| Show DR ED ISAACSON THE HEBREW DIVINE GIVES HIS REASONS and quotes the scriptures in their support sapporo editor deseret news I 1 have been asked by many ot my jewish brethren to 10 set forth my reasons for believing jesus of el nazareth tu be the messiah of the jews accordingly I 1 will here give a few of my reasons the passage of scripture I 1 have se lecter as the basis of my theme to is recorded in the book boob of genesis iii 15 and enmity I 1 wilt will put between thee and between the woman and between thy seed aad between her seed lie snail bruise thee as to the head and thou bruise braise him as to tho the heel hence isaiah says la in the ath chapter chanter mth verse I 1 behold a virgin shill shall conce conceive ivd and bear a son soa and shall call his hia name immanuel god with us that Is god dwelling among us in our nature both the jews and christians are agreed that the text has a direct allusion to the Mea Res siaA it is the arst of class ol of promises on record at this starting point then the jew and the christian stand upon common ground 1 that a messiah should be born 2 that the text is the first promise re referring feiring to him 3 that he should be of the seed of the woman 4 that he should bruise satan gatans I 1 a head hea headband dand ands aj 5 that satan should bruise his heel or that the deliverance could only be effected in the death of the messiah on these live five points both the jew and the gentile are agreed but here bere we separate the christians affirming that the messiah and savior ot the world both bath appeared in the life death resurrection and ascension ut of jesus carist of nazareth tae jews denying th lt me theu then calmly and impartially the evidence on sides and with a sincere desire to ascertain ascer baia the xi uth 1 1 As to the person of the mes 41 61 atia a 2 1 As to the unease lineage of the 3 theotime the time odthe of the messiahs appealing 4 tue the offices of the messiah and 5 tue the confirmations ot of his M mea es siah snip josephu Josep nu the great historian in that remar remarkable kaIe passage in his antiquities after relating an unsuccessful sedition of the jews against pontius Pil ays now there was about this time jesu i a wise miu man it if it be lawful to call him a man for he was a doer of wonderful erful works a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure lie he drew over to him both many of the jews sad and many of the gentiles this was christ and when ili pilate late at the suggestion of the principal men among ins tian bad condemned him to the cross lose who loved him at the first did not mui forsake him for he appeared to them alive again the third day as the divine prophets had foretold them also ten thousand other ether wonderful things concerning him came to pass and the tribe of christians so named from him are not extinct at this dav 11 from josephus an enemy to christianity ti this is to say the least a won der derdul al ac that he was to be et the seed sd of david may be seen from psalm ii 11 7 thou at art t my son this day have i be begotten 9 otten thee but that the messiah was to possess a higher nature than that of humanity is as clearly taught as that lie he was to be mao man david in psalm xe ac 1 thus testifies the tae lord said unto my lord sit thou upon n my right hand band until I 1 make thine enemies thy footstool tile the original reads atonal adonal jehovah in hebrew ado infill inai is always substituted for or beho v a h jn in this psalm david most distinctly culs couls messiah lis his jehovah la in zons oas unction with this there is an exalted behag spoken of in genesis as hame fach Ado adonai the angel of jehovah hagar worships as thou god a seest eest me or as the original reads I 1 hame lach adonat adonai 11 what wen tuen are we to understand by 44 the angel of jehovah he cannot be a mere angel he is therefore none other than the Messi messiah and the messiah must be none other than jehovah As the seed of the woman he is man as the author of the promise he is god as davids son he is human as davids lord he is divine as abrahams seed he to is man as the I 1 of abrahams blessings he is god and isaiah looking through we the vista of prophecy to the advy advent dt of the messiah in his remarkable prop prophecy becy ix 6 mysteriously blending in him humanity and divinity says Fo for unto us a child is boro born unto us a son is given civen and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful Wend erful counselor the mighty amigh afy god the everlasting father ithe prince nee of peace 21 As a child he is human as the messiah he is divine ass as a son given give nHe he is a man in the book of jeremiah 5 61 6 written behold behold the days coin om alth jehovah that I 1 will raise a unto ato david a righteous branch and a aking X i g shall h all reign and prosper and shall e execute e n t e in judgment and justice in the earth tn these days judah shall be saved israeli shall dwell safely and this is his name by which he shall be called Je bovatt our righteous thus do we perceive that messiah is to descend from abraham isaac jacob judah jesse and david upon these points the jews are agreed let me now examine whether christ rist who was called by the people the Alessi messiah all of god Is of 0 the Abraham lc genealogy OY in matthews gospel chapter i 1 there are seventeen verses versed exclusively devoted to tracing out christs lineage from abraham to mary the mother of hi bis humanity and to joseph his reputed father making in all forty two 42 generations christs genealogy has undergone the most rigid analysis and not even the slightest taint of a suspicion of its genuineness enuine ness can by any conceivable possibility be attached to it it stands forth forth as an undying memento that christ is of the direct setd of abraham through which the messiah was to be born never were a people more cartful careful in the preservation of their genealogies ted ancient jews so that through thab ap a peylon of not less than four thousand years are to be directly traced the records of christs ance ancestry ary what again are the inferences to be drawn from their investigation 1 that messiah is of the th house ehouse of david k 2 that jesus christ is of that house and a 3 that christs lineage in connection with the other facts of his birth demonstrates demoa strates him to be the messiah lot let me now classify the folio wing most important prophecies 1 messiah was to appear during the standing of the second temple 2 anat lie he was to appear four hundred and ninety years after the rebuilds rebuild ing of jerusalem and during the existence of a roman empire and 3 that a king was to reign over the jews and that he was to be the last monarch of the house of judah at the time of christs appearing the temple stood in all its glory the wonder and admiration ad mi ration of the world not a stone of the mighty fabric was loosened it bade fair to stand for ages but in an almost incredible space of time not net a vestige remained of that noble structure at the advent of christ the jews were subject to the authority ot of the romans hence in the reign of augustus they were enrolled they paid tribu tribute teto to ciesar caesar aud and the power ol of life and death was taken from them but it may then be asked how can we reconcile the prophecy 6 f jacob that the scepter should not depart from judah till shiloh come easily judah was still governed by a king they had their own laws their own councils their own magistrates only the paramount authority was in vested in toe the caesara the tribe of judah was now the only one remaining the others had become ext extinct inet or were lost among the nations the sceptre was still in israel but now shiloh comes and the sceptre must depart and it is worthy of remark that the very year is ic which christ who called himself shiloh appeared in public the dep departed amed king archelaus was dethroned dethroner a roman procurator pr curator appointed and the kingdom of judah destroyed here we have a prophecy pro becy delivered one thousand six hundred hundred and eighty nine years before its accomplishment that messiah of whom moses and the prophets ro h ts did write has already coral coma F in in tae the ciperson person of jesus christ the only individual who has or ever can on these very points authenticate his mission isaiah chap so clearly foretells us as the sufferings ot of messiah the object of his birth tek teachings chins ch ings mediation atonement death resurrection and all thina so fully accomplished in jesus christ even to the smallest fie of dew detail that the messiah was to be a king icing of a more exalted nature tiju any earthly potentate Is in the old testa meat psalm 27 will twill make him my first born higher than the li he kings of the earth the scriptures also desI designate gUtig ate th messiah as a savior as a mediator and redeemer all of which offices have been fully folly fulfilled in the person and ministry of christ messiah was to confirm his mission by the working of miracles isaiah 5 66 0 then the eyes of the blind shall lie be opened apanged and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped 11 fulfilled matthew MattA ew xi 4 45 5 tile the blind receive their sit aud and the deaf hear 19 messiah was to be poor despi despised sod and rejected by the people isaiah atit 3 he is despised and rejected of 0 men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief lef 11 fulfilled luke the son of man hath not where to lay his head bead messiah was to be betrayed by b 1 his familiar friend psalm ali 9 1 yea ea mine own familiar friend in who whom m I 1 trusted hath lifted up his heel against me luke luke axll 34 now observe a fulfillment even of the minute circumstances in the death of the messiah psalm alix 21 they gave me also gall tor for say my meat and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink fulfilled john 29 IN now ow there was set a vessel full of vine vinegar garand and they filled a sponge with vinegar and put it upon hysop and put it unto his mouth month messiah was to be pierced zachar 12 1210 10 and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced fulfilled john alx 84 4 Buto but one neOf of the soldiers pierced his bis side messiah was to receive an honorable grave isaiah lilt 9 fulfilled mathew 67 57 the old testament affirms that messiah should rise from the dead see psalm xvi 9 10 isaiah lilt lib 10 fulfilled luke 56 5 G 6 mark xvi 19 luke 51 we s e prophecy multiplied upon prophecy referring to the promised seed all strangely completely satisfactorily facto rily undeniably fulfilled ful diled in jesus in jesus we see an embodiment of at the highest morality the nosiest self denial the most exalted virtue the sublime bt t truth and the most consummate holiness fearlessly challenging an equal either in sacred or profane history in aford we see in this wonderful being strangely mysteriously incomprehensibly yet truth tuly blended the actions and attributes of jehovah and yet of man davids son and yet davids jehovah Je hovan how flow plainly christ resembled moses may be seen in the following tudes audes moses was the most favored prophet ot of the old testament dispensation while other prophets had their revelations in dreams and visions he talked with god facelo face to face aorist said we speak that which we do know and testify that which we have seen and no man the Tather but the son SOB and he to whom the son shall reveal him 11 in his arg argument argement ament with the jews he declares himself Hija self to be that prophet of whom moses wrote jesus was also a legislator like moses fir far he gave a law more perfect in its nature more diffusive in its application and more extensive in its rewards did moses teach thou not take the name of jehovah thy god in vain carist said let your communications communication muni cation be yea yea nay day nay for whatsoever is more than these comein of evil did the jewish lawgiver teach thou rhou love thy neighbor as 1 the christian prophet also aiso taught love your en mies bless bleas sheea that curse you yon do good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you did moses teach eye for eye tooth tor for tooth christ said resist not evil but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek check tura to him the other also 11 did moses inculcate obedience to thelah the law christ said be ye therefore perfect even your father which is in heaven 11 moses enacted laws but for one oae messiah is to legislate for all nations moses hoses was raised tip to deliver the children of israel from egyptian bond age and to bring them into the promised failed to la the accomplishment of tile the last bast part of his bis mission christ delivers trona a ware more fearful bondage of sin elo sad and satan and introduces his believers into toe the kingdom of god the spiritual thus might I 1 continue to multiply analogy epou analogy to ia the histories of et these remarkable personages pero nagee I 1 would then ask Is this similitude and correspondence in so many y particulars arman tic ulars between jesus christ a and nathe the great prophet and legislator moses the effect of mere chance let us ua search all the records of universal history and pee gee if we can find a man who was so like to moses as christ was and so 80 like to 34 jurist rist as moses was if we cannot find and suck a one then have we found him of who moses in the law and the prophets did write to be jesus of nazareth the sou of messiah wu to 0 o offer aimse himself a flee dee for sias rin isaiah iu 11 we like sheep nave have gone astray we haye have turned every one to his own and jehovah hath laid ou oa him the iniquity of us all how completely was this thia fulfilled in the person of jesus christ to the smallest detail as would almost lead one to think the prophet had bad flourished posterior oster lor to the events predicted and nd bad actually copied them from tae gospels rather than that he be prophesied seven hundred years anterior to the birth of jesus many of my jewish brethren ask me H it if jesus possessed such exalted power why did compel obedience 04 force the scepter from the byad ua ot ol simply because his MO WAS vs bajot gt of tats world here my deloyed pe loyed brethren was the great obstacle eis to oe he reception of christ the jews ep eted upon what authority I 1 know not would cornea come a mi mighty aty tem temporal oral prince and not only ores break the aoge yoke of koman oman bondage but elevate them in the seal scale e of nations hence when be appeared in the meek and lowly jesus of nazareth ya zareth a universal disappointment ensued which resulted in the geneal err ar we will not have this ts man to reig noyer yer us mo 71 they did not think the afe ae qa cae pe to des troy was that ot of tat to braise the serpents head and ad to destroy fihe he batters lat usurped power and reign to la the hearts of the people for I 1 11 said he the kingdom of G god 0 d is within you 91 not a kingdom of dazzling royalty pomp nobility and splendor but of truth justice holiness righteousness ous ness joy jay peace and believing and aad now my dear brethren of the house of israel I 1 have finished the investigation vesti gation fro from M our own scriptures and from jewish and pagan histories into hito the claims of jesus christ as the jewish messiah I 1 have calmly and I 1 trust impartially weighed the evidence tor for and aed against I 1 have traced the person of messiah to be very man and very god the seed of the woman and yet et the haralach Ha malach adonal adonai or anga angea of jehovah we have seen these natures mysteriously united in the person of christ we have traced the lineage of messiah as far back as beth the son of adam and found christ to be of t hat fiat lineage we nave have investigated into the time of the appearing of messiah and have seen that christ appeared just at the very time |
