The (Jewish) writers of the New Testament asserted that the Old
Testament spoke of a coming Messiah and quoted from it extensively to
prove their point. Even Jesus himself - whom many Jewish people will
declare to be a good rabbi and teacher - said to those who sat under
his teaching, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe
all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer
these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and
all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the
Scriptures concerning himself. " (Luke 24:25-27)
Since the first century, the issue of "messianic prophecy" has been a
hot-button topic. Does Isaiah 53 speak of Israel, or of a Messiah?
Did Isaiah really talk about a virgin giving birth? Did King David
describe someone who would be "pierced" in Psalm 22? Or did the
Christians misunderstand what the Hebrew Bible said, or even worse -
did they deliberately distort things, or arrange events so that Jesus
appeared to fulfill the prophecies?
