From the perspective of Rabbinic halakhah (religious tradition; also known as Oral Torah), Jesus of Nazareth is not only disqualified as the Messiah but branded a false prophet, one who sought to lead Israel astray. Stories and fables about Him — some grotesque, others satirical — were told in rabbinic circles not to invite honest inquiry but to keep the common people from asking questions. Fear was the tool; obedience to rabbinic authority was the goal. Better to mock or demonize Jesus than risk losing control of the flock.

But the world has changed.

The Information Age: A New Dawn

Throughout much of history, ordinary Jews had limited direct access to the Hebrew Scriptures or the New Testament. Even if one could read Hebrew, the sacred scrolls were confined to synagogues, and their interpretation filtered entirely through rabbinic voices. Whatever the rabbis said the Bible meant was, for all practical purposes, the only option available.

But today the information gates are open. Printing presses and, more powerfully, the internet have ended the rabbinic monopoly on information. Even though some Orthodox leaders still warn their communities against the dangers of the internet, the genie cannot be put back in the bottle. Hundreds of thousands of Jews worldwide and in Israel are daring to read for themselves, to test the claims, to weigh the evidence. Some of them arrive seeking the very truth the rabbis fear most: that Jesus, Yeshua of Nazareth, is truly their Messiah.

Tradition and Its Confusion

Because the rabbis rejected Jesus long ago, the idea of “Messiah” in modern Judaism is not drawn from the plain witness of the Hebrew Scriptures but from a tangled web of rabbinic traditions, commentaries, and mystical speculations. The Oral Law, claimed to have been given alongside the Written Torah at Sinai, has been exalted above Scripture itself. Yet within those traditions the rabbis cannot even agree among themselves who or what the Messiah is supposed to be. Some speak of a warrior king, others of two messiahs (Messiah ben Joseph and Messiah ben David), still others of a mystical cosmic figure.

But beneath this confusion lies a simple truth: the Tanakh (Hebrew for Old Testament) itself provides Israel with a complete identification kit for the Messiah. In fact, the rabbis once admitted as much: “All the prophets prophesied only towards the Messianic era” (Steinsaltz on Sanhedrin 99a.1). The fingerprints are all there, scattered like golden threads throughout the Hebrew Bible, awaiting recognition.

How Messianic Prophecy Works

Messianic prophecy is not a single prediction but a tapestry. Line by line, prophet after prophet, the Scriptures describe the Messiah’s lineage, birthplace, mission, suffering, rejection, death, resurrection, and ultimate reign. Each thread alone may seem partial; together they form an unmistakable portrait.

Consider how prophecy already proved itself in Israel’s history. Isaiah, writing around 700 BCE, named Cyrus the Persian as the one who would restore Jerusalem and the Temple (Isaiah 44–45). When he wrote, Jerusalem was intact, Cyrus was not yet born, and Babylon had not yet risen to power. Yet 160 years later, after Jerusalem fell, Babylon conquered, and Persia triumphed, Cyrus issued the decree to rebuild — just as Isaiah foretold. If God’s Word could be so precise in naming a Gentile king, how much more in describing His own Messiah?

The Prophecies and Yeshua

The Hebrew Scriptures provide clear markers — each one fulfilled in the life of Jesus. These include:

Lineage: The Messiah must descend from David (2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17). Jesus’ mother, Miriam, came from David’s line.

Birthplace: Micah 5 declares Bethlehem as the Messiah’s birthplace. Jesus was born there.

Timing: Daniel 9 predicts Messiah’s coming before the destruction of the Second Temple and even points to His violent death around 32 CE. Jesus was crucified on 14 Nisan, 32 CE — before the Temple fell in 70.

Birth Nature: Isaiah 7 promises a miraculous birth from an almah — a virgin maiden. Miriam, Jesus’ mother, was exactly that.

Jerusalem Entry: Zechariah 9 envisions the Messiah riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Jesus did this openly, in full view. Contrast this with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, whom many hail as “Messiah” yet who never set foot in Jerusalem or Israel.

Works: Isaiah 35 foresees a Messiah who heals the blind, the lame, the lepers, the deaf, the mute — even raising the dead (Isaiah 26). These were central to Jesus’ ministry. Even Rabbinic texts acknowledge Jesus’ miracles, though attributing them to sorcery (Sanhedrin 43a).

Divine Nature: Isaiah 9, Daniel 7, and Zechariah 12 portray the Messiah as more than human — God’s very presence among us. The New Testament echoes this: Jesus as Son of God, one with the Father.

Purpose and Reception: Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 describe a Messiah who is pierced, crushed, and bears the sins of many. This points to crucifixion — employed by Rome but foretold by Israel’s prophets centuries earlier — highlighting rejection by His own people, immense suffering, and a sacrificial death. Yet, through this suffering, blessings extend to the nations. From Abraham’s seed comes a blessing for all Gentiles (Genesis 12:3), with Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment, the rejected stone now chosen (Psalm 118).

Consider the statistical probability of just three prophecies: He must be Jewish. He must have been born in Bethlehem. He must die before 70 CE.

Already the pool of candidates shrinks to almost nothing. Add the dozens more — the manner of death, the miracles, the rejection, the resurrection — and the probability collapses into impossibility. Either coincidence has performed the impossible, or God has kept His promise.

Why I Believe

Yet I must be clear: I do not believe in Yeshua merely because of prophecy. These debates are only secondary to me. I believe because of Him — His life, His words, His character, His presence. The prophecies are the seal, not the foundation. They confirm what the heart already knows when it encounters Him: here is the face of God.

And here is the challenge: will we set aside traditions, however cherished, and test the Scriptures for ourselves? God gave His people minds and hearts, not so that we would outsource our souls to others, but so that we might seek Him directly. When you stand before Him — and every one of us will — it will not be with a rabbi or priest by your side. It will be you and God.

So, examine the prophecies. Consider the evidence. Test whether this Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah of Israel. For if He is, then the one once hidden is now revealed, and the long-awaited hope of our people has already come.

If you found this article thought-provoking, you’ll find much more in my best-selling book, Refuting Rabbinic Objections to Christianity & Messianic Prophecies: