Yeshua was a Jew with a long, impressive genealogy reaching all
the way back to King David. However, in traditional Christian
teaching, His Jewishness has often been suppressed. Some people
even say, "Jesus was a Jew until His resurrection." Others refuse
to admit that He is Jewish now and still will be Jewish when He
returns. When we diminish the Jewishness of Yeshua, we diminish His
claim to the throne of Israel.
In addition to being Jewish, the true Messiah must be Torah
observant.
Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom,
he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the
presence of the Levitical priests. (Deuteronomy 17:18 )
The Torah gives laws that pertain specifically to the king of
Israel. The king of Israel is not to multiply horses or wives. He
is to write a copy of the Torah for Himself and keep it with Him,
studying it all the days of His life. He is to be careful to
observe "all the words of this Torah and these statutes . that he
may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left."
(Deuteronomy 17:19-20)
The laws of the king in Deuteronomy 17 apply especially to Messiah.
Remember that Messiah, in essence, means king. Every king of Israel
was called an anointed one, that is "messiah." Yeshua is the King,
the Anointed One, the Son of David. Therefore, the laws of
Deuteronomy 17 apply to Messiah as much as they applied to King
Solomon. If Messiah did not keep or uphold the laws of the king in
Deuteronomy 17, then he would not be a worthy king of Israel.
As the ultimate king of Israel, Messiah must be completely Torah
observant. Indeed, only Yeshua perfectly fulfills the requirements
of the king of Israel. By virtue of being sinless, only Yeshua can
claim to have not turned aside from the Torah. He alone is the
worthy king of Israel.