Y'shayahu / Isaiah 42:7 is stating that G-d will open the eyes of the blind (not the messiah). Start with the previous verse to understand the context. "I am the L-rd; I called you with righteousness and I will strengthen your hand; and I formed you, and I made you for a people's covenant, for a light to nations. To open blind eyes, to bring prisoners out of a dungeon, those who sit in darkness out of a prison." Y'shayahu / Isaiah 42:6 - 7 . What prisoners did Jesus bring out of a dungeon? None. This passage is not about Jesus. G-d (through the prophet Isaiah) states that the servant (the Jewish people) has far too often been blind and deaf to His message. Y'shayahu / Isaiah 42:19 - 20. says "Who is blind but My servant, and deaf as My messenger whom I will send? He who was blind is as the one who received his payment, and he who was blind is as the servant of the L-rd. There is much to see but you do not observe, to open the ears but no one listens." Ergo this passage by Isaiah, speaking of the blind seeing, is not about individual people being healed of physical blindness by anyone -- but rather G-d opening the eyes of the Jews who were blind to His message. Some say that the blind are not the Jews, but are the rest of the world who have refused to realize there is only one G-d, and blindly pray to or through Jesus (or others) rather than to turn to the one true G-d. Those people who reject the true G-d are as those in a prison, but one day they will see and understand the truth and be freed from the prison of paganism. Whether the blind and deaf ones are the Jews or the other nations, quite clearly the passage does not "fit" Jesus. Even though the Christian bible claims that Jesus cured blind people (a common enough claim of the pagans, too) -- the passage IN CONTEXT does not fit Jesus (again -- consider the freeing prisoners from a dungeon which immediately follows opening blind eyes). . . The Christian bible does claim that Jesus returns sight to blind people. This was a common claim for the gods of the pagans 2000 years ago. Indeed the Caesars often claimed to be gods and Titus Flāvius Caesar Vespasiānus Augustus -- he lived at the same time as Jesus -- from 9 CE to 79 CE -- and he cured lame and blind people same as Jesus: "At Alexandria a commoner, whose eyes were well known to have wasted away ...fell at Vespasian's feet demanding with sobs a cure for his blindness, and imploring that the Emperor would deign to moisten his eyes and eyeballs with the spittle from his mouth... Vespasian .... did as the men desired him. Immediately the hand recovered its functions and daylight shone once more in the blind man's eyes. Those who were present still attest both miracles today, when there is nothing to gain by lying." Tacitus, The Histories, 4.81 (c 110 CE). and "Vespasian, the new emperor, having been raised unexpectedly from a low estate, wanted something which might clothe him with divine majesty and authority. This, likewise, was now added. A poor man who was blind, and another who was lame, came both together before him, when he was seated on the tribunal, imploring him to heal them, and saying that they were admonished in a dream by the god Serapis to seek his aid, who assured them that he would restore sight to the one by anointing his eyes with his spittle, and give strength to the leg of the other, if he vouchsafed but to touch it with his heel. At first he could scarcely believe that the thing would any how succeed, and therefore hesitated to venture on making the experiment. At length, however, by the advice of his friends, he made the attempt publicly, in the presence of the assembled multitudes, and it was crowned with success in both cases." Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, Divine Vespasian Chapter 7 (121 CE). The claims of pagan gods performing miracles including returning sight to blind people is one reason the T'nach makes it clear that miracles are unimportant as "proof" of anyone being a prophet and they are unnecessary for the messiah (who will himself be a prophet). Signs and wonders do not prove that Jesus is divine, a messiah or part of a triune god. Signs and wonders (miracles as well) are worthless. All religions claim them, just do a search on the internet for Muslim or Buddhist miracles and you will see this is true. Torah tells us people can fake both signs and wonders -- and even when they are not faked they are often tests from G-d to see if we can be faithful to His Torah. Reread D'varim / Deuteronomy 13 where G-d tells us that He lets false religions have miracles and such to test your faith in Him. Every religion on the planet can claim miracles and "firsthand saving power" including pagans. The Rambam (Maimonides) wrote "the signs that Moses performed and why he performed them, and that he did not do so to make the people believe in him. 1) The Children of Israel did not believe in Moses [solely] because of the signs he presented, for someone who believes [in a prophet solely] because of the signs he presents is tainted, for it could be that his signs are performed by means of spells and witchcraft. All the signs that Moses performed in the wilderness were done so according to the needs of the moment, and not to bring proof to his prophecies. There was a need to sink the Egyptians, so Moses split the sea and drowned them in it; the Children of Israel needed food, so Moses brought down the manna for them; they needed water, so Moses split the rock for them; Korah and his followers rebelled, so Moses opened up the ground and they were swallowed up. The same principle applies with all the other signs. It was the assembly at Mount Sinai that made them believe in Moses, when our eyes, and no-one else's, saw, and our ears, and no-one else's, heard, and Moses drew near to the darkness, and the voice spoke to him, and we heard it saying to Moses, "Moses, Moses, go tell them such-and-such". In connection with this it is written, "The L-rd talked with you face to face", and it is also written, "The L-rd did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us". From where is it known that the assembly at Mount Sinai was the proof that the prophecy of Moses was true and that he was not speaking basely? It is derived from the verse, "Lo, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you for ever". From this we see that prior to the assembly at Mount Sinai their belief in Moses was not one that would have lasted for ever, but it was a belief that left room for discussion and thought. 2) It would transpire that those people to whom a prophet is sent are witnesses that his prophecy is true, and he need not perform any other sign, for them and they combine to form one unit with respect to this matter, in the same way that two people who saw the same thing together combine as witnesses, for each of them is a witness that the other is speaking the truth, and need not bring [additional] proof to back him up. So it was with Moses our Teacher, that all of the Children of Israel were his witnesses after the assembly at Mount Sinai, and he didn't have to perform for them any signs. This is what G-d said to him at the time when his prophecy started, when He showed him what signs to perform in Egypt: "And they shall listen to your voice". Moses knew that anyone who believes [solely] because of signs is tainted and will be doubtful, and expressed a reluctance to go by saying, "But behold they will not believe me"4. G-d told him that these signs will [continue to be performed and] applied only until they had left Egypt and assembled at Mount Sinai, whereupon any doubt will vanish, and also assured him that [at Mount Sinai] He will give signs that Moses had been sent by G-d in truth from the [very] beginning, and that no doubt will remain. This is what Scripture says: "...and this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you; when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall G-d upon this mountain". From this we learn that any Prophet that came after Moses is not believed solely because of his signs to make us think that if he makes a sign we should listen to everything he says, but [is believed] because of the commandment of Moses in the Torah: "...to him you shall listen", if he gives a sign. Just as we have been commanded to decide a matter according to the testimony of two witnesses, even though we do not know if his sign is Divine or achieved by spells and witchcraft. 3) Therefore, if a prophet arose and performed great signs and wonders, and tells us to deny the prophecy of Moses our Teacher, we do not listen to him, and we [will] know for sure that his signs are the result of spells and witchcraft. The prophecy of Moses was not dependent upon signs, so the signs of this prophet cannot outweigh the signs of Moses, for we saw and heard them, just as he did. This is similar to two witnesses who bear testimony that a particular person did a particular thing in front of them, but he is not like they say he is, so we do not listen to them and we know for sure that they are false witnesses. Therefore, the Torah said that if a prophet comes with signs and wonders, we do not listen to him, for he is coming to deny that what we saw with our eyes. Since we believe in wonders only because of a commandment of Moses, how can we accept a sign that is brought to deny the prophecy of Moses which we saw and heard?!" Read again Y'shayahu / Isaiah 42 -- specifically read the verses when the prophet speaks of blind and deaf ones: "To open blind eyes, to bring prisoners out of a dungeon, those who sit in darkness out of a prison." Y'shayahu / Isaiah 42:7 . "And I (G-d) will lead the blind on a road they did not know; in paths they did not know I will lead them; I will make darkness into light before them, and crooked paths into straight ones. These things, I will do them and I will not forsake them." Y'shayahu / Isaiah 42:16 . "You deaf ones, listen, and you blind ones, look to see. Who is blind but My servant, and deaf as My messenger whom I will send? He who was blind is as the one who received his payment, and he who was blind is as the servant of the L-rd. There is much to see but you do not observe, to open the ears but no one listens." Y'shayahu / Isaiah 42:18 - 20 Was Jesus deaf to G-d? Isaiah states that the servant was deaf! Was Jesus blind to G-d? Isaiah states that the servant was blind! Answering "no" to those two questions means you reject Jesus as the subject of this chapter. The list maker also seems to be confused as to the two entities in this chapter: G-d and the servant. Is Jesus G-d (opening blind eyes) or is Jesus the servant (who is strengthened, a light to the nations"? The list maker claims eight "prophecies" tied to this one chapter and switches the claims from G-d to servant and back again! Yet another list maker claim which is clearly false. Y'shayahu / Isaiah 42:7 is speaking of the Jewish nation's redemption from exile (as per verse 16).
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