The rejection of Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah is rooted in deep theological, historical, and textual differences between early Christianity and Judaism. While Christians believe that Yeshua fulfilled the messianic prophecies of the Hebrew Bible, mainstream Judaism does not accept that he met the traditional criteria for the Messiah. Understanding this differences requires examining Jewish expectations of the Messiah.
In Jewish tradition, the Messiah (Hebrew: Mashiach, meaning “anointed one”) is understood to be a future human leader descended from King David. Based on prophetic texts such as those found in the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, the Messiah is expected to gather the Jewish exiles back to the Land of Israel, to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, to restore Davidic kingship, and to usher in an era of global peace and universal knowledge of God. These expectations are concrete and national in scope. Since these events did not occur during Yeshua’s lifetime, Jewish authorities and communities did not recognize him as fulfilling the messianic role.
During the first century in Roman-occupied Judea, many Jews hoped for a political deliverer who would free them from foreign rule. Yeshua, however, did not lead a successful political revolt against Rome. Instead, his message, as recorded in the Christian New Testament, emphasized spiritual transformation, repentance, and the coming “Kingdom of God.” His crucifixion by Roman authorities was particularly significant. In Jewish understanding, a Messiah who is executed—especially by a foreign power—does not fit the image of a victorious anointed king. Passages such as the one found in Deuteronomy, which states that one who is hanged is under God’s curse, further complicated any claim that a crucified individual could be the Messiah.
“If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.” Deuteronomy 21: 22-23
Another central issue of rejection was Jews misunderstanding Yeshua for his claim to be God:
“The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’? If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? John 10: 33-36
However, Yeshua was highlighting that in Psalm 82 it is written that people are gods. Not equal to the one true God as there is only one true God, but still, people are gods, yet Jews were not ready to hear that message:
“I said, “You are gods,
And all of you are children of the Most High.
But you shall die like men,
And fall like one of the princes.” Psalm 82
In this context, gods and children of the Most High, the children of Israel. Therefore Jesus was not clamming to be God Yahweh, but small letter “g”, the son of God, “elohim”.
However, Christianity was shaped significantly by figures such as Paul the Apostle, developed doctrines that diverged from Jewish monotheism, including the belief in Yeshua’s divine nature and the concept of the Trinity. Judaism maintains a strict understanding of God’s unity, as expressed in the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4). The idea that the Messiah could be divine or the incarnation of God is incompatible with traditional Jewish theology. As Christian belief increasingly emphasized Jesus not only as Messiah but as Son of God and savior whose death atoned for sin, the gap between the two faiths widened. Both faiths had two different understanding and different expectations.
Interpretation of scripture also played a major role. Early Christians read passages such as Isaiah 53—the “Suffering Servant” passage—as prophetic references to Yeshua’s suffering and death. Rabbinic Judaism, however, generally interprets these texts differently, often understanding the “servant” as symbolizing the people of Israel rather than an individual Messiah. These differing hermeneutical approaches reinforced separate religious identities.
The destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE and the gradual separation between Jewish and Christian communities led to the formation of distinct religious traditions. Rabbinic Judaism consolidated its teachings and clarified its messianic expectations, while Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, increasingly composed of Gentile believers and developing doctrines that moved further from Jewish frameworks. This solidified two very different views and expectations on the Messiah. However, if we only focus why Yeshua was rejected at the time of living and being on earth, the reason he was rejected was because he did not fulfill the traditional messianic criteria established in Jewish scripture and expectation: he did not restore national sovereignty, rebuild the Temple, or bring universal peace.
I would like to review those criteria and first check what was prophesied about the Messiah in the Old Testament to then check if those expectations were valid.
“Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, “What do you see?”
So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?” Zechariah 4: 1-4
“Then I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” Zechariah 4: 11
“So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.” Zechariah 4:14
“Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Acts 7: 56
“My favour is near, My salvation is gone forth, and Mine arms shall judge the peoples; the isles shall wait for Me, and on Mine arm shall they trust.” Isaiah 51: 5
The book of Zechariah introduces us to the vision of the lampstand of solid gold with two olive trees on both sides of the lampstand. One is at the right side and one at the left. We find out from the scripture that those olive trees represent two anointed ones that stand beside the Lord of the whole earth. We can then expect two figures and two anointed ones that will act as the arms of the Lord. The book of Isaiah explains that both act as God’s arms that will judge the people and on one arm people should trust. We also see that Jesus or the Son of Man is standing at the right hand of God, therefore acting as the right arm.
“For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” John 5: 22-23
Therefore this tells us that Yeshua, the anointed one and one of the olive trees will judge the people and will act as the right arm of the Lord. We also know that “anointed one” means Christ or Messiah.
Yeshua has been accepted in Christianity as Christ and Jewish Messiah, however this didn’t happen in Israel. Israel is still waiting for the arrival of their Messiah and overlooking the one that already came to start the mission. However, it is important to understand why Jews rejected the Messiah. What was the main criteria that completely excluded Yeshua as their Messiah?
This of course is no surprise to God as Yeshua was prophesied to be the rejected one, as we see in the book of Isaiah. As stated above, Yeshua was the olive tree and the arm of the Lord:
‘Who would have believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he shot up right forth as a sapling, and as a root out of a dry ground; he had no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon him, nor beauty that we should delight in him. He was despised, and forsaken of men, a man of pains, and acquainted with disease, and as one from whom men hide their face: he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely our diseases he did bear, and our pains he carried; whereas we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded because of our transgressions, he was crushed because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our welfare was upon him, and with his stripes we were healed. All we like sheep did go astray, we turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath made to light on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, though he humbled himself and opened not his mouth;as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb; yea, he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away, and with his generation who did reason? for he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due.
And they made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich his tomb; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.’ Yet it pleased the LORD to crush him by disease; to see if his soul would offer itself in restitution, that he might see his seed, prolong his days, and that the purpose of the LORD might prosper by his hand: Of the travail of his soul he shall see to the full, even My servant, who by his knowledge did justify the Righteous One to the many, and their iniquities he did bear. Therefore will I divide him a portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the mighty; because he bared his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53
Isaiah chapter 53 is a controversial topic for the Jews. They don’t see the connection with their Messiah there and their interpretation of this chapter is different. Before any harsh criticism, it is important how this is viewed in Jews eyes. As Christians accepted Jesus as the Messiah, it is evident that this would align with the description of Jesus, however Jews see ” Suffering Servant” as the nation of Israel, which has endured centuries of persecution by Gentile nations while remaining faithful to God. The difficulty lies in misinterpretation of the book of Isaiah altogether.
The scripture in the book of Isaiah that could indicate it is talking about Israel we find here:
“But thou, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham My friend; Thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the uttermost parts thereof, and said unto thee: ‘Thou art My servant, I have chosen thee and not cast thee away’;” Isaiah 41: 8-9
“Yet now hear, O Jacob My servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen; Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, who will help thee: Fear not, O Jacob My servant, and thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.” Isaiah 44: 1-2
“And He said unto me: ‘Thou art My servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.'” Isaiah 49:3
Those verses mention the word Israel, therefore it is talking about the nation. However, we all know the word of God is a double edge sword with double meaning. It has literal meaning and also hidden and more metaphorical meaning. As we saw in the book of Zechariah, there are two anointed ones that stand by both sides of the Lord. This cannot be the whole nation, but representatives of those olive trees, therefore Two Servants and two anointed ones, two people. I went into details about this in my other post on Two Servants of God.
Yes, without a doubt Israel is a chosen nation and a servant of God, however the whole nation will not be acting as an arm of God. The book of Isaiah is a very unique book that cannot be treated in historical and chronological way, even though it has been composed during Babylonian captivity and reflects those times. It’s more that just a look into a history because some prophecies hasn’t been fulfilled and the words found in the book of Isaiah can be very relevant to our current situation. The book of Isaiah is a conversation of God with His two servants and therefore it’s not written in chronological order of the events, because it goes back and forth between those Servants, who are on earth in different times. At times, it is difficult to distinguish at which point God is directing His words to Jesus and at what point to the Second Servant. Therefore it has to be treated as a book of hidden meanings.
If we then take that those olive trees and two anointed ones are just two people, the verses in chapters 41, 44 and 49 cannot be the whole nation, but also a person that God calls Israel. Focusing on the first servant, we see specific characteristics of that person: “the arm of the Lord”, ” a sapling” and a “root”, “he was wounded”, “he was crushed”, “the chastisement”, “his stripes”, “he was oppressed”, “a lamb”, “taken away”, “travail of his soul he shall see to the full”, “righteous one”, “he shall divide the spoil with the mighty”, “he bared his soul unto death”.
This is pretty big description of this Servant and we can check if Israel in any way fulfills this description. The first is being “arm of the Lord”. We see that Israel was never arm of the Lord and Israel will be judged, rather than judging, therefore this description could not fit into the Israel. Another is being a “sapling” and “the root”. The only other place we can see the “tender tree” or the “branch” is in this verse:
“And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a twig shall grow forth out of his roots.” Isaiah 11: 1
Interestingly we see Jesse, a father to King David, not King David itself, therefore the Messiah we know will be coming from the line of David.
“In days to come shall Jacob take root” Isaiah 27: 6
We also see that this Servant is called Jacob. Therefore we have Jacob and King David.
Do we have a description suggesting that Israel is a lamb?
“For Israel is stubborn
Like a stubborn calf;” Hosea 4:16
Therefore Israel is a calf more than a lamb. How about “righteous one” ? In the description itself, it wouldn’t be one but ones, therefore it is speaking about singular person.
The description I would like you to focus on is “travail of his soul he shall see to the full“, which suggests a long journey of the soul. We know that the soul cannot have a long journey in one life. As reincarnation is not an abstract concept in Judaism, this suggest a soul journey of a person inhabiting the bodies of Jacob and King David and someone who was anointed. In my post on the past lives of Yeshua, I went into details of how the soul of Messiah went through different lives and ended up as the life of Yeshua. Therefore, Messhia was never meant to fulfil expectations in one life, but as a collection of past lives, as a “travail of his soul to the full”.
Therefore we see that Israel as a nation does not fit into the description of the Servant of God in the book of Isaiah 53. There is also another Servant of God, another anointed one that stands on the left side of the Lord. We have established at the beginning that this couldn’t be the whole nation, but one singular person. Again, I went into details about those two Servants in my other post, however, the Second Servant in the book of Isiah has many names – Daughter of Zion, Jerusalem, Israel, disappointing vineyard, desolate – she is the Daughter of God. In the book of Isiah chapter 50, Yeshua is her hope, he is her redeemer. She is also referred to as the “desolate” in the book of Daniel and the book of Jeremiah. Just like God started with Adam and Eve, God will complete the mission with a man and a woman.
Therefore now we have established that there are two anointed ones, two olive trees and this is man and a woman, Israel as a nation is excluded from the description of the chapter 53 in the book of Isaiah. This simply does not fit into the nation of Israel due to not fulfilling all the characteristics stated. Israel is a calf, not a lamb and Israel is not a “righteous one” but it would have to be “ones” plural, but also Israel’s soul as a nation that “travail us to the full” also does not fit into the nation but a singular person. Therefore we need to check who would fit into the description of that chapter and see the criteria of becoming a Messiah.
Where does the criteria for the Jewish Messiah comes from?
- A direct male descendant of King David (Jeremiah 23:5)
- Born of human parents (Daniel 7: 13-14)
- Political leader and master of Torah
- Rebuilds the Third Temple in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 37:24-28)
- Returns all Jewish people in the land (Isaiah 11: 11-12)
- Ends all war, brings universal peace (Isaiah 11: 1-5)
- Spreads the knowledge of God
Let’s examine each verse to determine the criteria.
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.” Jeremiah 23:5
Here we see that the Messiah will be a branch of righteousness. This fits the description listed in Isaiah 53, when we saw the Servant who was “a sapling” or a young slender tree and “a Righteous One”, which I highlighted was just one – not ones. Both together a slender tree and righteous fit the criteria of the “branch of righteousness”.
“I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.” Daniel 7: 13-14
Here we see Daniel having a vision of the future Messiah, who he describes “like the Son of Man”. First of all what is important to notice is “like”, it doesn’t definitely say 100% human only but looked like or in the likeness of. However, that “Son of Man” is “coming with the clouds of heaven”, therefore this excludes a strong and definite opinion that Messiah has to be born of parents or humans. We see Messiah is coming to the Ancient of Days, therefore to Yahweh, but that’s it. “Son of Man” in Hebrew means “ben-adam” which is “son of Adam” or “Son of humanity”. However we know that Adam comes directly from God and was called Son of God, yet he was considered a Man and part of humanity. This verse calls for open mindeness and understanding. We can exclude that Messiah will be a god equal to the Most High, but he will be coming from God, as we all are the children of God.
“David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Ezekiel 37: 24-28
In this verse we are seeing if Messiah should rebuild the Temple. What we see is that Messiah will be a shepherd of sheep. This pararels with the description found in Isaiah 53, where we saw the Servant being “a lamb”. We excluded Israel from this description, as Israel was described as “stubborn calf” in the book of Hosea. We also see that God promises that people will observe His law and His statues, therefore Messiah will be a master of Torah, and God will establish “everlasting covenant of peace”, therefore Messiah will bring peace of earth. However, when we look at the claim to rebuild thisr Temple, we see “I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore“, therefore God will set His sanctuary. There is nothing about expecting Messiah to rebulild a physical building. “Sanctuary” in Hebrew is “Mikdash”, which is a consecrated, set-apart place or “dwelling place”, From the Bible we know God’s “dwelling place” was a mountain. We assume that it would be a physical place due to the tradition, however sanctuary desn’t have to be a building. While often associated with physical structures like churches or temples, a sanctuary is formally defined as any consecrated, holy, or safe place. It can refer to natural areas, protected zones, or any location designated for safety. Therefore the criteria that Messiah have to rebuild third temple is just an assumption.
“It shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time
To recover the remnant of His people who are left,
From Assyria and Egypt,
From Pathros and Cush,
From Elam and Shinar,
From Hamath and the islands of the sea.
He will set up a banner for the nations,
And will assemble the outcasts of Israel,
And gather together the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.” Isaiah 11: 11-12
This scripture should show us that the Messiah supposed to return all Jewish people into the land of Israel. What we see here is first of all, those will be the “outcast of Israel” and “dispersed of Judah”, therefore it doesn’t say all Jews. Those that are “outcasts”, rejected and those that are “dispersed” across the world. But what we also see is that Messiah will “set up banner for the nations”, therefore this will be someone who will be apealing to other nations too, not only to Israel. He will be a Messiah to Israel and all the other nations. Therefore this is much bigger role than just for the Jews. This type of assignement would never happen in one life and certainly not in 3,5 years while trying to establish a ministry. This is, just like in Isaiah 53 we see, “a travail of his soul to the full“, a soul’s journey that started with one life but we will not see the fruition or culmination in just one life. This is much bigger role that God planted and watered throughout lifetimes to grow a strong branch. However, again the claim that all Jews would have to come back to Israel is also missleading. I only see the emphasis on the outcasts.
“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
His delight is in the fear of the Lord,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.” Isaiah 11: 1-5
This scripture is a confirmation that Messiah will bring universal peace and end wars. First of all we see another connection to the description from Isaiah 53 – “a Branch shall grow out of his roots” and “For he shot up right forth as a sapling, and as a root out of a dry ground;” A strong comparison here. We also see that Messiah shall not judge by his sight or by hearing of his ears, which takes us to the description of one of the olive trees in the book of Zechariah and being an arm of the Lord from Isaiah 51. Again, this is confirmation that the Servant from Isaiah 53 cannot be the whole nation of Israel but one singular person. An interesting connection we also see that Messiah shall “strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,” and in Isaiah 53 we see the Servant “he opened not his mouth”, therefore this tells us that it was not the time for the Servant to strike the earth with his mouth. He didn’t speak and he didn’t say anything, he was quiet and accepted the chastisement of others. We also see that Messiah will be righteous and “righteousness shall be the belt of His loins”, whereas in Isaiah 53 we see the Servant to be the “Righteous One”.
Therefore we see clear connections of those verses to the chapter 53 in the book of Isaiah. We can definitely exclude Israel as being the “suffering Servant”. Moreover, we see in chapter 53 verses like “All we like sheep did go astray, we turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath made to light on him the iniquity of us all. “, which suggests “all we” – being the nation, did go astray and the Lord “made to light on him” – suggesting one person.
Now that we established Isaiah 53 is not describing a nation but a singular person, we can check if anyone have gone through similar treatement as the Servant described in Isaiah 53. We see few significant words describing the treatement: “he was wounded”, “he was crushed”, “the chastisement”, “his stripes”, “he was oppressed”, “he shall divide the spoil with the mighty”, “he bared his soul unto death”.
Historically, we only have one person fulfilling that description and that was Yeshua. One of the prophets was also Jeremiah, however he was stoned to death, therefore he did not receive “stripes”. The “stripes” is strong indicator that it was Yeshua, due to the beating Yeshua received. He was also “crushed” and “he bared his soul unto death”. As I mentioned at the beginning, one of the reasons Yeshua was excluded was the fact that he was hanged on the tree, therefore those who were hanged on the tree were under God’s curse, which further complicated any claim that a crucified individual could be the Messiah. However, what we see in the verse is: “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death.” For the curse to work it needs to fulfil the statement of a sin. Can we therefore claim that Yeshua fullfiled this?
“The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’? John 10: 33
“I said, “You are gods,
And all of you are children of the Most High.
But you shall die like men,
And fall like one of the princes.” Psalm 82
Therefore if God called children of the Most High “gods”, is that sin? Does that mean Yeshua sinned by repeating what God said in Psalm 82? We also see Yeshua was examined by Pilate before making the decision to be cruicified. We see good description in the Gospel of the Beloved Companion:
“When he said this, he went out again to the Pharisees and said to them, “I find no crime in him. But you have a custom, that I should release someone to you at the Pesach. Therefore, do you want me to release to you the King of Ysrael?” Then they all shouted again, saying, “not this man, but Barabbas!” (GBC 38: 5)
Pilate also did not find any sin or crime in him. Therefore the statement from Deuteronomy 21 cannot apply to Yeshua, as the curse would only work if he sinned and that was the reason he was hung on the trea. Yeshua recited Psalm 82, therefore saying the words of the Lord and this was misinterpreted. However, we also know there was another reason Yeshua was put to death.
Yeshua was teaching against Scribes and Pharisees. He came in and disrupted their whole system they have built. Not only that, but people also started to believe Yeshua and started to follow his teachings and turning their backs on Pharisees, who imposed difficult to follow rules and regulations. This was not something Pharisees liked to see and potentially to loose their positions and their system.
“Therefore many of the people who came to Miryam and saw what Yeshua did believed in him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things that Yeshua had done. The chief priest therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council and said: “What are we doing? For this man does many signs. If we leave him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation”. (GBC 29:1)
As you can see, the real threat for them was losing their positions. They weren’t concerned about people, if they live in the truth, if they really understand the message of God, but they were concerned with material possessions and positions of power.
“But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being High Priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is advantageous for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” (GBC 29:2)
“And therefore he prophesied that Yeshua would die for the nation. So from that day forward, they took counsel that they might put him to death” (GBC 29:3)
Therefore, Pharisees plotted how to kill Yeshua, instead of loosing a nation to the Romans. They wanted to quiet his talking and his teachings for the people to stop changing and not rebelling against them. They wanted for things to stay as they were, for the systems to function as it was, and any new thought that would disrupt their systems of control and their power, they would rather kill a person than to change themselves or the system. That was the real reason of hanging Yeshua on the cross, not his sin.
However, Yeshua prophesied about his death and presented this in the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers. In the parable we have Landowner – being God, vineyard – being Israel land, vinedressers – Pharisees and Priests who were supposed to grow the vineyard spiritually and get people closer to God. Then landowner sent his servants – being the prophets, to gather fruit, but vinedressers beat and killed each one of them:
“And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” Matthew 21: 35-41
The son of the landowner was of course Yeshua who was prophesying that they will even kill him, just like they killed every other prophet, just because they didn’t like the messages they were hearing. Therefore this fullfils the description of Israel in the book of Hosea of being “stubborn calf” and not seeing what God wants to show them, but stubbornily following their own expectations.
Lastly, I wanted to present you with the explanation, that just like we saw in Isaiah 53, the Servant “of the travail of his soul he shall see to the full“, therefore the Servant or the Messiah will not fulfil all those expectations in one life. In my post of the past lives of Yeshua, I explored all the past lives of the soul of Christ or anointed one. In there I explored that the soul started its journey in the body of Adam, as the first man on earth. Then traveled to Enoch, then Melchizadek, which connects us strongly with Yeshua and two aspects. Melchizadek blessed Abraham, therefore just like Yeshua said “before Abraham was, I am”, which many took as Yeshua claming to be I AM, the Most High God. However Yeshua was explaining he was standing before Abraham because his soul was in the body of Melchizedek and he couldn’t say “I was”, because he was talking in the moment of existing. The body gives us beginning and end, however Yeshua is always existing, his soul had no end in the moment of speaking, yet he was standing in front of Abraham. Moreover, he shared bread and wine, which was also what Yeshua did at the last supper of the Pesach.
Another life was the life of Jacob, which was the father of Israel. We see God calling His servant Jacob for a reason, because the soul of the anointed one inhabited the body of Jacob. The the soul went into the body of King David, which was literally the anointed one and the king of Israel. The soul of Christ fulfiled in that life being first rejected, then anointed and then a king. After this we see the soul of Messiah going into the body of Joshua, a high priest who was involved in rebuilding the second Temple. Therefore in that life, the soul fulfiled the criteria of rebuildig the Temple or sanctuary for God, a dwelling place. Joshua was also a high prient who shared bread and wine, just like Melchizadek and Yeshua at the last supper. And finally, the soul of Messiah inhabits the body of Yeshua, however this was a short life and cut short. However, this was all for the movement or legacy of Jesus to grow, so that Jesus could be “the banner for the nations“, just like we saw in Isaiah 11.
Therefore the rejection of Yeshua as the Messiah is rooted not only in theological, historical, and interpretations of the text, but it also calls for the brain phenomenon called confirmation bias. We see what we want to see to confirm that we already know and to confirm that we are right and correct. Even if someone will point out mistakes, our brain will bend the truth to fit into the confirmation bias. We read not to understand or to discover, but we read to confirm, that is the difference. If we read without pre-conditioned set of expectations, like a child reading a story with fresh pair of eyes completely unaware what lies behind the pages, only then we can see what God is trying to show us.
By Dagmara Z.