KERUGMA, VOLUME 1 NUMBER 1 OKTOBER 2018 THE MESSIAH AN DILEMATH JESUS CHRIST Measuring the Feasibility of Jesus Christ as the Messiah in the Mind of Semitic Religion Pangeran Manurung, M.Th. Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Injili Indonesia Surabaya E-mail: [email protected] Abstract. Broadly speaking, the subject of the Christology that is still worth talking about in the academic pulpit is the title "Messiah" carried by Jesus Christ. In general, the Judeo-Islamic community and some Christians are still dilemma in positioning Jesus, especially regarding the worthiness of Jesus Christ to be accepted as the Messiah. Placing Jesus Christ in the right place for all three of these great religions has proven to be no easy matter. Especially for Judeo-Islam, Christians generally accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah. On the contrary for Jews and Islam. Some Jews gave rise to a half-movement of Judaism and half- Christians in terms of seeing Jesus as the Messiah. Likewise with Islam. Here are some of the main problems. Keynote: Messiah, Jesus Christ, Semitic Religion. Keywords: Christology, Messiah, Christians, , Semitic Religion INTRODUCTION question that is still relevant today is, "What is In general, the available arguments are only about the strong reason for some Jews to decide not to the description of the Messiah of Judaism that is not accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah? Is it because they parallel to the figure of Christ in the New Testament. For did not read Messianic texts in the Old Testament? Jews, Christ did not qualify as the ideal Messiah. Of course they read and understand it. They are even Therefore most Jews who claim to be Judaism do not accept Jesus as the Messiah if they trace the aspect of the more fluent in mastering the Old Testament language image of the ideal Messiah of Jewish ancestors. Is this than modern readers like me. Elsewhere, why do only the mastermind or the Jewish cause rejecting Jesus 1 Christians boldly interpret messianic texts in the as the Messiah? Maybe the answer is yes. But why were Old Testament as the basis for the "messiah" of Jesus some other Jews able to accept Christ as the fulfillment Christ? Not a few Jewish Rabbis who consider the of the promised Messiah? Some Jews accept and Christian party too presumptuous or too advanced in acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Messiah. This group is interpreting the book of the Old Testament as the called the"Messianic Jews" (Messianic Jews). basis for ordaining Jesus as the Messiah.2 Jesus Christ wasborn and lived as a Jew while in the In short, why are Jews and Christians different world. Likewise His chosen and abandoned students in identifying Jesus Christ even though both have the came from Jews. The Apostle Paul, the author of same contents of the Old Testament text? mostbooks and New Testamenteven a fanatical Jew. The problem is, can one be a pure Jew but at the same time vagueor perhaps the fulfillment of the Messiah is embrace the Christian Faith? Many thinkers are confused not so clear in the New Testament? Bible scholars have about this status. One of them is Rabbi Barry. "There is provided several options for answers to this question. no Jew who accepts Jesus as the Messiah. If someone makes a commitment of faith, they become Christians. It is impossible for someone to become a Christian and a 3 1 For example Genesis 3; Isaiah 53: 1; 9: 5-6; 57: 2; Jew simultaneously. Micah 5: 1-2; Psalms 22: 1-22, and others 2. For example, like Rabbi Tovia Singer, who had come to 3Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner, Why don't Jews accept Indonesia several times to discuss with Messianic Islamic Jesus as the Messiah?‘‘ Why did the Jews not accept Jesus as groups regarding Jewish-Islamic equality. the Messiah? 39 KERUGMA, VOLUME 1 NUMBER 1 OKTOBER 2018 including somemanuscripts Talmud uncensored First of all, this paper will list the thoughts and Babylonian (edited before the year 600 AD) opinions of some Rabbis about the figure of Jesus Christ andliteraturemidrashclassicwritten between 250 and 700 who is considered to not qualify as the Messiah. Starting AD. soft assumptions to harsh rejection of the discourse There are wide views on how many references are Jewish Rabbis will be shown to do theological actually refers to Jesus. Because it is generally written calculations about whether or not Jesus is the Messiah. after the Schism between Christianity and Judaism, it is not surprising that the references are fundamentally A. JESUS CHRIST AND VARIOUS "MESSIAN negative, even tend to insult Jesus' figures and their THEORY" IN THE LITERATURE OF THE actions and teachings, even including his mother and MODERN RABBI students.7 No wonder there was an attempt bythe Roman Catholic Churchto pressure Jews to abolish negative In various messianic literature, freely written Christ records of Jesus in their literature. tends to be deemed unworthy of fulfilling the criteria of Due to persecution, the Jewish community applied Judaism's ideal Messiah. The figure of Christ is censorship to themselves to dispose of references to considered to damage the image of the true Messiah. Jesus in their writings so they would no longer be subject to attacks. Morris Goldstein, former Professor "Old and Modern Rabbi Literature: Efforts to distance Christ New Testament Literature and Burket recounts: from the Messiah figure So, in 1631 the" Jewish Assembly of Elders "in Poland stated: 'We instruct you to be under the threat of a Some Rabbinic literature does not contain or is big ban not to publish in any new edition of the Mishnah reluctant to include Christ as an important figure such as or Gemara referring to Jesus the Nazarene ... If you do the Messiah. It is therefore suspected that Christian not carefully obey this letter, but do the opposite and authorities in Europe generally did not know about the continue to publish our books in the same way as before, possibility of references to Jesus in the literature of you can afflict us and suffer more than time - time ago. Rabbis such as the Talmud until 1236, when a convert 'Initially, the parts removed in the Talmudic prints were from Judaism,Nicholas Donin, explained 35 formal marked by small circles or empty spaces, but then even accusations against the Talmud beforePope Gregory IX, this was banned by the sensor. As a result of these and this accusation was confronted by rabbi Yehiel of doubling sensors the volumes of ordinary rabbinical Paristo file a defense at the Disputation of Parisin 1240.4 literature contained only obscure remnants from the In this literature, Jesus Christ sought not to get a information that should be related to Jesus8 place in the Rabbi document. Therefore Yehiel's main Dr. Robert Morey added: defense is "Yeshu" mentioned in rabbinical literature is a "Fortunately, copies of the text before 1631 the student from Joshua ben Perachiah, and do notwith Jesus uncensored ones were still stored at Oxford University (confuseVikkuah Rabbenu Yehiel mi-Paris). In and several other European libraries. so statements about "Disputation of Barcelona" (1263), which follows on Jesus were never truly 'lost'. The texts were published Nahmanides ,points out the same point.5Some Jewish separately in a number of editions and were studied by religious leaders such as Rabbi Jacob Ben Meir Jewish experts privately. No one refutes those facts (Rabbeinu Tam), Jehiel Heilprin, and Jacob Emden(18th anymore ... Although the Soncino edition of the century) support this view 6. However, not all Rabbis Babylonian Talmud includes censored text, the editors accept this opinion. usually insert the original reading in footnotes. We have If there is a Rabbinic document that refers to returned statements about Jesus to their place of origin in Christ, it is usually confrontation, blasphemy, or the text in question and marked them.9 Maimonides, as rejection. A number of classical Jewish rabbinical one of the influential Rabbis, represented the expression literature was found containing references to Jesus, 7 Delbert Burkett,The Blackwell Companion to Jesus 4 Saadia R. Eisenberg,Reading Medieval Religious (2010), 220. " Therefore, the analysis of experts has a wide Disputation: The 1240 "Debate" Between Rabbi Yehiel of Paris range, from minimalists groups (eg Lauterbach 1951) who and Friar Nicholas Donin admit that only relatively little reading actually concerns Jesus 5 JD Eisenstein, Vikuach HaRambanfound inOtzar in his thinking to moderate groups (eg Herford [1903] 2006), Havikuchim(Hebrew Publishing Society, 1915) and the writings to the maximalist group (Klausner 1943, 17±54; specifically of Rabbi Charles D. Chavel, Kitvey HaRamban (Mosad Horav Schäfer 2007) Kook, 1963), See paragraph 22. 8 Josh McDowell & Bill Wilson, He Walked Among 6 Us: Evidence For The Historical Jesus (Nashville: Thomas David R. Catchpole,The trial of Jesus: a study in the Nelson Publishers, 1993), 58-59 Gospels and Jewish Historiography from 1770 to the Present Day (Leiden:1971), 62 9 Robert A. Morey. "Jesus in the Mishnah and the Talmud" (California Institute of Apologetics), 1-2 40 KERUGMA, VOLUME 1 NUMBER 1 OKTOBER 2018 of the heart of his community10 when lamenting the pain confession to him violate the formulation of the One God felt by Jews as a result of new beliefs that tried to replace for the Jews. So the summary of the Talmud passages Judaism, specifically Christianity and Islam. His thoughts that support the facts about Jesus also has no connection were recorded in "Mishneh Torah" and "Epistle to with his description as the Messiah. The opposite tends Yemen" or "Letter to Jews in Yemen" written in 1172. to be negative. If it is positive, it is only limited to the Some of his thoughts about Jesus Christ were: ability of Jesus Christ to perform miracles.