"Is Jesus the Messiah?"

[water]

I thought somebody could help this person answer his questions. I would like to learn from your answers.

Thanks.

The post was posted on another catholic forum and I thought it would be great if we can get answers here as well.

source:
catholicforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13123
I have been searching for the truth for a long time now. I truly believe in my heart that God is real simply because the big bang theory makes no sense and it seems more realistic that we were all created for a purpose. There’s too much beauty in the world for all of this to happen by accident. Now what I struggle with is finding the right path to God and for almost a year now, I have been trying to find out the truth about Jesus Christ. Was He the Son of God?

The Bible says that The Messiah will:

1. Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).
2. Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6).
3. Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4)
4. Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: “God will be King over all the world – on that day, God will be One and His Name will be One” (Zechariah 14:9).

Jesus did not do any of those above things when He was living on earth.

Also, The Messiah must be descended on his Father’s side from King David (see Genesis 49:10 and Isaiah 11:1). According to the Christian claim that Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, he had no Father – and thus could not have possibly fulfilled the messianic requirement of being descended on his father’s side from King David.

And The Messiah will lead the Jewish people to full Torah observance. The Torah states that all mitzvot remain binding forever, and anyone coming to change the Torah is immediately identified as a false prophet. (Deut. 13:1-4)

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus contradicts the Torah and states that its commandments are no longer applicable. (see John 1:45 and 9:16, Acts 3:22 and 7:37)

There are many other good points I could bring up but I’d like to read some responses to what I have already posted first.

God bless.
*

Thank you all!

 

[adrift]

Jesus did not do any of those above things when He was living on earth.

Didn’t he or is it a matter of interpretation?

1. Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).

Ezekiel was referring to the rebuilding of the second temple which existed at the time of Jesus. It was destroyed IMOH to be replaced with Jesus as temple.
I think the others can either be shown to have occurred or they will still occur.

lso, The Messiah must be descended on his Father’s side from King David (see Genesis 49:10 and Isaiah 11:1). According to the Christian claim that Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, he had no Father – and thus could not have possibly fulfilled the messianic requirement of being descended on his father’s side from King David.

According to Jewish custom, an adopted child shared in the ancestry of the adoptive father. Matthew Chapter 1:1-17 Luke Chapter 4:23-38

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus contradicts the Torah and states that its commandments are no longer applicable. (see John 1:45 and 9:16, Acts 3:22 and 7:37)

I don’t see how these versus support your statement. Jesus said that he had not come to eliminate the law but to fulfill it. The religious leaders of the time had corrupted the Torah adding to it. Many of the things they accused Jesus of doing was found in things they had added. As God, Jesus established a New Covenant.

 

[Maranatha]

I’ll take a crack at it.

I have been searching for the truth for a long time now. I truly believe in my heart that God is real simply because the big bang theory makes no sense and it seems more realistic that we were all created for a purpose. There’s too much beauty in the world for all of this to happen by accident. Now what I struggle with is finding the right path to God and for almost a year now, I have been trying to find out the truth about Jesus Christ. Was He the Son of God?

The big bang theory, originally postulated by a Catholic Jesuit Priest, has been verified by observable evidence. It postulates that the entire universe came to be from an explosion originating from an infinitesimally small point. So infantesimal in fact that it is fare so say that it started from nothing. Since only a prime mover can bring forth something from nothing, the Big Bang theory actually supports the philosophical theory of an uncaused cause.

1. Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).

In the Jewish religion, the Arc of the Covenant and then the Temple actually housed the Lord. If Jesus was the Lord then his body housed the Lord and was in fact a Temple of the Lord. Since he raised the temple on the third day, this prophecy was fulfilled.

1. Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6).

There are some conflicting prophecies concerning the Messiah. How can he be the suffering servant of Isaiah 56 that dies for our sins and also rule for ever. Christians believe the prophesies will be fulfilled not in one coming of the Messiah but with a second coming. Catholic believe the Church is the new Israel and it is acceptable to postulate that the end of the wold will happen when all Jews become Catholic;.

1. Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4)

There is an inner peace you get when you accept Christ as you Lord and savior. This is different from peace treaties negotiated between nations. Christ’s peace is in the every nation of the world in the Catholic Church.

1. Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: “God will be King over all the world – on that day, God will be One and His Name will be One” (Zechariah 14:9).

In Greek catholic mean universal. The Catholic Church is a worldwide church and is united in dogma.

Jesus did not do any of those above things when He was living on earth.

For those who have eyes to see, they did.

Also, The Messiah must be descended on his Father’s side from King David (see Genesis 49:10 and Isaiah 11:1). According to the Christian claim that Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, he had no Father – and thus could not have possibly fulfilled the messianic requirement of being descended on his father’s side from King David.

In Jewish law an adopted son is just as much a part of the family linage as a natural born son.

And The Messiah will lead the Jewish people to full Torah observance. The Torah states that all mitzvot remain binding forever, and anyone coming to change the Torah is immediately identified as a false prophet. (Deut. 13:1-4)

Here I would ask him which interpretation he is getting this from. The Scripture actually says that a false prophet would try to lead the Jews away from the Lord. Jesus did not lead the Jews away from the Lord but in to a more full covenant with the same Lord.

You might get a better conversion starting a different thread for each topic.

Peace and Maranatha.

 

[water]

Thank you adrift and Maranatha for explaining the verses. It’s very helpful and I hope others who may have the questions will find it helpful as well.