QUESTION/COMMENT: Didn't Yeshua himself deny he was G-d to the one who address him as "good teacher"?

RESPONSE: "Why do you call me good? No one is good except G-d alone." (Luke 18:19)

The logic of this, followed out, would be: If, therefore, as you say, I (Yeshua) am indeed good, and only G-d is good, then G-d and I must be..."

The very form of address, "good teacher", or "good master", is hardly ever found (and most likely not at all in the Talmud, when addressed to living teachers). Thus the likely meaning of Yeshua's response is, "Since you address me in this way, you must take me to be the Messiah; and since you also call me good, therefore do you really understand who I am, since only G-d can be called 'good'?"

QUESTION/COMMENT: Don't Christians claim that the law has been abolished?

RESPONSE: Christians might, but Messianic Jews and Gentiles don't! Yeshua said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish Torah or the prophets. I have not come to destroy but to fulfill. For I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one dot or one stroke will disappear from Torah until everything is accomplished. Whoever breaks one of the least commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." (Mat. 5:17-19)

Pinchas Lapide notes ("Sermon on the Mount", Orbis Books, 1986) that here Yeshua is even more strict than Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba or Rabbi Jonathan, both of whom were willing to give up a letter of Torah if that would help publicly sanctify the Name of HaShem. (See Yev. 79a)

"Destroy" and "fulfill" here are opposites. They do not describe the same thing. Yeshua completes, or fills up, or gives the full meaning of Torah; he doesn't cancel it. This can be seen by his following remarks in the next verses: it is not enough only not to murder; you must not hate with murder in your heart, as well; it is not enough only to refrain from the actual act of adultery; you must refrain from lust, as well; it is not enough only to tell the truth when you are put under oath; you must always be truthful, with your "yes" meaning "yes", and your "no", "no". This is a perfection of Torah - extending it beyond a mere mechanical observance to an observance carried out in the heart.

It was an expectation that the messiah when he came would reveal fuller meanings of Torah. For example, "(In the messianic reign) Elijah and Zerubabel will come and explain and interpret all the secrets of Torah and everything that was twisted or distorted." (Halakhot Gedalot)

QUESTION/COMMENT: But didn't Yeshua affirm that his talmidin should follow the rulings of those who "sit in Moses' seat"?

RESPONSE: "Then Yeshua said to the crowds and to his talmidim, "The Torah teachers and the Pharisees have sat in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach." (Matt. 23:1-3)

The actual wording here, "have sat" - which is how the text actually reads - does not necessarily have to imply approval. It may in fact imply presumption.

In Matt. 18:15-19, Yeshua details how his followers should judge one who has sinned - establishing two witnesses, explaining matters to the congregation, etc., and "whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose will have been loosed in heaven." Elsewhere he delegates 70 talmidim to go and preach, and 12 principal talmidim - these may represent a new Sanhedrin and the new elders of the Twelve Tribes. If this is so, then in any case he is establishing new leadership for Israel - which the Messiah has the right to do - and which will replace the old.

QUESTION/COMMENT: Isn't it logical that Yeshua's followers simply stole his body and then claimed that he had been resurrected?

RESPONSE: His talmidim had fled and were in hiding. If they didn't believe in him enough to remain with him while he was alive - to stay with him during his arrest and trial - would they have believed in him enough to remain his followers after he was dead? Would they have endured torture and death - which is how all but one of them died - when by admitting it was a lie would have spared them? Would they have risked a probable sentence of death if they had been caught stealing the body - when they weren't willing to risk such a sentence by standing with Yeshua when he was alive?

Besides, there was a guard placed at the tomb, and the express purpose of this guard was to prevent such a theft. Assume, though, that they all fell asleep. Despite the fact that this was an important duty, and not at all a routine one - yet even so, they are lax and all fall asleep. The talmidim arrive and have to make a lot of noise, rolling back the huge stone - which would have taken some effort, ropes, pulling, etc. - all the while managing not to awaken anyone sleeping nearby. They have to complete all this before any roving commander appears on the scene who might be checking up on his guards at intervals during the night. Then they have to enter the tomb and remove the body and make clean their escape, still making sure that no one can give chase. And the guards confess afterwards that, oh well, they were sleeping. (But if they were sleeping, how would they know what had happened, anyway?)

Is THIS scenario supposed to be logical?

QUESTION/COMMENT: Why didn't Yeshua show himself to any of his foes after his resurrection? Why did he show himself only to his followers?

RESPONSE: In the wilderness the people of Israel had the presence of HaShem with them for forty years. Every day they witnessed a miracle - they ate the manna, they saw the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. They had crossed the Red Sea. They had been at Sinai. Yet even then, despite these and many more miracles, they could grumble at Moses and want to rebel. At one point they even threatened to stone Moses. After forty years of miracles, they directly disobeyed the command of G-d at Kadesh-Barnea.

So, even had Yeshua appeared to his enemies, they, had they wished, would have found a way to refuse him anyway. "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead." (Luke 16:31)<

QUESTION/COMMENT: Judaism believes we should follow the rulings of the sages!

RESPONSE: But which sages? And on which issues? The sages often disagreed with one another. And they missed the boat once when they looked for a messiah and proclaimed the wrong one (Bar Kochba). This led to immense loss of life and destruction, and the practical end of hope for an independent Jewish state for 1,800 years. If a sage of the rank of Akiva could make such a mistake, what can we say about the judgment of lesser scholars? Are we only to hope that they will be able to do better the next time?

Consider the following:

1. A Jew, sincerely believing that Bar Kochba is messiah, is killed by the Romans.
   
   
2. A Jew, sincerely believing that Yeshua is the messiah, is killed by the Romans.

What is the fate of each of these two men, according to Judaism? Does ONE get to enter Gan Eden, while the other is considered an apostate?

And who decides? The sages?

QUESTION/COMMENT: Didn't Yeshua break the Sabbath by healing on the Sabbath?

RESPONSE: What do you expect of the messiah of G-d? Do you wish him to pass by the sick and not help, and say, "I am sorry, but Satan has you bound, and I cannot loose you, and the devil's kingdom must be allowed to stand for another day"? NO! The Messiah is the deliverer, and he looses the burdens and frees the oppressed. The kingdom of the devil cannot stand against him when he arrives, not even for a single day!

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say to them, '...Woe to the shepherds of Israel that feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? You eat the fat, and you clothes yourselves with the wool...but you do not feed the flock'."

"The diseased you have not strengthened, neither have you healed those who are sick, neither have you bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought back that which was driven away, neither have you sought out that which was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them."

"...For this is what the Sovereign L-rd says: I Myself will search for my sheep and look after them." (Ezekiel 32:1ff)

QUESTION/COMMENT: Doesn't Paul say that the law is not to be kept anymore?

RESPONSE: No, he never says that it is wrong for the Jewish believers (as opposed to the Gentile believers) to continue with their traditions or to have themselves circumcised. (For example, he had Timothy circumcised.) He only stressed that observing these traditions per se were not means of salvation.

If the people of G-d are to be a spiritual people, then they have to be defined by spiritual criteria; for example, by their faith - and not just by any physical criteria (such as their physical descent) or any outward manifestations or displays.

QUESTION/COMMENT: Didn't Yeshua tell his talmidim to go and make disciples of all "the nations"? Doesn't this just refer to the Goyim, and not to the people of Israel?

RESPONSE: The talmidim are told to go and make disciples of "pante ta ethne" (all nations). In the Greek Septuagint these are the same words used in Gen. 22:18 when Abraham is informed that through his offspring "pante ta ethne" (all nations) will be blessed. This may be a general theme of Matthew, for example, who begins his gospel by identifying Yeshua as both the son of David AND the son of Abraham (through whose offspring all nations would be blessed); and then ends it with a command to go and preach to those very same nations. (The phrase "all nations" would not yet have meant, in Abraham's day, "the Gentiles", because as yet there WERE no Gentiles; Jacob had not been born yet.)

QUESTION/COMMENT: How can Yeshua claim David's throne when he is a descendant of Jehoiachin?

RESPONSE: Jeremiah records, "Thus says the L-rd, Write this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah." (Jer. 22:30)

This curse appears to state three things: first, that Jehoiachin will be childless; second, that he will not prosper; and third, that his offspring will not prosper (or even succeed to ) the throne of David.

However, examination will show that all these curses were lifted. First, Jehoiachin was not childless. He had many children (I Chronicles 3:17-18.) Second, he did later prosper:

"In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Evil-Merodach (or Amel Marduk) became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin from prison on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month. He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king's table." (II Kings 25:27-29)

And it appears that the third curse, that no descendant would sit on the throne of Judah, was also lifted. The Yalkut says, "...Rabbai Shabatai said that (Jehoiachin) did not leave prison until he repented fully and G-d forgave his sins and ... his wife became with child, as it is written, 'Shealtiel his son, Asir his son'."

Shealtiel means, "I asked of G-d", and "Asir" means "prisoner". So it would seem that the Yalkut is saying that Jehoiachin asked for and received forgiveness, which was indicated by both his release from prison and by the birth of his sons.

When the exiles returned from Babylon, they chose Zerubabel as their prince. Since Zerubabel was a descendant of Jehoiachin, evidently the exiles did not think that the curse against Jehoiachin was still in effect. Further, Zerubabel is also much praised in scripture (for example, see Zechariah, chp. 4) and he figures in much later Jewish literature about the messiah, both as a forerunner and an ancestor. For example:

"(In the messianic reign) Elijah and Zerubabel will come and explain and interpret all the secrets of Torah and everything that was twisted or distorted." (Halakhot Gedalot)

"And from whom will he (Messiah) issue? From Zerubabel...." (Mid. Tanhuma)

(And see also Sefer Zerubabel, Beit HaMidrash; etc.)

QUESTION/COMMENT: David was a psalmist, not a prophet. Isn't it wrong to use his words (such as Psalm 22) to "proof text" something in the future that he knew nothing about?

RESPONSE: The Essenes, who believed they found the true meaning of scripture by applying its fulfillment to events of their current day, frequently paraphrased the Psalms, especially Psalms 22 and 69, in their Thanksgiving Hymns. The Hymns are currently thought by most scholars to refer to the sufferings of the founder of their sect.

Somewhat later, other Jewish literature, such as Pesikta Rabbati, refers to Psalm 22 in its descriptions of the sufferings of the messiah:

"Even though we are your fathers, you are greater than we are, because you suffered on account of the sins of our children, and cruel punishments have come upon you...and you sat in darkness and your eyes beheld no light, and your skin cleaved to your bones, and your body dried out like wood, and your eyes grew weak from fasting, and your strength became like a potsherd. All this because of the sins of our children."

Portions of many other Psalms are also referenced to the messiah in Jewish writings. For example, Psalms 2, 16, 118, 19, 21, 22, 31, 45, 50. 60, 61, 68, 72, 80, 90, 92, 95, 102, 116, 119, 120, 121, 126, and 133 contain verses which are cited in discussions of the messiah. (For a fuller discussion, see Edersheim, "Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah', appendix IX).

Referring to Psalm 2:1 ("The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together, against the L-rd, and against His messiah") Edersheim also notes:

'In the Yalkut (vol. II par. 620, p. 90a line 12 from the bottom) we have the following remarkable simile on the words, "against the L-rd and His messiah", likening them to a robber who stands defiantly behind the palace of the king, and says, If I shall find the son of the king, I shall lay hold on him, and crucify him, and kill him with a cruel death - But the Holy Spirit mocks at him, "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh". (Ps. 2:4)

He also notes a Midrash on Psalm 2, in which each of the enemies of G-d and His plans tries to be smarter than the ones who preceded him. Thus, Cain killed his brother but neglected to kill his father, permitting the birth of more children. Esau planned to wait until after his father's death; Pharaoh outdid Esau by planning to kill all the male children, but he neglected the daughters; while Haman intended to outdo Pharaoh by killing all of the people; and finally, Gog and Magog would intend first to kill the Patron of Israel, leaving them free to kill the rest later - in other words, to proceed "against the L-rd and His messiah".

The rabbis have taught: "'The Holy One, blessed be He, will say to Messiah ben David - may he be revealed speedily and in our day. Ask of Me anything, and I will give it to you, as it is written, 'The L-rd said to me, You are My son, this day I have begotten you, ask of Me anything and I will give you the nations for your inheritance." (Ps. 2:7,8) (Suk. 52a)

And so on. Thus, seeing in the Psalms references to the future messiah is a traditional Jewish method of interpretation.

QUESTION/COMMENT: Judaism doesn't believe in a resurrected messiah!

RESPONSE: Rav said, "If he (messiah) is among those who are living now, then he is like our holy master (Yehuda the Prince); and if he is among those who have died, then he is like Daniel the well-loved. (San. 98b)

The rabbis said, "King Messiah, if he is among the living, David is his name; and if he is among those who have died, David is his name...." (Ber. 5a, Yerushalmi)

"Why will permission be given to Armilus (i.e., the devil) to kill Messiah ben Yusef? So that those of Israel who have no faith may have their hearts broken, and so that they will say, 'This is the man for whom we were hoping; now he has come and been killed, and there is no redemption left for us....'"

"When Messiah ben Yusef is killed, for forty days his corpse will be left (in the streets), but nothing unclean will touch him, until Messiah ben David will come and restore him to life, as the L-rd commands." (Responsum of the Hai Gaon)

In Zechariah 12:10 the people look on one whom they have pierced, and mourn for him. Evidently they must have seen him before, in order for them to recognize him.

Thus the idea that a messiah may be resurrected from the dead is not excluded in Judaism.

QUESTION/COMMENT: Doesn't the Talmud claim that Yeshua actually performed his miracles through sorcery?

RESPONSE: The Talmud has never denied that Yeshua performed miracles. Therefore, it has to decide whether these miracles are performed by the power of the Almighty, or by the power of the devil. In answer to this, though, Yeshua answered simply that if the devil is doing miracles which bring praise to the G-d of Israel, then he is fighting against himself. It is said frequently that the works which Yeshua did caused all the people to "glorfiy the G-d of Israel": (Mat. 9:8; 15:31, Mark 2:12; Luke 5:26; 17:15; 23:47) Thus, Yeshua's miracles have to come through the power of the Almighty.

QUESTION/COMMENT: Isn't Yeshua a false prophet like those warned against in Deut. 13:1-3?

RESPONSE: "If a prophet, or one who fortells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, 'Let us follow other gods' (gods you have not known), 'and let us worship them', you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The L-rd your G-d is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deut. 13:1-3)

But, Yeshua did not say that the people should go after other gods. His miracles caused the people to praise the G-d of Israel.

"The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the G-d of Israel." (Matt. 15:31)

"He got up, took his mat, and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised G-d, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this.'" (Mark 2:12)

"One of them, seeing he was healed, came back, praising G-d in a loud voice." (Luke 17:15)

Yeshua did not say the people should go after other gods. When asked, he replied that the greatest commandment was "Thou shalt love the L-rd thy G-d with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. (Matt. 22:37,38) Thus he passes the "test" cited in Deut., above ("The L-rd your G-d is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.")

QUESTION/COMMENT: Don't Messianic Jews abandon all Jewish traditions?

RESPONSE: If anything, most Messianic Jews tend to be MORE obersvant of Jewish religious holidays and festivals than most secular Jews. On the other hand, they do not necessarily feel obliged to observe things which are only tradition.

For example, is there anything particularly useful or gainful from a religious standpoint in adapting the attire of a medieval gentile Polish nobleman - or continuing to wear that dress even into our modern day?

Too often tradition can be an excuse for an escape from reality. The real world has been harsh to the Jewish people; and in times past, especially in Eastern Europe, they turned inward to escape. Afterward it became almost a sign that one was "leaving the group" if one departed from following the observed customs. But too often these customs had nothing to do with religion, and in fact they have a tendency to become restrictive rather than liberating.

QUESTION/COMMENT: Judaism doesn't believe that sacrifices are necessary anymore!

RESPONSE: But Judaism has always prayed for the restoration of the Temple. What is the purpose of this, if not so that the sacrifices can be restored? All of the other "substitutes" for sacrificial offerings have always been just that: substitutes. Repentence, good deeds, prayers, a chicken slain just before Yom Kippur - have been used as "stopgap" measures, because it has been impossible to offer the sacrifices at the Temple site. If the Temple and its sacrifices were really of no importance, the people would not have prayed for their "speedy" restoration, but would have relegated them to the realm of history, along with the palaces of King David and King Solomon. But no sage has ever suggested anything like this.

QUESTION/COMMENT: Aren't messianice "synagogues" really only churches in disguise?

RESPONSE: Are there differences between synagogues? Aren't Reform practices much different from Orthodox practices? Or Conservative practices? If there are any synagogues in which the service resembles protestant churches, it is most likely to be the Reform synagogues. Messianic synagogues usually retain much more of the traditional service and practice than do many of these.

So what is the difference? Only the person of Yeshua. One congregation (if it believes that a messiah exists at all) proclaims that he has yet to arrive. Another asserts that he has already come. Neither the followers of Bar Kochba, or Shabbatai Zevi, or some among the followers of the Lubavitcher Rebbe have ever been told that, because they assert their Jewish belief that the Jewish messiah has come, they can no longer be considered Jewish or attend the synagogue.

QUESTION/COMMENT: Aren't Messianic Jews who wear skullcaps or other Jewish symbols being deceptive?

RESPONSE: The dispute about whether or not Messianic Jews can wear skullcaps or stars of David and use other Jewish symbols is not really about the issue of deception. Many Jewish people use these who believe in nothing. Are they being "fraudulent" or deliberately deceptive by doing so? Some symbols, such as the hanukiah, may even be turned into symbols of liberty and freedom, entirely devoid of their religious meaning.

The real root of the issue is simply that some people do not want Messianic Jews to be associated with Judaism in any way. But that is not their decision to make.

Messianic Jews generally use Jewish symbols, not because they wish to deceive (in fact, most are very open about their beliefs in Yeshua; but because they still think highly of their Jewish heritage. And what Jewish person has the right to demand that another Jewish person renounce his personal heritage? (And often the same people who decry this use of Jewish symbols by Messianics can be found later denouncing Messianics for "abandoning their heritage>.)

QUESTION/COMMENT: Aren't huge sums of money spent every year to evangelize Jews?

RESPONSE: The next time someone mentions some huge sum, ask them to provide specific figures and details which support their claim. Usually they will refuse or be unable to do so.

QUESTION/COMMENT: Don't you believe that the Jewish people have had a veil placed over their eyes?

RESPONSE: The veil has been placed over the face of Yeshua, just like Moshe was forced to put on a veil, so that the people might not see his glory. The time will come when the veil will be removed and the people will be able to see Yeshua as He is.

At that time a blindfold ("strong delusion") will be placed over the eyes of the unbelieving Gentiles - then only Israel will "see".

QUESTION/COMMENT: Isn't the New Testament responsible for a lot of the anti-Semitism in the world?

RESPONSE: There are enough denunciations of Israel in Tanach that the anti-Semites, if they are seeking material which they can distort to their own purpose, could have found plenty of it there, even if the New Testament did not exist.

"Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the L-rd, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged." (Is. 1:4)

"For they are a rebellious people, lying sons, sons who will not hear the instruction of the L-rd; who say to the seers, 'See not'; and to the prophets, 'Prophesy not to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more of the Holy One of Israel.'" (Is. 30:9-11)

"But you, draw near, sons of the sorceress, offspring of the adulterer and the harlot...Are you not children of transgression, the offspring of deceit, you who burn with lust among the oaks, under every green tree; who slay your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?" (Is. 57:3-5)

And much of what will be found there is WORSE than anything Yeshua said.

QUESTION/COMMENT: How can you claim that Psalm 110 is Messianic?

RESPONSE: Yeshua asked the Pharisees (Matt. 22:41-45), whose son they thought messiah was. They replied, "David's". "Then he said to them, 'How is it that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'? For he says: 'HaShem says to my lord (the messiah, if this interpretation is correct), 'Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'"

Yeshua then makes the point that if David calls him "Lord", how could Messiah be David's son? And none of the Pharisees could answer him (which is also evidence that they, too, considered the Psalm to be messianic).

In verse 5, the Psalm says, "The L-rd is at your right hand." The word used here is "Adonai", which is never used in Scripture except of HaShem. Therefore, the L-rd is sitting at the right hand of the L-rd.

In verse 3 the people of the one spoken of are arrayed in "holy" majesty - not merely ordinary soldiers.

In verse 4 the one spoken of is declared to be a priest forever, but of the order of Melchizedek, not Aaron. (And it can be noted that Melchizedek was both a priest and also a king. He was greater than Abraham, in that Abraham paid a tithe to him, and received from him a blessing.)

In verses 5 and 6, the L-rd promises to crush the enemies of the one spoken of (this recalls, as does verse 1, the content of Psalm 2, which is generally accepted as messianic).

So it is unlikely that any figure other than the Messiah could fit the description; nor was this matter disputed by the Pharisees with Yeshua at the time; though later, after the rise of the Nazarene sect, efforts were made to try and make it fit any number of other personalities: Hezekiah, Abraham, or even Israel as a whole. But the difficulties and artificialness of these assinations are too difficult to overcome.

QUESTION/COMMENT: Why won't traditional Judaism accept messianics as fellow Jews?

RESPONSE: Yeshua. Yeshua has always been a scandal for Israel. His person alone became the issue. At first they would not even speak of him. He was to be referred to only by a euphemism, a derogatory nickname, or simply an initial letter. As it became necessary to speak of him, he was dismissed with ludicrous fables, or gutter tales about sexual impurity and illegitimacy - stories unworthy of men who called themselves Sages. Even today, the counsel remains, "Have nothing to do with this person!"

Judaism will accept almost any style of belief or practice and will not reject any Jew even if he turns atheist, Buddhist, or to New Age beliefs. He can follow a false messiah (Bar Kochba) or Shabbtai Zevi. He can mislead Israel as to the nature of these false messiahs, sending many to their deaths in defense of them. But none of these things will cause Judaism to cry out, "You are no longer a part of the Jewish family!" But with Yeshua - and Yeshua alone - it is a different story. Yeshua is believed by many to be the fulfillment of Israel's hopes. But whether he is loved or hated, Jews will never be able to pass by and simply ignore him.

QUESTION/COMMENT: Aren't we warned against Yeshua in Zechariah 13:2-6?

RESPONSE: These verses are against false prophets. "On that day every (false) prophet will be ashamed of his prophetic vision. He will not put on a prophet's garment of hair in order to deceive. He will say, 'I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.' If someone asks him, 'What are those wounds on your body?' he will answer, 'The wounds I was given at the house of my lovers.'" (Ze. 13:4-6)

The phrase "on your body" is literally, in the Hebrew, "between your hands (or arms)". It is a way of referring to the chest or the body. The reference here is to the pagan practice of gashing or wounding themselves during lamentation or "prophetic" utterance.

Jer. 16:6 notes, "Both high and low will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, and no one will cut himself or shave his head for them."

Jer. 41:4 says, "The day after Gedaliah's assassination...eighty men who had shaved off their beards, tore their clothes and cut themselves, came from Shechem...."

Jer. 47:5 "Gaza will shave her head in mourning...O remnant on the plain, how long will you cut yourselves?"

Jer. 48:37 "Every head is shaved, and every beard cut off; every hand is slashed..."

Judah and Israel had been influenced by the surrounding nations and sometimes adapted these pagan practices, but they had been forbidden in Deut. 14:1 "You are the children of the L-rd your G-d. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your head for the dead, for you are a people holy to the L-rd your G-d."

The pagan prophets also followed this custom, as is shown in I Kings 18:28,29: "So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying...."

QUESTION/COMMENT: Wasn't Yeshua a failure as a messiah? He didn't manage to liberate Israel, and he never reigned as "King of the Jews" except from the cross!

RESPONSE: And yet, it is Yeshua who has affected and altered the cultures of the world, and been a light for the Gentiles - which is the mission of Israel. He has accomplished this, and brought entire pagan nations to the adoration of the G-d of Israel. Meanwhile, Israel's teachers did as much as they could to help insure she would have as little contact with Gentiles as possible. She was benched on the sidelines for 2000 years, mourning. What had become of her mission?

And so Yeshua, who is loved by multitudes the world over, is despised only by his own people, and in his own nation - which is the only one which refuses to honor him. And thus is fulfilled what was said by Isaiah in chapter 49, that he would be "the abhorred of the nation" (verse 7). He who failed in mission to Israel ("I have labored to no purpose" - verse 4) would find his reward with the Lord (verse 5). "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob, and to bring back those of Israel I have kept - though Israel is not brought back. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth" (verse 6).