Jesus is the Messiah!

I support Israel and Jewish people with every fiber of my body. As a soldier, I would be honored if my country ever asked me to defend this tiny nation in the heart of the Middle East. And on the flip side of that same coin, I would demand to be dishonorably discharged or court marshaled from the United States Army if I were ever asked to take action against them. I believe that that those of us who stand with and support Israel and Israelis are going to be blessed by God. Those who opposed Israel will be cursed at the hand of God. Consider God's promises to Abraham in the book of Genesis.

Having made known my feelings toward this group of people, let me now move on to the heart of this article. The Jewish people are theologically in error. They have made a drastic and tragic mistake when it comes to the issue of Jesus Christ being the Messiah. They have ignored and crucified the savior of the world.

I say this not out of anger or rage or anything like that. I say this only because I wish that there was something that I could do to convince them of the truth. I wish that I could help them to see that Jesus is the Messiah. It breaks my heart to see them turn their back on what God has so graciously provided for them.

I have recently been carrying on a series of correspondence with some Jewish friends that I recently made in which we have been debating and discussing the validity of Jesus being the fulfiller of the Messianic prophecies and the God of the Jews being the same or different than the God of the Christians. I would like to bring all of you into this discussion assuming you will all be decent enough to be civil.

During our conversation, I asked them to provide for me some prophecies that Christ did not fulfill. In response to this question, Bar Kochba, the author of the blog 'For Zion's Sake' has provided a very thorough answer. Consider, for example, just these four points that he brought to light and help me to share the light of the blessed Gospel with our Jewish friends. Let me hear your response to these claims against Jesus of Nazareth.

• He must be a member of the tribe of Judah - "The staff shall not depart from Judah, nor the sceptre from between his feet..." (Genesis 49:10) To be a member of the tribe of Judah, the person must have a biological father who is a member of the tribe of Judah...

• He must be a direct male descendant of King David and King Solomon, his son - "And when your days (David) are fulfilled, and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who shall issue from your bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will make firm the throne of his kingdom forever..." (2 Samuel 7:12 - 13) The genealogy of the New Testament is inconsistent. While it gives two accounts of the genealogy of Joseph, it states clearly that he is not the biological father of Jesus. One of the genealogies is through Nathan and not Solomon altogether!

• He must gather the Jewish people from exile and return them to Israel -"And he shall set up a banner for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." (Isaiah 11:12) Are all Jews living in Israel? Have all Jews EVER lived in Israel since the time of Jesus?

• He will rule at a time of world-wide peace - "...they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." (Micah 4:3) Have you seen a newspaper lately? Are we living in a state of complete world peace? Has there ever been peace since the time of Jesus?

I will be posting, either as another article or within the comments section of this article, my refutations to these claims and I invite as many as read this article to join in defending our savior. I want to hear from Christians and Jews. I hope that we can come together with civility and discuss and debate our differences and go away from this place more thoroughly educated because of it. God bless all of you and thank you in advance for your participation and comments.

P.S. You can read some of this correspondence by visiting either of the following two links and reading the comments section of the post: The Baptist Muse: My Rant Against Pluralism and For Zion's Sake: An Apology, A Clarification, and a Summary.

(This post was originally posted on January 20, 2008. I have moved the date up a day or two to maintain its position at the top of this blog due to the large number of hits and comments that it is getting.)

The Weekly Muse

Muse: v. to reflect deeply on a subject

I have decided to replace my 'Mike Huckabee Monday' segment with a segment called 'The Weekly Muse.' The truth is, there is so much political overkill on the radios, televisions, newspapers, and internet that nobody probably wants to read about it at a Christian website. I know I get tired of it.

To replace it, I am going to create a segment that relies heavily on reader input. It is always my goal to educate, enlighten and challenge the readers of The Baptist Muse. It is now your turn to return the favor. I am going to post a very serious question. It is up to you to educate me by answering in the most heart-felt way that you can. I thank you in advance for helping me out.

I am currently reading a book entitled, 'What's So Great About America." So far, it is an excellent book. Perhaps, I will give away a copy on the site in a couple of weeks. Anyways, it inspires me to ask this question.

Why do you consider America to be so great?