Rabbi Schneider - Is Jesus Mentioned in the Old Testament?

TOPICS: How the Old and New Testaments Connect, Bible Prophecy, Jesus

We're looking today beloved at the theme of Messianic Prophecy. Over the last weeks, we've looked at The Plan of Salvation, and we've shown how the plan of salvation in the Hebrew Bible tied into God's plan of salvation as revealed in the New Testament. We've studied the nature of God and we've shown you, by the grace of God that the, the revelation contained in the Hebrew Bible called the Tanakh, as it relates to God's nature, is identical to the nature of God that we see revealed in the New Testament, which is called in Hebrew, the Brit Chadashah. And today we're going to endeavor to show you how the Tanakh, how the Old Testament and the New Testament fit together like a hand in a glove, as we examine Messianic prophecy. It's important to say at the onset that Jesus, whose Hebrew name is Yeshua, came as a Jew. He was birthed into this world beloved, by observant Jewish parents.

Let me say that being Jewish, it's not a matter of a choice; it's a matter of birth. Someone becomes a Jew by being born into the world through the physical lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It's different than becoming a Christian. A Christian is something that we choose to be. There comes a point in time where we decide that we're gonna follow the Messiah, that we're gonna follow the Christ, which is the Greek, it means, it means in Greek, the Anointed One. Christ is the Anointed One, and Mashiach is the Hebrew equivalent for that term, it means Anointed One. So we become a Christian, we become a follower of the Anointed One by choice. And by the way, sometimes people say to me, how can you be a Jew and be a Christian, as if they're two different religions?

Beloved, nothing could be farther from the truth. You can be a Christian whether you're Jew or a Gentile. A Christian is just somebody that's choosing to follow the Christ or the Anointed One. So a Christian isn't something by birth; by birth you're either a Jew or you're a Gentile. A Christian is someone that chooses to follow the Christ, the Anointed One, and that's for both Jews and Gentiles. So Jesus came into the world as a Jew, born to the world through the physical descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He's a Jew. He was raised by, listen: observant Jewish parents. We know that Yeshua's parents were observant Jewish parents.

In other words, not only were they born Jewish, but they were practicing the religion that God revealed to the Hebrews, and we know this because the Scripture tells us in the Book of Luke chapter 2 verse 41 and 42, that Yeshua's parents took Jesus to Jerusalem for Passover every year. And only an observant Jewish family, only someone that was serious about following the revelation that God had given to the children of Israel through Moses, only someone that was serious about that would go to Jerusalem every year to celebrate Passover. We know that Jesus continued in his Jewish identity as he began to enter into his calling, by ministering beloved, to only Jewish people. Remember someone came to him, and Yeshua said it's not right to give the, the children's bread away, because he came to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.

So that Jesus' disciples were all Jewish. Some have questioned whether Luke was Jewish or not. I don't know for sure, but some have surmised that Luke was Jewish as well, because he was a doctor. Isn't that funny? I know it's not that funny, but I thought I'd throw it in there anyway. So he came as a Jew, was raised by observant Jewish parents, ministered beloved to Jewish people, and then listen: he died on the cross, Yadid, beloved one, with the sign above his head that said: Yeshua of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Jesus beloved, is the fulfillment of the prophecy that God gave the Jewish people in the Hebrew Bible. He's the offspring of David, Revelation 22 verse 16. He's the lion from the tribe of Judah, Revelation chapter 5 verse 5. He's coming back beloved in Jewish clothing. We know that God is beyond being Jewish, because God is Spirit, but Jesus is coming back he tells us in Revelation 22:16, as the offspring of David. We're going to a Jewish place.

The heavenly city is called what? The New Jerusalem and the gates there are inscribed the Scripture tells us, with the twelve tribes of Israel. So this is a very Jewish thing. The point that I'm making as we're discussing how the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament connect beloved; the point that I'm making is that this is all a Jewish thing. That faith in Jesus is a Jewish thing. This is why Yeshua said to the woman of Samaria in John 4:22: Salvation is of the Jews. Hear this carefully Yadid, beloved one; Yeshua did not see himself as one that came to start a new religion called Christianity. Jesus rather saw himself as the one that came to fulfill Judaism. The one that came to fulfill all the prophecies that God had given us in the Hebrew Bible. That's why he said in Matthew 5:17: Do not think I've come to abolish the law and the prophets, for I have not come to abolish, hallelujah, but to fulfill. This is gonna be confusing, and I know this is going to challenge some of you, and it's gonna make some of you uncomfortable, but I want you just to kind of guard your emotions, and don't let your emotions get away with you, but just think this through for a second and see if what I'm telling you is accurate.

Once again, I just stated that Jesus didn't come to start a new religion called Christianity, but rather he came to fulfill the prophecies that God had given us in the Tanakh, in the Hebrew Bible. Now hear this: The word Christianity is nowhere found in the entire Bible, either in the Old Testament or the New Testament. The word Christianity is a term that was coined by the church fathers to describe the faith that was in Jesus. But Jesus never came to start a new religion called Christianity. He came beloved rather, to fulfill Judaism; he came to fulfill the prophecies of the Hebrew Bible. Now hear this: The word Christian is used in the New Testament three times. As I said earlier, the word Christian is just a term that defines one whose following the Christ, which is the Greek word for the Hebrew word "Mashiach", which means the Anointed One.

So if we're a Christian, it just simply means we're following the Messiah, we're following the Anointed One. You could be a Jew or a Gentile, as I said before, and be following the Anointed One. But the word "Christianity" describes a different world religion and Jesus never came to start a new world religion. Beloved, he rather came to fulfill that which was already revealed. Once again, Matthew 5:17: Do not think I've come to abolish, Jesus said, the law and the prophets, for I've not come to abolish, but to fulfill. In the gospel of John chapter number 5, verse number 46, Jesus said: Moses wrote of me. He's fulfilling that which Moses and the prophets had already beloved, had written. I love the story in John 4:22, in that whole section around, around those verses there, where Yeshua gets into a discussion with the woman from Samaria at the well.

And many of you know the story, he begins to dialog with her, he reveals to her that she's had five husbands, and of the man that she's now living with is not her husband, and, and in this revelation as Yeshua exposes the details of her life; she recognizes that this man must be a prophet: how could he know that I've had five husbands, and that I'm living with this guy now that is not my husband. So perceiving that he has supernatural power to know these details of her life, and that he must be a prophet, she begins to dialog with them about spiritual things. She says Sir, I, I perceive you're a prophet, and she says you know, we Samaritans worship over here in this mountain, and you Jews worship in Jerusalem, and Jesus said to her: Woman, you don't know what your worshipping. We know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews.

First of all, listen to this: by hearing that, it helps you understand that if you wanna understand your faith in Yeshua more accurately, more scripturally, more biblically; you need to understand it from a Jewish perspective. Remember Jesus said to her, woman; he didn't say she was insincere. He said you don't know what you're worshipping. It was ignorance, and there's a difference between ignorance and stupidity; ignorance just means you don't know. He said woman, you don't know what you're worshipping. We know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews. So if you wanna understand your faith more biblically; understand your faith in Jesus from a Judaic perspective. This why Romans chapters 9 through 11 teach us that it's the Scripture of the Hebrew Bible that support our faith. We don't support, we don't support the faith of the Old Testament, but rather the faith of the Old Testament beloved, is what supports our faith.

So if we wanna understand our faith, we need to understand the Hebrew Scriptures. He gets into this discussion with her, and he says we know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews. They go on a little bit longer beloved, and she begins to speak to him about the Messiah, and she says: I know that when Messiah comes. And you know what Yeshua said to her in the 26th verse of John 4? He said to her: Woman, I who speak to you, am He. Beloved, we're looking at Messianic prophecy, and we're declaring to you today that Yeshua is the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy contained in the Hebrew Bible.

In the Book of Luke, chapter 24, beginning at verse number 13, we find a great illustration of this. As we approach Luke 24, Yeshua's disciples were just totally lost. They had left everything to follow Yeshua, and now beloved, Yeshua had been crucified. For all they knew, that all they knew, everything that they had believed in had come crashing down. This one that they had left everything for, this one that they believed is the Messiah, this one that they believed would liberate Israel; he as far as they knew was dead and gone. So they're totally broken, totally lost, totally downcast. And as they're walking on a road to Emmaus, which is the city about seven miles outside of Jerusalem, Yeshua approaches them in disguise.

In other words, he took on another physical form, which gives us a clue by the way, to the spiritual bodies that we're gonna have in heaven. They're gonna be able to change shapes and, and sizes, and characteristics beloved, depending on the situation. In other words, Yeshua was able to appear one way at one time, he was able to appear another way another time. His, his body had fluidity. And so he approaches these disciples as they were on this road to Emmaus, and he takes on a physical form beloved, that they couldn't recognize. It didn't appear to them to be the same flesh that they knew when they were walking with Yeshua, before Yeshua was crucified. And Jesus kind of plays like dumb with them a little, but he says you know, what's wrong guys? Of course Jesus knows what's wrong; he knows exactly what's going on. They said don't you know what's, what's wrong? We believe that this one was the Messiah of all Israel was hearing about him, and they crucified him.

And then the Bible says that Yeshua began to take them beloved, on a journey through the Scriptures. Hear what Yeshua said to them as I read now the Book of Luke, chapter 24 verse 27, as Yeshua enters into this dialog with his disciples who think that their Messiah had been crucified. It says: And beginning with Moses, and all the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures. Then he opened their eyes to understand who he was by showing them all the Messianic prophecies concerning himself in the Hebrew Bible, both from Moses and the rest, hallelujah, of the prophets. And so we're going to consider now some of those Messianic prophecies that Yeshua must have shared with his disciples as he was bringing them on a journey, hallelujah, through the Hebrew Bible.

First of all, I wanna go back to the very beginning, to the Book of Bereshit, which is the Hebrew word for the word Genesis. It means in the beginning or beginnings. In the Book of Genesis, Bereshit chapter 3 verse 15, man had fallen, and after man fell, the Lord comes and he pronounces a curse, he pronounces a curse on the man that he'll have to earn his living by the sweat of a brow. He pronounces a curse on the woman that in pain, she'll give birth to children, and now he pronounces a curse to the serpent. And in Genesis 3:15, he says to the serpent that the seed of the woman is gonna come and crush his head. This is the first Messianic prophecy in the Hebrew Bible. In this portion of Scripture, Genesis 3:15, the Lord reveals that the Messiah will come through the woman, and that he'll crush the devil under his feet.

What's interesting about this is that it's the only time that I know of in Scripture where the seed is referred to as coming from the woman. All the other times in Scripture Yadid, beloved one, the seed is identified with the man. In other words it's the identity of the man that determines the identity of the child. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the seed is through Abraham, then it's through Isaac, then it's through Jacob. So it's the father that gives identity to the child. It's the father's seed. But in this situation, in Genesis 3:15, the Lord said it's gonna be the woman's seed. Why? Because Yeshua had no earthly father, right? He was impregnated by the Holy Spirit inside Mary, Miriam in Hebrew, and so the Lord says: by the woman's seed, because there was no earthy father involved. By the, by the woman's seed and the Holy Spirit, Messiah would come, hallelujah, and crush the serpent under his feet.

And by the way, isn't that a blessing to you women that the Lord brought forth Messiah into the world through you; God bless you Yadid and, and shalom to you, beloved ladies of God today. As we continue, I want to point out that as we trace Yeshua's lineage, not only did it take supernatural, not only did it take place supernaturally through the woman, but the Word further reveals in the Hebrew Scriptures, the line that this birth of Messiah into the world would perceive from. And he said it's gonna be through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And so the Lord tells us in the Book of Genesis, the Book of Bereshit, chapter 17 verse 19, that its gonna be through Abraham, and Isaac that the covenant would be fulfilled.

He continues that in the Book of Numbers, chapter number 24 verse number 19 where he said and it's gonna continue on through Jacob. And one will be born through Jacob he said, that will have, hallelujah, dominion. We see this fulfilled in Matthew chapter 1 verse 2 where Yeshua's genealogy is traced and it's traced where? Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Once again, the beginning of the New Testament begins by tracing Yeshua's genealogy through what? Through the Old Testament, because the Lord wants to show us how the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, and the New Testament, the Brit Chadashah fit together like a hand, hallelujah in a glove.

As we continue on this theme of Messiah's birth; the Lord was very clear in the Hebrew Bible that his birth would come into the world, listen now, through a virgin. And so we read in the Book of Isaiah, chapter 7 verse 14, these words: Therefore the Lord, Yahweh himself, will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin will be with child, and bear a Son, and she will call his name Emmanuel. We wanna point out a few things about this verse; let me read it again. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive. She'll be with child, and bear a Son, and she will call his name Emmanuel. The first thing that I wanna point out here is that the Lord uses the word in this verse, he uses the word sign.

What does he mean by that? That we're gonna know that this one that's coming into the world is the Messiah, because there's gonna be a sign that he's gonna come into this world through a virgin. In other words, he's gonna come into this world through a woman that never had physical sexual relations with a man. Secondly, I wanna point out that we learn from this verse beloved, that our faith, Yadid, beloved one, rests, listen now, on the supernatural. Messiah didn't come into the world, beloved, through the natural relation between a man and his wife, but he came in supernaturally, a virgin conceived and bore a child. And so the Lord is showing us that our faith rest on the supernatural; Jesus, hallelujah, rose from the dead, it's supernatural.

And I pray Father that you'll build up our hearts with your Esh, with your fire and with your life, to be able to believe in you for the supernatural, and to be able to receive Yeshua, your supernatural life implanted into our souls, into our bellies, into our hearts that we might walk in supernatural faith Lord, and that we might live Father God, supernatural lives. Because we don't wanna walk Lord as mere men, relying on the course of this age; we wanna walk Lord Jesus like you walk, supernaturally in this world, hallelujah, and Amen.

Of course we see the phenomenon of the virgin birth come to, come to pass in the New Testament. It's recorded for us in the Book of Matthew chapter number 1 verse number 18 through 25. We also see that Messiah beloved, will be born in Bethlehem. Isn't that an awesome thing, the Tanakh, the, the Old Testament Scriptures reveal to us in the Book of Micah chapter 5 verse 2, that Messiah would be born into the world in Bethlehem. And so I'm reading now Micah chapter 5 verse 2, these words: But as for you Bethlehem, from you one will go forth for me to be ruler in Israel. As for you Bethlehem, from you one will go forth to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days, Yahweh says, of eternity.

So the Lord told us that one would be born in the city of Bethlehem, whose goings beloved, were from eternity. He is beloved, the substance of the invisible God. Yeshua HaMashiach beloved, is the visible manifestation of the invisible God; in him the fullness of the godhead dwells. That's why his goings forth the Scripture says in Micah 5:2 are from eternity. Of course we read about this fulfillment in Matthew chapter 2 verse 1 through 6 that Yeshua was born into the world in the city of Bethlehem. We read in the Book of Deuteronomy, that the Lord says to Moses, Moses: I'm gonna bring to you, to the people of Israel, one that's gonna be like you. He's gonna be a prophet and he's gonna be a deliverer. And anyone that does not listen to him, the Lord said, I'm gonna require it of him.

I'm gonna read for you now, Deuteronomy, as we continue this theme of Messianic prophecy, seeing our faith in Messiah Jesus, beloved, rooted in the Hebrew Bible. That's why Jesus said; do not think I've come to abolish the law and the prophets, for I've not come to abolish, but to fulfill. Hear the Word of God: I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you. And I'll put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him, and it shall come about that whoever will not listen to my words, which he shall speak in my name; I myself will require it of him.

We read in the gospel of John chapter 7 verse 40, that the multitude, after seeing Jesus miracles, and hearing his words, they said to themselves: surely this is the prophet. What prophet were they speaking of? They were speaking beloved, of the prophet that they were expecting to see arise, because of the prophetic Word that God gave Moses in this section of Scripture that I just read for you. In fact, Peter quotes this exact Scripture from Deuteronomy that I just read for you, in the Book of Acts chapter 3 verse 22, in his fiery sermon that's recorded that pierced people to the quick, and he quoted that this Jesus is the one that Moses spoke of, and he quoted that Scripture from the Book of Deuteronomy.