My friend invited me to go a Jewish church, and I feel kind of funny about going since I am a Christian, and I don’t know anything about their type of services and what they believe.  Should I go?  Don’t they follow the first five books of the Bible and don’t believe in Jesus?  I thought we weren’t under the Laws of Moses in the Old Testament since Christ came.

Sincerely,
Not A Jew

Dear Not A Jew,

There isn’t anything wrong with visiting a Jewish church as long as you understand that they are lost and need our help.  Paul used to visit the synagogues to preach Jesus to them (Acts 18:4).  The Jews are not Jesus’ chosen people; the church is.  Jesus says that Christians are His royal priesthood and chosen race (1 Pet 2:9).  Under the Old Testament, the Jewish people were God’s nation (Deut 7:6).  The Jewish nation was warned that if they rejected God’s Son, they would be rejecting God, and God would make a new nation out of those who believed in Christ (Jesus explained this to the Jews in the parable of the vineyard – Lk 20:9-19).  The vast majority of Jews didn’t believe in Jesus, and therefore, they never became a part of Jesus’ kingdom.  Jesus’ chosen people are those that love Him and keep His commandments (Jhn 14:15).  The Jewish people rejected God because they decided to keep their traditions instead of accepting God’s Son (Mk 7:9).

     Where does Israel currently stand with the Lord?  I ask this because many christians support Israel.  Some of that support is for political reasons; Israel is an allied nation and a democracy, but most of the support comes from their belief that God still holds Israel as His chosen people.  Some of this belief, I know, stems from Premillennialism and the belief that the Lord will raise up Israel in the end times.  The popular Left Behind series pushed this concept.  I do not subscribe to that view, so you don’t need to respond to that belief.  I can’t help but to believe that God has had a role in the history of Israel.  No other culture has withstood the destruction of their cultural center and identity (AD 70 siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple), been scattered, persecuted, almost wiped out, and managed to come back and re-establish their nation and culture.

So my question is: does God still hold Israel in His good graces? Or is He just protecting them out of His obligation to Abraham? Or is He protecting them at all?

Sincerely,
History Buff

Dear History Buff,

The nation of Israel lost God’s protection when they rejected God’s Son.  Jesus says that christians are His royal priesthood and chosen race (1 Pet 2:9).  Under the Old Testament, the Jewish people were God’s nation (Deut 7:6).  The Jewish nation was warned that if they rejected God’s Son, they would be rejecting God, and God would make a new nation out of those who believed in Christ (Jesus explained this to the Jews in the parable of the vineyard – Lk 20:9-19).  In that parable, Jesus also explained that the Jewish nation would be destroyed and abandoned by God (Lk. 20:15-16).  The vast majority of Jews didn’t believe in Jesus, and therefore, they never became a part of Jesus’ kingdom.  Jesus’ chosen people are those who love Him and keep His commandments (Jhn 14:15).  The Jewish people rejected God because they would rather have their traditions than God’s Son (Mk 7:9).

Now, it is true that there is a nation called Israel today, but just because they occupy the same territory doesn’t mean that the Jewish nation that was destroyed in 70 AD has been re-established.  The current nation of Israel has none of the things that made it special – it has no high priest, no priesthood, no Levites, no temple, and no record of genealogies to properly rebuild tribal lineages.  It would be impossible for Israel to even follow the commands given by God in the Old Testament.  Modern Israel is kind of like tearing down Buckingham Palace and then putting a double-wide trailer on the same property – just because you call it ‘Buckingham’, doesn’t mean it is.   The name ‘Israel’ doesn’t make it the same nation.

     Should all nations support Israel as God’s chosen people, so each nation will not be condemned by God?

Sincerely,
Sending Support

Dear Sending Support,

The Jews are not Jesus’ chosen people; the church is.  Jesus says that christians are His royal priesthood and chosen race (1 Pet 2:9).  Under the Old Testament, the Jewish people were God’s nation (Deut 7:6).  The Jewish nation was warned that if they rejected God’s Son, they would be rejecting God, and God would make a new nation out of those who believed in Christ (Jesus explained this to the Jews in the parable of the vineyard – Lk 20:9-19).  The vast majority of Jews didn’t believe in Jesus, and therefore, they never became a part of Jesus’ kingdom.  Jesus’ chosen people are those that love Him and keep His commandments (Jhn 14:15).  The Jewish people rejected God because they would rather have their traditions than God’s Son (Mk 7:9).

There is a great deal of confusion over this issue today because some churches teach that Israel is still God’s chosen nation – this is false.  This false teaching that the Jews are God’s people and that God hasn’t yet set up His kingdom is called ‘premillenialism’.  Read our article entitled “Premillenialism” for details on why that teaching is wrong.  God already has a chosen nation – the church.

My question is this: what will happen to Jewish people upon His return who don’t believe in Jesus Christ?

Sincerely,
Hebrew Hopeful

Dear Hebrew Hopeful,

Under the Old Testament, the Jewish people were God’s nation (Deut 7:6).  The Jewish nation was warned that if they rejected God’s Son, they would be rejecting God, and God would make a new nation out of those who believed in Christ (Jesus explained this to the Jews in the parable of the vineyard – Lk 20:9-19).  The vast majority of Jews didn’t believe in Jesus, and therefore, they never became a part of Jesus’ kingdom.  Jesus’ chosen people are those that love Him and keep His commandments (Jhn 14:15).  The Jewish people rejected God because they would rather have had their traditions than God’s Son (Mk 7:9).  Today, Jews would be bound by the same rules regarding salvation as every other person on the planet.

Why does the Talmud say that Jesus is a sorcerer and magician?

Sincerely,
Confused

Dear Confused,

The Talmud is a Jewish book of traditions and discussions regarding ethics, the Old Testament, and philosophy… among other things.  The important thing to note is that the Talmud is not authored by God.  It is simply an old commentary written by fallible humans.  The Talmud was written by Jews that didn’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah; therefore, they said that He was a sorcerer and a false teacher.  Just because a book written by men says He isn’t the Messiah doesn’t make it true.

Why don’t Jews acknowledge the fact that Jesus is the Messiah?

Sincerely,
What Are They Waiting For?

Dear What Are They Waiting For,

The Jews of the first-century and the Jewish community of today don’t want to accept the New Testament because Jesus wasn’t the kind of Messiah they were (and are) expecting.  Jesus came to set up a spiritual kingdom (Jhn 18:36), and instead of creating a powerful, physical Israel… He died a gruesome death.  The Jews were anticipating a physical restoration of their nation (Acts 1:6), but Jesus created a spiritual kingdom that dwells within the hearts of faithful men and women (Lk 17:21).  When the Jews tried to make Jesus an earthly king, He refused (Jhn 6:15).  Jesus’ death is a stumbling block and offense to any Jew expecting a powerful and mighty Messiah (1 Cor 1:23).  Jesus just wasn’t the kind of king they wanted.

Are Jews Jesus’ chosen people?  And why?

Sincerely,
Yay For Yarmulke

Dear Yay For Yarmulke,

The Jews are not Jesus’ chosen people; the church is.  Jesus says that christians are His royal priesthood and chosen race (1 Pet 2:9).  Under the Old Testament, the Jewish people were God’s nation (Deu 7:6).  The Jewish nation was warned that if they rejected God’s Son, they would be rejecting God, and God would make a new nation out of those who believed in Christ (Jesus explained this to the Jews in the parable of the vineyard – Lk 20:9-19).  The vast majority of Jews didn’t believe in Jesus, and therefore, they never became a part of Jesus’ kingdom.  Jesus’ chosen people are those that love Him and keep His commandments (Jhn 14:15).  The Jewish people rejected God because they would rather have their traditions than God’s Son (Mk 7:9).

I don’t get it… if Jesus was a Jew, why isn’t Judaism the correct religion?  Did I miss something?

Sincerely,
Confused Christian

Dear Confused Christian,

Jesus was born a Jew (Matt 1:17), lived under the Jewish law (Lk 2:41-42), and even taught His fellow Jews to obey the Old Testament law (Matt 23:1-3).  Judaism was the right religion, until Jesus died on the cross and replaced Judaism with Christianity.  The Old Testament, the law the Jews followed, was a tutor to lead people to Christ, but after Jesus came, mankind was supposed to follow Him instead (Gal 3:24-25).  The Jewish law said that someday there would come a Messiah who would save them from their sins – Jesus was that Messiah (Jhn 1:45).  The Jewish law taught mankind that they needed a Savior, and that they should prepare for His coming.  Jesus came providing the grace and truth that wasn’t possible under Jewish law (Jhn 1:17).  Jesus’ death made a permanent sacrifice for sins that none of the Old Testament animal sacrifices ever could (Heb 10:1-4).

Someone yesterday asked me to push the elevator button for them and briefly explained that they were “shabbos”.  I hesitated for a moment and then did so.  I believe that it is complete bunk, and even if we were living under Old Testament Law, this is a total hypocritical loophole to circumvent the “rule”.  My question is: was it wrong to push the button and, in my opinion after thinking about it, in essence participate in a religious practice that I do not believe or want to be perceived to believe in or support… or am over thinking this?

Thank you for all your great answers!!

Sincerely,
Going Up

Dear Going Up,

As you are aware, you ran into some Orthodox Jews that believe that it is wrong to work on the Sabbath.  They define ‘work’ in very unique ways.  They believe it is wrong to travel, but if someone else forces them to travel (i.e. you pressed the button, and they just “happened” to be in the elevator) – it doesn’t count as work.  As you said, the rabbinical traditions of Judaism have gone to the point of absurdity and don’t even resemble the Old Testament teachings.

Here is the problem, if you are actively participating in their religious practice, you are wrong… but whether or not you are is an issue of wisdom.  The big issue comes down to perception.  God tells us to avoid all appearance of evil (1 Thess 5:2) and that we should be careful to consider how our actions will be perceived by others.  1 Cor 10:27-29 uses the example of meat sacrificed to idols.  If you are invited to a meal, don’t worry about asking whether or not the meat came from an idol’s temple; just dig in and don’t worry about it.  But if your host mentions that the meat came from Zeus’ temple – stop eating because your host will perceive that you agree with idolatry.

The same concept would apply here.  If you believe your actions communicate that you agree with their religious practices, don’t do it.  But if you think that pressing the button on the elevator simply conveyed courtesy, don’t worry about it.  You aren’t sinning by pushing the button; it is just a matter of how your actions are perceived.

I have been dating a Jewish man, and one of our relationship issues is our belief in faith; I have been raised a christian, and saved as one, I am currently thinking of converting to Judaism for faith, but I will not denounce Jesus as my Savior.  What advice would you give someone in my situation?  I love this Jewish man, but I love Jesus and God as well; can there ever be a happy medium where two faiths can live in harmony?

Sincerely,
Hoping For A Hebrew Husband

Dear Hoping For A Hebrew Husband,

‘Inter-faith’ marriages have disastrous results, an awful track record, and God warns against them. The Bible’s most notorious example of this is Solomon. Solomon’s idolatrous wives turned the heart of the wisest man on the planet away from God (1 Kgs 11:4). If Solomon in all of his wisdom couldn’t resist the pull of a false religion, we should consider ourselves just as vulnerable. There is too much at stake. If your heart is turned away from God, your soul will be eternally destroyed (Heb 3:12).  Our caution would be that you must get on the same page religiously before proceeding any further in your relationship.  Jesus says that He is “the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him” (Jhn 14:6).  Judaism simply won’t save your soul – plain and simple.  Jews are still waiting for the Messiah and they don’t accept the saving blood of Christ.

1. No matter how much you love each other, there are only four possible outcomes for a marriage to your Jewish boyfriend, and only one of them is good:
2. He eventually converts and obeys the gospel, becomes a christian, and is saved (GOOD).
3. You eventually convert and obey the Judaism, and you are both lost (BAD).
4. You both make compromises in your beliefs, and you no longer fully serve the Lord (BAD).
5. You both eventually renounce both of your belief systems, and are both lost (BAD).

The only positive outcome is the first one, and that isn’t any more likely to happen after you are married than before. Either he will eventually convert, or he won’t – getting married won’t increase the odds.

God warns against being ‘unequally yoked’ to someone with different values than you (2 Cor 6:14-16). Once you get married, you are ‘yoked’ to that person with a lifetime agreement. A godly marriage is designed around unity (Gen 2:24). If you aren’t unified on your core belief system, then everything else will be affected. Where will your children go to church? How much money will you contribute to Judaism vs. God’s church? What happens when he wants to put up teach Jewish customs to your family? These are just a few of the thousands of day-to-day problems you will run into. God tells us that a christian should marry someone ‘in the Lord’ (1 Cor 7:39). If he really does love the Lord as much as he loves you, his honesty and humility will guide him to accept the truth. If not, you are both better off knowing before entering into a heartbreaking marriage.

Does this mean, according to Paul, the justification and reconciliation could be attained despite the fact that the matter of faith in the Christ remained a secret until the first century when it became revealed to Paul and his associates?  Was the conscious faith not necessary until then for some reason?

Sincerely,
Just Wondering Jew

Dear Just Wondering Jew,

People who lived before Christ were still saved by faith in God.  The whole point of faith is that it is a matter of trusting whatever God has told you (Rom 10:17).  Faith assumes that there are pieces of the puzzle that aren’t revealed to you yet… but that the person (or in this case Deity) that you are putting your faith in is trustworthy (Heb 11:1).  The Old Testament saints had faith in Christ because they trusted in the Messiah that was to come.  The New Testament saints have faith in Christ as they trust the words of the Messiah who walked this earth many years ago… both groups have faith in Christ.  Each group had different instructions and different information that God had given them to follow, but they both had faith in the same God (1 Cor 10:1-4).  Each group had a conscious faith in God – just different rules to follow.

Hello.  I am a religious Jew but am interested in understanding other religions.  My question is: how did Paul explain how Jews (or Gentiles) were able to be justified (righteous) with or without the Law if the salvation of the Christ was a secret until it was revealed to him and his colleagues in the first century?  How did David and Abraham acquire righteousness if they (or anyone else) did not know about the role of the Christ?  Thanks.

Sincerely,
Just Wondering Jew

Dear Just Wondering Jew,

The New Testament teaches that the sacrifices that cleansed the Jewish people from sin never truly removed the sin (Heb 10:1-4).  The Jewish nation (along with all faithful people) needed God’s blood to permanently remove sin and make them righteous.  When Jesus died on the cross, His blood paid the price for those who had gone before and those who were to come after… one sacrifice for all sins (Heb 10:12).

All mankind is saved by faith in God, including those found in the Old Testament.  Abraham lived by faith and is considered the father of the faithful (Rom 4:11-12).  Abraham didn’t understand the mystery of what God would do in Christ, but he did live knowing that God would send salvation (Jhn 8:56).  Moses placed his faith in God (which includes Jesus because Jesus is Deity – Jhn 1:1-3) and was rewarded for it (Heb 11:24-26).  All the faithful who lived before Christ did so in expectation of better things through God (Heb 11:13).  Though they didn’t understand the details, all the faithful of the Old Testament anxiously anticipated the coming of the Messiah (1 Pet 1:10-12).  Jesus’ blood covered the sins of those who looked forward to the coming of the Messiah… as well as the sins of those who rejoice that He already came.

I was wondering about something and was hoping you can shine some light on this situation for me.  Why don’t we as christians eat kosher food like the Jewish?  It does mention certain things we are not allowed to eat in Leviticus.  So if it says it in the Bible, why don’t most of us christians follow it?  Also, am I sinning when I eat certain things that are not kosher?

Sincerely,
Dietary Restrictions

Dear Dietary Restrictions,

There is a difference between Old Testament laws and New Testament laws.  Christians are not bound to follow the Old Testament law because we are no longer under that law (Gal 3:24-25).  Feel free to read “Out With The Old?” for further details on the purpose of the Old Testament.

The Old Testament laws concerning what could and could not be eaten can be found in Lev. 11, but there is only one type of food that christians cannot eat – blood (Acts 15:29).  When an animal is killed, some cultures will strangle the animal so as to keep the blood in the meat, as opposed to draining the blood out.  Things like blood sausage, blood soup, blood stew, etc. are popular dishes in some countries, but eating them is wrong.  All other food is clean for New Testament christians… Jesus said so Himself in Mk 7:19.

From what I have read, he did not meet the criteria in the Old Testament (as you guys call it).  I have talked to deeply religious christians about this, and they can quote me Scripture all day long; however, since the Bible and Jesus are the most important things in their lives, you would think they would have done research on the historical origins of the Bible and the historic evidence of Jesus during the years of 1-60 AD, but I found in every single case without exception the same attitude of “I know nothing, and I do not want to know”.  One nurse I work with told me, “I do not need evidence; I just believe.”  Why do you think they call it blind faith?!

If you really think the New Testament is truly the word of God and not manmade, that means it all would make perfect sense, and there would not be any inconsistencies, and the more you learn, the more you will find out nothing is more obvious.

Plus, if we are right, then you guys are worshiping falsely and, therefore, are doomed under your own belief system.  The whole thing, in my opinion, comes down to our God-given gift of reason and common sense.

How would you respond if Muslims and Mormons told you they are the only way to God, and if you do not buy into it, you are doomed?

Can we not just respect each other?  If you know something I don’t and have historic proof and real evidence and not just blind faith, I would love to see it!

Sincerely,
Of A Friendly Faith

Dear Of A Friendly Faith,

It is an absolute travesty that no one has ever given you a better reason for believing in Jesus than blind faith.  We here at AYP believe that Jesus is the Christ because of the evidence – not in spite of it!  To save space, we are going to point you toward a couple of previous posts to read.  For information on the authenticity of the Bible and its divine origins, we recommend reading our posts “Who Wrote The Bible?” and perusing our evidences section of the AskYourPreacher archives.  God meant it when He told us to “come and reason together” with Him (Isa 1:18).  The more you dig into it, the more staggering the evidence is that the Bible was written by God.

The same goes for Jesus.  When the apostles first began preaching Jesus as the Christ, they did it to Jews who knew their Bibles.  The biggest stumbling block for every Jew was that Jesus died on a cross – something none of them believed would ever happen to the Messiah (Gal 5:11).  However, the apostles proved that the Bible did teach that the Messiah would have to suffer (Acts 26:22-23).  The apostles quoted verses like Ps 16:10 (used by Peter in Acts 2:25-31) and Isa 53:5-11 (used by Philip in Acts 8:32-35).  The Old Testament taught that the Messiah would suffer and die on a cross, and Jesus did that very thing.  We highly recommend reading The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel for further details on the evidence that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah.  Hopefully this gives you some evidence to whet your appetite; please feel free to continue to correspond with us as further questions arise.

I am a Jew and was invited to a friend’s church, and I went out of respect.  Wonderful people, but I was blown away with the preacher’s bottom line of “convert or burn in hell”.

Jews believe there are righteous gentiles (non-Jews), but it appears from going to this church that there is no such thing as righteous non-christians.

Do all churches teach this?  Is this love and mercy?  It is hard to understand when the priest who read Adolf Lekman his last rites was asked after he purified himself with Jesus for one minute if he was now in heaven, and he replied, “Yes, he is”, and when asked about the 1.5 million Jewish children who were murdered he said, “May God have mercy on their souls”, meaning they are doomed.

Does this not cause division and pit one group of good people against another?

Sincerely,
Of A Friendly Faith

Dear Of A Friendly Faith,

As a Jew, you must appreciate the importance of the Messiah as much as we do.  Every Hebrew has anxiously searched for and waited for the coming of the Savior of Israel for thousands of years.  If that Savior came, and you rejected Him… you would be rejecting your own religion.  The coming of the Messiah is the single most important element of Judaism… even your own rabbis state this.  The only difference between you and us is that we believe that Messiah has already come.

Jesus is the Christ (Jhn 20:31).  Jesus professes that He is the only way to God (Jhn 14:6).  God’s definition of being a ‘good person’ is when we follow and obey His Son (Jhn 12:26).  Jesus is a stumbling block to many Jewish people (1 Cor 1:23), but that has always been the case.  Jesus even said that His coming would bring division (Matt 10:34-36).  If Jesus is a liar, we should desert Him, but if He is the Word of God (Jhn 1:1), any other religion cannot stand beside His (Eph 4:4-6).

I was born in a Jewish home as an only child, and since I became a christian (baptism), my life has had such supernatural turmoil since I received Christ some twenty years ago – I am 45… I lived a life of lust and other various sin – soon, a “born-again christian” by the name of ‘Stormy’ witnessed Christ to me; I had an out-of-body experience and have since heard a few directives from angels, or God, seemingly directly.  “You are a priest” is one that sticks in my mind.  I currently do not live the life of a “priest”; I work and struggle to make sense of supporting myself.  I am really having a hard time making sense of who I should be in Christ.  I can’t escape what I have been shown; there is no doubt about a creator, but I just don’t know how to properly serve Him.  I read the Bible in short glossy sessions, but I still don’t see a clear direction.  I don’t know how to be a priest; I do know how to be scared and worried.  I am currently working after spending some fifteen years on the streets.  I kind of wish Jesus would have taken me away somewhere.  I just don’t know what I should be doing.  My life just seems to be a “wanting-to-die-get-it-over-with” kind of existence.  I feel lost again, but now knowing about hell.  A few opinions would help… prayers, too.

Sincerely,
Looking For Hope

Dear Looking For Hope,

It sounds like you have had a very tumultuous life and a very confusing religious journey.  Thankfully, the Bible has answers that will give you stability and peace.  Paul specifically says to ignore visions and the words of angels (Gal 1:8).  The Bible is all you need to find life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3).  The truth can be found in the sum of God’s Word (Ps 119:160).  Put all your previous religious experiences aside and start reading the Bible in meaningful, studious sessions.  When we take the Bible as our guide and place all our trust in it – confusion goes away (1 Cor 14:33).  Faith comes by hearing God’s Word (Rom 10:17).  We recommend that you read the posts “What Must I Do To Be Saved” and “Down With Denominationalism” to help clarify what God would have you do.  Both of those posts are full of verses and should give you an idea of where to start.

Furthermore, we would be happy to get you in touch with a faithful congregation in your area that could have Bible studies with you.  Having someone to teach you the gospel step-by-step can be immensely useful (Rom 10:14).  If you would like that, e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.

I have a question about Jewish people.  I have heard of people saying that they are Jewish, but what is the difference between them and other churches?  I know this is a big question, but it has been on my mind for a few days, and I know that your answers are from the Bible, and I can trust you.  Thanks and keep up the good work.

Oh, I forgot to add one last thing, I have heard somewhere before (I think) that maybe Jesus was Jewish; is this true?  Thanks for the help, guys!

Sincerely,
Who’s A Jew?

Dear Who’s A Jew,

Jesus was a Jew because He lived under the Old Testament Law.  The Old Testament Law was given by Moses (Jhn 1:17).  The Old Testament was God’s contract with the nation of Israel (also known as the Jewish nation).  Jesus was born an Israelite.  Jesus came and fulfilled the Old Testament law by living a perfect and sinless life (Matt 5:17).  Through Christ, we have a new law… the New Testament (Rom 7:4).  Modern Jews follow parts of the Old Testament (the Jewish religion of today has veered away quite a bit from the law given by Moses), but they never follow the New Testament because they don’t believe Jesus was the Savior.  Today’s Jews are still waiting for the Messiah to come and bring them peace and prosperity.  Jesus was rejected by the Jewish leadership (Lk 9:22).  If you look at a Jew’s Bible, it will only contain the Old Testament because they are still waiting for a Savior that has already come.

I’m admittedly not as familiar with the Old Testament as the New Testament, but my question is this: are the traditions and/or laws that govern the Jewish faith today all found in the Old Testament?  Does it discuss wearing yarmulkes, other dress and hairstyles considered “orthodox”, or the other symbols such as the mezuzah, etc.?  Are all the “kosher” laws about not mixing meat and dairy found there, or have there been modifications made as we’ve seen with denominations that claim to be New Testament Christians but have made up some of their own rules?

Sincerely,
Mazeltov

Dear Mazeltov,

Modern Judaism is a mixture of oral tradition and Old Testament law.  The Old Testament law that is found in your Bible is partially observed in modern Judaism, but not entirely (for example: animal sacrifices are no longer performed, the priesthood doesn’t exist, and there is no temple-worship practiced).  However, the larger part of modern Judaism comes from oral tradition handed down by rabbis (‘rabbi’ means ‘teacher’ in Hebrew).  Most of this tradition is found in a book called the ‘Talmud’.  The Talmud is a compilation of rabbinical traditions that was put together about 200 AD.  Most of the teachings you mentioned (the yarmulke, kosher laws, mezuzah tubes, etc.) are from the Talmud… not the Bible.  Modern Judaism does not come close to resembling the religion of Moses’ day.

Why are the Jews so stiff-necked about the New Testament?

Sincerely,
Gentile

Dear Gentile,

The Jews of the first-century and the Jewish community of today don’t want to accept the New Testament because Jesus wasn’t the kind of Messiah they were (and are) expecting.  Jesus came to set up a spiritual kingdom (Jhn 18:36), and instead of creating a powerful, physical Israel… He died a gruesome death.  The Jews were anticipating a physical restoration of their nation (Acts 1:6), but Jesus created a spiritual kingdom that dwells within the hearts of faithful men and women (Lk 17:21).  When the Jews tried to make Jesus an earthly king, He refused (Jhn 6:15).  Jesus’ death is a stumbling block and offense to any Jew expecting a powerful and mighty Messiah (1 Cor 1:23).  Jesus just wasn’t the kind of king they wanted.

I have pondered about the idea of a messiah.  It seemed to me that all cultures and religions have a savior.  It seems to me quite possible that God sent His son, or Himself, or the third iteration of Himself (however one interprets the messiah) to all different peoples to lead them around the same time, essentially.  And presently, Satan exploits this to make humans fight each other because we all worship the same god.  So any theism works… that is what I’m trying to say and what I think.

Is Jesus Christ special, or was Isus the Egyptian messiah, or Allah, or Krishnu, or Jehovah just as good?

Sincerely,
Open Minded

Dear Open Minded,

Jesus is special, and He left no room for other gods.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jhn 14:6).  Jesus was either the one and only Messiah – or He was a crazy lunatic.  Jesus teaches that we can only have one Master (Matt 23:10) and that serving anyone else is a sin.  Jesus taught that we either confess Him as the Christ, or we will be denied before God (Lk 12:8-9).  Jesus cannot coexist with other gods.  The Bible is clear – there can be only one (Eph 4:4-6).  Isus, Allah, Krishnu, etc. are all false gods.

Christians believe that Jesus did almost everything in fulfilling the prophecy here on Earth, and what He didn’t do, He will do in His second coming.  Jews believe there is nowhere in the Bible that says their Messiah will come back a second time, so they just believe Jesus was some crazy guy.

Please, show me Scriptures on this subject.  Where in the Bible does it say Jesus will come back for a SECOND time… and do I have the general idea right?

Thank you so much for your time.  I don’t know the Bible like I SHOULD.  But I’m going to fix that.  Thank you, again.

Sincerely,
Repeat Visit?

Dear Repeat Visit,

When Jesus ascended into heaven, the angels promised the apostles that someday Jesus would return in exactly the same way as He left (Acts 1:10-11).  The Scriptures are very clear that Jesus will someday return to claim His people (1 Thess 4:13-18).  You are right on the money with that part.

Jesus’ second coming isn’t the reason the Jews don’t believe He is the Messiah.  The reason they don’t believe He is the Messiah is because He died on the cross and never saved them from Rome.  The Jews expected a Messiah that would save them from their physical enemies and set up a powerful kingdom on earth.  However, Jesus’ kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, not a physical one (Jhn 18:36).  The Jews mocked Jesus while He was on the cross because they believed His crucifixion clearly proved He wasn’t the Savior (Lk 23:35).  In short, the Jews expected a physical king, and Jesus came as a spiritual king.  They never accepted Him because of it.

I keep getting conflicting info on this, and I ache for clarification and truth.

God commanded His people to observe the Sabbath and Feast days (even Jesus and His disciples did), and whoever believes on Jesus’ name are His people.  Jesus didn’t come to destroy the law but to fulfill it and make it better (with His gift of the Holy Spirit and circumcision of our hearts), and so the law still stands.  Why do so many christians think it is okay not to observe them?

Because I am not a Jew, is it crazy/worthless for me to observe these days?  I’m only trying to follow Jesus’ examples.  What is so wrong with that?

Sincerely,
Eaten Up By This

Dear Eaten Up By This,

Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament law when He died upon the cross (Lk 24:44-47).  The Old Testament law was a tutor to lead us to Christ, but now that Christ is here, we are no longer under that law (Gal 3:24-25). We are told to not worry about feasts and festivals in the New Testament (Col 2:16).  Jews kept the feast days; christians keep the New Testament, the law of Christ (Gal 6:2).

The Bible says that Jesus said, “No one gets to the Father except through me”, which I have been taught means if you don’t believe God is the Father and Jesus is His Son, you don’t/won’t go to heaven.

My question is: does this mean that three quarters of the world’s population (non-christians, Jews, Mormons, the Dalai Lama, etc.) who don’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God aren’t going to heaven?  It doesn’t seem to me that the God I believe in would let this happen.

Sincerely,
Sympathy For The Masses

Dear Sympathy For The Masses,

The verse you are referring to is Jhn 14:6.  Here is a great example of a fork in the road for christians.  Will we take the Bible at face value and accept what God says, or will we ignore certain verses in order to mold God into an image that is more suitable for us?  You are absolutely right; there is no mistaking the implications of Jhn 14:6.  All that do not follow Christ will not be saved.  In fact, there are other verses that re-emphasize this message.  Jesus said that the way to salvation was narrow, and the way to destruction was wide (Matt 7:13).  He also says that many people will erroneously claim to have served God and will be turned away on the Judgment Day (Matt 7:22-23).

These verses do exclude large swaths of mankind from heaven.  However, if we believe the Bible to be God’s infallible Word (and we here at AYP do – read “Who Wrote The Bible” to see why we are so convinced), then we must accept that the same loving God who would send His own Son to die for our sins has a very good reason for being so picky about who goes to heaven.  Remember, God doesn’t condemn people to hell; it is our sinful choices that does that (Rom 6:23).  Jehovah offers us salvation through His Son, even though we deserve death (Jhn 3:16).

Jewish people claim that Jesus can’t be the Messiah because in the book of Deuteronomy, they say that God says that every man is responsible for his own sin, and therefore there is no requirement for one man to die for the sin of many, as Jesus did.  Can you shed some light on this for me?  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Unkosher

Dear Unkosher,

It is true that Deu 24:16 says that everyone is accountable for his own sin.  In fact, your sin earns you a wage – death (Rom 6:23).  Our sins have made us accountable to pay a debt that is too big for us to repay.  Therefore, God sent His only begotten Son to pay the debt for us.  His sacrifice was a gift freely offered (Eph 2:8-9); it wasn’t a requirement; it was a blessing from God.  There is no contradiction between Deuteronomy’s statement that we are accountable for our own sins and the gift of salvation found in Jesus.