in a moment you'll be confronted with an age-old enigma why didn't the Jewish people recognize the Messiah a hidden truth a gripping mystery that defies centuries of belief are you ready to explore the depths of a revelation that could completely change your perception of faith and prophecy dive with us into this enigmatic Discovery where every detail revealed is a piece of the Divine puzzle get ready the truth about the Messiah and Jewish unbelief is about to be unveiled when Jesus arrived he presented incontrovertible proof that he was the Messiah he healed the sick made the
deaf here the paralyzed walk cleansed lepers of their afflictions and even raised the dead from their graves all before the eyes of the Jewish leaders they also knew all the Old Testament prophecies about the expected Messiah and yet they rejected Jesus as the Messiah the question question that remains is why even surrounded by so many demonstrations did the Jewish people deny Jesus that's what we'll be discussing today there are several reasons why the majority of Jewish people rejected Jesus as the Messiah in this video I will discuss four of these reasons the first is the
confusion between the Old Testament prophecies about the first and second coming of Jesus many Messianic prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus at his first coming such as the characteristics of the Messiah described in Isaiah chap 11 the details of the messiah's birthplace in Micah 52 the sufferings and death of the Messiah outlined in Isaiah 53 as well as the predictions about the exact time of the messiah's arrival found in Daniel chapter 9: 227 however there were other prophecies in the Old Testament that Jesus did not fulfill at his first coming the latter were the ones that
the Jewish leaders hoped would be fulfilled when they realized that Jesus didn't meet these specific expectations they concluded that he couldn't be the Messiah they were waiting for which led them to reject him there are numerous reasons why the majority of Jewish people rejected Jesus as the Messiah in this video I will discuss four of these reasons the first is the misunderstanding of the Old Testament prophecies relating to the first and second coming of Jesus many Messianic prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus at his first coming such as the character of the Messiah described in Isaiah
11 the birthplace of the Messiah in Micah 52 the sufferings and Death Foretold in Isaiah 53 and the exact time of his coming outlined in Daniel 9: 24- 27 however there are other prophecies that were not fulfilled at Jesus's first coming the key to understanding this Dynamic is to recognize that the Old Testament prophets did not realize that there would be a time gap between the first and second coming of the Messiah this interval remained a mystery to them therefore when Jesus didn't perform all the Messianic actions predicted for his first first appearance they deduced
that he couldn't be the Messiah Paul referring to this Gap described it as a mystery that had been hidden in past ages and was revealed only to him and the apostolic generation according to Paul this mystery involved the Gentiles being co-s members of the same body and partners in the promise in Christ Jesus Through The Gospel thus the Jewish expectation based on the old Old Testament scriptures was that the Messiah would fulfill all the prophecies in a single coming without recognizing the distinction between the two advents not dividing them into two comings now let me
give you some examples of what they expected Jesus to do that he didn't accomplish in his first coming but first the context is very important for this discussion at the time Jesus began his Earthly Ministry when he was born the the Jewish people were under severe Roman oppression they were not free to rule their land as they wished so there was this Messianic expectation that when the Messiah came he would free Israel from all Roman oppression establish an Earthly Kingdom where the Jewish people would be the main group who would Reign and Rule with the
Messiah in their own land obviously we know that Jesus didn't do this during his first coming but he will do it at his second coming coming with this background let's talk about some of the things they expected Jesus to do the first thing they expected him to do was to restore the kingdom to Israel you can look at scriptures such as Joel chapter 3: 1 to1 17 which describe how when the Messiah comes he will cleanse the world of evil you can also look at other prophecies such as in Psalm 2:6 which talk about the
Messiah who will reign and Rule with a rod of iron other prophecies such as Isaiah 2:4 mention that when the Messiah comes he will bring peace to the kingdom so that people will no longer prepare for war Jesus own Apostles even questioned whether he would fulfill These Old Testament prophecies before ascending to Heaven notice in Acts chapter 1 shortly after Jesus rose from the dead and before he ascended Ed into heaven they asked John baptized with water but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit then when the apostles were with
Jesus they persisted in asking Lord is it at this time that you will restore the kingdom to Israel you see even the apostles people who had followed Jesus for a long time believed that the Messiah according to the Prophecies of the Old Testament would free Israel from Roman oppression and establish an Earthly Kingdom what they didn't realize was that Jesus came to inaugurate a kingdom but it wasn't the kind of Kingdom they were expecting notice what Jesus began to preach repent of your sins and turn to God for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand
people in jesus' day expected the Messiah to bring a kingdom that involved physical and material blessings but Jesus was saying no you don't understand the most important Kingdom I need to inaugurate is a kingdom that includes spiritual blessings for this reason Jesus dedicated a large part of his Earthly Ministry to teaching about the principles of his kingdom and how these spiritual blessings could be obtained not focusing on the material and physical blessings of an Earthly Kingdom he came not only to restore Israel politically but also to regenerate Israel spiritual life in the prophecies as in
Jeremiah 31 mention is made of the New Covenant in which they would receive new hearts and live in obedience to the Messiah and the Lord therefore a central spiritual regeneration was expected the temple was Central to this experience however Jesus predicted that the temple would be destroyed for these reasons the Jews concluded that this man could not be the the Messiah the second main reason why the Jewish people rejected Jesus as the Messiah let's face it is that they saw him as a blasphemer in the Jewish faith there is a prayer called the shimar coming
from Deuteronomy 6: 4 and five which says here o Israel the Lord Our God the Lord is one love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength this prayer is the central de ation of the Jewish faith so much so that they were taught it from an early age and had to recite it at least twice a day in their religious services reaffirming from a young age that God is one there is no other but yhwh worship Him and love him exclusively and here comes Jesus challenging
this Central perception Jesus addressed themes of worship service love and honor directed at himself which generated great controversy among the Jewish people they asked themselves no no this contradicts what we have been taught since we were young that there is only one God the idea of God incarnating in human form was inconceivable to them so when Jesus made statements like the one we find in John 8:58 truly truly I say to you before Abraham was I am they clearly understood the magnitude of this claim Jesus wasn't just suggesting his pre-existence before Abraham he was claiming
an eternal existence furthermore by using the expression I am Jesus was touching deeply on Divine identity for these words refer to the Divine name revealed in Jewish tradition YH wh Yahweh when Moses asked God in Exodus who he should say sent him God replied I am who I am thus by identify if in himself with I am Jesus clearly attributed to himself a divine nature which for the Jews of the time was tantamount to blasphemy this is evidenced by the fact that immediately after this statement according to John's account they tried to Stone him interpreting
his words as a serious religious offense since he seemed to be equating himself with God they then tried to capture him but Jesus hid himself and left the temple in the context Tex of the Jewish faith blasphemy was considered a very serious crime punishable by death by stoning later in John's gospel we find Jesus saying I and the father are one John 10:30 this statement was understood by the Jews as a clear equation of Jesus with God which according to Jewish interpretation represented outright blasphemy the Shamar a fundamental prayer in Jewish tradition reiterates the Oneness
of God here Israel the Lord Our God the Lord is one so by saying I and the father are one Jesus seemed to be challenging this Central core of Jewish faith leading people once again to try to Stone him the second reason therefore for rejecting Jesus as the Messiah was the perception that he was blaspheming by claiming to be one with God this deeply contradicted the teachings they had received received and practiced the third reason for the Jewish people's rejection of Jesus related to The Challenge he posed to some of their religious teachings and traditions
Many religious leaders of the time saw Jesus teachings as contrary to various traditional interpretations and applications of the Mosaic law the rabbis who were responsible for transmitting and interpreting the laws and traditions of the Old Testament perceived Jesus as a threat to the continuity and authority of their interpretations passed down from generation to generation when Jesus arrived and began to question some of the Sacred laws and traditions of the Jews this provoked a strong defensive reaction among them they asked themselves who is this man who comes and proposes new interpretations or teachings to our precepts
an example of this can be seen in Matthew chap 15 where Pharisees and teachers of the law from Jerusalem questioned Jesus about why his disciples didn't follow the ancient tradition of ceremonial handwashing before eating Jesus used this opportunity to highlight a deeper issue indicating that external Purity while relevant was not as crucial as purity of heart he challenged these religious leaders with a counter question why did they consider it right to make Financial vows to the temple but neglect the fundamental responsibility of caring for and honoring their parents using the vow as an excuse not
to help thus Jesus was challenging not just an isolated practice but questioning the validity and morality of their Traditions when these seem to contradict the most basic principles of the law such as honoring father and mother these actions by Jesus directly challenge the established religious system and traditional interpretations of the law which contributed to the conflict between him and the religious authorities of the time Jesus was in fact challenging traditional interpretations of the law by introducing New Perspectives on well-established precepts for example he expanded the understanding of Sabbath work as well as emphasizing love and
prayer for one's enemies which contrasted with some of the old test T's more rigid interpretations of fighting evil these teachings were revolutionary at a time when the Jewish people were under Roman oppression and longed for Liberation and revenge against their oppressors an emblematic example of this new approach is the account in Mark chapter 2 when Jesus heals a paralyzed man by declaring son your sins are forgiven Jesus not only demonstrated power over physical ailment but also authority over the Forgiveness of sins a domain considered exclusively Gods this claim was perceived as Blasphemous this statement was
perceived as Blasphemous by the religious leaders who believed that only God could forgive sins and that atonement required a sacrifice performed by a priest following the established rituals such as on Yom kipur these actions and teachings of Jesus therefore called into question the the prevailing religious traditions and interpretations directly challenging the authority of the religious leaders and the Messianic expectations of the time contributing to the rejection of Jesus as the Messiah by many Jews in Leviticus 16 the instructions for the day of atonement yum kipur are described the only way prescribed in the Old Testament
for the atonement of sins which included specific sacrifices and rituals conducted by the high priest so when Jesus proclaims that he can forgive sins as in Mark chap 2's account of the healing of the paralytic he directly challenged these established Norms by telling the paralized man your sins are forgiven Jesus not only performed a physical Miracle but also made a bold statement about his Spiritual Authority something that only God could do the religious leaders of the time interpreted this statement as blasphemy because according to their understanding and teaching forgiveness of sins could only occur through
the rituals and sacrifices described in the Mosaic law their reaction was one of defense and rejection because they saw Jesus as a threat to their religious system and Authority this reaction intensifies in John 11 with the resurrection of Lazarus Jesus demonstrates his power over life and death by raising Lazarus from the dead after 4 days a feat that undoubtedly only God could accomplish nevertheless the response of some Jews was hardening of heart preferring to deny the obvious rather than recognizing in Jesus the divine presence and action this hardening in the face of clear signs of
the truth reveals the fourth reason why Jesus was rejected as the Messiah an internal resistance to accepting the truth even when it manifests itself in an indisputable way when we look at the response of the people after the miracle of lazarus's Resurrection we see a clear division many believed in Jesus when they witnessed this Divine act but others instead of recognizing the magnitude of what had just happened rushed to inform the Pharisees about it instead of surrendering to the evidence that Jesus could be the Messiah they discussed ways of containing him and ultimately eliminating him
from this point on the Jewish leaders intensified their plots to kill Jesus this rejection on the part of the Jewish people shows a resistance to the truth even in the face of Miracles that only God could perform their hearts remained hardened this resistance culminated in an accusation that Jesus performed miracles through the power of Satan showing the level of denial and hardening of Hearts against him thus Jesus became as Paul mentions a stumbling block for the Jews the stone rejected by the builders which paradoxically became the Cornerstone of the Christian faith this Cornerstone rejected by
the chosen people now underpins the New Covenant established in Christ demonstrating the reversal of expectation and the opening of a new chapter in Salvation history in chapters 9 to 11 of Romans Paul explains that the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish people served as a means by which God opened the door for the Gentiles to be included in the Divine family offering salvation beyond the borders of Israel this led to the emergence of a new generation of Gentiles called to carry the torch of faith and be a light to the World continuing the Divine Plan
of Redemption Paul expresses a deep desire in his heart for the Salvation of Israel recognizing that although the Jewish people have a Zeal for God this Zeal is not based on correct knowledge he notes that in his visits to Israel he saw a people dedicated to prayer and the study of scripture but that according to him they lack an understanding of God's true path to righteousness the Jews according to Paul cling to the Fulfillment of the law as their means of achieving righteousness before God not recognizing that Christ has already fulfilled the law and that
through him people can be justified therefore the orientation for the Gentiles as Paul suggests is to pray for the people of Israel so that they may recognize Jesus as the Messiah and understand the true path to righteousness before God which is not through the law but through faith in Christ the appeal is for Gentiles to maintain a heart of compassion and intercession for the Jews longing for them to experience the Salvation offered in Jesus Christ our heart attitude towards our Jewish friends as inspired by Paul should be one of love respect and prayer for their
salvation Paul emphasizes that although he has a great Zeal for God the Jewish people in general have not fully understood God's way to righteousness which is through faith in Christ he earnestly desires that the Jews recognize Jesus as the Messiah and understand that he has fulfilled the law providing a new way to become righteous before God as for the prophecies about the Messiah it is a common belief in Christianity that many were fulfilled in jesus' first coming such as his birth Ministry death and Resurrection however other prophecies especially those that speak of an Earthly Kingdom
and the restoration of Israel are seen as events that will come true at Christ's Second Coming during the Millennium Jesus will establish his Reign on Earth reunite the Jews and establish an era of peace and Justice the discussion about Jesus's rejection by the Jewish people is multifaceted and includes historical theolog iCal and cultural perspectives inviting a dialogue about these reasons can enrich Mutual understanding and promote a sincere search for the truth the central message is to maintain an open and loving heart seeking to understand and respect different perspectives while sharing our faith with grace and
truth I invite you to join our engaged and growing Community if you found value in this video imagine the Treasure Trove of knowledge and inspiration that the next videos have in store for you subscribe now turn on notifications leave your like and share your opinion in the comments also share with friends and family who would benefit from this message join us in this mission to Enlighten minds and hearts bringing light to the deepest questions of life and faith
