Smoodock's Blog

Neither the Jews nor Protestant Christians believe the Apocrypha or the Jewish Pseudopigrapha were inspired by God in the same manner that Scripture is. Roman Catholics, however, do receive the Apocrypha as Scripture, but reject the other writings. The New Testament quotes from some of these works, but they are still not Scripture for most Christians. Nevertheless, these books do represent Jewish thought during the times in which they were written. Some were written before and during the 1^st century CE. Understanding what these books teach will give an accurate estimate of what portions of the Jewish community were expecting when Jesus came upon the scene. One of the books usually included in the Apocrypha is 2 Esdras.

2 Esdr 7.26-30: “For indeed the time will come, when the signs that I have foretold to you will come to pass, that the city that now is not seen shall appear, and the land that now is hidden shall be disclosed. Everyone who has been delivered from the evils that I have foretold shall see my wonders. For my son the Messiah shall be revealed with those who are with him, and those who remain shall rejoice four hundred years. After those years my son the Messiah shall die, and all who draw human breath. Then the world shall be turned back to primeval silence for seven days, as it was at the first beginnings, so that no one shall be left.” [emphasis mine]

Here we find that a first century expectation was that the Messiah would be the Son of God (cp. Psalm 2:7, 12). The Messianic Age would last 400 years (Latin and Arabic 1), or 30 years (Syriac), or 1000 years (Arabic 2; cp. Revelation 20).

2 Esdr 12.31-34: “as for the lion whom you saw rousing up out of the forest and roaring and speaking up to the eagle and reproving him for his unrighteousness, and as for all his words that you have heard, this is the Messiah whom the Most High has kept until the end of days, who will arise from the offspring of David, and will come and speak with them. He will denounce them for their ungodliness and for their wickedness, and will display before them their contemptuous dealings. For first he will bring them alive before his judgment seat, and when he has reproved them, then he will destroy them. But in mercy he will set free the remnant of my people, those who have been saved…” [emphasis mine]

Notice that the Most High has kept the Messiah with himself. Apparently the Jews believed that Messiah is a Divine Being, residing in the heavens with God. Moreover, this Divine Being will apparently become man since he arises “from the offspring of David,” also it is Messiah who will judge the world. Other indications of Jewish thought concerning the divinity of Messiah are:

Micah 5.1-3: “And you, O Bethlehem Ephrath (sic), you who were too small to be numbered among the thousands of the house of Judah, from you shall come forth before Me the Messiah, to exercise dominion over Israel, he whose name was mentioned from before, from the days of creation.” [Targum Jonathan; emphasis mine]

“At that hour, that Son of Man was given a name, in the presence of the Lord of the Spirits, the Before-Time; even before the creation of the sun and the moon, before the creation of the stars, he was given a name in the presence of the Lord of the Spirits. He will become a staff for the righteous ones in order that they may lean on him and not fall. He is the light of the gentiles and he will become the hope of those who are sick in their hearts. All those who dwell upon the earth shall fall and worship before him; they shall glorify, bless, and sing the name of the Lord of the Spirits. For this purpose he became the Chosen One; he was concealed in the presence of (the Lord of the Spirits) prior to the creation of the world, and for eternity. And he has revealed the wisdom of the Lord of the Spirits to the righteous and holy ones, for he has preserved the portion of the righteous because they have hated and despised this world of oppression (together with) all its ways of life and its habits and it is his good pleasure that they have life. …For they (the wicked kings and landowners) have denied the Lord of the Spirits and his Messiah. [1Enoch 48:2-10; emphasis mine]

Genesis 1:2 “…and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters”

“…this alludes to the spirit of Messiah, as you read, ‘And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. (Isaiah 11:2)’ Let There Be Light.” [Bereshit Rabbah 2.4]

“And after this there shall arise for you a Star from Jacob in peace: And a man shall arise from my posterity like the Sun of Righteousness, walking with the sons of men in gentleness and righteousness, and in him will be found no sin. And the heavens will be opened upon him to pour out the spirit as a blessing of the Holy Father. And he will pour the spirit of grace on you. And you shall be sons in truth, and you will walk in his first and final decrees. This is the Shoot of God Most High; this is fountain for the life of all humanity. Then he will illumine the scepter of my kingdom, and from your root shall arise the Shoot, and through it will arise the rod of righteousness for the nations, to judge and to save all that call on the Lord.” [Testament of Judah 4:20-26; from the Jewish Pseudopigrapha]

“He will be called the Son of God, and they will call him the son of the Most High…His kingdom will be an eternal kingdom…The earth will be in truth and all will make peace. The sword will cease in the earth, and all the cities will pay him homage. He is a great god among the gods… His kingdom will be an eternal kingdom…” [4QAramaic Apocalypse (4Q246), col. II; from the Dead Sea Scrolls]

The Targums in the first reference are Jewish Aramaic translations/paraphrases of the Hebrew Scriptures. Some traditions hold that the Jews no longer understood Hebrew when they returned from Babylon, so the teachers translated (and/or paraphrased) the Hebrew into the Aramaic and would give their reading after the Hebrew was read by the rabbi in a synagogue service. The Bereshit Rabbah is Midrash or Rabbinical Commentary on the Scriptures. Clearly, these examples of ancient Jewish literature show ancient Judaism did not believe the Messiah was an ordinary human being. They believed and taught he lived before creation. 1Enoch seems to indicate Messiah was uncreated in eternity. Other ancient Jewish literature, however, indicates he was created before the creation of the universe. Nevertheless, the point is that ancient Judaism was not expecting a normal human being to be Messiah. He would be human but coming from a divine past.

There are many other such references in ancient Jewish literature that would show that first century Judaism was expecting their Messiah to be in some manner divine. These few excerpts should at least present a compelling argument for the existence of such an understanding among the ancient Jews. Therefore, how could anyone honestly say that Christianity is not rooted in Judaism, because even the idea we have that Jesus is God in the flesh has its place in 1^st century Jewish understanding? Some modern scholars argue that this doctrine has pagan roots, but I hope what I have written here is enough to dispel that false idea. May God be praised not only in sending his Son, but in adequately preparing us to receive him as he truly is. The fact that we rejected him is certainly not his fault. He had done everything he could to prepare the way for him.