Messianic Interpretations of Scriptures in Isaiah 53
Course 502
The
Hebrew Scriptures: The Bible of Jesus, Part 2
September
12, 2022
CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Interpretations
a. Kaiser’s Interpretations
b.
Other Christian
Scholar’s Interpretations
c.
Jewish Scholar’s
Interpretations
3.
Differences
4. Effect of the differences on believing Jesus is
the Messiah
5. Summary
6.
Conclusion
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Although Jewish and Christian scholars agree
that Isaiah 53 refer to the Messiah, they disagree about whether Jesus is the
Messiah. There is a tendency for both sides to use the same scriptures when
arguing. In The Messiah In The Old Testament, Walter Kaiser argues that the Old
Testament contains numerous prophecies and references about the Messiah. Jewish
scholars take a much different view of the Messiah and Jesus. The differences
between Christian and Jewish interpretations affect whether Jesus is viewed as
being the Messiah. In this paper, I will sample differing interpretations of
Isaiah 53 with the goal of identifying a middle ground.
Throughout this discussion, there are three terms that are
relevant and can be interpreted quite differently. Jews and Christians
understand the term Messiah very differently. A second term is “Old Testament.”
The word “Old” can imply something that is past its useful life, therefore the
term Old Testament can imply the testament is past its useful life. To avoid
confusion, I will use the term “Old Testament” (O.T.).
The third term is “Bible.” Jews interpret it to mean the Tanakh
(the five books of Moses, the prophets, and the writings). In general,
Protestant Christians define the Bible as including the
Pentateuch, the prophets, and the
writings. Some Christian churches, including Roman Catholicism, include the
Apocrypha in their Bibles. In this paper. A general definition of Bible
Protestants follow is: “We believe that the Bible is God’s Word and is authoritative
and reliable in all that it teaches. It is inspired by God, and it is useful
for teaching us how to live and training us in the righteousness that God
desires for our lives.”1 In this paper I will use the general
Protestant Christian definition of the Bible.
Although atonement is difficult to explain, it is one of the
most important spiritual truths for both Hebrews and Christians. Understanding
Isaiah 53 requires an understanding of atonement. It is difficult for people to
explain atonement.2 Merriam-Webster defines atonement as “reparation
for an offense or injury.”3 The Britannica defines atonement as “the process by which people remove obstacles to
their reconciliation with God.”4
Britannica notes that for Jews vicarious
atonement has little meaning or importance. “For traditional Jews, atonement is
expiation for an individual’s own sin in order to attain God’s forgiveness.”5
Atonement is achieved by repentance of the individual doing the wrong and
making restitution to the individual wronged.
Dr. Michael Glaser (a Jewish Christian) comments on the Jews and
atonement. “This is also somewhat true in Judaism, in which we fulfill the
mitzvot (commandments) in order to make ourselves worthy of God’s mercy, grace
and forgiveness.”6 The belief of another individual making
atonement for an individual is not part of their religious thinking, therefore
the death and resurrection of Christ are not a part of their paradigms. In Merriam-Webster and Britannica,
atonement is a result of human action. Dr. Glaser confirms this is the case.
The appalling nature of sin makes it impossible for any human being to make
reparations to YHWH, so the Messiah had to enter history to fulfill our
atonement.
1. 2 Timothy 3:16,17” (Who
We Are | First Christian Church Johnson City (fcc-jc.org))
2. Isaiah 53 Explained. Dr. Michael
Glaser. ISAIAH-53-EXPLAINED-ENGLISH.pdf page 69
3. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atonement
4. https://www.britannica.com/topic/atonement-religion5. Ibid.
5. Ibid
6. Isaiah 53 Explained. Dr. Mitch Glaser. ISAIAH-53-EXPLAINED-ENGLISH.pdf page 75
Chapter 2 Interpretations
In The Messiah In The Old Testament Kaiser makes the point that
"...any knowledge
worth knowing will begin with a knowledge of God."7
Everything we know and understand begins with God. Regardless of how scholarly
a person may be, what God says about the Messiah is more important than what
they say or teach.
It
is Kaiser's firm belief that the suffering servant in Isaiah chapters 53 is the
Messiah, and that Messiah is Jesus Christ. As a result of his belief concerning
the foundation of knowledge, Kaiser supports his position with other Old
Testament passages.
“So
what will it be?” Kaiser asks. Does the OT contain specific prophecies about a
coming Messiah's person and work? Were these prophesies more general in their
expectations, while their particulars dealt only with the historical realities
of what was happening in the prophet’s own day?”8 As we look at Old
Testament prophesies about the Messiah and His work, we see God working out His
plan throughout history.9
In
his book, Kaiser refers to scriptures that he believes are speaking about the
Messiah. Some of these scriptures are direct, while others are indirect. God
tells mankind and Satan from the very beginning what will happen. The serpent
will bruise the heel of the seed, but the seed will bruise the head of the
serpent. God prophesies in Deuteronomy 18:15 and 18 that a prophet like Moses
will be raised from the people. People must listen to Him for His guidance to
be led out of slavery to sin, just as they followed Moses to escape slavery in
Egypt.10
Rabbi
Nissan Dovid Dubov (a Messianic Jew but not a Christian11) makes the
point that
7. Kaiser Jr., Walter C. The Messiah
In The Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan Publishing House 1995 p165
8. Ibid p23
9. Ibid p 24
10. Ibid. 58
11. Text message from Dr. John D.
Garr, September 10, 2022, 11:20 AM
12. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/108400/jewish/The-End-of-Days.htm
the Scriptures are
abounding with messianic quotes. We can find Messianic prophesies and
references throughout the Tanakh.12
A
number of references to the Messiah can be found in the Psalms. There are direct
prophecies of the
Messiah in Psalm 89:26-27.13 “He
will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’ “I also shall make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.” Psalm 118:22 and Psalm
22:16, 18 describe the Messiah as the stone the builders rejected and what will
happen at the death of the Messiah.14 While the Psalms are attributed to David it is evident this
Psalm cannot be about David. Nothing in the Psalm happened to David or was part
of his life. As with many of the Psalms, God gave David the words to write and
tell people what was going to happen at some future time.
b. Other Christian scholars’ interpretations
According
to other Christian scholars and some Jewish scholars, the Hebrew Scriptures
(Old Testament) frequently allude to the Messiah. It has already been
established that Rabbi Dubov (Jewish) emphasizes the Messiah is mentioned many
times in the Tanakh.15
“Jesus,
when he came, came in a form that many Jews were expecting: a second divine
figure incarnated in a human. The question was not ‘Is a divine Messiah
coming?’ but only ‘Is this carpenter from Nazareth the One we are expecting?”’16
c. Jewish Scholars’ interpretations
The interpretation of Isaiah by many Jewish
scholars differs from that of Christian scholars and some Jewish scholars as
well. Jewish scholars disagree on the interpretation of
13. Kaiser Jr., Walter C. The Messiah In
The Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan Publishing House 1995 p 82
14. Ibid page 93
15. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/108400/jewish/The-End-of-Days.htm
16.
Boyarin, Daniel. The Jewish Gospels The Story
of the Jewish Christ. The New
Press, New York, NY 2012 second paragraph of Introduction.
Isaiah
chapters 53. Some Jewish scholars agree with Christian scholars, while others
disagree. There is disagreement over how to interpret the word “servant.”
Some Jewish scholars agree with Christian scholars
that the word servant refers to a
person, the Messiah. Other Jewish scholars interpret servant to mean
Israel, the nation. I will
look at the scholars who interpret “servant” as Israel.
It is possible to trace many of the interpretations of servant in
Isaiah 53 as the nation Israel to Targum Pseudo Jonathan. It is important to
first understand what a Targum is and why it is important. Targums are
theological writings rather than exegetical summaries.18 Targums are
similar in style to commentaries. A Targum can be a personal reflection of
scripture and is not considered the same as scripture.19 Translations, regardless
of how objective they may be or how careful the translator is the full essence
of the original words of Scripture is not captured. This is very true of Hebrew
translations since many of the Hebrew words of Scripture are virtually untranslatable.20
As part of our discussion, we will examine comments
made by Jewish scholars regarding the Targum Pseudo Jonathan for Isaiah 53. It
is believed that the Targums were written in the first to seventh-century C.E during the Rabbinic period. Targumim
were Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Scriptures with commentary or
paraphrase. That’s why they are not Scripture. Like other Rabbinic literature,
they can be helpful, but they cannot be taken literally as the Word of God.21 Targum Pseudo Jonathan (originally named Targum
Jerusalem) is an interpretation and
expansion of the prophets (Nevi’im).
As
an interpretation and expansion, its value as a source of study may be
questioned. This
17. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Targum
18. https://judaismsanswer.com/targum.htm#:~:text=CLAIM%3A% Accessed 13 Sept. 2022.
19. Compelling Truth, What is the Jewish Targum? https://www.compellingtruth.org/Jewish-Targum.html No Date Accessed September 10, 2022
20 Targum https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view /document/obo-9780195393361/obo-9780195393361-0187.xml Martin McNamara, Paul V.M. Flesher, April 3, 2020, accessed September
14, 2022
21. Garr, John D. God and Israel Atlanta, GA: Golden Key Press, 2018 p221
verify its accuracy to
Hebrew Scriptures and history.
A
significant translator and commentator of Targum Pseudo Jonathan was Rashi (Shlomo
Yitzchaki, 1040-1105).
Rashi was a French Rabbi who wrote commentaries on Targumim, including Targum
Pseudo Jonathan. Rashi
was and is highly regarded among Jewish scholars as a superior commentator.22
One of the reasons Rashi was so highly thought of was his ability to make
difficult passages understood in clear language.
Mose Shulman comments on Rashi's interpretation of Targum
Pseudo Jonathan and argues that Rashi was not the first to interpret the word
"servant" in Isaiah 53 as meaning the nation of Israel and not a
specific individual.
A
sampling of Rashi’s comments interpreted by Shulman follows. “13Behold My servant shall prosper; he
shall be exalted and lifted up, and he shall be very high.’
Rashi’s comments ‘Behold My servant shall prosper: Behold, at
the end of days, My servant, Jacon, [i.e.,] the righteous among him, shall
prosper,’”22 “What Rashi said was is and will forever be the true
belief as to what Isaiah’s literal meaning is. Rabbi Moshe Shulman 2014”23
This statement precludes any interpretation other than Rashi’s and is the
feeling held by many Jewish scholars.
Several claims made by the Internet site Jews for Judaism
need to be stated and investigated. The
first claim they make is that people saw Jesus die, but no one saw Him die for
the sins of others. Second, they contend that Jesus' own disciples did not view
Isaiah 53 as a messianic prophecy. Third, Jesus
did not see Isaiah 53 as critical to His messianic claim.
Why did He later request that God "remove this cup
from me" (Mk. 14:36) - didn't he
22. https://www.chabad.org/librarybible_cdo/aid/63255/jewish/The-Bible-with-Rashi.htm
23.
Ibid
know that a "removal of the cup" would
violate the gentile understanding of Isaiah 53? Fourth, Isaiah 53:3 tells us
the “servant” would be "Despised and rejected of men."
This cannot be about Jesus, who was praised by all (Luke 4:14-15) and followed
by multitudes. 24
Other comments
The Internet site Jews for Judaism makes a number of claims that need
to be mentioned and investigated. First, they state people saw Jesus die but no
one saw Him die for the sins of others. Second,
they also claim
that Jesus' own disciples didn't view Isaiah 53 as a messianic prophecy. Third
is Jesus didn't see Isaiah 53 as crucial to his messianic claims….and why did
He later request that God "remove this cup from me" (Mk.
14:36) - didn't he know that a "removal of the cup" would
violate the gentile understanding of Isaiah 53? Finally, Isaiah cannot be about
Jesus since He was praised by all (Luke 4:14-15) and followed by multitudes.23
Chapter 3 Assessment
of interpretations believing Jesus as the Messiah
“Targumim were Aramaic translations of the Hebrew
Scriptures with commentary or paraphrase. That’s why they are not Scripture.
Like other Rabbinic literature, they can be helpful, but they cannot be taken
literally as the Word of God.” Dr. John Garr
22. https://www.chabad.org/librarybible_cdo/aid/63255/jewish/The-Bible-with-Rashi.htm
23.
Ibid
24. https://www.jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/isaiah-53-a-jewish-perspective/
Chapter 4 Summary
Chapter 5 Conclusion
What is the
probability that individual Jews can be converted to believing in Jesus? A
cursory look at the differences in how Christians and Jews view Jesus would
lead one to say it is not very high, but all things are possible with God. Often
people approach proselytizing Jews in a much less than patient manner. As in
most things setting small goals bears fruit. Martin Luther was disappointed and
became very anti-Jewish when the Jews did not quickly embrace Judaism when
hearing his teachings. God brings change, not man. The Holy Spirit changes
people, their beliefs, culture, paradigms, etc.
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Boyarin,
Daniel. The Jewish Gospels: The Story
of the Jewish Christ. New York, NY: The New Press, 2012
https://www.britannica.com/topic/atonement-religion
Eved Adonai Jewish Interpreters of Isaiah
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Garr, John D.
Christian Fruit Jewish Root: Theology of Hebraic Restoration.
Atlanta, GA: Golden Key Press, 2015.
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