"Does Yeshua Qualify as the Messiah?
By Penina Taylor

contributed by TorahKeeper 775

There are some Scriptures claimed by Messianic & Christian Believers to be prophecies about the Messiah that Traditional Judaism rejects as Messianic prophecies. Likewise, there are some Scriptures claimed by Traditional Judaism as Messianic Prophecies that are rejected by Believers. Yet, even if you eliminate these discrepancies, there are Scriptures that are claimed by both sides as being messianic prophecies, that actually prove that Yeshua cannot possibly be the Messiah. I am endeavoring in this essay to only prove one point, based on Scripture which is considered Messianic prophecy by both sides. This one point, when looked at with an unbiased eye must lead one to the conclusion that Yeshua is not the Messiah prophesied about in the Jewish Scriptures.

Premise: Messiah must be born of the lineage of David, and of Solomon his son.

According to literature put out by the Messianic Jewish Movement International, the reference given for proof of the fact that Messiah would be from the lineage of David is 2 Samuel 7:12-13. This reads (in the NKJV):

When your days are fulfilled and your rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

On the surface this appears to simply be a prophecy that G-d is going to put on the throne a physical descendant of David, and that he will build a house for G-d. If we are also to take this as a messianic prophecy then it follows that this Messiah must be through Solomon since it specifically mentions that he will build a house for G-d (the Temple which Solomon built). The prophecy continues in verse 16:

And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.

A confirmation of this is found in 1 Kings 2:4 where it says, ...you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel. 

In 1 Chronicles 17: 11-14 G-d says that this is a promise forever. In 2 Chronicles 7:16 there is
reference to the fact that this is only if they follow G-d's ways. However, this is only important as it
applies to the fact that there is not now, and there has not been at other times an actual king in Israel. It is not significant as this is applied to this promise that all the kings of Israel from that time
forward will be descendants of Solomon. In other words, so long as there is a king on the throne, he will be a descendant of Solomon, that is a promise forever. However, if the king or the nation of Israel itself is disobedient to G-d, there will be no king or kingdom and the nation will be the laughingstock of the world. This does not mean, however that G-d would put a king on the throne who is not a descendant of Solomon. It is interesting to note that not only does the verse in 2 Samuel mention Solomon by his deeds, but this prophecy of a man on the throne is again
repeated, to Solomon by his father David. 

In 1 Chronicles 22:9-11 it says, Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man
of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be Solomon, for I will
give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.

In summary, G-d promises that the Messiah will be a descendant of David, and he will be a king. We saw in the preceding verses that all kings that G-d puts on the throne of Israel will come through Solomon. It is interesting to note that the one time that Israel tried to have a king, who was not a descendent of David, the results were disastrous. When we look in Jeremiah, we find yet another prophecy concerning David's throne. 

Jeremiah 22:28-29 is talking bout David's descendent Jeconiah and says about him in verse 30,

Thus says the Lord: "write this man down as childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days, for none of his descendents shall prosper, sitting on the throne of David, and ruling anymore in Judah.?

This verse tells us that although all the future kings of Israel will be from David, none of them will be a descendent of Jeconiah. So what is so important about this verse? Well it is very important because it affects who can and who cannot be the Messiah. Messianic scholars assert that the curse of Jeconiah was taken away. 

They reference Haggai 2:21-23 as proof of this.
It reads,

Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying: "I will shake heaven and earth. I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them; the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother." "In that day" says the Lord of hosts, "I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel," says the Lord, "and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you," says the Lord of hosts.

I do not think that this prophecy has even come true yet, for one very good reason, G-d has not yet destroyed the strength of the Gentile nations. Last I checked, the Gentile nations were still in power and still exercise a great deal of power over Israel. But, even if one were to say that this prophecy could have already been fulfilled, we have a problem here. It is interesting that G-d chose to use the word "signet ring in describing Zerubbabel the descendant of Jeconiah. At first glance, it may appear that the curse of Jeconiah has been lifted. After all, now G-d says that he has chosen Zerubbabel and that he is like a signet ring. G-d does not say here that he will now give any descendants of Zerubbabel the throne, all that is indicated here is that Zerubbabel has gained
favor in the eyes of G-d. That does not mean that G-d has gone back on what he had said previously. And in fact, if we go back to the section that speaks of the curse of Jeconiah, we read (in verse 24),

As I live, says the Lord, though Coniah [another name for Jechoniah] the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off.

It is significant that G-d used the same wording in both sections as if to make sure that we understand that this does not mean that he will once again have a descendent on the throne. He says here that even if he considers Jeconiah (or his offspring) as a signet, it does not change the fact that he will not have any more descendents on the throne. An interesting point to note is that following the end of Jeremiah 22 where it says that Jeconiah will never have a descendent on
the throne, chapter 23 goes on to warn against teachers (shepherds) who cause G-d's people to be
scattered and destroyed. Then he goes on to tell about the Messiah (a branch of righteousness from
David). It appears that it is almost a contrast to the previous chapter. Having established that the Messiah will be a descendent of King David through Solomon, and that it cannot be through the line of Jeconiah, let us look at the genealogies given in the books of Matthew and Luke.

Before we even get started with breaking down the genealogy of Yeshua and proving that he cannot be the Messiah, let us examine one other critical issue. In all of the gospels it is emphasized that Yeshua is born from a virgin. Joseph is not the father of Yeshua, G-d is. That being the case, we have two problems.

Problem #1 
Joseph's genealogy means absolutely nothing if he is not the father of Yeshua. One cannot
inherit tribal lineage or land through adoption. If a Cohen (Priest) were to adopt a child, that child would not become a Cohen. This is why we are exhorted to give money and food to the Priest, the Widow (or orphan) and the Proselyte. These are those who have no inheritance and must be supported by the community in order to survive.

Problem #2 
G-d is not the seed of Solomon. If G-d is the father of Yeshua as the gospels assert, then Yeshua is not a descendant of Solomon. Yes, G-d can do anything he wants, but he doesn't lie and He has
already told us that Messiah would be a descendant of David through Solomon.

Looking at the genealogy in Matthew, even if we ignore the problems above, we have another problem ?

Problem #1 
Jeconiah is in this list and we have already established that he cannot have a king on the throne and that the Messiah is a king.

Problem #2 
The Ryrie study Bible acknowledges this difficulty in a note under Matthew's genealogy and
basically asserts that though this is a problem, the genealogy in Luke negates this issue.

Now what are we to think? If the Ryrie study Bible acknowledges that this is a problem and tells us that the genealogy in Luke corrects this, what is the point of this genealogy in the first place? Do we just ignore the difficult parts and only pay attention to the parts that we like?

Ok, so having disqualified the genealogy in Matthew, let's look at the genealogy in Luke.

Problem #1 
This is a different genealogy and yet still attributed to Joseph. Some say it is Mary's genealogy. But, if it is Mary's genealogy, we have another problem.

Problem #2 
Mary cannot confer the status of kingship. This is only transmitted through the male line (just as priesthood is). Even if Mary could confer kingship, we have another problem.

Problem #3 
Mary (if this is indeed her genealogy) is a descendant of Nathan. Nathan is a brother of Solomon, it is not through Solomon. Even if the kingship could go through Nathan, we have another problem.

Problem #4 
There are two people in this genealogy named Shealtiel and Zerubbabel and they are descendents of Jeconiah according to Matthew 1:12 and Jeconiah cannot be an ancestor of the Messiah. We
also have another problem.

Problem #5
In Matthew, Jeconiah is listed as a descendent of Solomon. This is the correct Genealogy for Jeconiah. In fact, to Matthew's credit, except for leaving out a handful of people along the way, the
account is accurate according to 1 & 2 Kings. Many scholars have asserted that Luke was a doctor, and therefore kept very good notes and gave a very accurate accounting of Yeshua's life. Why then is his genealogy totally inaccurate? Did he not do his research? According to Luke, Shealtiel and Zerubbabel (descendents of Jeconiah) are listed as having come through Nathan. However, this is not accurate at all. Jeconiah is a descendant of Solomon, not Nathan. So, the question is, is Mary (if this is indeed supposed to be her genealogy, and if that even mattered in
establishing Messiahship) a descendant of Solomon or of Nathan? If she is a descendant of Solomon then Luke has outright lied. If she is a descendant of Nathan then that automatically disqualifies her anyway. Another issue is that Jeconiah the troublemaker in this whole thing is a descendant of Solomon and not Nathan.

It would appear to me that the "Church Fathers" that decided which books would be included in the Christian bible didn't do enough research. Which also leads one to question the Christian belief that the New Testament is the "inerrant word of G-d? I don't know about the Christian g-d, but my G-d doesn't make such obvious mistakes. 

Another interesting point to note is that in 1 Timothy 1:3-4, Paul writes, .that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables or endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.

Perhaps the reason that Paul felt it necessary to exhort his followers not to get bogged down with
genealogies which will eventually cause division is because even at that time he may have realized that there was a problem with the genealogy listed for Yeshua and perhaps this was already an issue of concern over his qualifications as Messiah. As has been the history of my personal discussions with Christians, when something doesn't make sense they say to simply "believe?

Now, given the fact that the genealogy of Luke is clearly wrong, and that the genealogy in Matthew is attributed to a man who is not Yeshua's father; and given the fact that Matthew's genealogy specifically mentions Jeconiah and that Luke's mentions his grandsons; it is clear that Yeshua is disqualified from being Messiah."