Please take some time to watch this 26-minute video for a wake-up call on how cleverly counter-missionaries will twist Scripture in their attempts to “debunk Jesus.”
People like these two in this video are the reason why I created my “Countering the Counter-Missionaries” pages both on my website (The Refiner’s Fire) and on Facebook. The first thing you’ll encounter in this video is the learned Rabbi Federow starting off his teaching about Isaiah 53 with a silly and sarcastic little joke about Jesus. After a good guffaw, he and Jason then set out to present several supposed “proof texts” that Isaiah 53 is all about “Israel”; and NOT Jesus.
Unfortunately for them, their opinions fail to line up with Truth, as I’ve shown, below, where I have presented some counter-arguments for you to consider. To get the “whole picture,” I wholeheartedly recommend you read my responses AFTER you have listened to their show. In the end, you can make up your own mind as to who you believe was “right or wrong.”
While these guys clearly believe they’re doing the world a favor by making videos such as these, I would hope most people are astute enough to catch the errors, the Scripture twisting and the poorly-concealed sarcasm as they chuckle their way through this latest attempt to convince people that Messiah Yeshua is a huge hoax perpetrated upon the world.
Here are a few major points from this video that I chose to challenge:
FIRST POINT:
The insistence that Isaiah 53 is all about Israel as the “son” or the “servant”:
Just because several scriptures refer to Israel as the “firstborn son” or God’s “servant” does NOT prove that Isaiah 53 is all about Israel! Let’s employ some logic here – and if you choose to respond, please provide scriptures to back up your assertions!
· Can Israel DIE for Israel? (No, but Yeshua did! See Matthew 27.)
· Can Israel be wounded for our transgressions? (No, but Yeshua was! See Matthew 27.)
· Can people take Israel's garments and divide them? (No, but that certainly happened in Yeshua’s case! See John 19:23.)
· WHEN was "Israel" wounded for our transgressions or crushed because of our iniquities?
· Has the world been HEALED by "Israel"? Not hardly! Yeshua has filled myriads of Tanach prophecies - and people can reject it all they want, but they cannot CHANGE those facts!
Count the number of times you see the word “he” or “him” in just these two following short verses:
Isaiah 53:13 Behold, My servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. 14 According as many were appalled at thee - so marred was his visage unlike that of a man, and his form unlike that of the sons of men - 15 So shall he startle many nations, kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they perceive.
Isaiah 53: 1 'Who would have believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 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. 3 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.
Please read the rest of Isaiah 53, while continuing to count the “he” and “him” references and ask yourself how many people the above could possibly be referring to. (The nation of Israel certainly consists of more than one person!)
Can the word “servant” refer to a plurality to denote “Israel”? Sure. But then the rest of the sentence structure would have to match….
SECOND POINT:
The duo also expressed their opinion that Matthew 21:1-7 is misleading and misinterpreted, etc. as Matthew 21:1-7 talks about “two donkeys”; while Mark 11 mentions just one. Rabbi Federow’s exact words were that, in Matthew, “Jesus is balancing on two animals” and then he went on to explain some dual meanings of certain words in Hebrew, positing that there were never “two donkeys.”
My contention is, SO WHAT? What difference does it make how many donkeys were mentioned, or that Matthew went on to say that the donkey Yeshua rode was a foal? Surely, Yeshua didn’t “balance” on the Momma AND her baby! That is an asinine statement – not to mention, it was also a not-so-veiled attempt to make “Jesus” look like the wishy-washy, lying buffoon that Rabbi Federow wishes to make him out to be…
Please read the following passage (paying special attention to verse 7) and see if you can visualize Yeshua “balancing” on both animals:
Matthew 21:1. And when he approached Urishlim and came to Beth Pageh on the side of the Mount of Olives, Y’shua sent two of his disciples, 2. And said to them, Go to this village that is in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey that is bound and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to me.
3. And if anyone says anything to you, tell him that they are needed for our Master, and immediately he will send them here. 4. And these things happened (so) that the thing that the prophet spoke might be fulfilled, (for that prophet) said, 5. “Say to the daughter of Tsiyon, behold your king comes to you meek and mounted upon a donkey, and upon a colt the foal of a donkey.” [1]
6. The disciples departed and did as Yeshua had commanded them. 7. And they brought the donkey and the colt and placed their garments upon the colt and Yeshua mounted upon it. (AENT)
[1] Refers to Zechariah 9:9-10.
If you are confused by the phrase in verse 7 “behold your king comes to you meek and mounted upon a donkey, and upon a colt the foal of a donkey”, thinking the text does imply Yeshua is “balancing” on both animals, then you should look at the way it is presented in Zechariah 9:9:
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy king cometh unto thee, he is triumphant, and victorious, lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass.” (JPS)
The language in no way is meant to convey anyone is attempting to ride two animals at once, but it does make you wonder why Rabbi Federow doesn’t also bash Zechariah while he’s bashing Matthew!
And now Mark’s version:
Mark 11: 1. And when he drew near to Urishlim, towards Beth-Pageh and Beth-Anya, by the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples. 2. And he said to them, Go to that village that is opposite to us, and at once when you enter it you will find a colt that is tied up which no man has ridden. Loose it and bring it to me. 3. And if anyone should say to you, “Why are you doing this?” say to him that “Our Master requires it.” And immediately he will send him here.
4. And they went and found the colt which was tied up at the door outside on the street. And while they loosed him, 5. Some of those who were standing there said to them, “What are you doing loosing the colt?” 6. And they said to them as Yeshua had commanded them, and they allowed them. 7. And they brought the colt to Yeshua and placed their garments upon it, and Yeshua rode upon it. (AENT)
Okay, so Mark 11 doesn’t mention the colt’s mother; he is writing from a different perspective, but Mark did mention something important in verse 2: That Yeshua rode upon a young donkey upon which NO ONE ELSE had ever ridden. That seems pretty important and apropos for YHWH’s Messiah….
THIRD POINT:
One of Rabbi Federow’s comments about Christians was, “They make up stories about Jesus to make it look like fulfillment of Scripture.”
My response is: Granted, Christianity is guilty of “reading into” Scripture and consequently, twisting some things; but just because the “Greek mindset” cannot comprehend the deeper things of Judaism doesn’t mean they purposely made up anything to force the fulfillment of Scripture.
Whether counter-missionaries like it or not, Yeshua HAS fulfilled at least 300 Messianic prophecies! (According to scientist and mathematician, Professor Peter Stoner, the probability of even just 48 prophecies being fulfilled by one person (referring to Yeshua) is the incredible number of 1 in 10157 - one chance in a trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion…)
FOURTH POINT:
Jason made the comment that Luke 1:54 proves that “Israel is the servant of God.” Okay, so, Luke 1:5 says, “He has helped his servant Israel and he has remembered his mercy.” So what? If you’ll read that whole passage, you’ll see that it wasn’t only “about Israel”; the two women (Miriam and Elizabeth) were singing God’s praises, and listing several of His accomplishments; among them being that YHWH had been good to His servant Israel.
Let’s not forget that the tiny embryo within Miriam - God’s SON, was a JEW who would ALSO become His servant in ways “Israel” could never even pretend to be!
Let’s take a look at the context of that passage:
Luke 1:42. And she cried out with a loud voice and said to Maryam, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” 43. “How did this happen to me that the mother of my Master[1] comes to me?” 44. “For behold when the sound of your greeting fell upon my ears, the infant in my womb leaped with a great joy.” 45. “And blessings to she who believed, because there will be fulfillment to those things that were spoken to her in the presence of Master YHWH.”
46. And Maryam said, “My soul magnifies Master YHWH. 47. And my spirit has rejoiced in Elohim my Savior. 48. Because He has looked at the meekness of his handmaid,[2] for behold from now on will give me blessings to all generations. 49. Because He has done great things for me, He who is mighty and Set Apart is his Name.
50. And His mercy is upon generations for ages of those who fear Him.[3] 51. And He has accomplished victory with his arm and has scattered the proud hearted. 52. He has cast down the mighty from the seats and exalted the meek. 53. He has satisfied the hungry with good things, and the wealthy he has dismissed empty-handed. 54. He has helped his servant Israel and he has remembered his mercy. 55. As he spoke with our fathers Awraham and with his seed forever.” (AENT)
Footnotes:
[1] The Aramaic word used here, Mari, my Master, refers to Mashiyach who is Miriam’s womb, not YHWH.
[2] 1 Samuel 1:11; 2:1
[3] Psalm 103:17; 111:9
So, how does Luke 1 take anything away from Yeshua, ADONAI’s “Son” with whom He was well pleased? (See Matthew 3:17, Mark 3:22, 2 Peter 1:17.) At least Yeshua – unlike the constantly disobedient and straying “servant” Israel – NEVER displeased or disappointed YHWH! He even willingly laid down his life for ADONAI.
Can “Israel” say the same? Hardly!
FIFTH POINT:
The duo also discussed the supposed dilemma that, if Mary is a “kinswoman” of Elizabeth (see Luke 1:36), then she (Mary) has to be a Levite, as well; and therefore, she wasn’t of Judah and therefore, Jesus wasn’t either. (Honestly, if that were the case, then Jesus wasn’t just “King” but also a “priest”!)
The nature of the kinship between Elizabeth and Mary is not provided. Elizabeth was an elderly woman (Luke 1:7, 18) and Mary a young woman (Luke 1:34) so they are of different generations. Therefore Mary and Elizabeth may have been first cousins, or they may have been fourth cousins. All we know for sure is that they were kin. Second, Mary and Elizabeth could have been from different tribes and still have been first cousins. It may be that their mothers were sisters. Their mothers could have been from the tribe of Judah or Levi. Rabbi Federow is therefore erred insisting that Mary had to be a Levite!
However Mary and Elizabeth were related, tribal heritage among the descendants of Jacob was passed down through fathers, not mothers. Thus, Elizabeth and Mary were descendants of Aaron and David, respectively, by their fathers.
The fact is, the astute reader will recognize that the genealogy in Matthew 1 is that of Mary, from Avraham, through David, to her guardian or adopted father, named Yoseph (note: not her husband Yoseph) – who was decidedly from the line of David. We find that Mary had no brothers and there were no siblings to take care of her while she was alive since Yeshua commanded her into John's care before he died (see John 19:26-27). No brothers means Mary had full right of inheritance from her father.
Finally, while Matthew provides the lineage of Mary, Luke provides the lineage of Yoseph, her husband. Thus the two genealogies demonstrate that both of Yeshua's parents are from the same tribe and Yeshua’s right of kingship is established.
For more, please read our article on Yeshua’s lineage.
Ironically, the same people who espouse Scripture out one side of their mouths, are able to post this kind of smut:
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