Join us in this episode as we dive into the mystifying world of Messianic prophecy and how it points to Yeshua, also known as Jesus Christ. Discover how the Hebrew Bible is intricately connected to the New Testament as Rabbi Schneider uncovers how Yeshua fulfills the scriptures in a way that goes beyond simple prediction, giving profound meaning to the text.
We’re going to be getting in to these mysteries in the Hebrew Bible that all pointed to Yeshua, to whom the entire Hebrew Bible aimed. We’re gonna be studying how Yeshua, how King Jesus fulfilled the entire Tanakh, the entire Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. So oftentimes the Brit Hadashah, the New Testament scriptures took the verses out of the Hebrew Bible and said, Yeshua fulfilled it all. The thing that we have to be aware of, however, is that the way that the New Testament writers use the Old Testament to indicate that Yeshua fulfilled it is different than many of us may realize. Some people’s understanding of Messianic prophecy is overly simplistic. I heard a pastor say, for example, recently, Jesus fulfilled 300 prophecies from the Old Testament. Some people think that that means that there were over 300 instances in the Old Testament that had a future prediction contained within it of what Messiah Jesus would do when he comes. But messianic prophecy is a lot broader than just simply picking out verses in the Old Testament that point to some anticipated future fulfillment. Because much of the way that Yeshua fulfilled prophecy was not in the sense of him fulfilling something that we were looking to have happen in the future, but rather how Jesus filled the entire Old Testament up with meaning. He fulfilled it. He filled it up with meaning. Now, this really confused me back in the 1980s when I was in Bible school. For example, we in Bible school were in the book of Matthew. And I read this in the book of Matthew. Let me read it for you. I’m going to the book of Matthew, chapter number two, verses number 13 through 15. Now, just to give a little backdrop here, what’s going on is that the Magi had seen the star in the east, that a savior was going to be born, that Messiah had come. Herod heard that a Messiah was born. So Herod, threatened by this, afraid that he would lose his place, he ordered the death of the Hebrew children under one year old. As a result of this death threat, an angel came to Joseph and said to Joseph, take Yeshua, take Jesus into Egypt. And so Joseph and Miriam, Yeshua’s mother Mary, they took Yeshua into Egypt and they remained there Until Herod died. Then when Herod died, the Lord led the family, Jesus and his family, back into Israel. So that’s the backdrop. With that said, let’s pick up now once again, Matthew 2, verse 13 through 15. Now, when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, get up. take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him. So Joseph got up and took the child and his mother while it was still night and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. Now get this. This was to fulfill. Notice that word fulfill. We’re talking about messianic prophecy. So it’s key now to zoom in on this word. This was to fulfill Herod. what had been spoken by the Lord to the prophet out of Egypt I called my son.” So Matthew here is using this scripture from the Hebrew Bible, out of Egypt I called my son, saying that Yeshua fulfilled it, and this would be an incident of Messianic prophecy being fulfilled. And so we would expect now, reading this, that if we found the place in the Tanakh, in the Hebrew Bible, where this statement is contained that Yeshua fulfilled, out of Egypt I called my son, many of us would expect based on our current understanding of Messianic prophecy, that we’d be able to go to a place in the Tanakh, or the Old Testament, and we’d be able to find some type of prediction that when Messiah came, God, Hashem, would call him out of Egypt. That’s the typical understanding of Messianic prophecy. I believe that was the understanding that this pastor that I referred to earlier had when he said Jesus fulfilled over 300 Messianic prophecies from the Old Testament. People think that that means that there were these scientific statements made in the Tanakh of what the Messiah would do when he came And that within the prophecy in the Old Testament, there was an understanding that this event would be fulfilled in the future when Messiah came. There was an anticipation that something was going to happen in the future that we would see unfold when Messiah came. However, as I stated, beloved ones, the concept of Messianic prophecy is a lot more complicated than that. So to illustrate this, we are gonna go now into the Hebrew Bible from which Matthew quotes here in Matthew 2.15. Again, he’s saying that Jesus fulfilled the scripture from the prophet, the Old Testament prophet out of Egypt, I called my son. So what we have to do to illustrate the point that I’m making is to go into the Hebrew Bible and take a look at where Matthew is pulling the scripture from. There’s only one place in the entire Hebrew Bible where we find the statement, out of Egypt did I call my son. It’s in the book of Hosea, chapter 11, verse number one. So we’re gonna go there together now. Hosea chapter 11, verse one. When Israel was a youth, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. So when we read, Hosea 11.1, in its initial historical context, it doesn’t seem to be a prophecy. Hosea is just speaking on the Lord’s behalf concerning Israel’s history. When Israel was a youth, the Lord said, I loved him. And out of Egypt, I called my son. In its initial historical context, no one was anticipating that that would be some type of prophecy that would be fulfilled in the future. Upon first reading, especially to ancient Israel, it was just the Lord speaking of his love for Israel, his chosen people, and how he called them out of Egypt when he delivered them from Pharaoh. So how does Matthew now say that Jesus fulfilled it? How does Matthew now say that when Joseph and Miriam took Yeshua back into Israel from Egypt, that this scripture in Hosea 11, 1 was fulfilled? No one was expecting that it needed to be fulfilled. Are you getting what I’m saying, church? Many people, when they think of Messianic prophecy, have an assumption that there were predictions in the Old Testament that everybody was waiting to be fulfilled when Messiah came. But much of the time, the way the New Testament uses Yeshua having fulfilled Messianic prophecy is not in the sense that he fulfilled some type of event that Hebrews were looking forward to being fulfilled, but rather that when Yeshua came, listen, he filled up those prophecies, oftentimes that had already been fulfilled, to their fullest meaning. In other words, in this specific example, God had already called Israel out of Egypt. He had already delivered his firstborn son. It wasn’t an event that people were looking towards happening in the future. They weren’t anticipating any future prediction. But it’s quoted in the book of Matthew that Yeshua fulfilled the scripture of Hosea 11.1. Why? because Yeshua is Israel’s divine representative. And what Israel went through, now Yeshua goes through because he embodies Israel and he fills Israel’s history up to its fullest meaning.
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You’re listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider, and he’ll be right back. But first, a quick announcement.
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The Old Testament is more than a collection of traditions. Rather, it paints a rich and colorful picture of Jesus, proving that He is indeed the Messiah. Drawing from Hebrew tradition, where prophecy is multidimensional, in Messianic Prophecy Revealed, Rabbi Kurt Schneider unpacks Scripture that not only declares the future, but he reveals how the whole of Scripture points to Christ. Call 800-777-7835 or visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com and be absolutely confident that Jesus is the Messiah. Messianic Prophecy Revealed.
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This book really does build absolute confidence that the Hebrew Bible points to Jesus as Messiah. So make sure to get your copy of Messianic Prophecy Revealed. And now back to Rabbi with the second half of today’s lesson.
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So messianic prophecy, once again, is more oftentimes of an art than a science. It’s more poetry than math. Now there are very specific, measurable messianic prophecies that we will get into in this study. For example, where Messiah would be born, when he would die. We’re going to look at many prophecies that were absolutely future predictions that people understood were prophecies that would take place in the future as being fulfilled. There is that element of messianic prophecy. that we will be examining. But not all messianic prophecy is of that nature. Much of it is more music than math and more art than science. It’s an art form. And I’m going to show you that this way of using scriptures from the Old Testament and applying them to Jesus is very much in keeping with the rabbinic way. Not that traditional rabbis apply the scriptures to Jesus, but the traditional rabbis take scriptures out of the Talmud or out of the Torah, and they give them a whole different meaning or a whole other level of meaning that was evidenced in their initial historical context. In yeshivas today, for example, which are the Jewish institutes of learning, every Jewish boy in a yeshiva will have a partner and they’ll sit across from each other every day studying the Torah or the Talmud. And the Talmud is a commentary on the Torah. And it also contains information about how to keep the Torah. That’s for a whole other subject, but it’s very much a part of rabbinic Judaism today. Yeshiva students, the rabbinic students, will sit across from each other. They’ll study a verse from the Torah or the Talmud, and they’ll try to be as creative as possible with it and try to think of as many different meanings as possible. And the imagination is the limit. And so this concept of taking verses out of the Torah and giving them a new spin or putting a new meaning on them or adding an additional insight into them, this is very much beloved the Jewish way. And so I’m saying this because sometimes Jewish people from the traditional Jewish community would accuse us as believers in Yeshua of misusing the Hebrew Bible. So that when we say, for example, in the instance that we just quoted, that Yeshua fulfilled, as Matthew said, Hosea 11, 1, they would say to us, you’re misusing the Bible. Where did you get that interpretation from? Hosea wasn’t making a prophecy about the Messiah there. They would say Hosea was just giving a historical overview of Israel’s history, how God loved them and how he delivered them out of Egypt and called them out of Egypt. You Christians, you’re just giving fanciful interpretations. that has nothing to do, they would say, with the original text. And I’m just simply saying rabbinic Judaism does the same exact thing back to the days of Yeshua and even beforehand and even till today. We are simply, beloved, using the scriptures the way that the Lord designed us to use them. And the reason that we know we’re using these scriptures correctly is because the New Testament is the Word of God. And so, for example, the most famous Messianic prophecy that we’ll get into later in the series is Isaiah 53. Matthew quotes Isaiah 53 and Matthew says Yeshua fulfilled it, that he took our sin and our own infirmity on the tree and that by his stripes were healed. Matthew quotes Isaiah 53 and says Yeshua fulfilled it. Well, Orthodox rabbis would say, that scripture doesn’t apply to Jesus. That applies to Israel. It’s about Israel, not Jesus. Well, to me, beloved, I’m completely confident and comfortable applying it to Jesus because Matthew told me it applied to Jesus. And in fact, when you study Isaiah 53, it only logically applies to the Messiah, Yeshua HaMashiach, who is God in the flesh, God clothing himself in humanity, the innocent one, dying in the place of the guilty, taking our sin and our sickness in his own body on the tree. And so it doesn’t matter if people accuse us, church, of misusing scripture. It doesn’t matter if somebody says you’re misusing a verse from the Old Testament and applying it to Jesus. Because if the New Testament tells us it applied to Jesus, it applied to Jesus. In fact, in the book of Luke, chapter 24, verse 27, we find Yeshua, we find King Jesus taking his disciples on a journey. through the law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms, revealing to them all the things that were hidden in the Hebrew Bible that were really about him. Let’s read there together, Luke 24, 27. It says, “‘Then beginning with Moses, And with all the prophets, he explained to them, his disciples, as they were walking on a road to Emmaus, he explained to them the things concerning himself. So what had happened is, Yeshua had been crucified. The disciples were totally broken, totally lost. Their dreams had been crushed to pieces. They were totally confused. They had left everything to follow Messiah Jesus. And now what happens? Rather than delivering Israel from Rome, rather than the messianic age immediately being ushered in, in the fullest sense of the word, instead, It appeared that the opposite happened. And so they are totally broken, confused, lost, and in the dark. And they’re walking on this road to Emmaus. And as they’re walking down the road, Yeshua appears to them. But he took on a physical appearance that was different than the physical appearance that he had when he ministered to them in the flesh before he was crucified. So he appeared to them as a stranger. And Jesus walks up to them. Again, they couldn’t recognize him. He said, what’s going on, guys? And they said, don’t you know what happened here? Are you the only one in the city that doesn’t realize what just happened? Yeshua, the one we believed was the Messiah. They crucified him. then the bible says that jesus took them on a journey in the scriptures they still didn’t realize it was yeshua he took them on the journey through the law of moses the prophets and the psalms revealing to them the things concerning himself and how the messiah would have to die and suffer for the sins of the people of the world and later He revealed to them and opened their eyes to see Him in all the pages of Scripture. Jesus had to take them on a Bible study through the entire Torah, through all the prophetic writings, through the Psalms, showing them the hidden mysteries that were all fulfilled in Him. And that’s what we’re going to be doing in this series, beloved ones. We’re going to be getting in to these mysteries in the Hebrew Bible that all pointed to Yeshua to whom the entire Hebrew Bible aimed. I just want you to understand that messianic prophecy is a lot broader than many people realize. To state my point once again, oftentimes when people hear that Jesus fulfilled messianic prophecy, they think it was like MAKING THESE PREDICTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE, THAT IN THE YEAR SO-AND-SO, YOU KNOW, A FLOOD WOULD HAPPEN OR AN EARTHQUAKE WOULD HAPPEN. THEY THINK OF PROPHECY AS SOMETHING VERY SPECIFIC THAT WOULD HAPPEN IN A CERTAIN WAY, A CERTAIN TIME, A CERTAIN YEAR, A CERTAIN SEASON. BUT I’M SAYING, CHURCH, THAT MUCH OF THE MESSIANIC PROPHECY THAT YESHUA FULFILLED WAS NOT IN THE SENSE OF HIM BRINGING TO FULLNESS ANTICIPATED FUTURE EVENT, BUT RATHER, fulfilling Israel’s history up with meaning, repeating their history in his own body, thus fulfilling Israel and filling Israel’s history to its fullest sense in the things that he experienced in his own life. We’re going to be looking at messianic prophecy and types and shadows. We’re going to be looking at the binding of Isaac, how Abraham, the father of all believers, offered up his son, Isaac, and what that means to us in our relationship to Father God. We’re going to be looking at Joseph and how Joseph was a type or a shadow of Jesus. We’re going to be looking at the word that the Lord gave to Moses in Devarim, Deuteronomy 18, where the Lord said to Moses, Moses, I’m going to raise up for you a prophet like yourself from amongst your own countrymen. And anyone that does not listen to him will be cut off from amongst his people. Now, that’s a very specific prophecy indicating something would happen in the future that we should be looking forward to. We’re going to be looking at those types of prophecies. At the end of the day, When we’re done with this, you’re going to see how the entire Hebrew Bible paints a rich and colorful picture of King Yeshua and how Jesus brings the Hebrew Bible to its full and its ultimate intent. Shalom, beloved. I’m reading from the book of Mark, chapter 12, verse 41. And he, speaking of Jesus, sat down opposite the treasury and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury. It’s interesting to note here that God in the flesh was actually watching how people were responding to His love with their finances. And you know what? He’s doing the same with you and I today. We need to honor the Lord appropriately with our wealth. If he is using Discovering the Jewish Jesus to feed you and bless you, beloved, it’s biblical to honor God through Discovering the Jewish Jesus with your finances. I want to simply ask you to do this. If the Holy Spirit is nudging you now, kind of knocking at your heart to honor God with your financial gift through Discovering the Jewish Jesus, beloved, just be obedient. I’m promising you there’s always a blessing for obedience.
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Amen. And you can give a financial gift of any amount to Discovering the Jewish Jesus when you visit us online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And if it’s easier for you, just give us a call. Our number is 800-777-7835. or you can also send your financial donation in the mail. Our address is Discovering the Jewish Jesus, P.O. Box 777, Blissfield, Michigan 49228. And if you have a heart for this ministry and you wanna connect with us further, you can follow us on Facebook. Just look for Discovering the Jewish Jesus or Rabbi Schneider to find our official page. And there you can connect with a community of people similar to you who’ve also been moved by this ministry. Plus we post episode highlights and our broadcast schedule so you’ll always know what’s coming up. And speaking of what’s coming up, If you want to be able to keep tuning in and hearing Rabbi’s messages, I want to encourage you, help us stay on the air, not just on radio, but TV, through digital methods, through our social media, our podcast, and so many other ways by giving a financial gift today. You can give at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Thank you again for your support. And now here’s Rabbi Schneider with the Aaronic Blessing.
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In the Old Testament book of Numbers, we find a blessing God speaks over His children through Moses and Aaron. It carries the idea of favor and expression. Open your heart to the Spirit and the Word today and receive Father’s goodness into your life with confidence.
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. God bless you and shalom.
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I’m your host, Dustin Roberts, and this program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. Be sure to join us tomorrow when Rabbi Schneider explains the prophecies tied to the blood of the Lamb. That’s coming up Thursday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
