Is it Jewish to believe in Jesus?
To some, the concept of a Jew believing in Yeshua (Jesus) seems
to be a contradiction. The reason is, many people have a dichotomy
set up in their minds. On the one hand, you have Jews and Judaism
and on the other hand, Christians and Christianity.
You are either one or the other...so the thinking
goes.
This simple dichotomy is in reality not so simple. If we go back
2000 years we find that Yeshua was a Jew living in a Jewish land
among Jewish people. All the Apostles were Jewish as well as the
writers of the New Covenant and for many years this faith in Yeshua
was strictly a Jewish one.
From the Book of Acts and other historical evidence, many believe
that in the first century there were literally hundreds of thousands
of Messianic Jews. In addition, there were Messianic Synagogues
scattered throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. These first-century
Messianic Jews remained highly loyal to their land and their people.
Whether it was Jewish to believe in Yeshua was never an issue.
Of course it was Jewish! What else could it be? The big question
back then was whether Yeshua had been sent for the Gentiles also.
When G-d miraculously showed the Messianic Jews that He was the
Messiah for both Jew and Gentile alike, then Gentiles from every
nation began to pour into this Jewish faith.
Through the years, as the numbers of Gentile believers increased,
they began to predominate in this Messianic faith. With the passing
of the Jewish apostles and the early Messianic Jews, the Jewish
roots of the faith were eventually lost.
This "De-Judaizing" process continued until in one of
the greatest paradoxes in history, it became alien for a Jewish
person to believe in Yeshua as his Messiah!
The Real Issue
Today we are seeking to put the Messiah back within His biblical
and Jewish context. Messianic Judaism is a spiritual renaissance,
revival and a return to the faith of the Messianic Jews had in the
first century. It is a return to a pure and simple faith based upon
having a living, vibrant and personal relationship with the G-d
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through the Messiah Yeshua.
The real issue we must recognize is not whether it
is Jewish to believe in Yeshua, because the Jewishness of Yeshua
is unquestionable historically. The real issue at stake here is
whether Yeshua is truly the Messiah or not. If he is, then it is
the most Jewish thing in the world to believe in Him. If He is not
the Messiah, then we should not follow Him.
There is only one way to find out and that is to go back into the
Jewish Scriptures ourselves and study the Messianic prophecies.
According to the Jewish Scriptures, the Messiah was to come twice:
the first time to suffer and die for our sins. The second time to
usher in the Messianic era of peace upon the earth.
Why did the Messiah have to die?
The Jewish prophet Isaiah answered this question
when he said, "All we like Sheep have gone astray, we have
turned everyone to his own way. And the L-rd has laid upon Him the
sin of us all." (Isaiah 53:5)
Without G-d there is no hope for mankind. It is obvious that man
is separated from G-d when we view the ever-worsening situation
in the world today. that is why He sent Yeshua, the Messiah, who
came to deliver us from our sins and to bring us into a new life
in him.
For tens of thousands of us today, we know that we have found the
Messiah who said, "Do not think that I
came to abolish the law and the prophets; I did not come to abolish,
but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17)
We would like to encourage you to read and study the Jewish Scriptures
for yourself and find out if Yeshua is truly the One of whom the
prophets spoke. Before you research the Scriptures, pray and ask
the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to guide you and to show you
His truth.
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