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Many Jewish authorities teach that Yeshua (Jesus) cannot be the Messiah and persuade many to forsake their belief in him as a contender for the future Messiah. Admittedly this is a very difficult subject for Christians to honestly evaluate but I contend that although the evidence is strongly against proving Yeshua could be the Messiah because of the failure of the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies, it is yet not possible to say dogmatically that he could not have been the Messiah "in waiting" in the first century. Events beyond his control were responsible for the prophecies not being fulfilled and both the Jewish people and their scholars as well as Christians need to see both sides of this problem clearly. But to say dogmatically that the curse of Jeconiah precludes any consideration of Yeshua possibly being the Messiah is not accurate. What I maintain is that we just cannot know for certain. Let me explain this "Jeconiah" problem.
Often Jewish authors prey upon the lack of Biblical understanding of the masses of Christianity today. Sadly, when the whole of the matter is presented we often get a different picture than the one first presented by such men like Rabbi Singer (at least in some aspects as most of what he presents if fool-proof and his scholarship is impeccable).
Let me preface this article by saying I support wholeheartedly Rabbi Singer's agenda: to prevent the assimilation of his Jewish people into Christianity whereby they accepted a paganized rendition of Sinai faith and a neo-paganized rendition of the Jewish Messiah. But in the process, in order to fully prevent such an occurrence which only destroys God's "chosen people" as they learn the ways of heathen mixed with "selected righteousness," he distorts or withholds pertinent data that keeps open the door for consideration of Yeshua as even a possible candidate for being the Messiah. Understandably Yeshua did not fulfill by any means the Messianic prophecies pertaining to the Jewish people, but without a doubt the coming of Messiah to us was for the "lost sheep of the House of Israel" which today are the Gentile peoples of the world. It is the views of Bet Emet that in the return of Ha Meschiah he comes for his people; the Jewish people to fulfill the promises of Torah and Prophets. Many feel Yeshua is disqualified for such consideration because of the curse on Jeconiah and his lineage. This simply is not accurate and I will share with you why this "curse" does not preclude consideration of Yeshua as being the "possible" Messiah of Israel.
Rabbi Singer and others have proven the disability of the virgin birth through changes in the translations from Hebrew to Greek and we have inherited such corruptions in Christianity unawares today. However, because of a curse in the genealogy of Yeshua, it is presumed that the seed of Jeconiah (which happens to be Yeshua) cannot reign upon David's throne, thus disqualifying Yeshua for any possibility of being Messiah (admittedly not the Messiah the Jewish people were promised).
Answer for yourself: However, have many lacked the pertinent Biblical information that would allow for Yeshua possibly being considered as yet a possible candidate for the coming Messiah? Let me state again, I understand why Rabbi Singer has "slanted" his teaching, but does the "end justify the means?" God will have to be the judge of the matter. Let us investigate this startling prophecy in depth, for if we cannot disprove Rabbi Singer and others, and fail to find answers for the curse, then we have no other recourse than to accept the virgin birth in order to allow any possibility of his potential Messiahship and that is impossible once you know the facts.
Jehoiachin is the grand-father of Zerubbabel who was a descendant within the Messianic lineage through Solomon. Both Jehoiachin and Zerubbabel are listed within Yeshua's ancestry in the Brit Hadasha (New Covenant) in the book of Mattiteyahu (Matthew 1:12 ). Zerubbabel also appears in the genealogy of Yeshua written by the physician Luke (Luke 3:27).
Mattiteyahu's genealogy traces Yeshua through his father, Joseph; Luke's genealogy traces Yeshua's ancestry through his mother Miriam's side.
There is a problem which does occur in lineage as regarding Jehoiachin, who is also known as Jeconiah (or Coniah). The prophet Jeremiah records a denunciation of him:
Thus saith the Lord, Write this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah. Jeremiah 22:30).
The scripture appears to pronounce a threefold "curse" upon Jehoiachin :
In light of this "curse" there appears to be a great obstacle regarding the Messianic line, and especially Jehoiachin's inclusion within it. There is widespread opinion that the denunciation of Jehoiachin through God's prophet was irrevocable. This would effectively preclude him from being within the messianic lineage. That means that Jesus could not be the Messiah. Before jumping hastily to this opinion, it is well to examine some arguments against this view.
The first "curse," that Jehoiachin would remain childless, was definitely lifted. The Tanakh makes it clear that Jehoiachin was, in fact, prolific and sired Shealtiel, Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah, and Asir (I Chronicles 3:17-18).
Jehoiachin was king of Judah when the children of Israel were taken captive into Babylon, and was imprisoned there. The second "curse," that Jehoiachin would be 'a man that shall not prosper in his days,' was also lifted by God, for we read: And it came to pass in the ... year of captivity.... [the] king of Babylon ... did liberate Jehoiachin... from prison; And he ... set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon...(II Kings 25:27-28).
Answer for yourself: Thereby, if God could forgive Jehoiachin, to the extent of lifting the first two "curses" against him, it is plausible that the third one could be lifted as well; otherwise, Messiah could not descend from Solomon through Jehoiachin? This problem was resolved in the following manner:
Nebuchadnezzar took [Jehoiachin] and put him in prison. ... The Jewish religious Council gathered to consider the matter for they feared that the Davidic kingdom would come to an end, of which it is written, 'His throne shall endure before me as long as the sun' (Psalm 82:36). What can we do in order to help that the Scriptures might be fulfilled? We will go and plead with the governess, and the governess will plead with the queen and the queen with the king. ... Rabbi Shabatai said that [Jehoiachin] did not leave prison until he repented fully and God forgave his sins and ... his wife got pregnant as it is written, 'Shealtiel his son, Asir his son.'
Shealtiel means, "I asked of God." Asir means "prisoner." Hence, the rabbis understand that Jehoiachin asked God to forgive him while in prison and that God indicated his forgiveness by giving him sons.
The returning exiles from Babylon in 539 B.C.E. appointed Zerubbabel to be their prince.
Answer for yourself: Why?
They obviously did not think that the "curse" was still in effect since Zerubbabel was a direct descendant of Jehoiachin. Moreover, the post-exilic prophets exalt Zerubbabel, and place their hope for Israel in him. Hence, for example the prophet Zechariah exclaims:
Who are thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain; & he shall bring forth the headstone of it with shoutings... . The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it.. . For they shall rejoice, and see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel...(Zechariah 4:7, 9-10).
It is fair, then, to assume that whatever the denunciation against Jehoiachin, it was pardoned by God, even as the king of Babylon pardoned Jehoiachin and released him from prison? I believe it is; thus the Messiah would not be prevented genealogically from being of the seed of David, Solomon and Hezekiah through Jehoiachin to whom the Messianic promises were given.
Some may not be satisfied with the rationale presented in favor of the removal of the "curse" from Jehoiachin, thus permitting the Messiah to descend directly from him. This position would appear to effectively preclude Yeshua from being the Messiah. Yet, by some intermarriage within the Davidic family, Zerubbabel, the grandson of Jehoiachin, through Nathan, the son of David, was Yeshua's ancestor on his mother, Miriam's side. Hence, even should Jehoiachin present a stumbling stone, still Yeshua traces his ancestry back through David on his mother's side. But such a possibility of "intermarriage" is not known for sure, but I find comfort in the two examples of God's forgiveness and restoration. The "pattern" allows for Yeshua to still be in the "running" for being the "possible" Messiah. Yet the problem remains that few, if any, real Messianic prophecies were fulfilled by Yeshua and this is how one was to determine if the Messiah had come.
Concerning the selection of the One who shall inherit the throne of David, it is well to remember the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel that it is "not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit" (Zechariah 4:6). The Messiah would be a descendant of David, but his claim would not be enhanced by might." (This "might" could refer to the usual transfer of the kingdom to the firstborn ("Reuben, thou art my first born, my might, and the beginning of my strength. Genesis 49:3 Genesis Rabbah). Neither would his selection be enhanced by "power" as, for example, when mighty kings exercised their powers and bestowed their rights on whatever descendants they pleased. Instead, the selection would be by the Holy Spirit - the Ruach Hakodesh.
I believe that this sufficiently answers the presumed difficulty in excluding Yeshua as Messiah because of our inadequate understanding of the curse on Jeconiah. Yet other difficulties remain and with these we must wrestle.
