THE SECRET OF THE
SUFFERING MESSIAH
There is a teaching in the Talmud that
there will be two Messiahs, the Messiah
son of Joseph [or son of Ephraim] and
the Messiah son of David. While rabbinic texts speak of the suffering of both, it
is the Messiah son of Joseph who is most
often seen as the suffering Messiah, being destined to die in battle before he is
raised from the dead by the Messiah son
of David (see b. Sukkah 52a).
Raphael Patai, an eminent Jewish anthropologist, wrote a chapter on the “Suffering Messiah” in The Messiah Texts. This
work includes texts that can be found in
18
the most important genres of rabbinic
literature, including the Talmud, midrash, and medieval and modern biblical
commentaries. In the following passage,
Patai summarizes some of the most significant rabbinic doctrines concerning
the sufferings of the Messiah:
According to one of the . . . Messiah legends, God gave [the Messiah] the choice of whether or not to
accept the sufferings for the sins of
Israel. And the Messiah answered:
“I accept it with joy, so that not a
single soul of Israel should perish.”
. . . In the later, Zoharic [i.e., mystical] formulation of this legend,
the Messiah himself summons all
the diseases, pains, and sufferings
of Israel to come upon him, in
19
order thus to ease the anguish of
Israel, which otherwise would be
unbearable. (Messiah Texts, 104)
Patai also cites a passage from the Zohar
(the foundation of Jewish mysticism)
that describes the Messiah’s sufferings
and references Isaiah 53:5:
In the hour in which they [i.e.
the souls of the righteous sufferers] tell the Messiah about the
sufferings of Israel in exile, and
[about] the sinful among them
who seek not the knowledge of
their Master, the Messiah lifts up
his voice and weeps over those
sinful among them. This is what
is written, He was wounded because of our transgressions, he was
20
crushed because of our iniquities
(Isa. 53:5). (Zohar 2:212a, in
Messiah Texts, 116)
How interesting! The text that the “missionaries” use so often is actually attributed to the Messiah by the Zohar, a
work of Jewish mysticism.
In a passage from the Talmud, Rabbi
Yehoshua ben Levi finds the Messiah
sitting outside the gate of the city, unwinding and rewinding the bandages of
his wounds. He asks the Messiah when
he will come, and he replies that he will
come that day. Later, it is explained to
Rabbi Yehoshua by another rabbi that
this is what Elijah meant: “Today, if you
but hearken to his voice” (Ps. 95:7; b.
Sanhedrin 98a).
21
This idea of the suffering Messiah comes
from the Hebrew Bible, especially from
Isaiah 52:13-53:12. Might Yeshua be the
one this prophecy describes?
Consider Psalm 22, which seems to describe in remarkable detail the crucifixion and resurrection of the rabbi from
Nazareth. This psalm (Ps. 22:7, 13-18,
NIV) contains the following verses:
• “All who see me mock me; they
hurl insults, shaking their heads.”
• “My strength is dried up like a
potsherd, and my tongue sticks
to the roof of my mouth; you lay
me in the dust of death.”
• “Dogs have surrounded me; a
band of evil men has encircled
22
me, they have pierced my hands
and my feet.”
• “I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.”
• “They divide my garments
among them and cast lots for my
clothing.”
At the end of the psalm, the psalmist
sings a song of praise to God for deliverance:
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD.
All the families of the nations will
bow down before You, for kingship belongs to the LORD; He
rules over the nations. All who
23
prosper on earth will eat and bow
down; all those who go down to
the dust will kneel before Him
— even the one who cannot preserve his life. Their descendants
will serve Him; the next generation will be told about the Lord.
They will come and tell a people
yet to be born about His righteousness — what He has done.
(Ps. 22:27-31, CSB)
What a magnificent conclusion to such
terrible suffering!
Not surprisingly, the writers of the New
Testament saw in this psalm an extremely accurate depiction of the sufferings
and triumph of Yeshua. But it is not
only the New Testament authors who
24
attributed Psalm 22 to the Messiah. The
Pesikta Rabbati, an 8th-9th century midrash, also references this psalm when
speaking of the Messiah, stating in chapter 36 that when Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob spoke to Ephraim, the Messiah,
they said that because he had suffered on
behalf of their children, he was greater
than they were.
It is no secret, therefore, that the Messiah is destined to suffer for the sins of His
people, and this concept was not invented by Christians. Instead, its origins can
be traced to the Hebrew Scriptures, with
some parallels in the rabbinic writings.
But only Yeshua fulfills these prophecies, suffering willingly for the nation of
25
Israel and bearing our guilt on His own
shoulders. He is the only one who experienced such horrors so as to atone for
our sins, and He is the only one who was
subsequently glorified by being raised
from the dead and being seated at the
right hand of God the Father, which is
referred to in our Tanakh as well as in
Psalm 110.
For the full secret, see The Real Kosher
Jesus, pp. 139-148.
7 secrets of the real Messiah
Dr. Michael Brown.
SUFFERING MESSIAH
There is a teaching in the Talmud that
there will be two Messiahs, the Messiah
son of Joseph [or son of Ephraim] and
the Messiah son of David. While rabbinic texts speak of the suffering of both, it
is the Messiah son of Joseph who is most
often seen as the suffering Messiah, being destined to die in battle before he is
raised from the dead by the Messiah son
of David (see b. Sukkah 52a).
Raphael Patai, an eminent Jewish anthropologist, wrote a chapter on the “Suffering Messiah” in The Messiah Texts. This
work includes texts that can be found in
18
the most important genres of rabbinic
literature, including the Talmud, midrash, and medieval and modern biblical
commentaries. In the following passage,
Patai summarizes some of the most significant rabbinic doctrines concerning
the sufferings of the Messiah:
According to one of the . . . Messiah legends, God gave [the Messiah] the choice of whether or not to
accept the sufferings for the sins of
Israel. And the Messiah answered:
“I accept it with joy, so that not a
single soul of Israel should perish.”
. . . In the later, Zoharic [i.e., mystical] formulation of this legend,
the Messiah himself summons all
the diseases, pains, and sufferings
of Israel to come upon him, in
19
order thus to ease the anguish of
Israel, which otherwise would be
unbearable. (Messiah Texts, 104)
Patai also cites a passage from the Zohar
(the foundation of Jewish mysticism)
that describes the Messiah’s sufferings
and references Isaiah 53:5:
In the hour in which they [i.e.
the souls of the righteous sufferers] tell the Messiah about the
sufferings of Israel in exile, and
[about] the sinful among them
who seek not the knowledge of
their Master, the Messiah lifts up
his voice and weeps over those
sinful among them. This is what
is written, He was wounded because of our transgressions, he was
20
crushed because of our iniquities
(Isa. 53:5). (Zohar 2:212a, in
Messiah Texts, 116)
How interesting! The text that the “missionaries” use so often is actually attributed to the Messiah by the Zohar, a
work of Jewish mysticism.
In a passage from the Talmud, Rabbi
Yehoshua ben Levi finds the Messiah
sitting outside the gate of the city, unwinding and rewinding the bandages of
his wounds. He asks the Messiah when
he will come, and he replies that he will
come that day. Later, it is explained to
Rabbi Yehoshua by another rabbi that
this is what Elijah meant: “Today, if you
but hearken to his voice” (Ps. 95:7; b.
Sanhedrin 98a).
21
This idea of the suffering Messiah comes
from the Hebrew Bible, especially from
Isaiah 52:13-53:12. Might Yeshua be the
one this prophecy describes?
Consider Psalm 22, which seems to describe in remarkable detail the crucifixion and resurrection of the rabbi from
Nazareth. This psalm (Ps. 22:7, 13-18,
NIV) contains the following verses:
• “All who see me mock me; they
hurl insults, shaking their heads.”
• “My strength is dried up like a
potsherd, and my tongue sticks
to the roof of my mouth; you lay
me in the dust of death.”
• “Dogs have surrounded me; a
band of evil men has encircled
22
me, they have pierced my hands
and my feet.”
• “I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.”
• “They divide my garments
among them and cast lots for my
clothing.”
At the end of the psalm, the psalmist
sings a song of praise to God for deliverance:
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD.
All the families of the nations will
bow down before You, for kingship belongs to the LORD; He
rules over the nations. All who
23
prosper on earth will eat and bow
down; all those who go down to
the dust will kneel before Him
— even the one who cannot preserve his life. Their descendants
will serve Him; the next generation will be told about the Lord.
They will come and tell a people
yet to be born about His righteousness — what He has done.
(Ps. 22:27-31, CSB)
What a magnificent conclusion to such
terrible suffering!
Not surprisingly, the writers of the New
Testament saw in this psalm an extremely accurate depiction of the sufferings
and triumph of Yeshua. But it is not
only the New Testament authors who
24
attributed Psalm 22 to the Messiah. The
Pesikta Rabbati, an 8th-9th century midrash, also references this psalm when
speaking of the Messiah, stating in chapter 36 that when Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob spoke to Ephraim, the Messiah,
they said that because he had suffered on
behalf of their children, he was greater
than they were.
It is no secret, therefore, that the Messiah is destined to suffer for the sins of His
people, and this concept was not invented by Christians. Instead, its origins can
be traced to the Hebrew Scriptures, with
some parallels in the rabbinic writings.
But only Yeshua fulfills these prophecies, suffering willingly for the nation of
25
Israel and bearing our guilt on His own
shoulders. He is the only one who experienced such horrors so as to atone for
our sins, and He is the only one who was
subsequently glorified by being raised
from the dead and being seated at the
right hand of God the Father, which is
referred to in our Tanakh as well as in
Psalm 110.
For the full secret, see The Real Kosher
Jesus, pp. 139-148.
7 secrets of the real Messiah
Dr. Michael Brown.
