Discovering The Jewish Jesus

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: Of course, our world today, many are not looking for a Messiah. But when we go back to the ancient way into the good path, the Father was very specific that he was going to send a redeemer, a Messiah to the world to bring that prophecy to fruition. Baruch Hashem, blessed be the name of the Lord.

I'm excited today to launch into a series that I'm calling "Rapid Fire Messianic Prophecy". I'm going to be going through 21 specific Messianic prophecies that point to Jesus, that point to Yeshua from the Hebrew Bible. I'm doing this in correspondence with a book that I've released called "Messianic Prophecy Revealed: Seeing Messiah in the Pages of the Hebrew Bible".

I'm going to be going very quickly. I'm just touching the surface. I'm going very shallow. I just want to whet your appetite, and I also want to encourage you and inspire you to see how specifically the writers of the Hebrew Bible spoke of what Messiah would look like, how he would come, and the nature of his ministry.

The concept of the Messiah was not something that originated in the New Testament; it had been autographed and it had been prophesied about in the pages of what we call the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible. I'm going to be going once again rapid fire. I'm just touching the surface. Here we go. Let's begin.

First of all, the Hebrew Bible told us that Messiah would be eternal, that he wouldn't just be a man or a great teacher. He wouldn't just lead Israel back to the Torah, but the Messiah would literally be eternal. Hear the word of God. Once again, I'm just going to be taking you through a Hebrew Bible or Old Testament reference and then showing you the New Testament correspondence.

I'm looking now at the book of Micah, chapter number five, verse two. The grass withers and the flowers fade, beloved ones, but the word of the Lord abides forever. Hear the word of God. "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you one will go forth for me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity."

We read this same thing spoken about in John, chapter one, verses one and 14 concerning the eternal nature of the Messiah. Micah told us that his goings forth would be from long ago, from eternity. Listen to what John tells us: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

The Word became flesh. That's the person of Jesus, the physical clothing of Messiah into our earth. As we continue our journey, and I'm wanting to go in chronological order beginning with the eternal nature, we find that Messiah will be called Immanuel, God with us. When we turn to the pages of Isaiah, chapter seven, verse 14, I'm going to read a scripture that many of us are familiar with.

Isaiah tells us this: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and we will call his name Immanuel." This scripture is fulfilled. We oftentimes hear it quoted during the Christmas season in the book of Matthew, chapter one, verse 23, where we find this: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel."

We see that he's from the days of eternity, that he's God with us. Furthermore, we see as we continue down this road of Messianic prophecy that this Messiah would not only be eternal God, but that he would be a son. He'd be the son who has always been in the bosom, Baruch Hashem, blessed the name of the Lord, of the Father.

We turn to Psalm number two, I'm going to be reading here verses number seven, 11, and 12. Hear the word of God. "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord. He said to me, 'You are my son, today I have begotten you.' Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the son, that he may not become angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are those who take refuge in him."

What is so amazing about this is that David had revelation that the son was God. David is actually saying here that we need to do homage to the son so that we don't perish. I really am fascinated by this because although David had understanding that somehow the son was part of the Godhead, today Judaism does not have revelation that God has a son.

They look at Christians as kind of pagans because we believe that God has manifested himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which they see as worshipping three gods. I find this fascinating in our study of Messianic prophecy that we find in the Hebrew scriptures that God has a son. We see this confirmed many places, but I love the point in Matthew 17:5 as the Father spoke from heaven.

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him." Once again, we see this concept of the Son of God being the Messiah. As we continue down our rapid-fire prophecies today, we're going to look at the fact that the Hebrew scriptures foretold that Messiah would also come into the world through a woman.

We read in the book of Bereshit, the book of beginnings, Genesis, chapter three, verse 15, these words. The Lord is speaking here to the serpent and he says, "I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed." The woman's seed. The Lord is saying to the devil, "I'm going to put distance between you and the woman and between her seed and your seed. He shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel."

All the gospels bear witness to this. What we call the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all tell us how Yeshua was born from the virgin. We say in Hebrew Miriam, translated into English as Mary. John's gospel is different in the sense that John's gospel just begins to tell the story of Yeshua from eternity.

The synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, show us how this prophecy in Genesis was fulfilled with the Messiah coming into the world as the offspring of a woman, fully God and fully man. God meeting humanity, God clothing himself in humanity. Theologically, this is called the hypostatic union. The Messiah is fully God and fully man. He came into the world as the offspring of a woman.

The Messiah will be the seed of Abraham. He came through a woman, but as we trace this lineage down, it first begins to take clarity when the Lord told us he's going to come through the seed of Avraham or Abraham. We read about this in the book of Genesis, chapter 22, verse 18, where the Lord says to Abraham, "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed my voice."

This is important. We're going back now to the first book of the Bible. We're going back to the Torah and the first book of the Torah, sacred foundational teaching for all the entire world. The Torah is the foundation. The Lord says to Abraham in the Torah, "In your seed, Abraham, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed."

The first verse of the Brit Hadashah or the New Testament begins by telling us that Jesus came into the world as the seed of Abraham. Why did the Lord make the first verse of the New Testament, Matthew 1:1, talk about the fact that Jesus is the offspring of Abraham? Because the Lord wants us to understand how the Hebrew Bible and New Testament fit together like a hand in a glove.

Let's now pick up with Matthew 1:1. Hear the word of God. "The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham." A lot of times Christians today don't really connect the Old and New Testaments. But the Lord thought it was so important to connect our faith in Jesus to the Hebrew Bible that he actually began the New Testament by tying Jesus back to Abraham.

Dustin Roberts: You're listening to Discovering The Jewish Jesus, and Rabbi Schneider will be right back. But first, I want to invite you to take Rabbi's teachings with you wherever you go with the Discovering The Jewish Jesus podcast, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and many more. You can listen to all of Rabbi's powerful messages anytime. Stay rooted in God's word. Just search for Discovering The Jewish Jesus on your favorite podcasting platform today.

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Rabbi K.A. Schneider: As we continue, not only do we find that Yeshua would be the offspring or the seed of Abraham, but the Lord brings it to even greater precision when he tells us that Messiah will furthermore proceed from Abraham's son Isaac and through Isaac's son Jacob, as the Lord prophesies to the world in advance the genealogical line that Messiah would come into the world through.

Genesis 17:19: "But God said, 'Your wife will bear you a son and you shall call his name Isaac, and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.'" Once again, we find the clarity. God is speaking to Abraham and he's telling Abraham that the lineage, the birth of the Messiah, is not going to come through Ishmael.

The Lord specifies, "No, it's going to come through your son Isaac." We're getting clarity. The Messiah is coming through a very particular line. Not only through Isaac, but the Lord further clarifies that it's going to proceed down the line through Isaac's son Jacob. And so we have a very mysterious verse in the book of Numbers, chapter 24, verse 17. Hear the word of God.

"I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. A star shall come forth from Jacob." I just love that one so much. What an incredible supernatural vision we see here of Messiah in the distance, not yet having been manifest to the world. He's far, he's not near, but he's coming, and he's the star of Jacob.

Jacob is also Israel. Jacob's sons became the 12 tribes of Israel. God actually changed his name to Israel. Knowing that Jacob had 12 sons and knowing that the Messiah is going to come through Jacob, how do we know which one of the 12 sons that became the 12 tribes the Messiah is going to come through?

The Lord specified. He said that the Messiah would come through Jacob's son Judah, through the tribe of Judah. We pick up our study with these words from the book of Genesis, chapter 49, verse 10. Hear the word of God. "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the people." Shiloh is a coder for Messiah.

It's incredible how much revelation about the reality of a Messiah God gave Israel. Of course, our world today, many are not looking for a Messiah. When we go back to the ancient way into the good path, the Father was very specific that he was going to send a redeemer, a Messiah to the world in whom Jesus came to bring that prophecy to fruition.

As we pick up now in the Brit Hadashah, the New Testament, to look for this fulfillment of the Messiah coming through Judah's line, we're going to the book of Revelation, chapter five, verse five. Hear the word of God. John is observing this scene in heaven and the scroll was there and unfortunately, John was weeping because no one was found worthy to open the scroll.

Suddenly someone appears to open that scroll that was found worthy. Who was that? It was the lion from the tribe of Judah. It was Messiah that came through Judah's line. We read there in Revelation 5:5, "And one of the elders said to me, 'Stop weeping. Behold, the lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals'."

This prophecy leads us right into the next prophecy. We know now that the Messiah was coming through the tribe of Judah. But as we continue further down, we know that in the tribe of Judah, many people had been born. The Lord gives us further clarity by telling us it would be from the family of David who came forth from the tribe of Judah.

We look now, moving ahead, to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 33, verses number 14 and 15, where we read these words: "Behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time, I will cause a righteous branch of David to spring forth, and he will execute justice and righteousness on the earth."

The funnel keeps on narrowing. The tribe of Judah, now many families have been coming out of the line of Judah, but the Lord identifies which family Messiah will be birthed into the world through, and that was the family of David. Yeshua identifies himself with David in the New Testament more than any other figure in the Hebrew Bible.

In this verse in Jeremiah, King David had already come and gone. Jeremiah's writing took place after David lived. But Jeremiah speaks here prophetically and he says that one is going to come who is called the righteous branch of David, and this one that's coming is the Messiah. When Yeshua came into the world, the New Testament made it very clear how Yeshua was fulfilling all these prophecies.

David was associated by Yeshua himself with himself. For example, just one of the many examples in which this happens is found in Revelation, chapter number 22, verse number 16. Jesus is speaking and he says this: "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."

Jesus is in a very intentional way showing how he fulfilled the ancient Hebrew scriptures. How he was the offspring of David. How he came from Isaac and Jacob. How he came from the tribe of Judah. How he came from the family of David. When we understand how Yeshua fulfills Messianic prophecy, and when we are truly convinced that the God of Israel is the one true God, it will cause our faith to become rock solid.

We will as a result of this become bold witnesses and convinced in our own faith. I want to encourage you to continue to study Messianic prophecy with me. As I indicated, I'm just touching on the surface of a book that I've released called "Messianic Prophecy Revealed". I don't promote many things, but I think this is so foundational teaching that the church needs.

I would encourage you to get the book. It's critical, it's important. Many people treat Messianic prophecy superficially or not at all. But I'm saying today it's very important that you and I get it because it will prepare us to stand firm in the Lord during these last days in which we're living. Do you know in a sense we're all missionaries?

We oftentimes think of a missionary as somebody that travels to a foreign land to preach the gospel. But we're all missionaries in the sense that the Lord has given each and every one of his followers a mission. He said this to the church: go out and preach the gospel to all creation, making disciples of all nations.

Some people like myself have an open door to reach people through media in such a way that the Lord calls upon those that don't have huge platforms to support those that do. Paul said we should support men that go out for the sake of the truth. If you believe in me and you think this ministry is authentic, I want to ask you to financially support us with your tithes and offerings.

We're able to lift up the banner of King Jesus and proclaim his soon return all over the world because of people that love him like you that are supporting this ministry. If you believe in what we're doing, you want to see the gospel preached and be a fellow worker with the truth, would you lift up your heart and ask him how he would like you to participate in giving to this ministry?

Dustin Roberts: Amen. And you can give to Discovering The Jewish Jesus just by visiting our website. It's DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com. And if it's easier for you, then give us a call at 800-777-7835. Because today's lesson focused on Messianic prophecy, I'd like to tell you about Rabbi Schneider's book, "Messianic Prophecy Revealed". In it, Rabbi walks through key prophecies from the Hebrew scriptures that point clearly to Jesus as the promised Messiah.

It's a powerful resource that will really help strengthen your faith and deepen your understanding of God's word. I remember when I was going through it, and you could see prophecy after prophecy of God's plan unfolding in the Old Testament and then fulfilled in the New Testament and still seeing how his plan is still going to be worked out in the future.

If today's message has stirred your heart, then I want to encourage you: this book is a wonderful way to go deeper. I believe it'll give you greater confidence in your faith as you see how beautifully the Old and New Testaments connect. If you'd like to learn more about "Messianic Prophecy Revealed" or get your copy, you can get one at DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com or give us a call at 800-777-7835. Now, here's Rabbi with the Aaronic blessing.

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: In the book of Numbers, chapter six, we find a personal blessing from God our Father. This blessing should touch our hearts because it's so personal. Father God wants to intimately bless you. So receive his blessing into your life today with gladness and an open heart. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with his countenance and the Lord give you, beloved one, his peace. And now in Hebrew.

[Singing the Aaronic Blessing]

God bless you and Shalom.

Dustin Roberts: This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering The Jewish Jesus, and I'm your host, Dustin Roberts. Come back tomorrow when Rabbi Schneider helps us see how Jesus is woven throughout the Hebrew Bible and why that matters for our faith today. That's Thursday on Discovering The Jewish Jesus.