Lesson video

Hi, I'm Miss Minton and welcome to this lesson on Messianic prophecy within Judaism.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to describe the Messianic prophecies in Judaism and explain the different interpretations of these prophecies within Judaism.

Now, some of this learning today might be new to you, but don't worry because I'll be guiding you each step of the way.

And I'm confident that by the end of the lesson, you will achieve this outcome.

So let's make a start by looking at the keywords that we'll be using throughout this lesson.

We have age, descendant, Messiah, Messianic, and prophecy.

Now, the word age refers to a distinct period of time.

The word descendant refers to your children or any further generations of children that begin from them.

The word Messiah means "anointed one" and also refers to a person chosen by God to bring a new age of peace.

The word Messianic means anything relating to the Messiah.

And finally, a prophecy is a prediction of something that will happen in the future.

Now, our lesson today will have two parts.

We'll start by looking at Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh, and we'll then move on to look at the interpretations of the Messianic prophecies.

So let's make a start by taking a look at Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh.

Now, the word Messiah comes from the Hebrew word "mashiach", which means anointed one.

Now to be anointed means to go through a special ceremony where oil is placed on a person's head, and oil is used as a sign that that person is chosen and trusted by God.

Now, this is a practise that dates all the way back to the kings of Israel, and it was a way of showing that the king had been chosen and was trusted by God.

Now, although this practise of anointing goes all the way back to the kings of Israel, the word "Messiah" later began being used to refer to a person who was chosen by God and would bring a new age of peace, which is known as the Messianic age.

Now, the word Messiah is used within Judaism, and many Jews believe that they are still waiting for this person.

They're still waiting for the Messiah, and that also means that they're still waiting for the Messianic age.

So let's check your understanding.

True or false? The word Messiah is used to refer to a person chosen by God who will bring a new age of peace, that's known as the Messianic age.

Fantastic, that statement is true.

Well done.

Now, beliefs about the Messiah within Judaism come from the Tanakh, which are the 24 books of Jewish written law that are divided into three parts.

And the word Tanakh is an acronym that represents these three parts.

The three parts of the Tanakh are the Torah, which are the five books of Moses.

The Nevi'im, which are the books of the prophets and the Ketuvim, which are the writings.

Now in the Torah, the Messiah is not explicitly mentioned, but there are prophecies regarding the Messiah and the Messianic age in the Nevi'im and the Ketuvim.

So let's check your understanding.

Which of the following is not part of the Tanakh? Is it A, Torah? B, Talmud? C, Nevi'im? Or D, Ketuvim? Fantastic.

The correct answer is B, Talmud.

So the Talmud is not part of the Tanakh.

Well done.

So we've now identified that beliefs about the Messiah within Judaism come from the Tanakh.

And within Judaism there are some traditional beliefs about the Messiah based on the Tanakh that include the following, that the Messiah will be a descendant of King David, that he will be a teacher of God's law, that he'll be a great political leader and ruler, that he will rebuild the temple in Jerusalem which was destroyed during conflict, and that he will bring peace, justice, and unite all nations.

So let's now take a look at where these beliefs come from.

The book of Jeremiah, which is part of the Nevi'im, contains Messianic prophecy and the book of Jeremiah says, "See, a time is coming- declares God- when I will raise up a true branch of David's line.

He shall reign as a king and shall prosper, and he shall do what is just and right in the land." Now, I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me or have a think to yourself.

What do you think it means to "raise up a branch"? Off you go.

So when the book of Jeremiah says that God will "raise up a branch", it means that God will provide a descendant of David and this descendant of David will be the Messiah.

I'd now like you to pause the video again and talk to a partner, talk to me or have a think to yourself, what characteristics of the traditional Messiah can be seen within this passage from Jeremiah? Off you go.

So traditional beliefs about the Messiah that can be seen within this passage from Jeremiah include that the Messiah will be a king and he will be someone who brings justice.

Now, the book of Daniel, which is part of the Ketuvim, also contains Messianic prophecy.

And the book of Daniel says, "His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away.

And his kingship, is one that shall not be destroyed".

Now I'd like you to pause the video and again, talk to a partner, talk to me or have a think to yourself, what is dominion? So what does the word dominion mean? Off you go.

So the word dominion refers to having control or authority over something.

So now we've established what the word dominion means.

I'd like you to pause the video and either have a think to yourself, talk to a partner, or talk to me about what this passage from Daniel suggests about the Messiah.

Off you go.

So this passage suggests that the Messiah's authority will last forever and that there will be nothing that will ever destroy the Messiah's authority.

So let's check your understanding.

Which books in the Tanakh contain Messianic prophecies? A, Jeremiah? B, Daniel? Or C, Matthew? Well done.

The correct answers are A, Jeremiah and B, Daniel.

So Jeremiah and Daniel are two books in the Tanakh that contain Messianic prophecies.

Well done.

It's now time for you to have a go at a task.

So Jacob and Aisha are discussing Messianic prophecies.

Jacob says that Messianic prophecies are found in the Tanakh and passages from Jeremiah and Daniel have led to a historical belief that the Messiah will be a descendant of David, bring justice and have great authority.

Aisha says that Messianic prophecies are found in the Torah.

Passages from Jeremiah and Daniel, which are in the Torah, have led to a historical belief about the Messiah.

I would like you to explain whose explanation shows accurate understanding of Messianic prophecies and why? You can use the sentence stems to help you.

Off you go.

Welcome done for your hard work during that task.

So you were asked whose explanation shows an accurate understanding of Messianic prophecies? Was it Jacobs or Aisha's? And you were asked to explain why.

So let's take a look at what your response may look like.

It's Jacob who shows an accurate understanding because he recognises that Messianic prophecies are found in the Tanakh, which includes the Nevi'im and the Ketuvim.

He also recognises books from the Tanakh that contain Messianic prophecies.

Aisha does not show accurate understanding because she says that Messianic prophecies are explicitly mentioned in the Torah.

Aisha also is incorrect when she says that the books of Jeremiah and Daniel are found in the Torah.

So well done for your work during that task well done for identifying who was correct and explaining why.

We're now moving on to the second part of our lesson, which is to look at interpretations of Messianic prophecies.

Now within Judaism there are different theological interpretations of the texts found in the Tanakh, and these different interpretations lead to different understandings of the Messiah.

Examples of Jewish groups who interpret these texts differently are Orthodox Jews, Reform Jews and Messianic Jews.

Now many Orthodox Jews interpret texts from the Tanakh, such as Jeremiah 23 and Daniel 9 that we took a look at to be prophecies about the coming of a physical Messiah.

Rafi is an Orthodox Jew and he says that as an Orthodox Jew, I believe that I'm still waiting for the Messiah.

When he arrives, he'll be a descendant of David, as described in Jeremiah, and he will bring about the Messianic age.

Now as well as this belief coming from the Tanakh, many Orthodox Jews also refer to my Maimonides and his 13 principles of faith as confirmation of the Messianic prophecies.

Maimonides was a 12th century Rabbi, so a 12th century Jewish teacher and leader, and he compiled a list of 13 beliefs that he thought should be upheld by all Jews.

The 12th principle is about having faith that the Messiah will come.

So as well as many Orthodox Jews referring to the Tanakh, they will also refer to this 12th principle about having faith in the Messiah.

So let's check your understanding.

True or false? Many Orthodox Jews use Messianic prophecies from the Tanakh and the 8 principles of faith from Maimonides to inform their beliefs about the Messiah.

Fantastic.

That statement is false.

But why is that statement false? Well, it's because many Orthodox Jews do use Messianic prophecies from the Tanakh, but they also use the 13 principles of faith from Maimonides, not the 8 principles of faith.

And it's the 12th principle that's specifically about the Messiah.

So well done for identifying that the statement is false and for identifying the reason why.

Now within Reform Judaism, there are differing beliefs about the Messiah compared to in Orthodox Judaism.

And for many Reform Jews, they actually don't believe that the Messiah will be a physical person.

Rebecca is a Reform Jew and she explains her beliefs about the Messiah.

She says that as a Reform Jew, I believe that the Messianic age will be bought about by the goodwill and actions of human beings.

So what we can see from Rebecca's explanation is that many Reform Jews actually believe that the Messianic age, the age of peace, will be brought about by humans actions, not through a Messiah who will be a physical person.

Now, for many Reform Jews, their beliefs about the Messianic age come from interpretations of passages from the Tanakh.

For example, the book of Micah discusses the Messianic age, and it describes a time when many nations will be bought together.

It says, "And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares And their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation shall not take up Sword against nation: they shall never again know war;" Now, I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me, or have a think to yourself.

How does this passage from Micah describe the Messianic age? Off you go.

So this passage from Micah is describing the Messianic age as a time without war.

So in other words, it's describing the Messianic age as a time of peace.

Now, as well as the Book of Micah, giving information about what the Messianic age will be like.

Many Reform Jews can also use the book of Micah for guidance on how they can bring about the Messianic age through their actions.

So Micah chapter six says, "You have been told, O mortal, what is good, And what God requires of you: Only to do justice And to love goodness, And to walk modestly with your God." Now, I'd like you to pause the video and either talk to a partner, talk to me or have a think to yourself.

What does this passage suggest humans should do in order to bring about the Messianic age? Off you go.

So this passage from Micah suggests that humans should do what is just, so what is fair, what is good, and what is modest.

So let's check your understanding so far.

Which statement best describes what many Reform Jews believe about the Messiah? A, that the Messiah will be a physical person from the line of David, as stated in the book of Jeremiah? B, that the Messiah does not exist and there will be no Messianic age.

The Messianic prophecies are myths? Or C, the Messianic age can be bought about by humans through actions that bring peace, as suggested in the book of Micah? Well done.

The correct answer is C.

Many Reform Jews believe that the Messianic age can be bought about through human actions that bring peace.

And this is suggested in the book of Micah.

Well done.

So far, we've looked at how many Orthodox Jews believe that they are awaiting a physical Messiah who will come from the line of David, and how many Reform Jews believe that they are not waiting for a physical Messiah and that they can bring about the Messianic age through their own actions.

Now, this tells us that most Jews firmly reject Jesus as being the Messiah.

However, there are a small group of Jews known as Messianic Jews who actually do believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

Now, this small group of Messianic Jews follow the teachings and laws of the Tanakh, but they believe that Jesus was the saviour sent by God.

So let's check your understanding.

True or false? All Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah.

Fantastic.

That statement is false.

But why is that statement false? Well, it's because there are actually a small number of Jews, known as Messianic Jews, who do accept Jesus as the Messiah.

So we can't say that all Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah.

Well done.

It's now time for a task.

Andeep is explaining the Jewish interpretations of the Messianic prophecies.

I would like you to explain why am Andeep's explanation is partly correct, but also partly incorrect.

And I'd like you to refer to Orthodox, Reform and Messianic Judaism in your response.

So Andeep says, Jews interpret the Messianic prophecies to mean that they are awaiting the arrival of a person who will be a descendant of David and bring about the Messianic age.

You can use the sentence stems to help you explain why Andeep is partly correct but partly incorrect.

Off you go.

Well done for your work during that task.

So you are asked to explain why Andeep's explanation is partly correct, but also partly incorrect, and your response might look something like this.

Andeep's explanation is partly correct because he identifies the Orthodox Jewish interpretation of the Messianic prophecies, which is that one day the Messiah will arrive as a descendant of David and bring about the Messianic age.

However, Andeep's explanation is partly incorrect because not all Jews interpret the Messianic prophecies in this way.

For example, many Reform Jews believe that ordinary people can bring about the Messianic age through their actions, and many Messianic Jews believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

So again, well done for your work during that task.

We've now reached the end of our lesson on Messianic prophecy in Judaism.

But before we finish up, let's take a look at some of the key things that we've learned this lesson.

So we've learned that the word Messiah comes from the Hebrew word mashiach, which means anointed one.

We've also learned that the word Messiah has come to mean a person chosen by God who will bring about the Messianic age.

And that Jewish beliefs about the Messiah come from the Messianic prophecies found in the Tanakh.

We've also looked at how there are different theological interpretations of these prophecies, and this has led to different understandings of the Messiah.

Orthodox and Reform Jews have differing beliefs about how the Messianic age will be brought about.

And a small number of Jews, known as Messianic Jews, regard Jesus as the Messiah.

Well done for all of your work during this lesson.

It's been wonderful learning with you today.