JONES
Not inaccurate. Remember, messianism is a Jewish invention, and if there
is a messianic interpretation of any biblical verse, Jews have found it.
Various Jews at various times have used these verses and others to support
candidates for messiah ranging from Jesus to Simon Bar Kochba to Shabatai
Zvi to Louis Frank to Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Some of these candidates
for Messiah went a long way, others are, thankfully, forgotten.
So, the question isn't, did some Jews at some times advance messianic
interpretations of this or that verse, because the answer is invariably
yes, but rather, what did the author intend, or what is the historical
consensus about the meaning of the verse, or what do modern Jewish scholars
believe about this verse? Sometimes, the answers to these questions are
in agreement -- for example, where it is clear that the verse really does
speak of the messianic age, as in the dream of the valley of the dry bones.
Other times, there is no consensus. This is common because Judaism isn't
a religion based on a creed that imposes an interpretation. When we read
the Talmud, we don't find a definitive exposition of the Torah, we find a
record of sometimes heated debate with many dissenting opinions, and we
view this debate as a holy venture, and the record of the debate as a holy
book, even when there is no resolution.
So, when Jews for Jesus find messianic texts in the Tanak, don't be surprised.
When they insist that these texts refer to Jesus, ask them to demonstrate why
they don't refer to Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late Lubovitcher Rebbi
of Brooklyn New York, who is, to this day, hailed as the messiah by many of
his followers, and they expect him to return from the grave at any moment
to hail the coming of the messianic age. Personally, I think they're nuts,
and a J for J type will agree, but the logic by which a J for J person would
try to refute the late Rebbi's claim will also refute their own claim.
It comes down to one thing and one thing only. If you believe in Jesus or
the Rebbi, then all the biblical prophesy obviously refers to one or the
other. If you don't, then the connection isn't at all clear.
Doug Jones
jones@cs.uiowa.edu