25 Fallacies to Deny That Jesus Christ Is the Messiah

Table of Contents?

1. Introduction

2. Discussion and refutation of twenty-five fallacies

3. Brief review?

1. Introduction?

Recently I was asked about what the Jewish rabbis believe about the forgiveness of sins. Because the Jesus who they say is yet to come and will restore everything, apparently will not have to die for our sins. It brought me to this link: WAS JESUS THE JEWISH MESSIAH? (youtube.com). In this 22-minute video, Pinchas Stolper lists 25 points with which he tries to show that Jesus of Nazareth cannot be the Messiah.?

Stolper begins by saying that Jesus did not fulfill a single Old Testament prophecy. But then my question is what Stolper thinks of Luke 24:25-27:

“Then?he?said?unto?them,?O?fools,?and?slow?of heart?to believe?all?that?the prophets?have spoken: Ought?not?Christ?to have suffered?these things,?and?to enter?into?his?glory? And?beginning?at?Moses?and?all?the prophets,?he expounded?unto them?in?all?the scriptures?the things concerning?himself”.

Even though Stolper will not acknowledge the authority of the New Testament, he is familiar with it and occasionally uses it in his argument when it suits him.?

2. Discussion and refutation of twenty-five fallacies?

In the video Stolper mentions 25 points with which he tries to show that Jesus of Nazareth cannot be the Messiah. For each point I have briefly mentioned my commentary (PG).?

1. According to the late Rabbi Stolper, the Messiah will be a man, born of a man and a woman, and therefore not a human being who was conceived in a supernatural way. Because no human being was ever born of a virgin. And nowhere in the Old Testament is it stated that the Messiah is a God or someone who resembles a God. Only God may be worshipped.?

PG Jesus may also be worshipped, namely as Lord or Kurios. If Joseph were the father of Jesus, then Jesus never could have been the sinless Lamb of God and our Redeemer. But Joseph is not the father of Jesus.?

Stolper believes that God brought a seed into Mary.

PG The latter is, in my opinion, a misrepresentation of the facts. In my opinion, it was a miracle of creation. See the article The Miracle of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ’ (The Miracle of the Virgin Birth (stichtingpromise.com)).?

2. The Messiah was expected to bring the Jews back to their land. But that was not even possible in Jesus' time because the Jews already lived in the land.

PG Of course, Jesus Himself knew that. But Stolper overlooks the fact that it is about the return of all saved people to the Kingdom of God on the new earth. And already now we can participate 'in the spirit' in that Kingdom of peace, joy and righteousness.?

3. Jesus would build the temple in Jerusalem, but according to Stolper that is unnecessary, because the temple then was still there.

PG Jesus knew that too, but He spoke of His body as a temple (John. 2:21), and He would build His church, the spiritual temple. The physical temple was a natural shadow image.?

4. The Messiah would redeem Israel. But, on the contrary, the Jews were scattered after the year 70 and even persecuted by the followers of ‘that so-called Messiah’. PG But Jesus came to bring the Kingdom of God in the spirit (see among others Matt.3:2; 4:17, Mark 1:15 and Luke 10:11 etc). Through rebirth (through faith in Jesus) someone could enter that spiritual Kingdom (John 3), and grow up there and help to build God’s Kingdom on earth.?

5. Through the Messiah all peoples will worship God together. And the knowledge of God will fill the earth (Isa. 11:9). None of that happened. Even Islam came up.

PG Isa. 11:9 will only be fulfilled at the return of Jesus in glory.?

6. Jesus had said: My house will be a house of prayer for all nations.

PG That will happen in fullness at the return of Jesus in glory. But even now is 'My house', namely the church of Christ, a house of prayer and is it already preparing itself for the return of Jesus!?

7. The Torah promised: "I will give you a new heart. And you will obey My laws". What do we see of this?

PG That will happen in fullness at the return of Jesus in glory. However, obtaining a new heart, a new, spiritual way of thinking is part of the foundation of a Christian's faith and this therefore takes place before the return.?

8. Jesus would reign as King of the Jews. But He was crucified after 3 years as a criminal.

PG Jesus will be King over the entire earth at His return in glory.?

9. According to Joel 2:28, the Lord will pour out His Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and daughters will prophesy. According to Stolper, this has yet to be fulfilled.

PG Has Stolper never heard of Pentecost and never heard what Peter said in Acts 2??

10. Peace on earth through Jesus? (Isa. 2:4).

PG Through faith in Jesus, we already have peace with God and peace in our hearts. Perfect worldwide peace on earth will be there at the return of Jesus in glory.?

11. The Kingdom of God has come near (Matt. 3:2). What do you mean, near? After 2000 years, it is still not here.

PG Stolper only looks and thinks ‘naturally’. But ‘the Kingdom of God has come near’ is about what happened in the spiritual world when Jesus came! (see among others Matt.3:2; 4:17, Mark 1:15 and Luke 10:11 etc).?

12. Nowhere in the Jewish Bible (so without the New Testament) does it say that Jesus would return later, so a second time. It is a Christian invention to cover up the downfall of Jesus in the year 33.?

PG A Christian invention? What nonsense, the New Testament was also written by Jews!!! Moreover, the Kingdom of God is already spiritually/internally present, and in development, but often not yet visible, but later.?

13. Stolper: David was supposed to be the father of Jesus?

PG But not literally, and therefore not in a natural sense. Did Stolper never read Matt. 22:45, Mark 12:37 and Luke 20:44??

14. Stolper denies the virgin conception of Jesus. Stolper raises the issue of the alleged mistranslation of the word ‘almah’.

PG See the article The Miracle of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ’ (The Miracle of the Virgin Birth (stichtingpromise.com)).?

15. If Jesus forgave the Jews on the cross, why don’t Christians forgive the Jews? PG Mistakes by Christians are not arguments against the messianicity of Jesus.?

Stolper: And why was the resurrection in silence????

PG Because it is not about mass but about personal faith. However, the resurrection was widely announced by Jesus’ disciples later on.?

16. Jesus said that He did not want to and would not change the eternal law of Moses (Torah), but to fulfill it. But in Matt. 5 etc., He already deviated from it.

PG However, Jesus pointed to the deeper layer of the Torah. It is not only about our behavior but also about our inner motivation and our thoughts. An example: according to the Lord, adultery is already involved in adulterous thoughts.?

Stolper: Why Sunday instead of Saturday? Why Christmas and Easter, which are not mentioned in the Bible? And not Pesach, Sukkot, Yom Kippur, Shavuot?

PG That is not an argument against the messianic nature of Jesus.?

17. Love each other and your enemy. Do Christians do that?

PG And do Jews do that? The point is not a valid argument against the messianic nature of Jesus.?

18. And why then the Holocaust?

PG As terrible and shameful as that may have been, it is not a valid argument against the messianic nature of Jesus.?

19. You cannot divide God into Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

PG Stolper assumes a wrong representation of the facts. It is clear that there is one God, the Father, the Creator of all. It must be admitted that there are various views on this subject among Christians.?

20. Was God the Father of Jesus? Why did Jesus say on the cross: My God and not: My Father?

PG A weak and in my opinion also unfair remark by Stolper. Because very often Jesus called God His Father. And Stolper must have known that, but he leaves it out.?

21. Why was there not one leader who accepted Jesus?

PG a. That may not be correct. Later, there were leaders who accepted Christ and were baptized. And b. Because the leaders did not think spiritually (and Stolper dares to claim that we as Christians did not understand it!!!!) and had a completely different pattern of expectations regarding the Messiah.?

22. Stolper says that Jesus had proclaimed that the gospel was only for Jews, and that the disciples were therefore disobedient by telling it to the Gentiles.

PG But after the resurrection of Jesus that is not correct, and the disciples were not disobedient. See for example Acts 1:8! Moreover, God planned from the very beginning to form a people for Himself from among the Gentiles.

?23. How do Christians explain the survival of the Jews if God rejected the Jews for not accepting Jesus? And how do you explain their return to Israel? Isn't that a fulfillment of biblical prophecies?

PG The latter seems so, but in my opinion it is a wrong interpretation. See the article 'What and where is the promised land?' (https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7148058457978413056/). And moreover, it is not true that God rejected the Jews.?

Stolper: Christians call themselves the true Jews.

PG In a spiritual sense that is correct. Think of e.g. Rom. 2:28,29?

24. Why is it necessary for Jesus to come? To learn the Torah and to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.

PG It is remarkable that not a word is said about the suffering and death and resurrection of Jesus! And then the question is how does that establishing of the Kingdom of God work? With a magic wand? Jesus has already come to give His life as a ransom, and to teach us through the Holy Spirit to keep God's moral law. Stolper simply skips the essential process in which we as believers find ourselves in the 'in-between time'!?

25. Nowhere does the Torah say that the death of one person can bring forgiveness to another.

PG I find this remark very shocking. It implies that he does not believe that Jesus had to die for the forgiveness of our sins! And what about the animal sacrifices during the old covenant???? And has Stolper never read Gen. 22:8 where it says: “God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering, my son”. This is a reference to Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29).?

Stolper thinks it is absurd to believe that the sacrifice of Jesus 2000 years ago would bring forgiveness for him. Every person must ask God for forgiveness themselves.

PG The latter is true, but Stolper overlooks the fact that God only gives forgiveness through our personal faith in the sacrifice of Jesus!!!!!!! And of course it is not just about faith but also about actions.?

Stolper: We are waiting for the Messiah. We aready hear His footsteps.

PG And then……?

?3. Brief review?

To my sadness, the video shows how deeply this rabbi has become entangled in the lie. He, like many Christians, has no idea of the reality of the spiritual world.?

I think it is astonishing that someone chains himself to a lie with easily refutable fallacies, and thereby be so convinced that something (the coming of Jesus about 2000 years ago) is not true, which is absolutely true. What an astonishing and sad blindness! Partly this is because he does not think spiritually. He completely overlooks the fact that with the first coming of Jesus the Kingdom of God came, in the spirit, and that a person can enter that Kingdom through rebirth (John 3).?

On some of the 25 points mentioned, Stolper is not honest or rather naive. If Jesus says, knowing that the temple was present in Jerusalem and the Jews lived in the country at that time, and that He will rebuild the temple and bring Jews back into the country, then Stolper should know that Jesus must have been talking about something else. And Stolper can also read that in the New Testament! (John 2:21). And also that Jesus very often called God ‘His Father’.?

Why does Stolper mention a few texts from the New Testament that are useful to him, but does he not read the entire New Testament? And my question is: How can a rabbi simply ignore the great sacrifice of the Lamb of God that is forever worthy of our intense gratitude? What blindness, but also: stubbornness and (unconscious) arrogance. What does Stolper do with texts such as: “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12) and “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Indeed, I count all things loss for the excellency of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Phil. 3:7,8,10a). And many other texts. And are the Messianic Jews such foolish people because they do believe that Jesus is the Messiah? And was the apostle Paul, who was steeped in the Jewish Scriptures, also such a foolish man?

The argument that Jews do not know and do not accept the New Testament (why actually???) is not strong. A document that is accepted and believed by hundreds of millions of people, including Jews, is nevertheless worth knowing and thinking about.?

He who truly and sincerely seeks, will find (Matt. 7:8; Luke 11:10). But honestly seeking and finding the truth (John 14:6) costs a price. Does Stolper want to pay it? And do I? But the truth is worth it! Ultimately, we have no excuse for not getting to know Jesus Christ, who is the Truth (John 14:6). But the other side of the coin is that it is possible for everyone to get to know Him. God's Word says: he who seeks will find (Matt. 7:8; Luke 11:10). We may pray that many will find Jesus.?

Piet Guijt

August 2024

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