1. May 5, 2011Isaiah 53 – The Christian Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 1 of 13 Who Is the Suffering Servant in “Isaiah 53”? Part II – The Christian Interpretation: Valid or Not? A Counter-Missionary Education Lesson by Uri Yosef, Ph.D., Director of Education Virtual Yeshiva of the Messiah Truth Project, Inc. http://virtualyeshiva.com [The article on this topic is located here - http://thejewishhome.org/counter/Isa53CP.pdf]http://thejewishhome.org/counter/Isa53CP.pdf Copyright © Uri Yosef 2011 for the Messiah Truth Project, Inc. All rights reserved Counter-Missionary Education

2. May 5, 2011Isaiah 53 – The Christian Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 2 of 13 Introduction Testing of our new hypothesis continues in the Validation stage of the Scientific Method with the verse-by-verse analysis of Segment 3 – Isaiah 53:5-8. It was noted in Segment 1 that the Hebrew text of “Isaiah 53” will serve as our “proof text” for the analysis. In the Segment 1 God’s “voice” tells us about the servant’s future status and influence in the world. In Segment 2 a change of “voice” takes place as we are projected into the future messianic era, where the leaders of the nations mentioned in Isaiah 52:15, witnessing the events, begin to reflect on their past perceptions. They now realize that their previous images of the servant were completely different from what they are seeing, and they begin to understand the past. As we shall see, this “revelation and realization” continues in Segment 3. New Hypothesis: The Messiah is the servant in "Isaiah 53"

3. May 5, 2011Isaiah 53 – The Christian Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 3 of 13 Segment 3 – Isaiah 53:5-8 The King James Version (KJV) translation is shown with pointers to cross-referenced passages in the New Testament. These references are taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB). However, the corresponding passages below the table are quoted from the KJV for consistency.

4. May 5, 2011Isaiah 53 – The Christian Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 4 of 13 Segment 3 – Isaiah 53:5-8 Cross-referenced passages for the table on Slide 3

5. May 5, 2011Isaiah 53 – The Christian Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 5 of 13 Testing the Hypothesis: Segment 3 Verification Stage The servant is described here as having suffered because of the evil acts of others. Their sicknesses became the vehicle for the servant's oppression, thereby inflicting suffering on the servant, which he bore.  [Hebrew Bible] Question: Can Isaiah 53:5 apply to the Messiah? Quite to the contrary, if the Messiah is the servant in Isaiah's First Servant Song (as alleged in the New Testament at Matthew 12:8), then the following is said of him there: If this is a description of the Messiah and his accomplishments, then Isaiah 53:5 cannot not possibly describe the same individual.  [Hebrew Bible] Answer: NO!

6. May 5, 2011Isaiah 53 – The Christian Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 6 of 13 Testing the Hypothesis: Segment 3 (continued)  [New Testament] Question: Can Isaiah 53:5 apply to Jesus? Several cross-referenced verses indicate that the authors of the New Testament point to this verse on a number of occasions in their attempts to promote the notion that the death of Jesus effected the atonement for the sins of others. Yet, aside from the mistranslations in the KJV, human vicarious atonement is strictly prohibited according to the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Exodus 32:31-33; Numbers 35:33; Deuteronomy 24:16; 2Kings 14:6; Jeremiah 31:29[30]; Ezekiel 18:4,20; Psalms 49:7-8).  [New Testament] Answer: NO!

7. May 5, 2011Isaiah 53 – The Christian Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 7 of 13 Testing the Hypothesis: Segment 3 (continued) The speakers admit to having lost their way and realize that either the servant was punished through the speakers at God's behest, or the servant's intercession on their behalf was accepted by God (depending on which rendition of the last phrase is followed).  [Hebrew Bible] Question: Can Isaiah 53:6 apply to the Messiah? In the first case, the servant is punished by God through the speakers. There is no situation described anywhere in the Hebrew Bible where the Messiah was to be punished and oppressed by others at God's request. In the alternate case, no accounts in the Hebrew Bible support the notion that the Messiah will intercede on behalf of his oppressors; after all, no such oppressors are ever mentioned.  [Hebrew Bible] Answer: NO!

8. May 5, 2011Isaiah 53 – The Christian Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 8 of 13 Testing the Hypothesis: Segment 3 (continued)  [New Testament] Question: Can Isaiah 53:6 apply to Jesus? Although the New Testament contains many references to Jesus taking on the people's sins and dying for them (e.g., Matthew 26:28; 1Corinthians 15:3; 1Peter 2:24; 1John 3:5), none testify to the text of Isaiah 53:6, according to which this was inflicted on him by the people at God's request. In fact, some passages in the New Testament claim that Jesus may have done this at his own behest (e.g., Galatians 1:3-4). The alternative rendition of the last phrase in the Hebrew text is neither found nor acknowledged in Christian translations, the New Testament describes one situation where Jesus interceded on behalf of the Roman soldiers who put him on the cross: There are no accounts in which he interceded on behalf of the Pharisees who were alleged to have been his persecutors and oppressors. Based on this passage, Jesus is given the benefit of the doubt regarding Isaiah 53:6.  [New Testament] Answer: YES!

9. May 5, 2011Isaiah 53 – The Christian Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 9 of 13 Testing the Hypothesis: Segment 3 (continued) This verse describes an oppressed and afflicted servant who, like a lamb being led to the slaughter or like a sheep being sheared, never opened his mouth.  [Hebrew Bible] Question: Can Isaiah 53:7 apply to the Messiah? There are no passages in the Hebrew Bible where the Messiah is compared to a lamb on its way to be slaughtered, or to a sheep standing silently before its shearers.  [Hebrew Bible] Answer: NO!

10. May 5, 2011Isaiah 53 – The Christian Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 10 of 13 Testing the Hypothesis: Segment 3 (continued)  [New Testament] Question: Can Isaiah 53:7 apply to Jesus? All but one of the cross-referenced passages from the New Testament indicate that Jesus stood silently when questioned by Pilate and the High Priest. The one exception is Acts 8:32, where its author, by “quoting” Isaiah 53:7, attributes it to Jesus. In contrast with the above citations, the New Testament contains several accounts in which Jesus was quite vocal in defending himself and his mission: He speaks out before the High Priest (John 18:19-23) He protests when questioned by Pontius Pilate (John 18:33-37) While on the cross, he - prays (Luke 23:34) - screams so loudly that it tore the veil in the Temple and caused an earthquake (Matthew 27:50-51) Finally, contrary to a suggestion that he went willingly to his death (Galatians 1:4), it seems that Jesus actually tried to save himself from it (Matthew 26:39; Hebrews 5:7).  [New Testament] Answer: NO!

11. May 5, 2011Isaiah 53 – The Christian Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 11 of 13 Testing the Hypothesis: Segment 3 (continued) This verse continues to describe the servant who was deprived of fair treatment, and who was banished from his land and was afflicted because of the transgressions of the speaker's people.  [Hebrew Bible] Question: Can Isaiah 53:8 apply to the Messiah? Aside from the fact that the reference to the servant is in the plural (as explained in Part I), which rules out an individual, such descriptions of the Messiah are not present in the Hebrew Bible.  [Hebrew Bible] Answer: NO!

12. May 5, 2011Isaiah 53 – The Christian Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 12 of 13 Testing the Hypothesis: Segment 3 (continued)  [New Testament] Question: Can Isaiah 53:8 apply to Jesus? The New Testament does not describe Jesus as being taken out of imprisonment and from judgment, and cut off from the land of the living, i.e., exiled from the Land of Israel. According to the New Testament, Jesus, as God incarnate in the flesh (as a human being), was the sacrifice that paid the ransom for people's sins and thereby providing their salvation through the shedding of the blood of his human flesh. In other words, Jesus the human being, not Jesus the divine being, was the sacrificial offering for the atonement of humanity's sins. Yet, the Hebrew Bible rules out this scenario: Both versions clearly convey the same message, that one human being cannot pay, or accept the consequences, for another person’s sins.  [New Testament] Answer: NO!

13. May 5, 2011Isaiah 53 – The Christian Interpretation: Valid or Not? Page 13 of 13 Interim Summary – Segment 3: Isaiah 53:5-8 Our new hypothesis: Results of the verse-by-verse testing: New Hypothesis: The Messiah is the servant in "Isaiah 53"