Anti-missionary comment: “If I ever get to meet Jesus and he asks me why I denied him..."

A Jewish anti-missionary wrote:

“If I ever get to meet Jesus and he asks me why I denied him, I'd probably ask him what he said. I would ask him if he really said, "Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that he Kingdom of God has come with power." (Mark 9:1).

And then I would say, "You were a devout Jew, hoping that in a matter of time, within your generation, you would be crowned as the Messiah. But, as you know, it was not to be. I also looked back 1900 years to see what had happened to those Jews who followed your name into the church, and ignored your teaching about the eternity of Torah. They all disappeared from the nation of Israel, assimilated fully with the gentiles, and became indistinguishable from them in belief and practice.

Also, as you know, no Jew has any obligation to accept any man as the messiah until he is proven and accepted by the nation of Israel. This conforms to the Torah's teaching, "when a prophet speaks in the name of HaShem, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word which HaShem has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you need not be afraid of him." (Duet. [sic]18:22).

Response:

Let's address your statements one-by-one:

YOU WROTE:  I would ask him if he really said, "Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that he Kingdom of God has come with power." (Mark 9:1).

OUR RESPONSE:  You'll surely get your wish one day!  Y’shua will then calmly explain to you all the things your human mind refused to see.  For instance, Luke 9:27, Matthew 16:28 and Mark 9:1 all say, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." Who was standing there?  A crowd!  See Mark 8:34.  So Y'shua was literally saying that some of all who were present would not taste death till they had seen the kingdom of God!

In each Book - Luke, Matthew, and Mark - they all record the event immediately after this promise from Y’shua!  It is the transfiguration.  Rather than interpreting Y’shua’s promise as referring to His coming to establish His kingdom on earth in the future, the context reveals He was referring to the transfiguration. This meant that the three disciples (i.e. "some who are standing here") would see Messiah as He really was—the King of heaven—which occurred in the transfiguration.

The “transfiguration” refers to the event described in the cited passages when Y’shua took Peter, James, and John to the top of the mountain, where He met with Moshe and Eliyahu—representing Torah and the Prophets —and spoke with them. The disciples saw Y’shua in all His glory and splendor, talking with a glorified Moshe and Eliyahu. The disciples were dumbstruck at the sight and “fell on their faces” (Matthew 17:6). This is a glimpse of what will occur in the Kingdom. Y'shua's prophecy was fulfilled only only 8 days later!

YOU WROTE:   And then I would say, "You were a devout Jew, hoping that in a matter of time, within your generation, you would be crowned as the Messiah. But, as you know, it was not to be.

OUR RESPONSE:  Is this from Matthew 24:34?  Here are a few renderings of this verse:

34 Yes! I tell you that this people will certainly not pass away before all these things happen. (CJB)

34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished. (ASV)

34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. (ESV)

And the AENT says:

34 Truly I say to you, that this tribe will not pass until all these things happen.

Note that interpretation depends entirely on understanding the Messiah's words!  Interpretation of this verse depends entirely on understanding WHOM the Messiah was talking about. Was He talking about the current generation, or was He talking about all people - all YHWH's people?  Good grief!  He says in the next two verses that even HE does not know when the end will be and He returns to be crowned Messiah!  So very clearly we know he was NOT talking about the current generation.

So if you did get the chance to ignorantly ask the Messiah this question, we rather suspect his answer to you would be to quote Deuteronomy 32:6.

YOU WROTE:  I also looked back 1900 years to see what had happened to those Jews who followed your name into the church, and ignored your teaching about the eternity of Torah. They all disappeared from the nation of Israel, assimilated fully with the gentiles, and became indistinguishable from them in belief and practice.

YESHUA MIGHT RESPOND:  "My lost friend, why did you look back only 1900 years? Jews have been ignoring My teaching of Torah for much longer than that!" 

YOU WROTE:  Also, as you know, no Jew has any obligation to accept any man as the messiah until he is proven and accepted by the nation of Israel. This conforms to the Torah's teaching, "when a prophet speaks in the name of HaShem, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word which HaShem has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you need not be afraid of him." (Duet. [sic]18:22). 

AND YESHUA MIGHT RESPOND something like this: "My lost friend, when does a prediction have to come true?  In your day so you see it with your own eyes?  Need I point out the prophecies in Isaiah and Ezekiel which have yet to come to pass?  But you are apparently not complaining that the Tanakh records the word of false prophets - and according to you, Isaiah and Ezekiel are false prophets because their prophecies have not come true. You cited Deuteronomy to ME!" 

As to "no Jew has any obligation to accept any man as the messiah until he is proven and accepted by the nation of Israel", that's quite an absolute statement! Unfortunately, you can't back it up!  The "nation of Israel",  we guarantee, can't unify on what qualifications will "prove" the Messiah and therefore lead to His acceptance!  There is not a single verse in the Hebrew scriptures which specifically identifies the Messiah or what he will do. 

Every verse regarded as messianic is subject to interpretation.  Many rabbis think Isaiah 53 is messianic, while many rabbis think it is about Israel.   Who is right?  Is Isaiah 11 messianic?  Some rabbis say yes, while some say no.  So unless you have a list of "no kidding" scriptures which all of Israel will agree can be used to prove the Messiah and accept Him, don't make this ridiculous statement in your attempt to deny Yeshua.