This was a
bold statement by Jesus directed at the Pharisees, whom he acknowledged as
sitting in the seat of Moses. This raises an important question where,
specifically, did Moses write about Jesus? If such a claim holds weight, why
then do Jewish scholars and communities reject Jesus, asserting that the Torah
contains no reference to him?
Objectively
speaking, from a neutral perspective neither Jewish nor Christian the Jewish
argument holds weight: there is no explicit mention of Jesus in the writings
attributed to Moses.
Consider
Jesus’ words: 'He wrote about me.' When someone writes about a person, it's
expected that they make it clear who that person is at the very least, offering some identifiable
description, right?
The critical
question remains: in which specific book and verse does Moses explicitly
identify Jesus as the one he was referring to?
Luke on the
other hand, goes a step further by stating that Jesus said:
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you
while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is
written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds
so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told
them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from
the dead on the third day,” [Luke 24]
According to Luke, the writings of Moses foretold the suffering, death,
and resurrection of Jesus. This claim opens the door to further scrutiny, as it
suggests a clear description we can now investigate. Regrettably, this claim
does not hold up to scrutiny. Nowhere in the Torah is 'the Messiah' explicitly
described as one who will suffer, die, and rise on the third day. There is no
single passage that directly prophesies this sequence of events.
The term “Messiah” appears 39 times in the Hebrew Bible, while the
phrase *המשיח* (HaMashiach – 'The Messiah'
with the definite article) appears only four times. Yet, in the New Testament,
Jesus claims that Moses wrote about him (John 5:46; Luke 24:44–46). The
question is: where exactly is he mentioned as “The Messiah” המשיח in the writings of Moses?
This leads to two possible explanations. One: the 'Torah' to which Jesus
referred may have differed from the text available in present-day Christian
Bibles. Two: the New Testament authors may have deliberately introduced or
reinterpreted such claims in order to appeal to a Jewish audience and
strengthen the case for Jesus as the prophesied Messiah.
If Christians cannot produce a direct, explicit, and unambiguous
reference to Jesus in the writings of Moses, it raises a fair question: on what
grounds do they expect Muslims to identify Prophet Muhammad Pbuh in a scripture
they themselves by now should confirm as being altered or corrupted?
Unless Christians can substantiate the claims made in John 5:46 and Luke 24:44–46 with explicit textual evidence from the writings of Moses, the argument remains unproven.
