On The Way To Emmaus

Five Major Messianic Prophecies Explained

Dr. Jacques Doukhan

• Publisher: Messianic Jewish Communications
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781936716555
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Jewish Theology

The discussion about messianic prophecies is therefore an important one. It hits at the very origins of Christianity and takes us to the very heart of the early Jewish-Christian controversy

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I THE SEED

Poetic Analysis

The Serpent

The Subject(s) of the Fight

The Verb of the Fight

Genesis 3:15 in the Hebrew Bible

Genesis 3:15 in Jewish Tradition

Parallel Texts Recognized as Messianic in Jewish Tradition

The Messianic Fight

CHAPTER II THE STAR

Poetic Analysis

The Literary Structure of Numbers 24:15–19

Prophetic Inspiration

Numbers 24:17 in the Hebrew Bible

Numbers 24:17 in Jewish Tradition

Parallel Texts Recognized as Messianic in Jewish Tradition

Numbers 24:17 in the New Testament

The Messianic Hope

CHAPTER III THE SIGN

Poetic Analysis

The Virgin

The Child

Isaiah 7:14 in the Hebrew Bible

Isaiah 7:14 in Jewish Tradition

Parallel Texts of Isaiah 7:14 Recognized as Messianic in Jewish Tradition

Isaiah 7:14 in the New Testament

The Messianic Birth

CHAPTER IV THE SERVANT

Poetic Analysis

The Suffering Servant and Israel

The Servant as Atoning Sacrifice

The Servant as King

God as the Servant

Isaiah 53 in the Hebrew Bible

Isaiah 53 in Jewish Tradition

Parallel Texts of Isaiah 53 Recognized as Messianic in Jewish Tradition

Isaiah 53 in the New Testament

The Messianic Suffering

CHAPTER V THE SEVENS

Poetic Analysis

The Seventy Weeks

The Messiah

Daniel 9:24–27 in the Hebrew Bible

Daniel 9:24–27 in Jewish Tradition

Parallel Texts of Daniel 9:24–27 Recognized as Messianic in Jewish Tradition

Daniel 9:24–27 in the New Testament

The Messianic Time

Synthetic Table of Messianic Interpretation

CONCLUSION

The Lessons of Messianic Prophecy

The Hermeneutic Lesson

The Historical Lesson

The Jewish-Christian Lesson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

FOREWORD

Initially encountered the work of Jacques Doukhan almost ten years ago, when his fine volume, Israel and the Church, was first published. I was impressed by his capable scholarship and his irenic tone, but also by his clearly-defined sense of Jewish identity. Before this, I had not realized that kindred spirits to my own could be found in the Seventh-day Adventist world. Reading Israel and the Church opened my eyes, and my mind.

I came to know Jacques personally in the fall of 2010, and was even more impressed by the man I encountered than by the work he had produced. I found him charming, witty, erudite, and gracious. But I also found a strong-minded and passionate Jew, who loved the tradition of his people, even as he loved the Messiah whom God had sent to redeem them.

Jacques Doukham has much to offer the Messianic Jewish world, and those Christian friends who support it. What he has to offer is well-displayed in this current volume. On the Way to Emmaus provides a careful and insightful reading of the most important messianic prophecies in the bible, one that will be appreciated by most Messianic Jews and sympathetic evangelical Christians. It displays solid conservative scholarship, as we would expect from a respected veteran such as Doukhan. But it also builds upon current methodologies, such as inner-biblical exegesis, to open new avenues of interpretation.

I am honored to introduce Jacques to the Messianic Jewish world, and am confident that those who come to know him and his work will be as grateful for the discovery as I have been.

Rabbi Mark S. Kinzer, Ph.D.

Senior Scholar

Messianic Jewish Theological Institute

INTRODUCTION

On the way to Emmaus, just a few miles from Jerusalem, two friends are surprised by a stranger. He does not seem to know what has just happened and no one knows where he comes from! “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have you not known the things which happened there in these days?” they ask. To which he answers: “What things?” (Luke 24:18).

The two friends do not know the meaning of these events, nor do they know who the stranger is. They think they know, but they do not know. While the stranger, who they think does not know, knows. The story tells us that beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:27, NIV). Yet, according to the story the two friends still do not understand. In spite of this study, the first systematic lesson on what will be called the “messianic prophecies,” they are still unable to know Him and get His point. The messianic prophecies, even explained by Him, are not enough to convince them.

We may then wonder whether we are not all of us, Christians and Jews, and all the others carrying the same question suspended in the void, unable to know Him. Whether we are not all, like these two friends who were disputing on the way to Emmaus, disturbed by our unanswered question and troubled by our doubts (Luke 24:38). For as long as the Messiah is not here to answer Himself, we are like them. We do not know. A story is told about Martin Buber¹ addressing a group of Catholic priests. He asked them the question: “What is the difference between Jews and Christians? We all await the Messiah. You believe He has already come and gone, while we do not. I therefore propose that we await Him together. And when He appears, we can ask Him: ‘Were you here before?’” Then he paused and added, “and I hope that at that moment I will be close enough to whisper in his ear, ‘For the love of heaven, don’t answer!’”

And it is as if the Messiah has heard Martin Buber’s request: so far the Messiah has not come to answer and the question remains unanswered.

We are not sure who is right, the Christians who affirm that the Messiah has already come, or the Jews who are still waiting for Him.

For many Christians, “messianic prophecies” suggest the ultimate argument against the Jews. These biblical texts are brandished as evidence to show that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Messiah announced by the Hebrew Scriptures; they are the proof that He was here before. “Messianic prophecies” have then been used as a fast-food apologetic and the reason for diligently accusing the Jews of stubborn incredulity because they do not want to believe in spite of all these clear proofs.

For many Jews, the reference to “messianic prophecies” is associated with the Christians’ attempt to convert them and is therefore suspect. Against the traditional Christian interpretation, Jews erect then an opposing Jewish interpretation of these texts,² either pointing them to a past event in biblical times³ or more generally applying to the eschatological event concluding human history. The Jews still wait for the Messiah to come to bring redemption to the world.

Messianic prophecies even bring some embarrassment to many others who are disturbed with what they consider the “naive” idea that religious truth could be established on the supernatural ground of prediction. In these times of biblical criticism and existential categories of thinking, this way of reasoning is not very popular; so for many Jews, and even Christians, the call for “messianic prophecies” is meaningless and irrelevant. Indeed, neither Jews nor Christians need the reference to these texts to ensure their respective faiths and religious identity.

Now, whether these texts raise suspicion, skepticism, or even indifference should not keep us from recognizing at least one historical fact: it is on the basis of these texts from the Torah and the prophets that many Jews were convinced by other Jews that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Messiah:

Paul called the leaders of the Jews together . . . many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from the Law of Moses and the prophets, from morning till evening. And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.” (Acts 28:17, 23–24, cf. Luke 24: 27, 44; Acts 8:35)

It is still on the basis of the interpretation of these texts that Jews and Christians depart theologically from each other.

The discussion about messianic prophecies is, therefore, an important one. It hits at the very origins of Christianity and takes us to the very heart of the early Jewish-Christian controversy. In essence, this discussion confronts us still today, Jews and Christians as well, with a hermeneutic problem: Did these texts indeed intend to point to the Messiah and more specifically to Jesus? Were the early Christians and the New Testament people “exegetically” correct in their messianic interpretation of the Old Testament texts? Unfortunately, the New Testament accounts limit themselves to referring, or only alluding to, the messianic prophecies without indicating their exegetical method. This loose exegetical methodology has exposed the New Testament authors to serious criticism. They have, then, been accused of twisting the Hebrew Scriptures.⁴

Christian interpreters are divided on that issue.⁵ For most conservative Christians, the proof of messianic prophecies is established on the very fact that this is the interpretation provided by the authors of the New Testament and Jesus himself. Other Christians, however, take a more critical view on that matter and recognize the difficulty of the New Testament interpretation of messianic prophecies. They then offer a variety of hypotheses. Some argue that these texts are not actual predictions, but concern instead a situation that is only contemporary (single meaning). According to this view, the authors of the so-called messianic prophecies did not predict about the future coming of Jesus of Nazareth but had only in mind a contemporary figure, a prophet (e.g., Isaiah), or a king (e.g., David, Hezekiah). Thus it is suggested that these texts have been given by the New Testament a new meaning altogether different from the original one (relecture). Others assume that these texts carry, in fact, a double meaning (dual meaning); namely, the historical, original meaning, referring to a contemporary figure and the prophetic, more developed, fuller meaning (sensus plenior), referring t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Endorsements
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• About the Author
• Previous or Forthcoming Works
• About the Book
• Endnotes