Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, Volume 3: Messianic Prophecy Objections

by Michael L. Brown

"The Torah doesn't speak of Jesus at all!" "You're completely misinterpreting Isaiah!" "This verse has absolutely nothing to do with your Jesus! It's not even a messianic prophecy!" "As for the real messianic prophecies, Jesus fulfilled none of them."
These are some objections raised by Jews regarding Jesus as the Messiah. Using the Hebrew Bible, rabbinic texts, and the New Testament, Dr. Michael Brown provides thorough answers to nearly forty such objections. This third installment of Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus looks specifically at questions raised about messianic prophecies in Isaiah, Daniel, Psalms, Haggai, and Zechariah. It's an invaluable resource for seekers and for anyone wanting to point students of the Torah to Jesus.

Genres: Judaism, Theology, Faith, Reference, Christianity, Christian, Religion

255 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

Michael L. Brown (born March 16, 1955) is a Messianic Jewish Old Testament scholar, professor, activist, itinerant speaker, and author who has preached in numerous countries and written twenty books. He is the founder and president of ICN Ministries. His writings have been translated into more than a dozen languages. He was married to Nancy Gurian on March 14, 1976 and they have two daughters, Jennifer and Megan, and four grandchildren.

Reviews

[William Struse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll admit I had an agenda when I purchased Michael Browns Volume 3 - Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus. Frankly I was interested in understanding how Dr. Brown interprets the prophecy of Daniel 9. Much of today’s Christian eschatology hangs upon this critical prophecy but surprisingly, in way too many instances, the Scriptural foundation for this prophecy is neglected. Lately I’ve been exploring how today’s influential Bible teacher’s answer 20 key foundational questions about the prophecy of 70 Weeks and that quest has led me to this book.

Let me say right up front the book was not what I expected. It’s been some time since I’ve enjoyed and learned as much from a book as I have from Dr. Brown’s Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: Messianic Prophecy Objections. Questions about Daniel 9 aside, this was just really informative book about a subject which I love.

One of the first things that struck me about this book was the fact was Dr. Brown’s perspective. As a Jewish believer in Yeshua, writing to his Jewish brethren, Dr. Brown didn’t approach the subject primarily from the point of view of trying to convince his reader about the legitimacy of the prophetic Scriptures in general because his audience, for the most part, already has a great respect and love for the God’s words.

Rather Dr. Brown took the prophetic texts of the Bible and explored them from both a traditional Jewish (historical) perspective as well as Messianic Jewish (New Testament) perspective showing how a reasonable rendering of the evidence from both sources supports the view that Yeshua (Jesus) was the Messiah spoken of in the Torah and the Prophets.

As gentile believer in Yeshua this was a unique and enlightening exploration of the subject for me. I frankly was not aware of just how extensively the traditional Jewish sources had written about the Bible’s messianic prophecies or their messianic expectations for those prophecies.

Over the years I’ve read a little bit about the Jewish anti-missionaries arguments against Yeshua as the fulfillment of Bible’s messianic prophecies but until I’d read this book I did not have a good grasp of their basis nor the extent to which those arguments had been carried.

This book really changed that for me. Dr. Brown’s arguments were logical and persuasive yet given in a respectful and direct manner. Based upon many of the ancient Rabbinic sources Dr. Brown quoted in this book, it is difficult to see how anyone else but Yeshua (Jesus) fulfilled the prophecies found in the Torah and the Prophets. And for those of you my Christian peers who think Dr. Brown blindly tows the traditional evangelical Christian line on every interpretation of Bible prophecy, you too might be surprised.

I was especially intrigued by Dr. Browns view of the prophecy of Daniel 9. I found it surprising and refreshing that Dr. Brown, as one who believes in a literal and future second coming of the Messiah, sees a reasonable interpretation of Daniel 9 in which the 70 Weeks were fulfilled in the first century by Yeshua (Jesus). Granted this is the first book I’ve read by Dr. Brown but I found no evidence in this book that he, as a Jewish believer in Yeshua, has a preterists or suppersessionist view of the Scripture. On the contrary, Dr. Brown presents a strongly futurist view of the Jewish peoples future role in Gods plans for mankind.

Lately, I’ve been struck by how many of my Christian peers incongruently disassociate the 6 goal of Daniel 9:24 from Yeshua’s death and resurrection, placing them outside the 70 Weeks in some dispensational gap thus weakening the messianic redemptive nature of this pivotal prophecy, a prophecy which they claim is written directly too and for the Jewish people. Among futurists Dr. Brown seems to be a lonely but welcome voice, pointing to Yeshua’s death and resurrection as the most reasonable and Biblically sound understanding of the six goals of Daniel’s 70 Weeks prophecy.

To get a sense of how Dr. Brown sees two of the six goals of Daniel 9:24 here is a quote from page 98:

“In other words, it was during his first coming that Yeshua died for the sins of the world, making atonement for iniquity and bringing in everlasting righteousness, in accordance with Daniel 9:24.”

* * *
In what I hope is considered friendly and edifying criticism, there are several area where I believe Dr. Brown’s explanation of Daniel 9 could have been established upon a more solid Biblical context. They are:

• The chronology of Ezra & Nehemiah
• The command (dabar) to restore and build Jerusalem
• Biblical time as it relates to the prophecy of 70 Sevens
• The Messianic context of Daniel 9:4

Because it relates more directly to the subject of this book I briefly explain the fourth point:

Ironically or appropriately, depending upon your point of view, this fourth point relates to the first messianic passage Dr. Brown looked at in this book, namely the Akedah in Gen. 22.

In the opening pages of this book Dr. Brown explores one of my favorite prophetic foreshadowing of the Messiah found in Gen. 22. It is the story of the binding of Isaac. It is such a wonderful story of faith, innocence and obedience!

As a result of Abraham’s faith and obedience (regards to sacrificing his son Isaac) we find recorded in Gen. 22 the first time Yahweh swore an oath with any man in the Bible. In part this oath promised that through Abraham’s “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed.

"And the angel of YHWH called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn [shaba], saith YHWH, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." (Genesis 22:15-18)

This “oath” is confirmed some years later to Isaac:

"Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath [shebuw’ah] which I sware [shaba] unto Abraham thy father; 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." (Genesis 26:3-5)

Later in Deuteronomy 7:7-9 & 12 Moses calls Israel’s attention to this “oath” Yahweh “swore” to Abraham.

"YHWH did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because YHWH loved you, and because he would keep the oath [shebuw’ah] which he had sworn [shaba] unto your fathers, hath YHWH brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that YHWH thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;…

Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken tothese judgments, and keep, and do them, that YHWH thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware [shaba] unto thy fathers:" (Deuteronomy 7:7-9, 12)

This brings us to Daniel 9 and the prophecy of 70 Weeks. In Daniel 9:4 the very first words out of Daniel’s mouth, when sets out to petition YHWH to forgive and redeem his people and restore Jerusalem, are a quote from Deu 7, those words are a call for YHWH to remember the “covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments”. That “covenant and mercy” in part was promise that through Abraham’s seed all nations of the earth would be blessed.

"And I prayed unto YHWH my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;" (Daniel 9:4 )

It didn’t take long for the angel Gabriel to bring an answer to Daniel’s prayer. That answer was the prophecy of 70 Sevens which told Daniel exactly when that “seed” would come and what that Seed would accomplish.

In other words Daniel 9 begins with Daniel asking Yahweh to remember the “oath” (shebuw’ah) that He (Yahweh) sware (shaba), with Abraham. In answer YHWH sends Daniel the prophecy of 70 Sevens (shabuwa). And to add a really beautiful touch both shabuwa (sevens) and shib’iym (seventy) appear to come from the, primitive root, shaba, that is to sware. So in way we could look at Daniel’s 70 Weeks prophecy as an Oath of Sevens, at least that’s how I like to think of it now.

For further confirmation related to the messianic context of Daniel 9:4 consider the prophecy of Zacharias at the dedication of his son John. This prophecy talks about the coming redeemer as fulfillment of the covenant and mercy - the oath (shebuw’ah) Yahweh sware (shaba) with Abraham.

"And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham," (Luke 1:67-73)

And finally the words of Peter confirming that the “covenant” made with Abraham was about the Messianic “seed” who turn Israel’s from their iniquities, the very theme of Daniel’s prayer (Daniel 9:4-23) as well as the prophecy of 70 Seven’s itself (Daniel 9:24-27).

"Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." (Acts 3:25-26)

So for those who might doubt Dr. Brown’s messianic/redemptive interpretation of Daniel 9, won’t you first take into account the “covenant and mercy” of Daniel 9:4. I don’t think you’ll ever look at this wonderful prophecy the same way again.

Covenant and Mercy Indeed!

* * *
In closing, whether you are Jewish or Gentile, if you enjoy seeing a subject through another person’s eyes, Dr. Brown’s book is a valuable resource which will challenge you, giving you a brand new perspective on the Bible’s messianic / redemptive message. I thoroughly appreciate this fantastic book and the manner the in which the information was presented in it, so much so that I’ve already purchased volume 4.

Maranatha!

[Mikey]

Out of the three *(four wasnt' out yet) I was most excited to read this one but never quite finished it for some reason. i will go back and read it again or at least finish it one of these days

[Tom James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Years ago, I read Volume 1 of Michael Brown's "Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus" and loved it. The book addressed the major objections and answered them graciously and thoroughly. Little did I know at the time that four more volumes were on the way. This volume deals exclusively with the Jewish objections to Old Testament prophecies about Jesus. Traditional Judaism argues that, in context, the prophecies have nothing to do with Jesus. Christianity says the opposite. Brown, a Jewish convert to Christianity ably argues in favour of Christian interpretation of Old Testament prophecy, not only using sound exegetical methods of interpretation, but also employing his extensive knowledge of the Talmud and the revered rabbinical Jewish commentators to bolster his case. He is especially convincing in his defence of the Christian understanding of the identity of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53.

[Brian Chilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Dr. Brown answered many of the questions I had pertaining to Messianic prophecies.

[Collin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It is great not only as a resource for defending messianic prophecies against Jewish objections, but also for those skeptical of the argument from prophecy in general. The chapter are very short and easy to read but packed with good information.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pulled this off my shelf to brush up on my messianic prophecy for a Sunday School class. It's funny. I bought this better than a decade ago. Had no idea who Michael Brown was. Now that I'm aware of his radio show and debates, it puts things into a different context.

Bottom line: Brown has really helped me put prophecy in perspective. Attending Southern Baptist churches as a young man in the mid-90s, there is a certain bluster about biblical prophecy. I was increasingly disillusioned as I looked into them. I'm thankful for Michael Brown for teaching me how to read these sections.


Notes:

The virgin (‘ almah) will be with child [or ”is with child“] and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isa. 7: 13 − 14). (18)

...the birth of the child has something to do with the future of the house of David, since (1) the main threat of Israel and Aram, Judah’s enemies in this chapter, was that they would oust the Davidic king and put their own man on the throne; (2) the Lord specifically says he will give a sign to the unbelieving house of David, and that sign has to do with the birth of a son; and (3) the following chapters, especially 9 and 11, contain some of the most significant Messianic prophecies in the Bible, focusing on the birth and supernatural reign of a new Davidic king. (20)

betulah Is no better than almah for saying “virgin”

youthfulness, not sexual chastity, is the basic meaning of the word. (6) In Aramaic, ‘almah (i.e., ‘ulemta’) sometimes refers to women who have been sexually active. (20)

What is my conclusion? Simply this: From our current vantage point, it is impossible to determine exactly what the prophecy meant to the original hearers when it was delivered, other than that it was a promise of a supernatural sign, a birth of great importance to the house of David, a token of divine intervention and deliverance, and a rebuke to unbelief and apostasy. (23)

As Matthew looked back at this prophecy in context, this is what he saw: The birth of Immanuel is highly significant in Isaiah 7-8; there are two major Messianic prophecies found in Isaiah 9 and 11;63 Yeshua’s birth truly was a supernatural sign (part of the sign being that the ‘almah was in fact a virgin, yet she gave birth to a son); and Yeshua was Immanuel—a name found nowhere else in the Bible or the Ancient Near East (see n. 32)—in the literal sense of the name (God is with us!), as seen clearly in Isaiah 9: 5-6[ 6-7] (see below, 4.4). 64 Therefore Matthew could say that this prophecy reached its “fulfillment” with the birth of Jesus the Messiah since (1) the meaning of the text in its original historical context is somewhat veiled from our eyes, and not enough is said in the context to interpret the verses in a definite and dogmatic way; and (2) as a prophecy regarding the line of David and the coming Davidic king, and as part of Israel’s ongoing sacred Scriptures, we can see that its full and complete meaning was reached with the birth of the Messiah. (24)

As Matthew looked back at these prophecies hundreds of years later, it would have been apparent to him that ( 1 ) these chapters were clearly linked together, and (2) the promises of a worldwide, glorious reign of the promised Davidic king were not yet realized. (25)

given that (1) Yeshua was literally Immanuel, God with us, (2) the Immanuel prophecy was clearly directed to the house of David, (3) Miriam, Yeshua’s mother was an ‘almah who had never known a man, and (4) the surrounding context in Isaiah contained highly significant Messianic prophecies, it is no wonder that Matthew pointed to Isaiah 7: 14 as being “fulfilled” in the birth of Jesus the Messiah. (27)

4.6. Isaiah 53 speaks of the people of Israel, not Jesus (or any Messiah). (48)

For the last thousand years, religious Jews have often interpreted Isaiah 53 with reference to the people of Israel, but that has bv no means been the consensus interpretation, and it is not the interpretation of the Talmudic rabbis. So, for example, the Targum interprets the passage with reference to the Messiah—

virtually without exception, the earliest traditional Jewish sources—and therefore the most authoritative Jewish sources—interpret Isaiah 52: 13-53: 12 with reference to an individual, and in some cases, with reference to the Messiah. (48)

the passage as a whole can arguably be called the clearest prophecy of Jesus in the entire Tanakh. (49)

Isaiah 52: 13-53: 12 cannot refer to Israel as a whole for the following reasons.
1. Throughout Isaiah 52: 13-53: 12, the servant is depicted as completely righteous yet lowly and afflicted, despised and rejected (before his final exaltation). This cannot possibly apply to the people of Israel as a nation; otherwise, the Torah cannot be true. For the Torah plainly promises, again and again, that if, as a nation, we live righteously before God, we will be the head and not the tail, lifted high and not brought low, blessed and not afflicted, revered and not rejected.

2. the Lord would not only suffer terrible disfigurement and suffering but would then be highly exalted... Applies to Jesus but not to Israel
3. Isaiah presents a picture of a totally righteous, guileless servant of the Lord. According to the anti-missionaries, this is a picture of Israel. But when did our nation ever live like this? When do the Scriptures, or even our own history books, record a time when as a nation, there was no deceit on our lips or violence in our midst (Isa. 53: 9), when we were as silent as lambs going to the slaughter before our oppressors (v. 7)? What generation could be called God’s “righteous servant” (v. 1 1 )? Yet if the national interpretation were true, Israel would have to be a righteous nation. At no point in our history has this been true....Note carefully that the servant was not smitten by God because of his guilt but rather because of the guilt of others (Isa. 53: 4, 8). The servant was not guilty! The others transgressed, committed iniquity, and went astray (w. 5-6). Not so the servant of the Lord! He bore the sin of many, but he himself did not sin (v. 12). This description fits Yeshua perfectly. In no way does it describe the people of Israel (or any other people for that matter).
4. According to Isaiah 53: 4-6 and 12, the servant’s suffering brought healing to the people.

Isaiah 53 does not apply to the nation but to a righteous individual who represents the nation—Yeshua, our Messiah and King. (52)

How then should Psalm 44 be understood? Very simply, it is the prayer of the righteous remnant on behalf of the sinning nation. (54)