Christian "Messianic" Prophesies

Below are listed the alleged messianic prophesies which many Christians claim that Jesus fulfilled. The first issue is whether they are a messianic prophesy or not. The second is whether or not Jesus fulfilled them. Let's look.

"Jesus was a descendant of the royal line of David."

This was indeed a messianic prophesy.

Jeremiah 23:5 "Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land.

But did Jesus fulfill it? Not according to other Christian dogma.

Jesus cannot be both a descendant of David and the son of God. Either he was a descendant of David, through Joseph, as the Gospels Matthew and Luke claim or he was the son of God. Some Christians claim he was a descendant of David through Mary, but there is no genealogy for Mary listed in the New Testament. There are two genealogies listed n the Bible. Both are for Joseph, however they contradict each other on who Joseph's father was.

Matthew 1:16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Luke 3:23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli,

The genealogies for Joseph in Luke 3 and Matthew 1 also contradict each other in other ways. They also contradict the genealogies listed in the Old Testament. A comparison of the various genealogies can be seen here.

Also, the lineage of David through Joseph contains a small problem, Jeconiah. Jeconiah's lineage was cursed in Jeremiah 22:24-30 and could not inherit the kingdom of Israel.

Jeremiah 22:24 "As surely as I live," declares the Lord, "even if you, Jehoiachin [a] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. 25 I will hand you over to those who seek your life, those you fear—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Babylonians. [b] 26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. 27 You will never come back to the land you long to return to."

28 Is this man Jehoiachin a despised, broken pot, an object no one wants? Why will he and his children be hurled out, cast into a land they do not know? 29 O land, land, land, hear the word of the Lord! 30 This is what the Lord says: "Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper,none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah."

Footnotes from the NIV translation:
[a] Jeremiah 22:24 Hebrew Coniah , a variant of Jehoiachin ; also in verse 28
[b] Jeremiah 22:25 Or Chaldeans

"Jesus was called Immanuel."

The Christian claim that Jesus fulfilled this "messianic" prophesy is problematic in two ways: 1) it is not a messianic prophesy and 2) Jesus didn't fulfill it. Let's look at the verse in question.

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

To anyone who has bothered to actually read Isaiah, chapter 7, the sign of Immanuel was sent by the Lord to assure Ahaz that Jerusalem would not fall to King Rezin. This passage has nothing to do with the messiah.

Furthermore, Jesus did not fulfill it. Christians often claim that Jesus fulfilled the prophesy offering Matthew 1:23 as proof of that fulfillment.

Matthew 1:23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us."

However, if you actually read the verse it is merely repeating what was said in Isaiah. It is announcing the prophesy. Nowhere in the Gospels is that prophesy fulfilled.

This raises not fails to prove that Jesus was the messiah, but raises a question about the authorship of Matthew. What Jewish scholar would misquote a messianic prophesy?

Another prophesy cited by Christians as having been fulfilled by Jesus is Isaiah 9:6.

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

However, they forget to include the next verse.

7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

In fact, the Messianic oracle is contained in Isaiah 9:2-7. Verse 6 refers to the birth of a descendant of the Davidic line, an earthly king as the messiah ("anointed one"), just as David was before him, chosen and appointed by Yahweh, as indicated in verse 7. It celebrates this royal prince of the Davidic line who leads his people triumphantly in battle and frees the Israeli people from their oppressor. So this is an actual messianic prophesy.

Did Jesus fulfill it? Obviously not. He did not rule from David's throne or uphold justice from it. He did not increase his government and there was certainly no peace. Nor did he save the Israelites from their oppressor. In fact, the oppressor these verses refers to is Assyria, to whom the kingdom of Israel fell in 722 BCE.

 

 

 

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