Why Jesus Is Not the Messiah

Why don't Jews believe in Jesus?

Let's understand why ― not in order to disparage other religions, but rather to clarify the Jewish position.

Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah because:

1. Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies.
2. Jesus did not embody the personal qualifications of the Messiah.
3. Biblical verses "referring" to Jesus are mistranslations.
4. Jewish belief is based on national revelation.

But first, some background: What exactly is the Messiah?

The word "Messiah" is an English rendering of the Hebrew word Mashiach, which means "anointed." It usually refers to a person initiated into God's service by being anointed with oil.

This means all priests, kings and even Cyrus ( a non-Jew) are referred to as Messiah's in scripture.

What is the Messiah supposed to accomplish?

One of the central themes of biblical prophecy is the promise of a future age of perfection characterized by universal peace and recognition of God.

Specifically, the Bible says he will:

1. Build the Third Temple.
2. Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel.
3. Usher in an era of world peace.
4. Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one.

If an individual fails to fulfill even one of these conditions, then he cannot be the Messiah.

Because no one has ever fulfilled the Bible's description of this future King, Jews still await the coming of the Messiah. All past Messianic claimants, including Jesus of Nazareth, Bar Cochba and Shabbtai Tzvi have been rejected.

Many prophetic passages speak of a descendant of King David who will rule Israel during the age of perfection.

The Messiah must be descended on his father's side from King David.

According to the Christian claim that Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, he had no father ― and thus could not have possibly fulfilled the messianic requirement of being descended on his father's side from King David.

In addition, there was a curse placed on Jehoiachin which states, "Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule any more in Judah."

The New Testament geneology as listed in the book of Matthew shows that Jesus is a direct descendant of Jehoiachin.  So the curse that God put in place, disqualifies Jesus from being the Messiah.

The Christian idea of a virgin birth is derived from the verse in Isaiah 7:14 describing an "alma" as giving birth.

The word "alma" has always meant a young woman, but Christian theologians came centuries later and translated it as "virgin."

In addition, the young woman in Isaiah is already with child in the Hebrew text.  It isn't some far-off event.  Ahaz and Isaiah are going to witness the child's birth in their lifetime.

Christianity claims that Isaiah chapter 53 refers to Jesus, as the "suffering servant."

The person in Isaiah is said to live a long life and have many children.  Jesus didn't live a long life and as far as we know, had no children.  So Isaiah 53 must be referring to someone else.

In short, the Jewish people are still waiting for the arrival of the Messiah.