Have you ever noticed a discrepancy between what Jesus
said at the synagogue in Nazareth and the scripture he was actually quoting
from Isaiah 61:1? Jesus seems to have added a phrase that wasn’t in Isaiah, but
did he add it or did he quote it exactly? What we have recorded in Luke as
Jesus’ words seem to have been fulfilled in his walk, because indeed he brought
the recovery of sight to the blind. Not just figuratively, not just one blind
person, but many blind people. In fact, Jesus healed more blind people than
anyone else ever did. That alone should have been enough for people to fear
tampering with the text, but because one group did not believe in Jesus as the
Messiah, we are left with altered texts, and we must search out several sources
to determine the correct translation.
Jesus did not speak King James English, he spoke Northern
Aramaic, and while people of that time period spoke Aramaic, they wrote Greek.
The Greeks had been the rulers of the “whole world” in those days. We can find
many alterations to texts, and as we have studied, Goy or Goyim is one of those
random and ridiculous misconceptions. As we know, the Greeks did not have a
word for themselves as being “less than” the Jews. Nor did they have a word for
themselves that described them as heathen dogs, while the Jews were exalted
above everyone else on the planet. That misconception and deliberate
translation change has made people feel badly if they are not Jews. Horrid! God
did not call you a Gentile, and that should not have a negative connotation. The
word should have been translated Nation(s) or Tribe(s). http://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2013/12/gentiles-all-jews-are-goyim-multitudes.html
Jesus quoted the Septuagint when he said this:
Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal
the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of
sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,19 To preach the
acceptable year of the Lord. KJV
By 300 B.C. Hebrew was nearly a lost language, and as we
have noted before the Hebrew writing styles evolved over time. Moses wrote in
paleo or hieroglyphs, which evolved into to a cursive Phoenician style, which
again evolved into the block lettering at the time of the Babylon captivity.
But by 300 B.C. not many people wrote or spoke Hebrew. The written language of
the day was Greek. At the time of the first century, people were fluent in
writing Greek. The synagogue scrolls were all written in Greek and people read
them daily. Jesus quoted from the Greek scrolls. In 300 B.C. Ptolemy commissioned
72 scribes under the direction of the high priests and Sanhedrin to scribe the
Hebrew scrolls into Greek which gives us the Septuagint today. So did Jesus
make a mistake or did he really say what was written in Isaiah 61:1? Let’s read
this again in the Amplified.
Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because
He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the
Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and
recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are
oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity],
19 To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when
salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound.] [Isa 61:1,2.] AMP
We obviously have a problem as Jesus was quoting from the
Septuagint, but some of our Bibles today omit the phrase “recovery of sight to
the blind”. Why?
Isa 61:1-2 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because
the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me
to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the
opening of the prison to them that are bound;2 To proclaim the acceptable year
of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; KJV
Our discrepancy exists because the Masorete’s altered the
Biblical text. The Jews first started attempting to alter text in about 130
A.D. and early church leaders wrote of the shame these Jews should have for
what they were doing. The Jews simply were attempting to erase Christianity
from the scrolls. By 300 A.D. the Masorete’s were still altering text to
eliminate Jesus as being Messiah, and this practice continued until 1000 A.D.
One of things they altered was the usage of Yahweh/Jehovah to Adonai,
purportedly 134 times, as well as several sections of text changing Elohim to
Adonai. (See EW Bullinger’s Companion Bible Appendix 32 for an almost complete
listing,) They eliminated words and letters, and by 700 A.D. the problem was
that no one knew what had been altered anymore, so that things were repeatedly
being changed. The Masorete’s also burned texts and eliminated texts from their
collection of scrolls that spoke of the Messiah such as the Wisdom of Solomon, or scrolls that portrayed
the Jews in a bad light like The History
of Susanna. They had no oversight by Priests or the Sanhedrin as the
Priests and Sanhedrin didn’t exist after 70 A.D. So Masorete’s were free to
change what they wanted without any checks and balances.
We have to determine if Jesus was truly quoting Isaiah
61:1. Are there translations that include the phrase “recovery of sight to the
blind”? As we just saw the King James Version does not include that phrase. The
King James Version was translated from the Masoretic text. Here the Amplified
includes a variation of our missing phrase.
Isa 61:1-2 THE SPIRIT of the Lord God is upon me, because
the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to
the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and
the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound, [Rom 10:15.] 2
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the year of His favor] and the day
of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, [Matt 11:2-6; Luke 4:18,19;
7:22.] AMP
What can we do? Sometimes we have to dig deeper to look
at discrepancies. Remember the Septuagint was scribed in 300 B.C. and while
some of the Septuagint versions have been altered as well, there are a few old
and nearly unaltered versions we can find. One such version is the Apostolic Bible Polyglot English Text, Copyright
1996 by Charles Van der Pool. It includes a Strong’s numbering system for
the Greek Old Testament. While this version seems to be out of print there is a
free on-line version we can search through.
ABP_Strongs(i)
Isaiah 61:1G4151SpiritG2962of the lordG1909is uponG1473me,G3739 G1752becauseG5548he
anointedG1473meG2097to
announce good newsG4434to the poor.G649He
has sentG1473meG2390to
healG3588the onesG4937being
brokenG3588in theG2588heart;G2784to
proclaimG164[2to captivesG8591a release],G2532andG5185[2to the blindG3091recovery
of sight]; 2 G2564to callG1763[2yearG29623 of
the lordG11841 the acceptable],G2532andG2250dayG469of
recompense;G3870to comfortG3956allG3588the onesG3996mourning;
http://studybible.info/ABP_Strongs/Isaiah%2061
Another version that we can read which was taken from
some of the oldest unspoiled texts is the English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible, The Translation of
the Greek Old Testament Scriptures, Including the Apocrypha Compiled
from the Translation by Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton 1851. This is also a free on-line resource.
61:1 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has
anointed me; he has sent me to preach glad tidings to the poor, to heal the
broken in heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to
the blind; 2 to declare the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of
recompence; to comfort all that mourn;. http://www.ecmarsh.com/lxx/Esaias/index.htm
Here are two Jewish Bible versions that eliminate the
words “recovery of sight to the blind”. This tells us they were transcribed
from a Masoretic Text and not the Septuagint.
Isaiah 61 Complete Jewish
Bible (CJB)
61 The Spirit of Adonai Elohim is upon me, because Adonai has
anointed me to announce good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the
brokenhearted; to proclaim freedom to the captives, to let out into light those
bound in the dark; 2 to proclaim the year of the favor
of Adonai and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who
mourn,
Yeshayah 61 Orthodox
Jewish Bible (OJB)
61 The Ruach [Hakodesh] of Adonoi Hashem is upon me [Moshiach],
because Hashem mashach (hath anointed) me [Moshiach] to preach besurah
(good news, glad tidings) unto the anavim (meek, poor, oppressed); He hath sent
me to bind up the nishberei lev (the brokenhearted), to proclaim deror
(freedom, liberty) for the shevuyim ([Golus] captives), and the opening
of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the
Shnat Ratzon L’Hashem (the year of the L-rd’s favor and grace), and the Yom
Nakam L’Eloheinu (our G-d’s Day of Vengeance); to comfort all the avelim (mourners);
It is important to realize that we have to go beyond
reading our standard Bible to understand scripture. It is to our benefit to
search out various texts and then put them in a timeline format. Which versions
are older or newer, and which modern translations were derived from what sources
helps us understand our history. This is also for the benefit of others who do
not believe. What I mean is, how can we teach a Jewish person about who Jesus
was without this knowledge? Yes, Christians have a habit of saying “you have to
take it by faith”, but that doesn’t always communicate to non-Christians. Jesus
did in fact heal blind people. This was a notable sign to a Jewish person and
many followed Jesus at that time, but years later, with the erasing of
scripture, people may not be quite sure.
Did Jesus heal the blind? If he did, he announced it
correctly in the synagogue in Nazareth. Otherwise he added to Isaiah, but as we
have seen he did not add to the prophetic words of Isaiah, but stated them
correctly. Let’s look to see if Jesus fulfilled this scripture.
Matt 9:27-31And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men
followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.28 And
when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith
unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.29
Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.30
And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that
no man know it.31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in
all that country. KJV
Two blind people were healed as recorded here. After
Jesus’ fame was spread abroad, John, who was in prison, sent two of his
disciples to talk to Jesus. Was he really the Messiah? When John baptized him they
all heard the audible voice from heaven and saw the Holy Spirit descend on him,
but John was in prison and he needed to find out if Jesus was the one fulfilling
the requirements of Messiah. Look what Jesus tells Johns disciples.
Matt 11:2-6 Now when John had heard in the prison the
works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,3 And said unto him, Art thou he
that should come, or do we look for another?4 Jesus answered and said unto
them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:5 The blind
receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf
hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.6
And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. KJV
The first thing Jesus says is that the blind see. Jesus
gave him the list and says that those who are not offended in him will be
blessed. Another blind man who also couldn’t speak was healed. The people
debated as to whether Jesus was the son of David, meaning they were wondering
if he was the Messiah because the blind were receiving their sight.
Matt 12:22-28 Then was brought unto him one possessed
with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and
dumb both spake and saw.23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not
this the son of David?24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This
fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.25
And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided
against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided
against itself shall not stand:26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided
against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?27 And if I by Beelzebub cast
out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be
your judges.28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom
of God is come unto you. KJV
When the honest hearted people considered Jesus as the
Messiah, the religious leaders tried to shut them down. However, Jesus didn’t
even have to hear what the religious leaders were telling the people, he just
answered them with the recognition that the devil won’t cast out the devil.
That would be silly. Instead the religious leaders were not even considering
the fact that the man could now see and speak, they seemed to only be concerned
with the casting out of demons. Their focus diverted the people from the obvious,
which was that a man who was blind and dumb could now see and speak. Yet that
did not deter the people from seeking healing from Jesus.
Matt 15:29-31 And Jesus departed from thence, and came
nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.30
And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame,
blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he
healed them:31 Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to
speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they
glorified the God of Israel. KJV
Again they wondered. Now we should wonder, was there
anyone else that could do these miracles to this degree? I don’t mean has
anyone else healed one or two people from blindness, but how many people have
been healed to the extent that Jesus healed people. On the way to Jericho
someone else gets healed from blindness.
Mark 10:46-52 And they came to Jericho: and as he went
out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind
Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.47 And when he
heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son
of David, have mercy on me.48 And many charged him that he should hold his
peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.49
And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind
man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.50 And he,
casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.51 And Jesus answered and
said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said
unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.52 And Jesus said unto him, Go
thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight,
and followed Jesus in the way. KJV
While he was leaving Jericho two more people were healed
from blindness.
Matt 20:29-34 And as they departed from Jericho, a great
multitude followed him.30 And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side,
when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O
Lord, thou Son of David.31 And the multitude rebuked them, because they should
hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord,
thou Son of David.32 And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will
ye that I shall do unto you?33 They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be
opened.34 So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and
immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him. KJV
It wasn’t enough that Jesus was healing people from
blindness all over the place, in the north and the south of Israel, now Jesus is
healing blind people in the temple.
Matt 21:14-16 And the blind and the lame came to him in the
temple; and he healed them.15 And when the chief priests and scribes saw the
wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and
saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased,16 And said unto
him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never
read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? KJV
This is a revealing thing to record, that the chief
priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that Jesus did and the children
crying out Hosanna to the Son of David, yet the chief priests and scribes were
displeased. From the first century, Jewish religious people were always trying
to claim someone else was the Son of David, the Messiah. Rabbi after Rabbi
declared various people to be the Messiah, yet none of them ever healed as many
blind people as we see here. Therefore, if they eliminate the requirement of
recovering sight to the blind, anyone could be declared the Messiah and people
would believe it. Eliminating the recovery of sight to the blind from Isaiah
61:1 helped sell their religion and continue the claim that Jesus was not the
Messiah. People didn’t have their own printed Bibles, and most could not read
the scrolls in Hebrew, so the Masorete’s had an edge in propagating these
alterations. We have to recognize that we are not told exactly how many blind
people Jesus healed, but for two thousand years not one other person healed
this many blind people. Jesus didn’t always heal people in the same way either.
Mark 8:22-26 And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a
blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.23 And he took the blind man
by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and
put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.24 And he looked up, and
said, I see men as trees, walking.25 After that he put his hands again upon his
eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.26
And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell
it to any in the town. KJV
Jesus took this man out of Bethsaida and spit on his
eyes. Another blind man was healed when Jesus used clay, and we see Jesus
healing another man who had been born blind. Jesus had been teaching in the
temple and the Scribes and Pharisees threw a women who had been caught in
adultery at him. Jesus continued teaching in the treasury and then initiated
another conversation with the Scribes and Pharisees regarding who he was. Jesus
declared himself to be the “I AM”. Jesus then left the temple and as he was
leaving he saw a man who had been born blind.
John 9:1-12 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which
was blind from his birth.2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did
sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?3 Jesus answered, Neither
hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made
manifest in him.4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day:
the night cometh, when no man can work.5 As long as I am in the world, I am the
light of the world.6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made
clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,7
And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation,
Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.8 The neighbours
therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not
this he that sat and begged?9 Some said, This is he: others said, He is like
him: but he said, I am he.10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes
opened?11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and
anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I
went and washed, and I received sight.12 Then said they unto him, Where is he?
He said, I know not. KJV
Even today, there seems to be this superstition where
some people believe that if a child is not born whole then someone must have
sinned. That is not the case. But even if it was true, we have atonement for
our sins in Jesus. Notice what Jesus says, he says “neither” have sinned. This
man was blind and didn’t receive his sight until after he washed the clay off
his eyes; of course he didn’t see who put the clay on his eyes, he was blind.
Everyone was quite upset over this as it was the Sabbath.
John 9:13-27 They brought to the Pharisees him that
aforetime was blind.14 And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and
opened his eyes.15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received
his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do
see.16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he
keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do
such miracles? And there was a division among them.17 They say unto the blind
man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He
is a prophet.18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been
blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had
received his sight.19 And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say
was born blind? how then doth he now see?20 His parents answered them and said,
We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:21 But by what means
he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of
age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.22 These words spake his parents,
because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man
did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.23
Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.24 Then again called they the
man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this
man is a sinner.25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know
not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.26 Then said they
to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?27 He answered
them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it
again? will ye also be his disciples? KJV
Religious leaders were so stirred up and agitated by all
the miracles that Jesus had been doing that they started threatening people
with being put out of the synagogue. The synagogue was the center of every
community and a very important place to connect with the other Jews in the
community. To be excommunicated was a horrible social stigma. They wouldn’t be
able to buy, sell, or worship in their town, and would probably have to move.
The parents couldn’t claim Jesus was the Messiah, so they avoided answering.
The blind man gets a little snippy with the religious leaders, and the
religious leaders fire back.
John 9:28-34 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art
his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples.29 We know that God spake unto Moses:
as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.30 The man answered and said
unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he
is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.31 Now we know that God heareth not
sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he
heareth.32 Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes
of one that was born blind.33 If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.
34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost
thou teach us? And they cast him out.
The man points out that God does not hear sinners. The
religious leaders kept trying to claim he was a sinner, born in sins. Since the
world began, no one had opened the eyes of the person born blind and it was a
marvelous thing, and the man points out they should recognize who Jesus is.
John 9:35-39 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and
when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?36
He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?37 And Jesus
said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.38
And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.39 And Jesus said, For
judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that
they which see might be made blind. KJV
Now Jesus doesn’t just mention who he is, but he says
that he came for judgment. How will people respond to miracles? Do they deny
them and cast people out of the synagogue, or do they celebrate and in wonder
consider if this is the Messiah? Judgment is not always someone else deciding
your fate, but you deciding your own fate by your own decisions and behavior.
Jesus responds to the Pharisees.
John 9:40-41 And some of the Pharisees which were with
him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?41 Jesus said unto
them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see;
therefore your sin remaineth. KJV
If they had been blind they wouldn’t be sinners, but
because they “see” and don’t agree with the miracle of healing the one born
blind, they were stuck in their sins. Put simply, they rejected this miracle
because they could see Jesus. This division came at a bad time in history to
the Jewish mind. The Romans were occupying the land and had become the
overlords of the Jews. What the Jews wanted was to have their land back under
their own control. A division like this made them weaker not stronger.
John 10:19-22 There was a division therefore again among
the Jews for these sayings.20 And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is
mad; why hear ye him? 21 Others said, These are not the words of him that hath
a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? 22 And it was at Jerusalem the
feast of the dedication, and it was winter. KJV
Once the Jews themselves were divided, a faction rose up
to get rid of the evidence that Jesus came as Messiah. That group of people had
the mindset that if they changed the written scrolls they could do away with
the new group of Jesus followers. When that did not happen over many years, the
same group decided to gather all the ancient writings under the guise of
transcribing them, and instead they burned them. By the time we get to 1000
A.D. the Masorete’s had written a new group of scrolls, altering the text to
fit their beliefs. Again, alterations were being been made for at least 700
years, so tracking the changes becomes challenging. Logic would dictate that a
scroll written in 1000 A.D. should not be taken as seriously as one written in
300 B.C. And that is where we are today, on a hunt for the unadulterated text.
Just to point out that the Old Testament was not the only
altered text, let’s look at the New Testament. In the story of Phillip
witnessing to the Ethiopian, we have a section of scripture that some modern
translations do not include.
Acts 8:36-38 And as they went on their way, they came
unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder
me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine
heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God.38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they
went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
KJV
Verse 37 is not included in the
Message, Darby, New Living
Translation, and the International Standard Version. There was no standard for
the New Testament like the Septuagint, so we are at the mercy of varying text.
The Masoretic text eliminates this verse but it is found in western texts. The Apostolic Bible Polyglot English Text, Copyright 1996 by
Charles Van der Pool
includes this verse.
Acts 8:37G2036[3saidG11611AndG3588 G*2Philip],G1487IfG4100you believeG1537ofG3650your entireG3588 G2588heart,G1832it is allowed.G611And respondingG1161 G2036he said,G4100I believeG3588[4theG52075sonG3588 G23166of GodG1510.13to beG3588 G*1JesusG55472Christ]. http://studybible.info/ABP_Strongs/Acts%208
The Complete Jewish
Bible takes this verse out but footnotes it at the bottom of the page.
Complete Jewish
Bible
Acts 8:36 As they were going down the road, they came to some water; and
the eunuch said, “Look! Here’s some water! Is there any reason why I shouldn’t
be immersed?” 37 [b] 38 He ordered the chariot to stop;
then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip immersed
him.
b Some manuscripts include verse 37: And Philip
said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” He answered, “I believe
that Yeshua the Messiah is the Son of God.”
The Orthodox Jewish
Bible includes this verse in brackets. This tells us that even the writers of
these Bibles felt this verse should be included.
Orthodox Jewish Bible
37 [And Philippos said, “If you have emunah b’chol levavcha, it is mutar. And he answered, saying, Ani ma’amin ki Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach Yehoshua Ben HaElohim hu.]
37 [And Philippos said, “If you have emunah b’chol levavcha, it is mutar. And he answered, saying, Ani ma’amin ki Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach Yehoshua Ben HaElohim hu.]
While there are many more alterations
to the text, and at least two thousand discrepancies between the Septuagint and
the Masoretic Text, one thing is certain, Jesus healed many blind people. We
count here at least 10 blind people, but when the text reads they brought the blind there may have
been several blind people healed. So conservatively, at least ten blind people
were healed.
Jesus did not add to Isaiah’s
prophecy, but rather he quoted it accurately. Jesus healed so many people that
the Jews became divided, but the question of whether Jesus was the Messiah is
settled. No one has fulfilled Isaiah 61:1 to the degree Jesus had. If one is
looking to understand whether Jesus could have been the Messiah, one only has
to read the things that he did and compare them to the prophecies of the Old
Testament. If one finds a discrepancy, a little deeper study will ultimately
answer those questions. By erasing this one phrase, the “recovering of sight to
the blind” from Isaiah, anyone could claim to be the Messiah, but by putting it
back in, only one person could be the Messiah; Yeshua is the Messiah.
