By Bart D. Ehrman, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
To be converted to the Christian faith, Jews were only to be convinced of one thing, that Jesus was the messiah. However, Pagans were to be convinced of two things: that there’s only one God to be worshiped and that Jesus is his son. Why was convincing some people of two different things easier than convincing others of just one of them?
Convincing Pagans
Convincing pagans to give up every religious tradition, custom, and practice that they and their family had ever had for centuries had been easier than convincing Jews that their religion. This is true in a way that had been predicted centuries earlier by their own prophets.
It does seem perplexing. However, it appears to be that it was easier to convince polytheists that one God in particular was more powerful than all the others, than it was to convince Jews that the messiah had been crucified. Most Jews thought the idea of a crucified messiah was ludicrous and completely unbelievable.
For many Christians throughout history, this has been very difficult to understand. Why don’t Jews see that Jesus was the messiah? There are people who cite passages from the Old Testament that predict the messiah would experience and do things that Jesus experienced and did.
This article comes directly from content in the video series The Triumph of Christianity. Watch it now, on Wondrium.
Passages in Old Testament
The messiah had to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). His mother would be a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). He would be a great healer (Isaiah 53:4). He would be rejected by his own people (Isaiah 53:3). He would be crucified (Isaiah 53). He would be raised from the dead (Jonah, Hosea 6:3). He would be exalted to heaven (Psalm 110).
People go through these passages one by one, and many of them are taught that these are predictions of the messiah made centuries before Jesus. So, why is it that others don’t see it? Jesus did all these things. Don’t the Jews understand?
However, none of these passages mentions the messiah. The word never occurs in them. Moreover, none of these passages was ever interpreted by Jews to refer to the messiah. They were not taken as messianic prophecies before Christianity came along. The problem becomes clear when one looks at the passages in some detail.
The Messiah’s Mother would be a Virgin
From early times, Christians claimed that Isaiah 7:14 predicts that the messiah will be born of a virgin. In the King James translation, it says, “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God is with us.”
As it turns out, in the Old Testament written in Hebrew, there is no reference to the birth of the messiah to a woman who had never had sex. Christians of course say that Jesus fulfilled this because he’s born of a virgin according to Matthew and Luke.
It turns out that Isaiah is not talking about that. The historical context of the verse as described in Isaiah 7 itself is all important. If one reads all of Isaiah 7 and Isaiah 8, then they’ll understand the context.
Historical Context of Isaiah 7:14
In the context, Jerusalem is surrounded by enemy armies. This is hundreds of years before Jesus, in 8th century BCE. The king of Israel, Ahaz, is distressed beyond measure. The enemies are outside the gates, and he calls in Isaiah, the prophet, to explain what’s going on.
Isaiah explains that the city of Jerusalem is going to survive. In that context, Isaiah delivers his prophecy. Literally what he says in the Hebrew is, “A young woman has conceived and will bring forth a son and shall call him Emmanuel, which means God with us.”
Isaiah indicates a young woman, not a virgin, and he says that she has conceived. In other words, she’s already pregnant, and she will bring forth a son. He goes on to say that before the son is old enough to know the difference between right and wrong, the political military disaster will disappear.
When the passage was translated into Greek for the so-called Septuagint—the Greek version of the Jewish bible that was used throughout the ancient Jewish world because most Jews didn’t read Hebrew—the Hebrew word for young woman was rendered with the Greek term that later met virgin, woman who’s never had sex. It was then reinterpreted by Christians to apply to the messiah to be born of a virgin. But that’s not what Isaiah was talking about.
Common Questions about Challenges in Converting Jews to the Christian Faith
The messiah had to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). His mother would be a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). He would be a great healer (Isaiah 53:4). He would be rejected by his own people (Isaiah 53:3). He would be crucified (Isaiah 53). He would be raised from the dead (Jonah, Hosea 6:3). He would be exalted to heaven (Psalm 110).
From early times, Christians claimed that Isaiah 7:14 predicts that the messiah will be born of a virgin. In the King James translation, it says, “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God is with us.”
In 8th century BCE, Jerusalem was surrounded by enemy armies. The king of Israel was distressed and he called in Isaiah, the prophet, to explain what’s going on. Isaiah explained that the city of Jerusalem was going to survive. In that context, Isaiah delivered his prophecy. What he said in the Hebrew is, “A young woman has conceived and will bring forth a son and shall call him Emmanuel, which means God with us.”
