Question With all the proof that Jesus is the messiah, why do you chose to still reject him? He was crucified for your sins, rose on the third day and has saved countless souls.
Answer John,
Thank you for your kind question. I might ask you the converse: Since Jesus did not fulfill any of the messianic prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures, why do you accept him as messiah? Even the founder of your faith, Paul, did not do so until he had a supernatural experience. Why would any one today do so with less?
Was it Because???
Was it because he was crucified?
Wasn't Peter likewise crucified? In one uprising, 10,000 Jews were crucified in a single day under Roman hands. So this can't be the reason.
Was it because he is reported to have risen from the dead?
Acts 4:10 says that he was raised by God, not by his own power and I have already pointed out Matthew 27:52 tells of countless raised 'saints' and Jesus is reported to have raised a few during his ministry. So this can't be the reason.
Was it because he ascended into heaven?
2 Kings 2:11 tells how Elijah was taken up into heaven in a whirlwind. Genesis 5:24 tells that “Enoch walked with G-d and was not, because G-d took him (to heaven)”. Others ascended into heaven and were not the messiah. So this can’t be the reason.
Was it because he claimed to be messiah or others thought him to be?
The history books are full of many self-proclaimed messiahs who clearly had scores of followers; many more than Jesus had during his lifetime. So this can't be the reason.
Is it because it feels right?
Countless other religions claim the same thing. Sensationalism and emotion are weak theological foundations. So this can't be the reason.
Is it because he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey?
How many scores of others did the same thing? This could easily represent a 'forced' fulfillment of prophecy by someone who clearly new the Hebrew Scriptures. So this can't be the reason.
Is it because you see him in the books of the "OT"?
Since he's not mentioned by name, if these truly are messianic prophecies, they could apply to any number of individuals. So this can't be the reason.
Is it because of the virgin birth?
If there was one virgin birth, there were two [The original prophecy was fulfilled during the lifetime of Isaiah (if we accept the word used is 'virgin')]. So this can't be the reason.
Is it because of the change you've seen in your own life as a result of having Jesus in it?
This may be closest to a legitimate reason, but, at the same time, members of the various religions likewise have such a testimony or they'd be foolish to continue down their respective paths. So if this is the reason, shouldn’t we be able to acknowledge other paths to G-d as just as legitimate as your own?
Was it because he fulfilled the Messianic Prophecies?
Now this would be the best reason. Unfortunately, it does not refer, at least not yet, to Jesus. Of all of the universally accepted messianic prophecies, the only ONE Jesus fulfilled was riding in to Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9). As we noted above, this is undoubtedly not an uncommon practice during Jesus’ time. As such, unless everyone who ever rode a donkey into Jerusalem is the messiah, this prophecy, in and of itself is proof of nothing.
In fact, NONE of the specific prophecies have been fulfilled. These will identify, with certainty, the messiah. Until the Temple is rebuilt, the exiles returned to Israel, Jerusalem is returned to its rightful place as the Throne of G-d, the universal acceptance of YH-H as the One and Only True G-d and the Age of Universal Peace comes to the world, the messiah has not arrived.
