Daily Devotionals
Devotional: 21st of Sivan
Didn't the Messiah have to die like this before entering his glory? (Luke 24:26)
Have you ever heard a relative of yours say, "Jews don't believe in a dead and resurrected Mashiach (Messiah)"? Our loved ones would like us to think that the Messianic Jewish view of Messiah falls outside the realm of traditional Judaism, but is this really the case?
Recently I picked up a book entitled To Live and Live Again: An Overview of Techiyas HaMeisim Based on the Classical Sources and on the Teachings ofChabad Chassidism. In it, Rabbi Nisan Dovid Dubov (an emissary of Chabad-Lubavitch in England) writes, "there are indications that Mashiach could possibly be a righteous individual who has already lived and died and will then be resurrected as Mashiach ...according to this view, a righteous individual deemed to be the Mashiach will live, then die on account of the sins of his generation, but will eventually be resurrected."
Rabbi Dubov represents an increasing number of Orthodox Jews who have come to believe in the possibility of a Messiah who could die and then be resurrected. Such a view, they argue, is in full agreement with the great rabbis of old who believed in the Messiah son of Joseph, the Suffering Servant! After centuries of neglecting this doctrine, many of the most zealous and learned among our people are getting up to speed. Let us be encouraged by their insights and remind our less traditional brethren of themwhile at the same time pointing them to Yeshua.
...tell my Jewish family and friends that even the Orthodox are starting to believe in a Messiah who dies for our sins and is resurrected from the dead.
DR