-----Original Message-----
From: Shomeir
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 2:16 AM
To:  Donna 
Subject: RE: the deity of Yeshua

Dear Shomeir,

I am interested in finding out the origins of the diverse beliefs about Yeshua as Messiah (non-deity) versus him as Messiah (deity).  If I remember correctly, you had sent out an email some time ago that briefly touched on this subject.

I am searching for an INDEPTH study that explains the reasons why someone would believe that he was the Messiah but not believe that he was G-d.  I was hoping that you could assist me in this area.  Thank you for your time.

                            Sincerely,
                            Donna

Donna,

I would be happy to help you here.

1) At no time has Judaism ever taught that the Moshiach (Messiah) was to be divine.  There are a number of “messianic” texts in the Tanakh (Old Testament) and they all refer to flesh and blood, normal humans:

The Messiah can sin:
Vayikra (Leviticus) 4:3-5  If the Moshiach, the Kohen sins and brings guilt upon the people, he shall offer a young bull, without blemish to Hashem for the sin which he has committed.  And the Moshiach, the Kohen shall bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before Hashem; he shall place his hand upon the head of the bull, and he shall slaughter the bull before Hashem.  The Moshiach, the Kohen shall dip his forefinger into the blood; he shall sprinkle some of the blood seven times before Hashem toward the Curtain of the Holy.

The Messiah of the Lord can be an evil king:
1Sh’muel 24:4-6 And the men of David said to him, Look! This is the day which Hashem told you about, Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him what ever seems good to you. Then David got up, and secretly cut off the wing of Shaul's garment.  But afterward, David's conscience bothered him because he had cut off Shaul's wing.  And he said to his men, Hashem forbid that I should do this thing to my master, Hashem's Moshiach, to stretch forth my hand against him, seeing he is the Moshiach of Hashem.

Hashem’s Moshiach is also mentioned in: 1Sh’muel 26:9,11,16,23; 2Sh’muel 1:14,16

The Messiah can be a righteous king:
2Sh’muel 19:21 Refers to David as “Hashem’s Moshiach”

2Sh'muel 23:1 Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse, the man who was elevated as the Moshiach of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel, said...

God can be angry with the Messiah:
Psalm 89:38 But You have cast off and abhorred, You have been angry with Your Moshiach.

The Messiah can be a gentile king:
Isaiah 45:1 Thus says Hashem to his Moshiach Koresh (Cyrus), whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him... 

2) The early Jewish followers of Rabbi Joshua ben Joseph (a.k.a. Jesus) were condemned by “the Church” because they denied the divinity and the “virgin birth” of Jesus:
“They considered him [Jesus] to be a plain and common man, who was justified only because of his superior virtue, and who was the fruit of the intercourse of Joseph with Mary.  In their opinion the observance of the law was altogether necessary, on the ground that they could not be saved by faith in Christ alone but by a corresponding life.”  [Hist. Eccl. III, xxvii - Eusebius]

“Nevertheless, inasmuch as they refused to acknowledge that he pre-existed, being God, Word, and Wisdom, they turned aside into the impiety of the former, especially when they, like them, endeavored to observe strictly the bodily worship of the law.”  [ibid]

3) The church added whole chapters to the New Testament (particularly the first two chapters of Matthew) to establish the “virgin birth;” and words were altered to establish that he was the “son of God.”  [See: The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture by Bart Ehrman]

Does it not seem strange that the “Jerusalem Church” rejected the divinity and the virgin birth while the “Roman Church” established these concepts.

Much more information is contained here:
http://bnai-el-chai.com/jesus.htm
http://bnai-el-chai.com/025Newsletter.htm

Kol tov,
Shomeir