The list of 365 supposed prophecies Jesus fulfilled tied 43 of its claims to one chapter: Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53. This is the 43rd and final claim tied to Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53: #270. Isaiah 53:12e...Intercede to God in behalf of mankind... Luke 23:34. Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:12: says nothing about the servant being an intermediary between one man to another, let alone to intercede for all mankind. The passage simply says that the servant prayed for the wicked -- even those who were literally murdering him. It says: "Therefore, I will assign him a portion from the multitudes and he will divide the mighty as spoils -- in return for having poured out his soul (not immortal soul -- but the life force) for death and being counted among the wicked, for he bore the sin of the multitudes, and prayed for the wicked." Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53:12. Prayer is not intercession. Intercession is the action of intervening on behalf of another. Coming between a person and another (in this case inserting Jesus between a person and G-d). This is forbidden. Asking someone to pray on your behalf is not forbidden. In other words, we may pray on behalf of others but we cannot pray TO or THROUGH others asking, in prayer, that they intercede on our behalf to G-d. Asking someone to pray for you is acceptable. Praying to another is not acceptable (even praying "in the name" of someone is not acceptable). When you ask someone to pray on your behalf they do so of their own free will. The one prays on his own behalf, directly to G-d (no intermediary) and may offer a prayer about you of his own volition. When Isaiah says that the servant prayed for the wicked -- that is not only acceptable, it is a good deed. When we pray on behalf of another we do so of our own free will. The concept of putting an intermediary between you and G-d is that of praying to someone other than G-d asking for that entity (angel, Jesus, a deceased family member) to intercede on your behalf. Your prayers should only be directed to G-d Himself and no other. Praying to another and asking for them to intercede on your behalf is strictly forbidden and considered idolatry. Praying for someone else is not the same as asking an entity to "go between" you and G-d. The Rambam (Maimonides) wrote a list identifying the 13 Principles of Judaism, the 5th Principle states that we pray only to G-d (no intermediaries). This principle warns against idolatry (עבודה זרה / avodah zarah -- literally "strange worship"). Do not pray to or through any intermediary. Do not pray to an angel. Do not pray through a human (e.g. a deceased relative). Do not pray to or through anyone or anything but G-d Himself. This principle is derived, in part, from Sh’mot / Exodus 20:2-3: “I am G-d your L-rd, who brought you out of Egypt, from the place of slavery. 20:3 Do not have any other gods before Me.” G-d describes עבודה זרה /avodah zarah (idolatry -- literally "strange worship") in D’varim / Deuteronomy 13:7-9 – and it is the death knell to Christianity – even to those who do not “worship” Jesus but claim to only “pray in his name.” -- it is still a clear violation of the Rambam’s 5th principle against worshiping any other than G-d. Think back to the T'nach and various prophets and others who communicated directly with G-d or with angels. Jacob spoke to an angel (fought with him), Daniel received visions from an angel -- yet neither Jacob or Daniel prayed to angels -- they prayed only to G-d. What of Christians who think Jesus is G-d? If they perceive him as part of G-d is it idolatry / עבודה זרה /avodah zarah to pray to or through him (in Jesus' name)? This is still strange worship -- idolatry -- if that person is Jewish. If that person is not Jewish it may be שִׁתּוּף / shituf, which is the heretical idea of some sort of co-mingling of something with G-d. שִׁתּוּף / shituf is the worship or belief of other gods (e.g. Jesus and the holy ghost) in addition to G-d Himself In the case of Christianity this is the idea of a G-d in human form being worshiped (Jesus) and even the “holy spirit” being worshiped. Whether Christianity is שִׁתּוּף / Shituf or עבודה זרה /avodah zarah for a non-Jew, it is definitely עבודה זרה / avodah zarah / idolatry for a Jew -- and forbidden. Christians who say Jesus is G-d are violating the precept since no one at Sinai knew or prayed to or through Jesus. The Torah says: “[This is what you must do] if your blood brother, your son, your daughter, your bosom wife, or your closest friend secretly tries to act as a missionary among you, and says, 'If your brother, the son of your mother, tempts you in secret or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your embrace, or your friend, who is as your own soul saying, "Let us go and worship other gods, which neither you, nor your forefathers have known."' 13:8 [He may be enticing you with] the gods of the nations around you, far or near, or those that are found at one end of the world or another. 13:9 Do not agree with him, and do not listen to him." D’varim / Deuteronomy 13:7-9. The key phrase here is "WHICH NEITHER YOU OR YOUR FOREFATHERS HAVE KNOWN." Jesus supposedly lived 2000 years ago, 1300 years after our fathers heard G-d speak at Mount Sinai. Thus the worship of Jesus is an experience that we did not know (at Mount Sinai when we accepted the Torah) -- and thus is worshiping Jesus (or praying "through" him is idolatry for a Jew. Line 19 of that same passage (D'varim / Deuteronomy 13) tells us "For you shall hearken to the voice of the L-rd your G-d, to keep all His mitzvot which I command you this day, to do that which is proper in the eyes of the L-rd, your G-d." The Rambam reiterates the importance of avoiding any intermediary between a person and G-d in Hilchot Teshuva, chapter 3: "one who serves a star, constellation, or other entity so that it will serve as an intermediary between him and the eternal L-rd. (Such) individuals are a Min (heretic)." Thus, by claiming that Jesus is an intermediary between man and G-d Christianity is encouraging idolatry. As a point of interest, Luke 23:34 does not speak of Jesus interceding between himself and himself (that is if one believes in the trinity) -- it simply has Jesus saying "“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Codex Vaticanus is one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Christian bible -- it has been dated to the 4th century CE -- and it does not have this verse (Luke 23:34) in it. It appears to have been added at a later time. Returning to the topic of Y'shayahu / Isaiah 53., missionaries seem to point to this chapter more than any other as "proof" that Jesus was the messiah. Perhaps this is why nearly 12% of the claimed prophecies on the list are tied to this one chapter. Missionaries will argue at length why the Jewish nation could not be Isaiah's suffering servant, or claim that various Jewish sources tie the identity to the servant to the messiah (or someone else) -- as if this magically equates to the servant being Jesus. Ignoring the actual identity of the servant it is clear, when the chapter is read without mistranslations, or lifted out of context (ignoring the bits that don't fit Jesus) and the changing of tenses (from past to future for example) that Jesus, while seeming to fit some claims of the servant, quite simply fails to litmus test of most of what Isaiah tells us of the suffering servant. Some time ago I authored a blog post entitled Can Isaiah 53 be about Jesus? In it I wrote: Consider:
These are just some glaring examples showing that the servant in Isaiah 53 simply does not "fit" Jesus. Here is a translation along with the Artscroll Stone Edition footnotes at the bottom of each response to aid in your understanding of the passage. Y'shayahu / Isaiah 52:13 Behold, My servant will succeed; he will be exalted and become high and exceedingly lofty. 14 Just as multitudes were astonished over you (saying) "His appearance is too marred to be a man's, and his visage to be human, 15 so will the many nations exclaim about him, and kings will shut their mouths (in amazement) for they will see that which had never been told to them, and will perceive things they had never heard. 53:1 Who would believe what we have heard! For whom has the arm of HaShem been revealed? 2 In the past he grew like a sapling or like the root from dry ground; he had neither form nor beauty. We saw him, but without a desirable appearance. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of pains and accustomed to being sick. As one from whom we would hide our faces; he was despised and we had no regard for him. 4 But in truth it was our ills and he carried our pains -- but we had regarded him diseased, stricken by G-d and afflicted! 5 He was wounded as a result (because of) our rebellious transgressions, and oppressed as a result our iniquities. The chastisement upon him was for our benefit, and through his wounds we were healed. 6 We have all strayed like sheep each of us turning his own way and HaShem inflicted upon him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was persecuted and afflicted but did not open his mouth; like a sheep being led to the slaughter or a ewe that is silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth. 8 he was removed far away from the land where they lived and a plague came upon them (לָֽמוֹ / lamo) through the transgression of my people (the gentile nations). He submitted to the grave with the wicked and joined with the wealthy in his executions (בְּמֹתָ֑יו / b'motav) 9 He submitted himself to his grave like evil men; and the wealthy (submitted) to his executions for committing no crime and with no deceit in his mouth. 10 HaShem desired to oppress him and He afflicted him; if his physical being would acknowledge guilt he would see offspring and live long days and the desire or HaShem would succeed in his hand. 11. He (he servant) would see (the purpose) and be satisfied with his life's (not immortal soul) distress. With his knowledge My servant will cause the multitudes to be righteous; it is their וַעֲוֹנתָם / iniquities (for impulsive, lustful wrongdoings) that he will carry. 12. Therefore, I will assign him a portion in public and he will divide the mighty as spoils -- in return for having poured out his life for death and being counted among the wicked, for he bore the sin of the many, and prayed for the wicked. Footnotes from Artscroll Stone Edition: Isaiah 52:13 i.e. G-d's servant the people of Israel (Rashi) 52:15 Just as Israel had once been astonishingly degraded, so it will astonish the nations by its exaltedness when the time of redemption arrives. 53:1-3 this is the prophecy foretelling what the nations and their kings will exclaim when they witness Israel's rejuvenation. The nations will contrast their former scornful attitude toward the Jews (vv. 1-3) with their new realization of Israel's grandeur (vv 4-7). 53:5 we brought suffering upon Israel for our own selfish purposes; it was not, as we had claimed, that G-d was punishing Israel for its own evil behavior. 53:6 We sinned by inflicting punishment upon Israel. Such oppression is often described as "Hashem's punishment" (see 10:5, Habakkuk 1:12), for He decreed that it should happen (Abarbanel). 53:8 When Israel's exile is finally ended the nations will marvel that such a generation could have survived the expulsion from "the land of the living, i.e. Israel, that the nations had sinfully inflicted upon it. 53:9 Ordinary Jews chose to die like common criminals, rather than renounce their faith; and wealthy Jews were killed for no reason other than to enable their wicked conquerors to confiscate their riches (Radak). 53:10 That is, Israel. G-d replies to the nations that Israel's suffering was a punishment for its own sins; and when the people realize this and repent, they will be redeemed and rewarded. 53:11 Israel will teach the nations of G-d's righteousness.
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