Matthew, Chapters 2 & 3
from Rabbi Reads the Christian Book of Matthew Hosted by Rabbi Ariel Bar Tzadok
Yeshu born in Bethlehem? Why would this be necessary when the prophecy in Micah does not require the messiah to be born there?Who were the wise men from the east ? Persian astrologers? Does Matthew's reference to a star over Yeshu's birth indicate a belief in, and practice of, astrology? Some Christian scholars have said yes!Why would Joseph have to travel to Bethlehem for a census that would not occur for another ten years? Also, the census taker would have traveled to take the census, no one would have had to travel to him. Major discrepancies between Yeshu being born when Herod was king, and when this census is taken 10 years later. This indicates that not everything is literal or "gospel truth."Herod allegedly kills children in Bethlehem, however there is absolutely no record of this happening. All these stories seem to indicate a desire to build a mystique around Yeshu's birth, similar to stories we see today spun about the lives of famous rabbis.John the Baptist, a good Jew, an end-of-days preacher teaching teshuva and mikvah, Jewish concepts and practices still observed today by the Torah faithful.The baptism/mikvah connection. The ba'al teshuva/born again connection.The hypocrisy of the religious in those days, condemned equally by John, Yeshu, and the Talmud!
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