Jesus is not the Messiah as foretold by the Old Testament.

=========== Introduction: =========== In order for my opponent to affirm the resolution he must prove that, given the Old Testament, there is no possibility that Jesus was the Messiah. If my opponent cannot eliminate the possibility then he cannot affirm the resolution as he has stated it. As he has given no arguments in his opening round, I will use my first round to make some clarifications. =========== Messianic Prophecy: =========== Messianic prophecy is not clearly labeled in the Old Testament, in fact, what is considered messianic prophecy is determined largely by context. With this in mind, it is not hard to imagine that there are many disputes over what is and is not to be considered messianic prophecy. I hope these disputes do not hamper the focus of this debate. What scholars DO know about messianic prophecy in the OT is that there are particular tensions or contradictions among them. Some of these tensions are as follows: >How will the Messiah both come upon clouds (Dan. 7:13) and come lowly upon a donkey (Zech. 9:9). >How is he to lead Israel to greatness while simultaneously being rejected by it? >How is the Messiah to be the ultimate champion of all - a conquering king (Psalm 110) - yet also rejected and killed in weakness (Isa 53:5-7)? Scholars now understand, just as early writers of the Talmud understood, that these tensions can be resolved one of three ways. Resolution 1. There exists two different Messiahs that the contrasting prophecies apply to. Resolution 2. The two contrasting prophecies are conditional -- insofar as the set of prophecies that are fulfilled are dependent upon circumstance. Resolution 3. The contrasting messianic prophecies apply to the same person but will be fulfilled at different points in time. If my opponent can adequately show that, under the three possible hermeneutical lenses, there is no possible way that Jesus was(is) the Messiah, he will have affirmed the resolution. =========== Resolution 1 =========== Prophecy of the death of the Messiah caused later proponents of Judaism to posit two messiahs - one from the line of David and the other from Joseph (1). Raphael Patai, a Hungarian-Jewish ethnographer and historian reported on this peculiarity: "Scholars have repeatedly speculated about the origin of the Messiah ben Joseph legend and the curious fact that the Messiah figure has thus been split in two. It would seem that in the early legend, the death of the Messiah was envisaged, perhaps as a development of the Suffering Servant motif. A prophecy of Daniel, written about 164 B.C.E... some two centuries later, the author of 4 Ezra unmistakably refers to the Messiah, belief in whom had developed in the meantime, when he puts words in the mouth of God to the effect that after four hundred years (counted from when?), MY son the Messiah shall die (4 Ezra 7:27-30) (2)." Patai stated further that, "When the death of the Messiah became an established tenet in Talmudic times, this was felt to be irreconcilable with the belief in the Messiah as the Redeemer who would usher in the blissful millennium of the Messianic age. The dilemma was solved by splitting the person of the Messiah in two (3)." This duel-Messiah tradition is also evident in the Qumran Community's beliefs, as found among the Dead Sea Scrolls (4). This theory is unique as it allows for Jesus to be the Messiah son of David - inasmuch as he fulfilled all prophecy regarding the brutalized and rejected Messiah. The prophecy regarding a triumphant and conquering Messiah would be fulfilled by the Messiah son of Joseph. Given that there is very little textual warrant for this view, I myself put no faith in it. This view, on the other hand, garners very early Jewish support and remains a distinct possibility. =========== Resolution 2 =========== Jeremiah 18 very plainly teaches that prophecy is conditional (there is also early rabbinic literature that confirms this). This means that my opponent will have present strong evidence as to why the supposed unfulfilled prophecy is necessarily unconditional. =========== Resolution 3 =========== This resolution is by far the strongest, as it conforms best with all the evidence. There were certain predictions in the OT the required fulfillment before 70AD - Jesus fulfilled all necessary prophecies. Moreover, the tensions between the dichotomy of suffering servant and conquering king are easily resolved by a second coming. Ironically enough, orthodox Christian theology has always held to the view of a second coming - one of which Jesus will come and reign as king. =========== Conclusion =========== If my opponent can present verifiable proof that Jesus could not have possibly been messiah given any of the aforementioned resolutions he will have soundly defeated me. I await his forthcoming arguments with due anticipation. InquireTruth Sources: 1. http://en.wikipedia.org... 2. The Messiah Texts, by Raphael Patai (pg. 166) 3. IBID 4. http://jewishmessiah.netfirms.com... http://www.lighthousechurchinc.org...