✡️ Jewish Friend
They say
“Jews don't believe in Jesus. The Messiah must bring universal world peace, gather the Jewish exiles, and rebuild the Temple (Isaiah 2:4). Jesus did none of these.”
The 30-second answer
The Hebrew Tanakh portrays the Messiah both as a Suffering Servant and as a Ruling King—Jewish tradition even speaks of Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David. Yeshua fulfills both portraits in two comings.
💡 Ask them back“Did you know that ancient Talmudic sages also recognized two portraits of Messiah in the Tanakh—Messiah ben Joseph who is slain, and Messiah ben David who reigns? If the Anointed One was prophesied to be cut off before the city and the Second Temple were destroyed (Daniel 9:26), who could that be other than Yeshua?”
⚠️ What not to sayDon't dismiss Jewish history or ignore the horrific atrocities committed against Jewish people throughout church history (Inquisition, Crusades, Holocaust). Repent on behalf of false "Christians" who hated Jews.
📖 The full defense
The Timeline of Daniel 9:24-26:
The prophet Daniel predicted that from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, 483 years (69 "weeks" of years) would elapse, and then "Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary." The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. Therefore the Anointed One had to come and be "cut off" before that destruction.
The Two Comings of Mashiach:
- First Coming: As the Lamb of God to atone for sin (Isaiah 53, Psalm 22). He deals with the inner heart and sin problem first.
- Second Coming: In glory on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4) to defeat evil, judge the nations, and establish universal shalom.
The Talmud itself applies Zechariah 12:10 ("they will look on Me whom they pierced") to a Messiah ben Joseph who is slain (Sukkah 52a).
Isaiah 53 is About Yeshua:
Read Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12 together:
- "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities" (v. 5)
- "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (v. 6)
- "He was led as a lamb to the slaughter" (v. 7)
- "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin" (v. 10).
✝️ Scripture anchors (NKJV)
Isaiah 53:5-6“He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
Daniel 9:26“And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.”
Psalm 22:16“For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet.”
🔁 If they push back…
The comeback you are most likely to hear next — and a reply that keeps the conversation moving toward Jesus.
They say“Isaiah 2 and Ezekiel 37 are clear: when Messiah comes, there will be world peace and the exiles will be gathered. The world isn't at peace, so Messiah hasn't come. You invented a "second coming" to fix a failed prophecy.”
You can sayI understand—that's the real question. But the Tanakh itself shows an Anointed One who suffers and is rejected before He reigns: Isaiah 53, Zechariah 12:10 ("they will look on Me whom they pierced"), Daniel 9:26. Your own sages wrestled with both portraits—Sukkah 52a speaks of Messiah ben Joseph who is slain. Two comings isn't an invention; it's how both sets of prophecies come true in one Person.
They say“In Daniel 9:26, "mashiach" just means "an anointed one"—it could be any king or high priest of the Second Temple period. It isn't "the Messiah."”
You can sayTrue, the word can mean any anointed person, so we have to read the context. Look at what Daniel 9:24 says this period will achieve: "to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness." Which anointed king or priest, cut off before the destruction of the city and sanctuary, accomplished that? Yeshua is the only one with a real claim.
They say“Psalm 22:16 doesn't say "they pierced." The Hebrew says "like a lion, my hands and my feet."”
You can sayThe Masoretic text reads ka'ari, "like a lion," which leaves the sentence without a verb. But the Septuagint, translated by Jewish scholars centuries before Jesus, reads "they pierced" (or "dug"), and an early Hebrew manuscript from the Dead Sea region (5/6HevPs) appears to read a verb, ka'aru. Either way, read the whole psalm—the mocking, the thirst, the dividing of garments—and ask who it describes.
🕊️ Pentecostal key — the Spirit on the streetShow true, unconditional agape love for Israel and the Jewish people (Genesis 12:3). Let them see that believing in Yeshua does not mean abandoning Jewish identity—it is the ultimate fulfillment of Jewish hope!