An invitation to rabbis, teachers, and all who cherish the Scriptures of Israel to examine the promises of God with an open heart.
But I have a question: Have you considered the possibility that the One you are still waiting for has already come?
His name is Yeshua.
I understand that this is not a small question. I understand that many rabbis have heard the Christian claim that Yeshua is the Messiah and have rejected it. Some have studied the passages and reached a different conclusion. Others have been taught that these passages cannot refer to Him. But I ask you not to let an inherited conclusion become a wall that no examination can pass through.
I am not asking you to accept a Christian interpretation simply because it is Christian. I am asking you to examine the words God gave Israel. Read the passages in their setting. Consider the Hebrew and Aramaic they were written in. Follow the descriptions from one prophet to another. And, most importantly, allow the words themselves to be heard before deciding what they cannot mean.
If Yeshua is not the Messiah, then the Scriptures should make that clear. But if He is, then refusing to recognize Him would mean overlooking the very One toward whom the promises point.
The promise began long before the prophets
God’s plan to bring deliverance did not begin with the birth of Yeshua. Its roots reach back to the beginning of human history.
Genesis 3:15 records God’s words concerning the serpent and the woman’s offspring: “I will place hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike His heel.”
The Hebrew word זֶרַע, zera, means seed or offspring. The word can describe one descendant or a larger family line, so we should not claim that this verse alone gives us the identity of the Messiah. But it establishes an important promise. The conflict between evil and humanity will not continue forever. The serpent will be defeated, although the promised offspring will suffer a wound.
Then God called Abraham and promised that through His offspring the nations would be blessed. Genesis 22:18: “Through your offspring all the nations of the earth will receive blessing, because you listened to My voice.”
That promise was not confined to Abraham’s immediate family. God’s purpose included the nations. He later repeated His promise through Isaac and Jacob, and the Scriptures continued to reveal the family line through which His purpose would unfold.
Jacob, near the end of his life, spoke concerning Judah. Genesis 49:10: “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between His feet, until the one to whom it belongs comes; and the obedience of the peoples will be His.”
The Hebrew word שֵׁבֶט, shevet, means staff or scepter, representing authority and rule. The precise meaning of שִׁילֹה, Shiloh, is debated, and we should be honest about that difficulty. Nevertheless, the passage places a ruler in Judah’s line and speaks of the obedience of peoples. The promise reaches beyond a local leader or a temporary government.
God then made a covenant with David.
2 Samuel 7:12–13: “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish His kingdom. He will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever.”
And God continued: 2 Samuel 7:16: “Your house and your kingdom will be made secure forever before you; your throne will be established forever.”
The immediate promise concerned David’s royal line and his son Solomon. But the promise of an enduring throne became part of Israel’s hope for the coming righteous King. The prophets continued to speak of a ruler from David’s family whose kingdom would fulfill God’s purpose.
This is important, because the Messiah is not simply someone who appears and claims a title. The Scriptures give us a family line, a promised authority, a character, a mission, and a kingdom.
The promised King would be more than a political ruler
Isaiah described a coming Branch from the family of Jesse, David’s father.
Isaiah 11:1–2: “A shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from His roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of YHWH will rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and reverence for YHWH.”
The Hebrew word נֵצֶר, netzer, means branch or sprout. Isaiah describes a ruler filled with the Spirit of God. He will not judge by appearances or favor the powerful because of their position.
Isaiah 11:4: “He will judge the poor with righteousness and decide fairly for the humble of the earth.”
This is the character of the promised King. He will not rule for personal gain. He will defend the vulnerable and establish justice.
And what will His kingdom bring? Isaiah 11:9: “They will not harm or destroy anywhere on My holy mountain, because the earth will be filled with the knowledge of YHWH as the waters cover the sea.”
Notice the reach of this promise. The knowledge of God will fill the earth. This is not merely the restoration of one throne or the victory of one nation over another. It is the spread of God’s righteous rule.
Zechariah also described the coming King. Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion. Shout, daughter of Jerusalem. Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and brings salvation, humble and riding upon a donkey, upon a young donkey, the offspring of a donkey.”
The Hebrew word עָנִי, ani, means humble or afflicted. This King does not arrive displaying the power of armies. He comes humbly.
The next verse tells us: Zechariah 9:10: “I will remove the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. The battle bow will be broken, and He will speak peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.”
The Messiah’s authority reaches the nations, and His purpose includes peace. When Yeshua entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, this was not an accidental choice of transportation. It was an action that directly called attention to Zechariah’s description of the coming King.
The question is not whether the passage describes a humble king. It does. The question is whether we are willing to consider that Yeshua deliberately presented Himself in the manner the prophet described.
The servant whom Isaiah describes
Now we come to a passage that deserves particular attention.
Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12 describes a servant who suffers, is rejected, bears the wrongdoing of others, and is ultimately exalted by God.
I want to address something often repeated about this chapter. Isaiah 53 is sometimes called a forbidden or banned chapter in Judaism. That description is not accurate as a statement of formal religious law. The chapter remains in the Hebrew Scriptures, and Jewish readers can study it. However, Isaiah 53 is not included in the traditional annual synagogue Haftarah reading cycle. It is therefore not regularly read as part of the scheduled public readings from the Prophets.
That distinction matters. We should not claim that Jewish people are forbidden to read a chapter that remains in their Bible. But we should ask why such a significant passage is absent from the regular cycle, especially when it describes suffering, guilt, healing, and the exaltation of God’s servant.
There are different Jewish interpretations of this passage. Many Jewish commentators identify the servant as Israel, while others have understood the servant in other ways. The interpretation identifying the servant with Israel has a long history, particularly in medieval and later Jewish commentary. We should not even consider that all rabbis have always held one interpretation.
But here is something that deserves the attention of every rabbi who says Isaiah 53 cannot refer to a suffering Messiah: Jewish rabbinic writings themselves contain messianic interpretations connected with this passage.
In the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98b, the rabbis discuss the name of the Messiah and cite Isaiah 53:4 in connection with Him. The Messiah is described there with a name associated with suffering and illness. Ruth Rabbah 5:6 also connects the Messiah with the suffering described in Isaiah 53:5. These sources do not establish that every rabbi interpreted the entire chapter in the same way, but they do establish that a messianic reading of Isaiah 53 is not simply a Christian invention.
So let us examine the words.
Isaiah 53:3–5: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of pains and familiar with suffering. We turned our faces away from him; He was despised, and we did not consider him. Surely He carried our sicknesses and bore our pains, while we considered him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded because of our rebellions; He was crushed because of our wrongdoings. The discipline that brought us peace was upon him, and through His wounds we received healing.”
Look carefully at the relationship between the servant and the people speaking about him. They acknowledge their own wrongdoing and describe the servant as suffering because of it. The passage does not simply say that the servant suffered alongside them. It repeatedly connects His suffering with their wrongdoing.
Isaiah 53:6: “All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way, and YHWH has laid upon him the wrongdoing of us all.”
The Hebrew word עָוֹן, avon, means iniquity, guilt, wrongdoing, or the guilt resulting from wrongdoing. Isaiah is describing a servant who bears the wrongdoing of others.
Now consider verse 9. Isaiah 53:9: “They assigned His grave with the wicked, but with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth.”
The servant is described as innocent. He has done no violence, and there is no deceit in His mouth. Yet He suffers and dies.
Then Isaiah says: Isaiah 53:10–11: “YHWH was pleased to crush him, causing him to suffer. If His life is made an offering for guilt, He will see offspring; He will prolong His days, and the purpose of YHWH will succeed through His hand. After the anguish of His life, He will see and be satisfied. Through His knowledge My righteous servant will make many righteous, and He will bear their wrongdoings.”
The Hebrew word אָשָׁם, asham, means guilt offering or reparation offering. This is sacrificial language. The servant’s life is connected with an offering for guilt. But Isaiah also says that after His suffering, He will see the result and His days will be prolonged.
Who is this servant?
The interpretation that the servant is Israel must be examined against the whole passage, not just one verse. Earlier in Isaiah, Israel is indeed called God’s servant. That is a legitimate reason why many Jewish interpreters understand the servant in this way. But Isaiah 53 also describes the servant as bearing the wrongdoing of the people, suffering innocently, and making many righteous. The passage distinguishes the servant from those whose wrongdoing He bears.
If the servant is the nation as a whole, then we must ask how the nation can be both the servant bearing the guilt of others and the people whose guilt is being borne. Is the passage speaking of Israel collectively, a faithful remnant within Israel, an individual representative, or the Messiah? Those questions deserve careful examination.
It is not enough to say, “The servant is Israel,” and stop there. A conclusion must account for the details of the passage.
And it is not enough for a Christian to say, “Isaiah 53 is obviously about Yeshua,” without examining the text. We must be able to explain why the description fits Him.
Yeshua was rejected, condemned, and put to death. He was innocent of the wrongdoing charged against Him. His suffering was connected with the sins of others. His death was not the end of His story. His followers proclaimed that God raised Him and exalted Him.
That is why Christians recognize Yeshua in Isaiah’s description. Not because the chapter contains His personal name, but because His life, death, and resurrection correspond to the servant’s description.
Rabbis, I ask you directly: Do not dismiss this passage because Christians have found Yeshua in it. Examine the Hebrew. Examine the servant’s relationship to the people. Examine the language of guilt offering. Examine the servant’s innocence and His exaltation. Then explain how your interpretation accounts for all of those details.
That is a fair request. It is also a request that should be welcomed by anyone who truly loves the Scriptures.
The pierced one and the mourning of Jerusalem
Zechariah gives us another difficult passage.
Zechariah 12:10: “I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look toward Me concerning the one whom they pierced, and they will mourn for him as someone mourns for an only son.”
The Hebrew verb דָּקָרוּ, daqaru, means they pierced. The wording of this verse has a difficult grammatical construction, and it should not be simplified carelessly. Nevertheless, the passage speaks of a pierced one and of mourning like the mourning for an only son. It connects this mourning with the house of David and Jerusalem.
Why is there such mourning? Who is the pierced one? Why does God speak of pouring out a spirit of grace and supplication in connection with this event?
Christians see a connection between this passage and the death of Yeshua. But again, do not take our conclusion without examining the words. Read the entire chapter. Consider the surrounding description of Jerusalem, the house of David, and the deliverance God promises.
A prophecy does not become irrelevant because its fulfillment is difficult to accept. It deserves to be examined more closely.
The Messiah’s present work
The Messiah’s work did not end at the cross. The Scriptures describe a priestly role that continues, and a King whose authority is established by God.
Psalm 110:1: “YHWH says to my lord: Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
The Hebrew expression לַאדֹנִי, la’adoni, means to my lord. David speaks of someone whom he calls his lord, someone invited to sit at God’s right hand.
Then comes verse 4. Psalm 110:4: “YHWH has sworn and will not change His mind: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
The person addressed is described as both a ruler and a priest. His priesthood is declared to be forever. This is not the ordinary priesthood passed from one generation to another through the descendants of Aaron.
Melchizedek appears in Genesis 14:18–20 as king of Salem and priest of
God Most High. He blesses Abraham, and Abraham gives him a tenth of everything. Psalm 110 brings this priestly figure into the promise concerning the coming lord.
Yeshua’s followers understand His present work through this promise. They believe He has been raised from death, exalted by God, and continues to serve as the promised priest and King. His work is not to offer another sacrifice of animals. His work is connected with the once-for-all offering of His own life and His continuing priestly service.
This is why His followers can approach God with confidence through Him. They are not claiming that Yeshua has taken God’s place. They are claiming that God has appointed Him to the place of honor and service described in the Scriptures.
The Messiah also continues to gather and care for His people. Ezekiel describes God’s promise:
Ezekiel 34:23–24: “I will establish one shepherd over them, My servant David, and He will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd. I, YHWH, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, YHWH, have spoken.”
The promised Shepherd is not a ruler who uses people for His own benefit. He feeds, protects, and leads them. Yeshua’s followers believe that He is this Shepherd, and that His care continues now.
His present work is also seen in the lives of those who receive Him. He calls people away from sin, teaches them to obey God, and brings them into a life shaped by truth, mercy, and faithfulness. This is not permission to disregard God’s instruction. It is a call to live it from the heart.
The Messiah’s future kingdom
The prophets do not describe the final kingdom as a human government that simply becomes more successful. They describe God’s rule openly established over the earth.
Isaiah 2:2–4 tells us that nations will come to the mountain of YHWH to learn His ways. God will judge between the nations and settle their disputes. Swords will be made into tools for growing food, and people will no longer train for war.
Micah describes the same hope:
Micah 4:3–4: “He will judge between many peoples and settle disputes for mighty nations far away. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift sword against nation, and they will no longer learn war. Each person will sit under His vine and under His fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, because the mouth of YHWH of hosts has spoken.”
This is the peace the world has never been able to produce for itself. It is not a temporary agreement between nations. It is the result of God’s righteous rule.
Daniel was shown a kingdom that would never be destroyed.
Daniel 7:13–14: “I continued watching in the night visions, and look, with the clouds of heaven someone like a son of man was coming. He approached the Ancient of Days and was brought before Him. Authority, honor, and a kingdom were given to him, so that all peoples, nations, and languages would serve him. His authority is an everlasting authority that will not pass away, and His kingdom will not be destroyed.”
The Aramaic expression כְּבַר אֱנָשׁ, kevar enash, means like a son of man or like a human being. This figure receives authority from the Ancient of Days. His kingdom is everlasting.
Daniel also explains that the holy ones of the Most High receive the kingdom. The vision therefore includes both the ruler and the people who share in God’s victory under His authority.
And God’s promise reaches beyond earthly life. Daniel 12:2: “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken, some to everlasting life, and others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.”
The future includes resurrection and judgment. Death will not have the final word. God’s justice will be complete, and His purpose will reach its fulfillment.
Finally, Zechariah declares: Zechariah 14:9: “YHWH will be King over all the earth. On that day YHWH will be one, and His name one.”
This is the future toward which the prophets point: God’s rule recognized throughout the earth, the nations brought under His authority, and peace established where violence once ruled.
Christians believe Yeshua is the King through whom God will bring this promise to fulfillment. His present authority is real, but the full public establishment of His kingdom is still ahead.
A word to those who teach the Scriptures
To the rabbis who read these words, I want to speak plainly but respectfully.
You have a responsibility to those who come to you seeking understanding. You have studied the Scriptures, and many people trust your explanations. That makes it especially important that you do not close a discussion simply because the conclusion might challenge your own beliefs.
If a passage has a different interpretation, explain it. If the Hebrew grammar supports your understanding, show it. If a Christian interpretation is mistaken, demonstrate where it fails. But do not tell people that a passage cannot be examined because Christians have connected it with Yeshua.
And please consider this: the existence of a Christian interpretation does not make that interpretation false. A truth does not become false just because someone outside your tradition recognizes it.
The same applies to the name of Yeshua. Many rabbis know the name. Many know the claims made about Him. Some have studied the prophecies Christians believe He fulfilled. But knowing what Christians believe and honestly examining whether it is true are two different things.
If you have already rejected Him, I ask you to consider whether you rejected the evidence itself or the conclusions you were taught by those before you to draw from it. Have you examined His claims against the whole body of Scripture? Have you considered the suffering servant, the pierced one, the humble King, the everlasting priest, and the ruler who receives authority from the Ancient of Days?
You may disagree with the Christian answer. But please do not decide the question before examining the evidence.
There is also a matter of conduct that must be addressed. Reports and recorded videos from Jerusalem have documented individuals spitting at Christian priests and clergy, insulting them, and harassing them simply because they are visibly Christian. Such behavior is wrong and ungodly. It should be condemned by religious leaders, not excused or ignored.
I am not saying that all Jewish people behave this way. They do not. There are Jewish people who treat Christians with kindness, and there are rabbis who have spoken against hostility toward Christians. But those who do spit on, insult, or attack peaceful Christians should be held accountable for their conduct.
The Torah itself commands: Leviticus 19:18: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
And Zechariah 7:9 calls God’s people to render true judgments and show kindness and compassion.
A person cannot claim to honor God’s commandments while deliberately humiliating another human being. Religious devotion does not excuse cruelty. And this standard applies to Christians as well. Anyone who claims to follow Yeshua while behaving with hatred is also failing to represent Him.
If we are going to discuss the Messiah, let us also consider the character of the God who sent Him. He is not honored by hatred, contempt, or violence.
The invitation is still open
To every person who has read this far, I ask you to consider one final question.
What if the Messiah is not someone you must continue waiting for, but someone you must finally recognize?
Yeshua did not come to erase the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He came in the setting of Israel’s Scriptures, among the people to whom the promises were given. His followers believe that His life, death, resurrection, and continuing work reveal the fulfillment of those promises.
If you have never seriously considered Him, do so now. If you have rejected Him because of what others have said, go back to the Scriptures and examine the matter for yourself. If you have questions, bring them honestly before God.
But there is something more I want you to consider. Recognizing who Yeshua is and receiving Him are not quite the same thing. A person can study His life, know the prophecies, understand the claims made about Him, and still never personally respond to Him.
Yeshua did not ask people merely to recognize that He existed. He called them to come to Him.
John 6:37: “Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.”
Think about those words. Yeshua does not say that He will turn away someone who sincerely comes to Him. He gives an open invitation. He does not say that only those who have already understood every mystery may come. He says that whoever comes to Him will not be driven away.
And He made His identity and His relationship to the Father very clear.
John 14:6: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
These are not the words of someone asking to be considered merely another teacher or prophet. Yeshua is telling us that access to the Father comes through Him. If we believe His words, then we must take that claim seriously. We cannot acknowledge Him as the promised Messiah while ignoring what He says about receiving Him.
The Gospel of John also tells us what receiving Him means.
John 1:12: “But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”
Notice that receiving Yeshua is connected with believing in His name. It is not simply knowing His name or knowing the history surrounding Him. It is placing our faith in Him and accepting who He is.
And what does that faith involve? Paul explains it plainly.
Romans 10:9–10: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
These words are important. Paul is not telling people merely to repeat a sentence. He is describing a genuine response of faith. To confess Yeshua as Lord is to acknowledge His authority and accept who He is. To believe that God raised Him from the dead is to trust that His death was not the end and that God has vindicated and exalted Him.
This is not a small matter of agreeing with a religious opinion. It is a personal response to the One whom God sent.
John makes the importance of this decision even clearer.
1 John 5:11–12: “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
Read that again. Eternal life is God’s gift, and that life is in His Son. John does not present Yeshua as one possible path among many. He tells us that life is found in Him.
So, dear Reader, I am asking you to do more than consider the possibility that Yeshua is the Messiah. I am asking you to consider what you will do if you come to believe that He is.
Will you receive Him?
Will you acknowledge Him as Lord?
Will you believe that God raised Him from the dead?
Will you come to Him, trusting His promise that He will not turn you away?
You do not have to pretend that you have no questions. You do not have to claim to understand everything before you come to Him. But you must be willing to respond to the truth when you recognize it.
Receiving Yeshua does not mean abandoning the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It means coming to the Father through the One He sent. It means trusting the Messiah promised in the Scriptures and accepting the life God has given through Him.
And if you are ready to take that step, you can speak honestly to God. You do not need a particular building, a religious ceremony, or someone else’s permission to call upon Him. Come sincerely, believing what you confess.
A prayer of faith and acceptance
Holy Father, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I come before You with an open heart. You are the God of our fathers, the God who spoke through the prophets, the God who promised redemption and who has never forgotten Your people.
I have considered the Scriptures and the promises You gave. I ask You to lead me in Your truth and help me recognize what You have revealed. I do not want fear, pride, tradition, or the opinions of others to stand between me and the truth.
Father, I believe that Yeshua is the promised Messiah. I believe that He came as Your servant, gave His life for our wrongdoing, and that You raised Him from the dead. I receive Him as my Messiah and acknowledge Him as Lord.
Yeshua, I come to You, trusting Your promise that whoever comes to You will not be turned away. I believe that You are the way to the Father, the truth, and the life. I place my faith in You and accept the salvation You have made possible through Your life, death, and resurrection.
Holy Father, forgive my wrongdoing. Search my heart and show me anything that needs to change. Teach me to walk in Your ways, to love what is right, to turn away from evil, and to live in obedience to You. Help me grow in understanding and faith. Let my life reflect the truth I have received.
Thank You for Your mercy, Your promises, and the gift of eternal life through Your Son. I place my trust in You and in the Messiah You sent.
In the name of Yeshua, my Messiah and Lord, I pray.
Amen and Amen.
You do not have to understand every detail before you begin seeking the truth. But you do have to be willing to consider what God has revealed and respond when you recognize Him.
The Scriptures speak of a suffering servant, a righteous King, a priest forever, a Shepherd who gathers God’s people, and a ruler whose kingdom will never end. These descriptions deserve to be considered together, not separated whenever one becomes difficult to explain.
Yeshua came. Yeshua lives. His work continues, and His kingdom is coming.
To those who have spent a lifetime waiting for the Messiah, please consider whether the One you have been waiting for has already come.
His name is Yeshua. And the invitation to know Him is still open.
✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️
Don’t take my word for it. Like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, search the Scriptures daily to see whether these things are so. Open your Bible, study God’s Word for yourself, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth. Don’t simply accept my conclusions. If what I’ve written agrees with Scripture, hold fast to it. If it doesn’t, let God’s Word be your final authority.
If you liked this message, please leave a positive comment. (All comments are monitored for spam and bots). I would love to hear from you! You don’t even have to register or sign in! Just click Comment at the bottom of any message. (comments are monitored only against spam)
© AMKCH 2026
image done by my chatgpt at my direction. If any of these people looks like you or someone you know, that is purely coincidental. They are not.
✝️✝️✝️✝️✝️
.