The Anointed One: 350 Reasons Jesus Is the Messiah

By Ramin Pourfarzib PhD

Why do people reject Jesus as their Messiah? There are many reasons—a lack of understanding of the Bible, belief that the Messiah has not come yet but will come, the idea that the New Testament was fabricated, or belief that humans do not need salvation. No matter the reasons for rejecting or accepting Jesus, it is vital to know the facts.

The Anointed One examines ten common objections given in response to the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies through Jesus Christ and then provides biblical and historical evidence to address these issues. Some of these objections include the following:
• The New Testament was corrupted over time.
• There is no mention of Jesus in the Old Testament.
• Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies.
• Jesus was a false prophet.
• Jesus, along with His disciples, fabricated the scriptures in the
New Testament.

In contradicting these points, this study presents intelligent, honest, fair, and direct responses to these belief systems using the Hebrew scriptures and the Christian Bible. It cites a significant amount of scripture and features testimonies from Jewish rabbis and individuals who have accepted Jesus as their Messiah. Offering solid evidence for the case that the messianic prophecies were fulfilled through Jesus, the Anointed One, this study invites you on a journey to pursue and seek the truth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664263697

Ramin Pourfarzib PhD

Ramin Pourfarzib, PhD, is a Christian, author, and scientist. He has held many leadership positions at various pharmaceutical and diagnostic laboratory companies in the past twenty-eight years and currently works as a consultant for the pharmaceutical industry. He is the author of more than seventy papers and abstracts in several academic journals throughout his career. He serves as a deacon at Rechoboth Baptist Church in Tennessee.

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THE

ANOINTED

ONE

350 Reasons Jesus is the Messiah

RAMIN POURFARZIB, PHD

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Copyright © 2022 Ramin Pourfarzib, PhD.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-6367-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-6368-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-6369-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022907231

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/15/2022

ENDORSEMENTS

Without a sense of being argumentative, Ray has made a clear case for the messiahship of Christ. I am convinced the great battle of the next generation, which has already begun, will be the citadel of our faith, the Person of Jesus Christ. The question that they will face will be, Why Jesus? This question demands an answer, and Ray has given clear, straightforward answers like an effective attorney selling a case. You won’t be disappointed reading from the heart of a man who took seriously the command to earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

—Senior Pastor Alan Stewart

Rechoboth Baptist Church

The Anointed One is a powerful, compelling, and concise presentation of the argument that Jesus Christ is the Savior predicted by God through Old Testament prophets and described in the New Testament as the fulfillment of those predictions. It has been a joy and a blessing to read this book. I pray that God will powerfully use this book to bring persons seeking the truth to Jesus—the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

—Julian Atwood

Retired college professor and a deacon

Dr. Pourfarzib’s book systematically describes the prophecies of the Old Testament and how those have been fulfilled. The statistical improbability that these prophecies have been fulfilled is beyond mathematical comprehension. This thought-provoking book also challenges readers who are not Christian to see that the Messiah (Jesus) fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies and will come again as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

—Dr. H. Ed Perez

Cofounder

MedViewHealth

Why do today’s modern Jewish communities deny the deity of the risen Messiah? Not one to shy away from complex subjects, Dr. Ray Pourfarzib tackles head-on one of the big questions. An excellent read that provides scriptural evidence and effectively handles the objections so often given by those who deny that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This book is a must-read for both believers and nonbelievers.

—Dr. Robert Perallon

Associate director

US Medical Affairs, HEOR

Alexion Inc.

In his latest book, Dr. Pourfarzib embarks on another notable foray into apologetics, as he tackles the subject of Jesus’s messianic ministry, and the biblical evidence vindicating the claims that Jesus was God’s Anointed, the Savior, and the deliverer of mankind. Ray’s thorough and practical treatment of the subject demonstrates his high view of the scripture and affection for the biblical text. This book is a delight to read and a confidence builder for anyone who struggles with the apostolic claim that Jesus is Messiah and the only true Son of God.

—Dr. Richard Perallon

General dentistry, Florida

This book is dedicated to my daughters, Laila and Kati, for their unceasing love and support.

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CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled

Chapter 3: Suffering Messiah and the Crucifixion

Chapter 4: The Resurrection and Salvation

Chapter 5: Messianic Prophecies Yet to Be Fulfilled

Chapter 6: The Cornerstone and Stumbling Block

Chapter 7: The Son of God

Chapter 8: Coincidence

Chapter 9: Anti-Semitism

Chapter 10: It Is Finished

Chapter 11: Conclusion

Appendix 1

Notes

PREFACE

Why do people reject Jesus as their Messiah? There are many reasons. Some of these include a lack of understanding of the Bible. Other causes include the belief that the Messiah has not come yet but will come. The allegation that the New Testament was fabricated or that humans do not need salvation. No matter the reasons for rejecting or accepting Jesus, it is vital to know the facts. This book puts forth biblical and historical evidence to explain and answer ten common objections raised by the Jewish community and nonbelievers concerning the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies through Jesus Christ:

1. Jews reject the Christian scriptures (the New Testament). They believe it was corrupted over time. Also, the Hebrew scriptures were not translated correctly by Christians.

2. The Torah does not speak of Jesus.

3. Jews do not believe in a suffering Messiah and the Crucifixion.

4. Jews do not believe in Jesus being resurrected.

5. Jews believe they do not need salvation; they also question salvation for the Gentiles (a non-Jewish person).

6. As for the messianic prophecies, Jesus did not fulfill them. He did not bring peace.

7. Anyone who changes the law is a false prophet.

8. Jews do not believe that God has a son.

9. Jesus fulfilling the prophecies was a coincidence (by chance), or Jesus purposefully made the predictions happen, or His disciples fabricated the scriptures in the New Testament.

10. The New Testament and Christians are anti-Semites.

This book assesses and provides intelligent, honest, fair, and direct responses to these belief systems, using the Hebrew scriptures (Tanakh) and the Christian Bible. A significant amount of scripture has been cited in this book to address these objections. Finally, this book presents testimonies of Jewish rabbis and Jewish individuals who have accepted Jesus as their Messiah. My prayer for this book is to bring forth answers for those who question the messianic prophecies and allow the readers to be open-minded and seek the truth.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Special thanks to my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with everything. Thank you, Jesus! Your love and kindness have no end; it lasts for our entire lifetime. Whatever storms come into my life, You are my Rock, my Shelter, my Deliverer.

Thanks to my wife (Tracy), two daughters (Laila and Kati), mom (Zizi), dad (Amir), brother (Babak), my family, all my extended family, and friends for their endless love and support.

I owe an outstanding debt of thanks to individuals who have assisted me in writing this book: my wife Tracy, Pastor Alan Stewart, Julian Atwood, Deanna Hickman, Michael Hickam, Robert Perallon, and Richard Perallon.

CHAPTER 1

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INTRODUCTION

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When we look around and see pessimism on every side, we should remember the Bible is the only Book in the world that predicts the future. The Bible is more modern than tomorrow morning’s newspaper. The Bible accurately foretells the future, and it says that the consummation of all things shall be the coming again of Jesus Christ to this earth. If your life is dismal, depressed, and gloomy today, Christ can turn those dark clouds inside out. The sunlight of His love can still shine into the darkest part of your life.

—Rev. Billy Graham

T HE HEBREW PROPHETS AND THEIR scriptures foretold a Savior, a King, a Priest, and a Prophet. More than that, He would defeat sin, making eternal life possible for all humanity. From a Jewish perspective, this person was described in the scriptures as the Messiah. The Christian faith is founded on the belief that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied by the Hebrew prophets. Therefore, why do so many Jews not accept Jesus as their Messiah? Why do people reject Jesus as their Messiah without reading and understanding the scriptures? Why do people misrepresent the scripture? Why do people become irritated or defensive when explaining Christianity and our faith in Jesus as the prophesied Messiah?

In my previous book, published in 2020, What Is Satan Up To? A Christian’s Perspective in the 21st Century, I discussed the spiritual warfare humanity has faced from the beginning and will continue to face.¹ I conveyed how Satan continues to create confusion, chaos, misinformation, and misery in the world. Satan has been busy confusing the world with philosophy and false religions, generating chaos in our families and a lack of truth-telling from our news media, social media, and politicians. As mentioned in my book, there are over forty-three hundred religions in the world. Approximately 75 percent of the world’s population practices one of five religions (Christianity—2.22 billion followers; Islam—1.5 billion followers; Hinduism—1.05 billion followers; Buddhism—488 million followers; and Judaism—13 million followers). Approximately one-third of the world’s population practices Christianity. Christians follow the Old Testament and the New Testament and accept Jesus as their Messiah. Since the messianic prophecies were given to the Jewish people from God by His prophets, why do Judaism and many Jewish communities not accept Jesus as their Messiah and reject the New Testament? As I have posed these questions to my Jewish friends and have researched this topic, several reasons are given by many Jews for not accepting Jesus as their Messiah. Some of these reasons are listed below:

1. Jews reject the Christian scriptures (the New Testament). They believe it was corrupted over time. Also, the Hebrew scriptures were not translated correctly by Christians.

2. The Torah does not speak of Jesus.

3. Jews do not believe in a suffering Messiah and the Crucifixion.

4. Jews do not believe in Jesus being resurrected.

5. Jews believe they do not need salvation; they also question salvation for the Gentiles (a non-Jewish person).

6. As for the messianic prophecies, Jesus did not fulfill them. He did not bring peace.

7. Anyone who changes the law is a false prophet.

8. Jews do not believe that God has a son.

9. Jesus fulfilling the prophecies was a coincidence (by chance), or Jesus purposefully made the predictions happen, or His disciples fabricated the scriptures in the New Testament.

10. The New Testament and Christians are anti-Semites.

There are additional objections; however, the ten criticisms raised in this book reflect the significant tenets of the above challenges. Moreover, I want to emphasize that these criticisms are also made by many non-Jewish people who do not believe in the gospel of Jesus as being the Messiah. My goal in this book was to use the messianic prophecies in the Bible to demonstrate how Jesus fulfilled those prophecies as foretold by the Hebrew prophets. Hence, unless otherwise stated, most of the scriptures captured in this book are from the New International Version (NIV) Bible.

I would like to set the stage for this book and begin my reasoning with the following verse in the New Testament from the Gospel of John (John 5:39), where Jesus tells us the following passage:

You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me.

The John 5:39 passage in the New Testament is forthright concerning the prophecies that testified about Jesus as the Messiah through the Hebrew prophets in the Old Testament. Thus, this verse sets the foundation for this book. My goal is to use the Old Testament messianic prophecies and demonstrate how they were fulfilled in the New Testament through Jesus and no other person.

WHAT ARE JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY, AND WHO IS JESUS?

Before leaping into this book and addressing the messianic prophecies, it is vital to explain Judaism, Christianity, and Jesus. Judaism includes a member of the tribe of Judah, who are the offspring of the prophet Abraham. God promised to make Abraham’s offspring a great nation. Also sometimes called Israelites, they are members of a nation existing in the land of Israel from the sixth century BC. They believe God is the creator of all things, and He alone is to be worshipped. They are monotheistic and believe God has revealed Himself to Abraham, Moses, and the Hebrew prophets. They practice their faith by a religious life following their Hebrew scripture (Tanakh) and rabbinic traditions.

Christianity is an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on fulfilling the Hebrew messianic prophecies through Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, also called the Old Testament. Jesus’s life was chronicled in the New Testament. Christians follow both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Christians believe in God the Creator. It is a spiritual belief that is open to all, regardless of economic status, age, sex, or religion. It is a faith relationship with God that solves the problem of sin by receiving God’s grace in Jesus Christ. The main difference between Christianity and Judaism is that Christians accept Jesus as the Messiah and a personal savior. Judaism believes in the covenantal relationship between God and Abraham. Hence, they do not consider Jesus to be a divine being.

Who is Jesus? According to the New Testament, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Israel, approximately two thousand years ago. His birth time is divided by the Western civilization between BC (before Christ) and AD (anno Domini, or the year of our Lord). Jesus lived with His family in Nazareth as a carpenter. In His thirties, Jesus began His public ministry (approximately three years) and conducted many miracles. Early in His ministry, Jesus selected twelve disciples and had them follow His teachings. Jesus asked these twelve individuals to follow Him, and He would make them fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). As written in the New Testament, Jesus trained His disciples to serve and minister to others. The most important thing Jesus did with these twelve individuals was to share the truth and help them become spiritually mature disciples. Their names, as recorded by the Gospel of Matthew, were Simon (who was called Peter), Andrew (brother of Simon), James (son of Zebedee), John (brother of James), Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew (tax collector), James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddeus (Judas the Zealot), Simon (Canaanite), and Judas Iscariot (who betrayed Jesus).

During His three-year ministry, Jesus’s reputation spread nationwide. Jesus’s key messages included the following: (1) good news: the kingdom of God has come to earth, (2) God loves you and is with you, (3) love one another, (4) forgive one another, and (5) God forgives those who ask. However, Jesus’s most controversial message was that He claimed to be God. This was a direct violation of Jewish law. The Jewish leaders (the religious counsels) were troubled at this claim and took note of Him. As a result, the religious leaders asked the Roman government in Jerusalem to execute Jesus. During the trials, the Romans did not find Jesus guilty of breaking any Roman laws. Even the Jewish leaders recognized that other than Jesus’s claim to be God, He did not violate any Jewish laws.

Nevertheless, the Jewish leaders persuaded Pontius Pilate, a Roman governor, to authorize an execution. Jesus was tortured and hung on a Roman cross (the Crucifixion). However, as prophesied by Jesus before His Crucifixion, Jesus returned from the dead three days later (the Resurrection). Over the next forty days, Jesus journeyed throughout Israel, and many witnessed Him being alive. Many believed that this was conclusive proof of Jesus’s claim to be God. Jesus returned to Jerusalem, and according to witnesses, He left the earth alive by rising into the sky (the Ascension to heaven). As a result of these miraculous events, the number of His followers increased dramatically, and the religious leaders responded by trying to eliminate Jesus’s followers. Many of Jesus’s followers (Christians and His disciples) chose to die rather than deny their beliefs. Within one hundred years, people throughout the Roman Empire became followers of Jesus. Within three hundred years, Christianity became the Roman Empire’s official religion. Within five hundred years, the Greek temples were transformed into Christian churches.

The ministry of Jesus is captured in the New Testament. Therefore, there is a significant amount of criticism by Jews and nonbelievers regarding the New Testament. Thus, for the remainder of this chapter, I will focus on the first criticism by the Jews regarding the authenticity of the New Testament. Also, in this chapter, I will address another objection raised by nonbelievers—that the Bible (Old and New Testament) is not supported by the archaeological findings and our modern scientific understandings. To do that, let us first address the authenticity of all the scriptures and see how they were written.

THE HEBREW AND CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES

How were the Hebrew scriptures created? The Hebrew Bible is called the Tanakh after the first letter of the three sections composed: the Torah,