isaiah 49:7

When Jesus was born, the angels said they brought "Good news, which shall be to all people." (Luke 2:10) There are occasions recorded where Jesus performed miracles for non-Jews, e.g.: the Canaanite woman of Matthew 15:21-28, or the Centurion of Luke 7. Millions of Gentiles have since received the blessing of his redemptive work, as his church spread far beyond its original Jewish constituency. Jesus referred to himself as "the Light of the World" (John 8:12)

4 He would speak in parables. -- Psalm 78:2

A parable is a story of ordinary events used to illustrate a spiritual truth. Jesus used them constantly. (Note Matthew 13, especially verse 35).

5. He would heal the blind, the deaf and the lame. -- Isaiah 35:5

None of the Old Testament prophets is ever said to have healed the blind, although they worked other miracles. Healing the blind seems to be reserved for Messiah. Jesus healed blind people on more than one occasion. Particularly notable is one man who was widely known in his community as a man who had been blind from birth (so no one could say he was a plant, placed in the crowd to pretend to be healed). (John 9) This is the man who testified of Jesus "Whether this man is a sinner or not, I don't know. What I do know is once I was blind, now I can see!" John the Baptist once sent some of his disciples to Jesus to ask if he was really the Messiah. Jesus simply told them to go back to John and report what they had seen: the lame could walk, the deaf could hear and the blind could see. That would be enough to remove all doubt.

6. He would work quietly, without fanfare. -- Isaiah 42:1-4

Until the time was right, Jesus kept a relatively low profile. He healed many sick people, but told them not to tell who he was. (Matthew 12:15-21)

7. He would enter Jerusalem riding on the colt of a donkey. -- Zechariah 9:9

Jesus fulfilled this prophecy one week before his crucifixion. In so doing he identified himself with the promised King of Zion (John 12:12-16), although he made it clear that his kingdom was not of this age. (John 18:36)

8. His people would reject him. -- Isaiah 49:7

52:14, 53:3. As a whole, the Jews of Jesus' day did not accept him. When Pilate offered them their final chance, they opted for Barabbas the thief instead. As John says "He came unto his own, and his own received him not" (John 1:11)

C. Prophecies concerning his suffering and death:

1. He would be betrayed by someone he ate with. -- Psalm 41:9

Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, was present at the last supper, and dipped matzah with him. Jesus said at that time that the scripture would be fulfilled: "He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me." (John 13:18-30).

2. His sheep would be scattered. -- Zechariah 13:7

When Jesus was arrested, his disciples fled. (Mark 14:50).

3. He would not protest. -- Isaiah 53:7, 12

One of the remarkable things about the Gospel accounts of the trial of Jesus is that he did not fight back or argue. When he was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane, his disciples attempted to defend him. Jesus told them to put their swords away. (John 18:1-11, Luke 22:47-53)

4. His back would be beaten. -- Isaiah 50:6

His enemies wanted him killed, but Pilate, reluctant to crucify a man who had committed no capital offence, at first tried to satisfy the angry mob's blood lust by having him scourged with the infamous cat of nine tails. See Matthew 27:26, John 19:1.

5. They would spit on him. -- Isaiah 50:6

When Jesus was handed over to be crucified, he suffered considerable abuse from the soldiers, which included mockery and spitting. (Matthew 27:30).

6. He would be sorely disfigured. -- Isaiah 52:14

A man who had gone through the scourging described in the Gospels would end up looking less like a man than like a carcass.

7. He would die among criminals. -- Isaiah 53:9 , 12

Jesus was crucified between two thieves. (Matthew 27:38, Mark 15:27, Luke 23:32)

8. His hands and feet would be pierced. - Psalm 22:16

Zechariah 12:10.

Crucifixion involved piercing the feet and hands with nails. To pierce the side would have been unusual, but John 19:31-37 describes how this came about in Jesus' case. Pilate had ordered the legs of the crucifixion victims to be broken in order to hasten death. The soldiers carried out this order on the two thieves, but when they came to Jesus they saw that he was already dead. Perhaps to be doubly sure he was dead, one of the soldiers thrust a spear through his side. After the resurrection, the disciple named Thomas, who had not yet seen the risen Lord and was skeptical, made reference to these marks when he said, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands . . . and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." A week later Thomas "looked on him whom they had pierced," (Zechariah 12:10) and believed. Someday, so will all of Israel.

9. People would cast lots for his clothes. - Psalm 22:18

The soldiers divided the belongings of the crucifixion victims among themselves. Luke 23:34 tells us they "cast lots" for Jesus' robe. See also Mark 15:24 "they cast lots to see what each would get." John 19:23,24 also describes this incident and ties it to this prophetic Psalm.

10. He would rise from the dead. - Isaiah 53:11,12

Isaiah said that the Servant (Messiah) would, after his suffering, "see the light of life." It is essential to Christianity that Jesus rose from the dead. Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24 and John 20 all describe the bodily resurrection of Jesus. If all prophecies fulfilled in Jesus were not enough to convince you that he is the promised Messiah, if all the miracles he performed still left you uncertain, the fact that he was definitely dead and rose again should be the clincher that removes all doubt. Like once-doubting Thomas you can fall down before him and say "My Lord and My God!"

Conclusion:

Many may come and claim to be Messiah, but only Jesus fits the prophecies. Is it only by chance? Not likely -- the prophecies are too numerous and to diverse to be fulfilled by chance alone. Did Jesus deliberately arrange his life to satisfy the prophecies? This is also improbable, since many of them refer to his suffering and death, or circumstances beyond human control. (How did he "arrange" to be born in Bethlehem? What kind of madman would want to "arrange" to be crucified among criminals in order to fulfill a prophecy? How did he "arrange" to rise from the dead? Only God could do these things!) Our conclusion is that Jesus is indeed the Messiah spoken of by the ancient Hebrew prophets. What do you think?  Maybe you still have some questions?

BELOW ARE SOME FREQUENT QUESTIONS ASKED FROM OUR JEWISH FRIENDS

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