"I vividly remember the first time I seriously confronted Isaiah 53, or better still, the first time it seriously confronted me, " Barry explains. "Being rather confused over the identity of the Servant in Isaiah 53, I went to my local rabbi and said to him, "Rabbi, I have met some people at school who claim that the so-called Servant in Isaiah 53 is none other than Jesus of Nazareth. But I would like to know from you, who is this Servant in Isaiah 53?"Barry was astonished at his response. The rabbi said: "Barry, I must admit that as I read Isaiah 53 it does seem to be talking about Jesus, but since we Jews do not believe in Jesus, it can't be speaking about Jesus."
Barry didn't know a lot about formal logic at that point, but he knew enough to say to himself, "That just doesn't sound kosher to me! Not only does the rabbi's so-called reasoning sound circular, it also sounds evasive and even fearful." Today Barry observes, "There are none who are as deaf as those who do not want to hear." (From: Geisler & Turek - I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, p. 332). Barry Leventhal is the Academic Dean at Southern Evangelical Seminary where he has taught since 1997. The grandson of Orthodox Jews who immigrated from Russia and Hungary, he was raised in a Conservative Jewish home in Southern California. As a student at UCLA, Barry was co-captain of the 1965 UCLA Football Team, which won the Rose Bowl in January 1966. Also active in the band, he was graduated as a Blue Key Honor Graduate. Most significantly, however, as a senior, Barry came to faith in Jesus as his personal Lord, Messiah, and Savior through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.
Source: Pasche Institute of Jewish Studies
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