Psalms 22 – Catch 22 of a Crucifixion Prophecy

Posted on January 21, 2018February 11, 2024 by K.B. Vogelman

Psalms 22 is retrospectively viewed by Christians as a foreshadowing or a prophecy consistent with Isaiah’s and Zechariah’s prophecies of a Messiah who is pierced. Some say it is neither, rather a falsehood.^[1] Is Psalms 22 a prophecy depicting a crucifixion, even that of the Messiah?

Prophecies are challenging due to many factors. Typically not straightforward nor easy to understand, a prophecy is often not fully or clearly understood until a full realization that it did, in fact, occur. In some cases, it may be clarified by other prophecies.^[2]

To be prophetic, Psalm 22 would need to predict details about a crucifixion that are precise enough to avoid conjecture. Written at a time when the Roman Empire did not yet exist, it is more challenging because a Roman-style crucifixion was not yet invented. Crucifixion was a well-honed execution process designed to extend death as long as possible while inflicting maximum pain and humiliation.

Rabbi sages do not considered the Psalms as a book of prophecy; however, renowned Jewish sage Rabbi Rashi twice identified Psalms 22 verses as having futuristic implications involving David and the Messiah.

Jewish historian Josephus described an occasion where he was traveling with the Roman military when they came upon three of his Jewish acquaintances among many others being crucified along the road to Thecoa, not far from Bethlehem.^[3] Struck with compassion, he pleaded personally to Titus Caesar to have mercy on them. Titus commanded them to be take down from their crosses and treated by Roman physicians, but still only one survived.

“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.”^[4]

Not quoted by a crucifixion victim known by Josephus, nor was it quoted by any other Roman historians who documented Roman crucifixions. The description was written by King David in Psalms 22 centuries earlier, yet the depiction is wholly consistent with that of a Roman-style crucifixion.

Raising the bar for prophetic difficulty are two more very distinct actions in Psalms 22 – a quote and an unusual, explicit activity. Since both were by persons other than the victim, they could not be replicated by the victim:

^{PS 22:7-8}All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: “He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”_(NIV)

^{PS 22:18} “They divide my clothes among themselves and throw dice for my garments.”_(NIV)

Inflicted extreme suffering, specific actions, and spoken words in Psalms 22 are remarkably similar to the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. A montage of Gospel verses reflects those similarities:

^JN19:17-18 “Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).” Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

^{MT 27:36} “And sitting down, they kept watch over him there.”

^MK15:24 “Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.”

^{LK 23:35-36} “The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One. The soldiers also came up and mocked him.” _(NIV)

A second quote, “Why have you forsaken me?” opens the first verse of Psalms 22. These words were also uttered by Jesus when he was dying on the cross:

^{Ps 22:1} “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” _(NIV)

^{MT 27:45-46, MK 15:33-34} “Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” _(NIV)

Rashi commented, “David recited this prayer for the future.” Later in the chapter, verse 27, the Rabbi commented “The humble shall eat” meaning “at the time of our redemption in the days of our Messiah.”^[5] In Rashi’s words, Psalms 22 referred, at least in part, to the Messiah.

By the time Jesus wailed these words, he had already endured severe flogging, exposed raw flesh, severe blood loss, acute dehydration, exposure to the weather, hanging by nails from the cross, labored and painful breathing and in state of shock. In his excruciating misery and naked humiliation, he would have seen and heard the gawking and sneering crowd with their taunts and insults.

Under these most severe conditions and near death, if Jesus was a fraud who still had the presence of mind to seize the moment in the face of his enemies by quoting from Psalms 22 to advance a false Messiah legacy, it would have been fully dependent on the prophetic nature of Psalms 22.

Catch 22.

In order to perpetrate a fraud, Psalm 22 had to be a Messiah prophecy. Even more remarkable, Jewish participants said and performed actions in precise detail that matches Psalms 22.

Factor in one other piece of the scenario. Jesus would have to know in advance before he was arrested that the opportunity would present itself in order to perpetrate a fraud – his arrest, trial, and execution by crucifixion at the hands of Jews in the most unlikely collusion with their hated Roman enemies.

Psalms 22 contains at least five precise details that had to be met if it were to become a 100% fulfilled prophecy. If true, when applying the Doctrine of Chances, the likelihood that the crucifixion of Jesus was not just a prophetic coincidence. The alternative is that the Psalm is no more than a multi-fold coincidence to the crucifixion of Jesus. What are the odds Psalms 22 was just a coincidence to the crucifixion circumstances of Jesus of Nazareth?

Updated June 7, 2023.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] Green, James. Psalm 22: Is it a Prophecy about Christ?” CultoftheLivingGod. n.d.<http://www.cultofthelivinggod.net/islam/Psalm%2022%20-Prophecy%20about%20Christ.htm > Berkovitz, Abraham J. The Torah. ““My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?” — Jesus or Esther?” 2022. <https://www.thetorah.com/article/my-god-my-god-why-have-you-forsaken-me-jesus-or-esther >
[2] Bugg, Michael. “Types of Prophecy and Prophetic Types.” Hebrew Root. n.d. <http://www.hebrewroot.com/Articles/prophetic_types.htm> Brooks, Carol. “Prophecy.” InPlainSite.org. <http://www.inplainsite.org/html/old_testament_prophecy.html> “Plaster Miodu. Psalm 22: Na krańce ciemności.” (translated: “Honeycomb. Psalm 22: To the ends of darkness.”) YouTube. image. 2015. <https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rUjYzzjEHfw/maxresdefault.jpg>
[3] Josephus, Flavius. The Life of Flavius Josephus. #75. The Complete Works of Josephus. 1850. http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false> “Thecoa.” Bible History Online. 2017. <http://www.bible-history.com/geography/ancient-israel/thecoa.html>
[4] Psalms 22:14-17. NIV.
[5] The Complete Jewish Bible – with Rashi Commentary. Online English translation of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible) with Rashi’s commentary. n.d. <https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16243/showrashi/true

Maimonides & Jesus of Nazareth – the Messiah?

Posted on October 10, 2017January 5, 2024 by K.B. Vogelman

Maimonides & Jesus of Nazareth – the Messiah?

Born during the Medieval era in 1135 AD, Moses Ben Maimon came to be known by a single name: Maimonides. In Jewish circles, Maimonides is better known as Rambam, the Rabbi who brought clarity to Jewish Law with some calling him “the second Moses.”

Author of Mishneh Torah, Maimonides’ book is considered to be a monumental Jewish work. It or he is responsible for formulating the 13 principals of Jewish faith.^[1]

Messiah or stumbling block? Rabbi Maimonides expressed his view on this question about Jesus of Nazareth as well as thoughts on his lineage, supernatural powers, and provided a comparison to the Messiah prophecies.

Two chapters of Mishneh Torah focused on the Messiah. Chapters 11 and 12 names characteristics that would identify the Messiah (Mashiach) or would disqualify anyone purporting to be the Messiah.^[2]

Considered controversial, his statements became a target of the Censor. As late as the 1990s portions of Chapter 11 were relegated only to footnotes and today requires deeper digging under the names Melachim uMilchamot or Mishneh Torah, Kings and Wars.

Explicitly in Chapter 11, Maimonides identified Balaam’s (Bilaam) prophecy as messianic. In a phrase-by-phrase commentary, he interpreted the prophecy as being in reference to Mashiach, Hebrew for Messiah:

“Reference to Mashiach is also made in the portion of Bilaam who prophesies about two anointed kings: the first anointed king, David, who saved Israel from her oppressors; and the final anointed king who will arise from his descendants and save Israel in the end of days. That passage Numbers 24:17-18 relates:

‘I see it, but not now’ – This refers to David;

‘I perceive it, but not in the near future;” – This refers to the Messianic king;

‘A star shall go forth from Jacob’ – This refers to David;

‘and a staff shall arise in Israel’ – This refers to the Messianic king…“

Maimonides addressed the supernatural powers of performing miracles, wonders, and resurrection of the dead without directly mentioning the Gospels nor Jesus of Nazareth (though no one else is said to have raised the dead):

“One should not presume that the Messianic king must work miracles and wonders, bring about new phenomena in the world, resurrect the dead, or perform other similar deeds. This is definitely not true.”

Paying close attention to what the Rabbi said … performing supernatural abilities would not necessarily be a requirement for the Messiah; however, he did not deny that such miracles could be performed by the Messiah.

Going on to describe characteristics that would identify the Messiah when he arrived, the Rabbi expounded:

“If a king will arise from the House of David who diligently contemplates the Torah and observes its mitzvot as prescribed by the Written Law and the Oral Law as David, his ancestor, will compel all of Israel to walk in (the way of the Torah) and rectify the breaches in its observance, and fight the wars of God, we may, with assurance, consider him Mashiach.”

Agreeing with meaning of multiple prophecies, Maimonides agreed with Rabbi Rashi that a key prophetic requirement is that the Messiah must be born in the royal lineage of David. Maimonides added that anyone who denies the Messiah is denying the prophets, Moses, and the Scriptures:

“In the future, the Messianic king will arise and renew the Davidic dynasty, restoring it to its initial sovereignty.”

“Anyone who does not believe in him or does not await his coming, denies not only the statements of the other prophets, but those of the Torah and Moses…

Next, Maimonides described things that would disqualify anyone who might otherwise be viewed as the Messiah. Pointedly called out Jesus of Nazareth by name, the Jewish sage wrote:

“If he did not succeed to this degree or was killed, he surely is not the redeemer promised by the Torah. Rather, he should be considered as all the other proper and complete kings of the Davidic dynasty who died. God caused him to arise only to test the many, as Daniel 11:35 states: ‘And some of the wise men will stumble, to try them, to refine, and to clarify until the appointed time, because the set time is in the future.'”

“Jesus of Nazareth who aspired to be the Mashiach and was executed by the court was also alluded to in Daniel’s prophecies, as ibid. 11:14 states: ‘The vulgar among your people shall exalt themselves in an attempt to fulfill the vision, but they shall stumble.'”

“Can there be a greater stumbling block than Christianity?”

Royal lineage to King David was actually acknowledged by Maimonides when he implied Jesus was one of “all the other proper and complete kings of the Davidic dynasty who died.”^[3] Denouncing Jesus, the Rabbi wrote that he and Christianity were a “stumbling block.”^[4]

Contrary to another prophecy interpretation of Rabbi Rashi, a split faction of Rabbis in the Talmud believed the Zechariah 12:10 prophecy foretold the Messiah was to be killed. Interestingly, Maimonides remained silent on the prophecy.

Mishneh Torah launched Maimonides into Jewish celebrity status prompting letters sent to him with questions. His response letters, known as Responsa (or Teshuvot), have become additional important texts of Maimonides’ Scriptural interpretations.^[5]

One Responsa was to Yeminite Rabbi Jacob al-Fayumi, known as the “Epistle Concerning Yemen.” In the letter, Maimonides regarded Zachariah 6:12 and the parashah of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 as messianic prophecies. He quoted from Isaiah 52:15 and 53:2 foretelling the Messiah could be identified by his origins and his wonders:^[6]

“…all the kings of the earth be thrown in terror at the fame of him – their kingdoms be in consternation, and they themselves will be devising whether to oppose him with arms, or to adopt some different course, confessing, in fact their inability to contend with him or ignore his presence and so confounded at the wonders which they will see him work, that they will lay their hands to their mouth; in the words of Isaiah, when describing the manner in which the kings will hearken to him, At him kings will shut their mouth; for that which had not been told them have they seen, and that which they had not heard they have perceived. [Is. 52:15] ”

“What is to be the manner of Messiah’s advent, and where will be the place of his first appearance?

…there shall rise up one of whom none have known before, and the signs and wonders which they shall see performed by him will be the proofs of his true origin; for the Almighty where he declares to us his mind upon this matter, says, ‘Behold a man whose name is the Branch, and he shall branch forth out of his place’ (Zech. Vi. I2). And Isaiah speaks similarly of the time when he will appear, without his father or mother or family being known, He came up before him, and as a root out of the dry earth [Is 53:2], etc.”

All four Gospels are consistent with the Messiah characteristics defined by Maimonides.

Was Jesus of Nazareth a fulfillment of the Messiah prophecies or merely a stumbling block test sent by God?

Updated December 31, 2023.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] Maimonides. Mishneh Torah. Jewish year 4937 (1177 AD). “The Rambam’s Mishneh Torah.” <http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/682956/jewish/Mishneh-Torah.htm> Rich, Tracey R. “Jewish Beliefs.” JewFAQ.org. n.d. <http://www.jewfaq.org/beliefs.htm> “Moses Ben Maimon.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11124-moses-ben-maimon> Furst, Rachel. “The Mishneh Torah.” MyJewishLearning.com. 2010. <http://mobile.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Rabbinics/Halakhah/Medieval/Mishneh_Torah.shtml> Seeskin, Kenneth. “Maimonides.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2006. revised 2017. <https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/maimonides> Maimonides statue. Wikimedia Commons. image. n.d. <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maimonides_statue_-_Cordoba.jpg>
[2] Maimonides, Moses. Mishneh Torah. Ed. Yechezkal Shimon Gutfreund, Brooklyn, NY: Sichos in English. “The Law Concerning Moshiach.” Kesser.org. n.d. <http://www.kesser.org/moshiach/rambam.html#SIE> Maimonides. Mishneh Torah. “uMilchamot, the Laws of Kings and Their War.” 2015. <https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1188343/jewish/Melachim-uMilchamot.htm> Maimonides. Mishneh Torah. Sefaria.org. 2023. “Mishneh Torah, Kings and Wars.” <https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah,_Kings_and_Wars?tab=contents>
[3] Josephus, Flavius. Against Apion. Book 1 #6-7. The Complete Works of Josephus. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false >
[4] Mangel, Nissen. “Responsa.” Publisher: Kehot Publication Society. 2008. Chabad.org. 2014. <http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/107783/jewish/Responsa.htm>
[5] Mangel.“Responsa.”
[6] Maimonides. “Letter to the South (Yemen)”. p374. Neubauer and Driver. The Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah According to the Jewish Interpreters <https://books.google.com/books?id=YxdbAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP1&hl=en#v=onepage&q=advent&f=false> CR “Iggerot HaRambam, Iggeret Teiman.” Sefaria.org. responsa. n.d. <https://www.sefaria.org/Iggerot_HaRambam?tab=versions> “Responsa.” Chabad.org. “The Epistle Concerning Yemen.”n.d.<https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/107783/jewish/Responsa.htm>

Balaam’s Star Prophecy to a King

Posted on April 30, 2017January 28, 2024 by K.B. Vogelman

Balaam’s Star Prophecy to a King

Mt. Sinai had long since been left behind by the Hebrews having spent nearly the past 40 years wandering through portions of the Sinai, Negev and Arabian deserts. Delayed by two generations as a consequence of the Hebrew people doubting God right after they escaped Egypt, a separate promise remained fully in effect: the Hebrew tribes would be protected from their enemies.^[1]

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had been promised through God’s blessings that many nations and kings would come from their descendants. Jacob divided the blessing among his sons, future fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel. Only one son, Judah, did he pass along the royalty blessing of a future kingdom.

While promises made at Mt Sinai laid foundational requirements for the Messiah at the place including the promise of a kingdom, no one particular prophecy directly pointed to the future Messiah. First of the distinctive Messiah prophecies came from a very unlikely source…

Following pillars of cloud by day and fire by night, the Hebrews were on their trek to the place.^[2] Standing in the way of the Hebrews was yet another Gentile enemy, Moab, ruled by King Balak son of King Zippor. Moab was located east of the Dead Sea in modern day Jordan.

Balak was painfully aware of how the Hebrews had vanquished the strongly defensed Amorites whose own army had previously defeated Moab and occupied many of its cities. History was poised to repeat itself for Moab, this time at the hands of the Hebrews.^[3]

Dread spread throughout Moab for fear of the size and might of the Hebrew people backed by God. Knowing his military was no match for the Hebrews, the King thought that only supernatural intervention from God could save his kingdom.

Rather than asking for God’s guidance and help, the King tried a different strategy to use God. Balak decided to try to place a curse on the Hebrews and sent an envoy of Moabite leaders to buy the services of Balaam for that purpose.^[4]

Balaam was neither a Hebrew prophet nor even familiar with them. Finding Balaam, the envoy presented the King’s royal request and asked him to take a night to consider it. In real time, the encounter between Balak and Balaam was unknown to the Hebrews.

Praying for guidance that night, God told Balaam not to return to the Balak and not to place a curse on the Hebrews because they were “blessed.” Returning home, the Moabite envoy informed the King the prophet refused to return with them.

Undeterred, Balak upped the ante by sending a larger envoy with more distinguished leaders back to the prophet promising him great honors if he would return with them to place a curse on the Hebrews. In response, Balaam told the envoy that even if he was offered a palace full of silver and gold, he could not do more or less than God’s commandment.

Still, Balaam said he would give the envoy an answer the next morning and that night he again sought God’s guidance. Against God’s instruction, the next day Balaam decided to go with the envoy and meet the King, but their journey was blocked by an angel using a donkey to convey the message.

Balaam became angry with the donkey not knowing an angel was behind it and beat the donkey who confronted Balaam about being beaten. Confessing he had sinned, Balaam was allowed to continue with God’s strict instructions to say only what He instructed.

Upon arriving King Balak, who was irritated with Balaam, questioned why the prophet had resisted royal requests to come see him. Brushing off the question and getting right to the point, Balaam said,

^{Num 22:38}“I have come to you now, but do I have power to say just anything? The word God puts in my mouth, that is what I must say.”_(NRSV)

Nevertheless, three times Balak took Balaam to a different high position on a mount to observe portions of the extensive size of the Hebrew people because they could not be seen entirely from one location. On each mount, Balak offered a sacrifice.

After each sacrifice, the King asked the prophet to place a curse on the Hebrews. Each time, Balaam sought God’s message which came back with blessings on the Hebrews rather than a curse.

After the third time, Balak was exasperated. Clapping his hands King Balak said, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times!”^[5]

Announcing he was going back home, Balaam said he would foretell Moab’s future before he left.^[6] It was a dark prophecy for Moab in the form of an oracle prefaced with a royal prophecy about Israel’s bright future:

^{Num 24:17} “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.”_(NASB)

According to the renowned Jewish sage, Rabbi Rashi, Balaam’s oracle is a Messiah prophecy. Interpretations by the Rabbi are tied to the blessing of Jacob’s grandfather Abraham which said, “kings will come forth from you.”^[7]

“Scepter” is translated in the Bible from the Hebrew word shebet, the same word used in Jacob’s royalty blessing of his son, Judah, in Genesis 49:10. Rashi interpreted the term scepter as representing “a king who rules dominantly” from the future lineage of David.

Referring to the star, Rashi expounded it represents one who “shoots out like an arrow” from Jacob and uproots the sons of Sheth or Seth, the son of Adam; in other words, symbolically uproots all of mankind.^[8]

If the appearance of Jesus of Nazareth was to be a fulfillment of Balaam’s prophecy, a lot of pieces first had to come together to fulfill the promises made at Mt. Sinai. Hundreds of years into the future, prophets of the Bible would bring clarity to these promises that became requirements setting the stage for the Messiah to be born in the royal lineage of the House of David.

Promises made at Mt. Sinai were fulfilled over time, but one part of Balaam’s prophecy was not yet fulfilled – “A star shall come forth from Jacob.” Was it a symbolic prophecy of someone who would uproot all of mankind or was it a literal prophecy fulfilled by “his star” observed by the Magi signaling the birth of the “King of the Jews”… perhaps both?

Updated January 4, 2024.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] Deuteronomy 2-7; 23:23-31; Number 14:24, 26-35.
[2] Numbers 14. “Sinai Peninsula;” “Negev;” and “King’s Highway.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2014. http://www.britannica.com
[3] Numbers 21-22. “Map of OldTestament Israel.” Bible-history.com. <http://www.bible-history.com/geography/ancient-israel/israel-old-testament.html> “Israel and Judah.” Free English Site. map. 2017. <http://www.freeenglishsite.com/LDS/other/Moab.htm>
[4] Numbers 22. CR Deuteronomy 23:5/6.
[5] NASB. Numbers 24:10. “What is the error of Balaam?” EndoftheMatter.com. image. 2022. <https://i0.wp.com/endofthematter.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/BalaamintheBible-171300653-43bf701fd28844c6a5682acf05b9c83a.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1>
[6] Numbers 24:20-24.
[7] Gensis 17:6, NASB.
[8] Rashi. The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary Commentary for Numbers 24:17.