Should Jews prayerfully reconsider the forbidden chapter?
Jews and Christians alike believe in the divine authority of the Hebrew Bible (The Old Testament). But there is one chapter that is shunned by most rabbis today. Isaiah 53 has sadly evolved into the forbidden chapter within Judaism.
According to Eitan Bar, a native Jewish-Israeli scholar: “The 17th-century Jewish historian, Raphael Levi, admitted long ago the rabbis used to read Isaiah 53 in synagogues, but after the chapter caused ‘arguments and great confusion,’ the rabbis decided that the simplest thing would be to just take that prophecy out of the Haftarah readings in synagogues. That’s why today when we read Isaiah 52, we stop in the middle of the chapter, and the week after, we jump straight to Isaiah 54.”
Nevertheless, Isaiah 53 was just as divinely inspired as the rest of the Hebrew Bible. And interestingly, “the Jewish sages of ancient times always interpreted Isaiah 53 to be about the Messiah. In fact, the well-known term ‘Messiah ben Yosef’ is actually from this very text.”
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The prophet Isaiah lived during the eighth century BC, and he penned this powerful prophecy about the coming Messiah:
“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:3-6).
“The ancient Jewish translation of Yonatan ben Uzziel (Targum Jonathan) from the first century opened the section with the words, ’The Anointed Servant.’ That is to say, Ben Uzziel connected Isaiah 53 to the Messiah, the Anointed One.”
Any rabbi who has intentionally withheld Isaiah 53 from God’s people has committed a grave sin.
I encourage you to prayerfully meditate upon the words of Isaiah 53. Allow Scripture to inform your understanding and enlighten your mind. Soak in God’s Word. Let it flood your heart and mind all day long.
After all, what are the odds that the one chapter in the Hebrew Bible, which so clearly points to the crucifixion of Yeshua the Messiah as the Lamb of God who bore the punishment for the sins of Jews and the sins of Gentiles, also happens to be the one chapter that is now shunned by most rabbis? You can’t make this stuff up. And it points to other supernatural powers at work in the spiritual realm (see Ephesians 6:10-12) that don’t want Jews and Gentiles to meet Yeshua and learn about the eternal deliverance he gives to those who receive him (see 2 Corinthians 4:4 and John 1:12). You see, Satan is the author of every ounce of anti-Semitism the world has ever known, and it all flows from the devil’s hatred for the Jewish Messiah.
Thankfully, Yeshua changes lives when people learn and accept what he did for them. For example, this Jewish woman’s life was changed when someone shared Isaiah 53:6 with her. And watch this man’s story to see what happened while he was serving in the Israeli Defense Forces. These two testimonies illustrate what I addressed in a CP op-ed last year: “Why Some Jews No Longer Cancel Jesus.”
The most famous Jew to cancel Yeshua (Jesus) was Saul of Tarsus. Saul was extremely zealous and even sought to “destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison” (Acts 8:3). Saul was in spiritual bondage, which fueled his rage and drove him to round up believers in Yeshua in order to torture them and place them in the physical bondage of prison. Likewise, many who live in spiritual darkness today do everything within their power to control those who are free in the Lord.
When Saul met Yeshua, God transformed a brutal terrorist into the Apostle Paul, who went on to travel an estimated 10,000 miles, by foot, to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples for Jesus Christ. Paul of course also ended up writing much of the New Testament. “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16), including both the Old Testament and the New Testament. And Isaiah 53 is just as God-breathed as the rest of the Bible.
Dr. Mitch Glaser claims that this one chapter can actually change your life! He writes, “Having been raised in a traditional Jewish home, I fully understand the challenges of keeping an open mind to the possibility that Jesus is the Messiah. When I came to believe this many years ago, I certainly had no intention of abandoning my Jewishness. I was looking for authentic spirituality, and I imagine you might be interested in the same thing. I hope you might be willing to put aside — at least for the moment — the common belief that you cannot be Jewish and believe in Jesus.” (Dr. Glaser provides important information about Isaiah 53 here.)
In the 8th chapter of Proverbs, Solomon personifies wisdom as a wise and noble woman standing in a public place: “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me” (Prov. 8:17). Do you love wisdom and earnestly search for her daily? Do you desire to learn anything God wants to teach you? If so, then share your honest desire with the Lord. Study the prophecies.
Listen to the testimonies of Jews who have met Yeshua. And ask for wisdom from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
(You can even receive a free book by Dr. Glaser titled, Isaiah 53 Explained. Simply go to www.isaiah53.com)
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
