And worse, some even placed stumbling blocks in front of your ancestors, such as those who said that Jews must perpetually pay for the blood of Christ, quoting the crowd who said before Yeshua’s death, “his blood come upon us and upon our children.” 1
Now, quite apart from how the words of a frenzied mob could have the power to bind a whole people for all eternity, or to dictate the will of YHWH, we have seen how prophecy in several places says only that the generation of the anointed one would suffer.
If Yeshua was the despised servant described by Isaiah, it says that his generation would be plagued. If he was the son born who would be called “Mighty God,” then a remnant of Jacob would return to him, while a “conclusion that has been reached” would take place in the midst of all the land. If he was the prophet like Moses, then those who heard him and did not listen would be held to account. If he was the messenger of the covenant described by Malachi, then Malachi also asked, who would endure the day of his coming? For the arrogant and wicked at his coming would be burned like stubble.
All these things came upon Yeshua’s generation. And Yeshua himself said that his generation would be divinely charged with all the righteous blood spilled from Abel to Zechariah. His generation did indeed pay the divine charge, as demonstrated by the destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple and the nation itself, so it cannot also be charged to a later generation.
But most important of all, since Yeshua was indeed the despised servant foretold by Isaiah, the prophet says that “it was YHWH's desire to crush him and cause him to be wounded.” 2
Yes, it was God’s purpose to have Yeshua put to death, so that he could be raised from the dead, and become the first man born from a woman to have immortality. In this way, he could no longer be destroyed, just as the kingdom seen in vision by Daniel is one that cannot be destroyed, and is therefore immortal. His resurrection is a token and guarantee of what is to come for YHWH’s chosen ones.
And now, if we look again at the prophecy of Daniel about the “seventy sevens,” we see something remarkable. Its purpose was “to restrain the transgression, and to get rid of sin, and to make atonement for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint a Holy of Holies.” 3
As we have said, “seal up vision and prophet” is ambiguous. It could mean to fulfill the promises made through the prophets, but it could also mean to put a veil over them, to obscure them.
Your teachers say the “anointed one” who is “cut off” in this prophecy is the last high priest, or the last king, or the entire sacrificial system. When they say this, and teach that the despised servant was the nation itself, they “seal up vision and prophet” for themselves, just as Gabriel foretold.
In this way, the words of YHWH through Isaiah come upon them, where he says: “The wisdom of their wise ones will perish, and the understanding of their sages will be hidden.” 4 YHWH does not speak here of the sages of the Gentiles, but those of his own nation! But when there is a recognition of the true identity of YHWH’s anointed one, the third and greatest veil is removed.
For it is the role of the despised servant to “get rid of sin” and “make atonement for iniquity,” and it is also he that brings in “everlasting righteousness,” because he is YHWH’s “righteous servant.”
So he is really the anointed one being spoken of in Daniel’s prophecy; but as in Isaiah’s prophecy about the “son,” his kingdom takes time to grow and bear fruit, just as it says: “Of the increase of his rulership and of peace there will be no end.” 5
As foretold by Micah, he would “give them up,” that is, the people of Israel, for a time. Not that he abandoned them altogether, but his mission was first to the Jews, and then it was to be for a “light of Gentiles,” to be YHWH’s “salvation to the end of the earth.”
For up until that time, all men and women, Jew and Gentile alike, had become prisoners to death, from which even the law of Moses could not release them. For Adam, our human father, acted selfishly and without insight, and brought death upon all his offspring. But Yeshua acted selflessly and with wisdom, and so YHWH made him a token and guarantee to all people, Jew and Gentile alike, of how he would bring life again to all who desire it. In this way, he would become their “Everlasting Father,” while also being a pattern for the remnant of Israel to model themselves after.
And YHWH could use his blood to initiate a “covenant of the people,” a covenant for everlasting life, not like the one written on tablets of stone, but this time on hearts, and entered into by each person individually, Jew and Gentile alike.
And all of this is no mere human invention; but as we have seen, it was promised to your ancestors and to you through the mouth of YHWH’s prophets.