Who is Jesus Christ? An Islamic, Jewish and Christian Odyssey-Part 2-The Hebrew Bible

Part 2 of our discussion of Jesus Christ, on this post I will look at what the Hebrew Bible says about Jesus, and what is the wider Jewish perspective on Yeshua Mesiach, which, of course is his real name.

There are said to be over 300 Messianic prophecies in the Hebrew bible, I have seen over 200 but trust the experts as to the other 100 or so.

A Messianic prophecy, normally, is a piece of writing within a larger piece that is fulfilled in and through Yeshua's birth, life, death, resurrection or second coming. There are some wonderful prophecies and I will concentrate on some of the major ones.

Isaiah 9 6-7 says:

6For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore the zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

This is wonderful, a child will be born and He will be called the fullness of God. Isaiah prophecied around the fall of Jerusalem which was around 567BC. So, six hundred years before Christ there was a prophecy saying that a human would be born who would be given the names and authority of God.

The crucifixion of Christ is prophecied by Isaiah, also. Towards the end of his 52nd chapter and throughout the 53rd we read this remarkable prophecy:

1 Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. 3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 6All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. 7He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. 8By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? 9His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. 10But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,

Again, a prophecy nearly 600 years before Jesus which prophecied the reason for and events surrounding his crucifixion.

Lots more I can say but I will leave that to my next post as this one has taken me so long!!!!