Hypothetically speaking I am a Pharisee writing a letter to a fellow Jew, a close friend studying this man called Jesus. Could this man a Nazarene be the Messiah?

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me.

He has sent me as a herald of joy to the humble ,To bind up the wounded of heart,

To proclaim release to the captives, Liberation to the imprisoned to proclaim a year of the Lord’s favou , And a day  of vindication by our God, To comfort all who mourn.(Isaiah 61:1,2) The Jewish Study Bible

My dear friend and brother Eleazer,

Shalom! I bring greetings to you and your family. I hope you are doing well and your family is blessed and prosperous as always thanks to our great Yahweh. Yahweh  be praised my wife and children are in good health and now Bengamin my oldest son is thirity three years old the same age as this man that caused such a religious revolution, this intriguing, mind boggling, baffling, downright rebel that caused so much of an uproar these past three years. Yet there was so much of love in him. So much of courage, compassion, wisdom but above all his love and devotion to Yahweh. Could  this mortal man who claims to be the son of the Almighty, Yahweh creator of heaven and earth be the Messiah? I have seen his mother Mary, I have, I have seen his brothers and friends .Yet he is different, he belongs yet does not belong. It says in the book of  Isaiah 7:14” Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign,the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel” Could this Mary have been a virgin rumour has it that she was when she was with child Jesus. He looked so different from his family, unlike Mary and Joseph and his strapping normal brothers. Could this be the divine birth that the prophets spoke about? He has flesh and blood like all men, yet this man is unlike all men.

Let me tell you why, long ago when I was the age of Bengmin I went to read the Torah at the temple, to the temple came a lovely young couple with a little baby.

Now this couple caught my attention because they came to dedicate their new born baby at the temple. As they walked to the place of dedication they were greeted by my friend Simon, the man of prayer, who is always at the temple praying for the consolation of Israel. He came to the couple took the baby in his arms and said” For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the gentiles and for glory to your people Israel” I was amazed and went to read the Torah just as I was about to open it Anna the prophetess went to greet them and I closed the Torah and went towards the young couple she took the child in her arms and spoke about the redemption of Israel through this baby. Being a Pharisee a devout one “hopefully” Yahweh be praised. I went towards this couple spoke to them and asked them the name of this baby and they said it was Jesus. Jesus said I registering the name in my memory as no one else I knew had that name .I lost  track of that baby yet the vision of that baby and the words spoken by Simon and Anna the prophetess kept haunting my mind .I remember the way the baby looked at me and smiled. Many years later I went to the temple, as I always do for the feast of the Passover. I saw this sweet boy about twelve years old looking very excited to be at the temple. He came up to us after the sacrifices and this time and stern and he asked me to explain how the sins of the people can be atoned for by the blood sacrifice of an animal. He asked me why does the law need to be enforced ? I thought this child can cause a revolt .The wisdom of this child was phenomenal and I asked him his name. The child looked at me straight in the eye and said “Jesus”. Then I knew this was no ordinary child. As this child spoke to Nathaniel and Jeremiah, I took this child aside and asked, who are you? Why do you look so grave? The child did not answer my first question but He said I now know why I have come into this world.It is to save the Lost, one ultimate sacrifice to fulfil the Law. I did not know what he meant. This boy was one day going to cause a revolution. The purpose of the life of this young boy was revealed when He came to the temple that day. I kept track of the life of this young boy called Jesus. I heard that he took over Joseph’s business as a carpenter. I visited his store at Nazareth and Jesus was the best carpenter that lived in all of Jerusalem. Jesus welcomed me into his store and gave me fresh grape juice and I looked with amazement at the furniture he made, it was absolutely exquisite. This furniture was not made by human hands but had divine inspiration inlaid with mortal aspiration. As we talked on he kept murmuring that His time was yet to come. Yet in my heart I knew that the time was at hand. For this Jesus to cause a revolution as the prophets of old had foretold. I also heard about this prophet called John The Baptist who was calling people to baptism” which was an outward sign of inward change” after they repented of their sins he was baptising them in the Jordan river. Being a curious man I went to hear him, his message was powerful, it cut to my heart urging me to repent and be baptised yet I restrained my self. For I knew it was not my time. As I watched John the Baptist, Jesus and some of his followers came up to him .I was amazed to see that this fascinating, intriguing man Jesus condescended to be baptised by John in the Jordan river. I watched with amazement that as Jesus was coming out of the water, I heard thunder and a voice from nowhere yet everywhere said “ You are my son whom I love with you I am well pleased.” Then I saw a dove come and sit on his head. His whole face was alight and I knew I had witnessed a very special and significant moment. News about this man called Jesus became an obsession with me.  I started asking people about him. I went to a synagogue talk about divine timing or was it fate Jesus a young man around thirty years of age read the Torah Isaiah 61:1,2” The spirit of the sovereign Lord  is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor . He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and release for the prisoners.” As He read these words his voice thundered in the synagogue and this Jesus had the audacity to say “today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Who did he think He was the son of God? Yet deep in my heart I knew this was no ordinary man. Even after what I heard at His baptism by John the Baptist. I had erased as the figment of my imagination. Yet through these divine appointments I studied him. Yahweh be praise. Then came a very big shock, that shook the very foundations of the ground around my feet.This Jesus started working miracles. Miracles, Yes this Jesus started drove out evil spirits from people. I followed Him to watch him more closely, whenever Jesus saw me watching Him with curiosity he gave me a slight nod and a wonderful smile, that warmed my heart. Jesus did not have an attitude of superiority” Look at me I am the one who works miracles” on the contrary Jesus was humble and full of compassion and touched a man with leprosy and healed him. It was a touch of love. A touch of compassion, a touch of peace for this man who was troubled in body and soul, Jesus touched this man and made him whole. This miracle touched the core of my being. This miracle spoke volumes to me about this man called Jesus.

Isaiah 53:5 “ But He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our inequities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him and by His wounds we are healed.” I heard about the arrest of Jesus and my heart raced and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. This wonderful man Jesus, the man I studied and loved was now standing before Pilate. There was a revolt over this man Jesus. I could not  enter into the palace of Pilate but waited outside. I heard  the crowd cry crucify Him, crucify Him, my heart wept how could they do this to this awesome man.This man did cause a revolution but not the way I expected. He was going to die. If He was God why did he not do anything supernatural yet my friend Eleazar there was a reason, there was purpose, there was a plan. I stood at the foot of the cross, my spirit and my heart weeping. As He cried out “ Father into your hands I commit my spirit”. Then He breathed His last. I felt in my spirit the pain, the agony, for such a losss yet I knew it was not over. No this could not and can not be the end. More was yet to come ,Some of his disciples told me that He had risen, my heart was overjoyed and I believed. It was then that I believed. Did He appear to me ? No but I knew that I knew, that this Jesus was no longer dead but alive. How did I know? Because Jesus said I will raise this temple in three days that temple meant His body. That man Jesus was the Messiah. This man Jesus the son of God, lived walked and breathed the same air as ordinary men. This man Jesus was a Jew by birth but a gentile by heart. This man Jesus caused a revolution even today in the hearts and lives of people. This man Jesus is the Christ, The anointed one, The Messiah, The Redeemer. This man Jesus is my all in all God of creation. Yeshua be praised.

Your loving brother and friend

Eli