Introduction
In this segment, Dr. Badawi continues in his attempt to convince us that the prophecies of the Old Testament do not apply to Jesus. He then continues to claim that Matthew was obsessed with Old Testament prophecies, and concludes by stating that the prophetic descriptions of Jesus also apply to other Prophets.
Jamal Badawi : The Psalms talk about deliverance and saving him. In Matthew 6:16-18 it speaks about Herod's order to kill the children younger than two and he connects that with Jeremiah weeping for her children. This is in Jeremiah 31:15, if you read the chapter, it has nothing to do with Herod because the story says that many Israelites were killed, and many were from Rachel and says how her soul is weeping. The prophecy is about the return of the children of Rachel in verse 17.
No, this has nothing to do with the number of people who were killed. Jeremiah 31 describes the beginning of the captivity of the Jews under the Babylonians. Jeremiah tells us that Rachel wept for her children. How could Rachel weep when she was dead? The grave of Rachel was located between Ramah and Bethlehem. Benjamin, one of the two tribes, and Ephraim, head of the ten tribes, were both descendants from Rachel. Rachel had two sons. The elder son died and his father grieved and refused to be comforted (see Genesis 37:35).
During this captivity, many children were carried away and many grieved to the point where, in poetic language, it was as if Rachel would come out of her grave to mourn with them. The parents even refused to be comforted for their children, because they were not, with them, but were in the hands of their enemies and they were never likely to see them ever again.
This same language and emotion is applied by Matthew to the great mourning in the town of Bethlehem for the murder of the infants by Herod. The parents wept for their dead children, and would not be comforted, because they did not believe that there was any means of comfort because they were not. In the end, the children of Israel returned to their land as did Jesus, after Mary and Joseph took Him to Egypt for safety.
We have no record as Jesus being called the Lord is our righteousness and Jesus was never the ruler of Israel, the Israelites did not dwell in security during Jesus, they were ruled by foreigners.
There are two ways to look at this prophecy:
1. Spiritual : The kings of the house of David were unjust and oppressive in ancient times and they did not prosper. Jesus destroys the power of Satan, and institutes a perfect rule of holy living, which, as far as it is accepted, makes the world a righteous place bringing a spiritual security and serenity in the minds of His followers.
2. Temporal : Jesus did not establish a political kingdom on earth. However, when He returns, He will be the ruler and have a kingdom on earth. This prophecy has not yet been fulfilled.
Jamal Badawi : Matthew was obsessed with prophecies. In Matthew 27:12-19, he refers to incidents during the alleged trial of Jesus and he refers to Isaiah 53:7 where it says he opened not his mouth. What was overlooked is that is that there were incidents that he spoke during the trial and he took precautions before he was arrested and told his followers to buy swords and he prayed.
The Bible tells us that Jesus was silent before the Chief Priests as well as in front of Pontius Pilate. Jesus was silent in answering the accusations that were made against Him. Jesus could have mounted an effective legal defense if He really wanted to do so. The evidence against Him was completely fabricated and His rights, under both Jewish and Roman laws, were badly violated - yet He remained silent. Jesus did indeed prepare Himself and His followers for His crucifixion. The swords that Jesus' followers took with them WERE NOT to defeat the Roman Army, that is a completely absurd notion. They probably took these to protect themselves from wild animals or robbers.
What? Jesus told Peter to put his sword away. Jesus DID NOT fight against His enemies, He went along peacefully.
Jamal Badawi : Micah 5:2 mentions someone who is from eternity and this is often used to refer to Jesus, but it is interesting that this has been corrected in the RSV. In the KJV,"whose goings forth have been from everlasting", in RSV "whose origin is from ancient days".
The Hebrew word used in this passage is yowm. This term appears 2287 times in the Bible and usually mean "day", which obviously does to fit into the context of this passage. Yowm also means continually and always which fits into the translation as "everlasting".
"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. Matthew 11:10 This is the one about whom it is written: "`I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'
All three writers make two changes. All added before thy face, the more important is thy way into my way. This is a reference of God sending John the Baptist ahead of Jesus. The text refers to God speaking, not Jesus and every Prophet prepares the way of the Lord.
Since God the Father and God the Son are God, it does not matter which is speaking. The purpose of the life and mission of John the Baptist was to prepare for the mission of Jesus.
The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."
Luke 20:41-44
Then Jesus said to them, "How is it that they say the Christ is the Son of David? David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: "`The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."' David calls him `Lord.' How then can he be his son?"
It is interesting that this verse in the KJV, Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand. In RSV, only the first Lord is capitalized that means that God said to my lord, which can mean teacher or master. These are some of the difficulties.
The Greek term kurios, which means Lord, is used twice in this passage. Also, Dr. Badawi is completely wrong when he says that the RSV does not capitalize the second Lord:
For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
If you do not believe me, please go to the Bible Gateway and read the passage with your own eyes. I often wonder if Dr. Badawi has ever actually opened a Bible and read what is inside?
Jamal Badawi : One is the question of the lineage of Jesus. Some say that all of these prophecies speak of Jesus and Jesus alone. One example: Genesis 3:15 says that he will be the son of a woman, who is not the son of a woman? To say that he will come from the seed of Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3, but there are so many even Muhammad. To say that he will come from the descent of Isaac Genesis 21:21, all of Israel's Prophets descend from Isaac. To be the descendent of Jacob Genesis 45, Number 24, but who said that this applies only to Jesus? From the tribe of Judah Genesis 49, but many came from Judah. Some say that he will be called the son of God but in 2 Samuel 7:14 and 2 Chronicles 17:13 but we know that others were called this. There are many references of someone who is praying to God that his enemies hated him, he was insulted, beaten and killed and he bore the sins. This is made in reference to the Psalms of David, especially 55, 69, 109 and so on, but this we have discussed that the person is praying will be saved.
Perhaps these prophecies could have applied to many people, and perhaps some may apply to people living today. However, when we read these prophecies in the context of the Old Testament and look at the work and words of Jesus, they apply only to Him.
I am not aware of any Prophet who claimed that he could, by himself, forgive sin. Only God can forgive sin and Jesus is God the Son and He made such a claim.
Miracles are a sign that someone is a messenger of God. Those who claim to be Prophets would be, and should be, rejected if they do not perform miracles or give accurate prophecies (predictions of future events). Jesus is not divine based only on the fact that he performed miracles, these are a part of His divine nature.
Jamal Badawi : Hosea 11:1, this applies to Israel, in Psalm 2:7, in Acts 13:32-33 indicates that the coming of Jesus was the fulfillment, but if you go back to the Psalms, this was directed to David. Some apply to Muhammad.
None apply to Muhammad except for, perhaps, 2 Peter 2:1:
Many prophecies in the Old Testament apply to King David, the children of Israel, and to Jesus the Messiah. These events were themes in the history of God's people and they recognized these prophecies as a way to identify Jesus as the Messiah, which is why so many accepted Him.
Responses to Jamal Badawi's "Radio Al-Islam Channel RA 200"
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