Question
Why
did the majority of the Jewish world reject Jesus as the Messiah, and why did
the first Christians accept Jesus as the Messiah?
Answer
It
is important to understand why Jews don't believe in Jesus. The purpose is not
to disparage other religions, but rather to clarify the Jewish position. The more
data that's available, the better-informed choices people can make about their
spiritual path.
Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah because:
1) Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies.
2) Jesus did not embody
the personal qualifications of the Messiah.
3) Biblical verses "referring"
to Jesus are mistranslations.
4) Jewish belief is based on national revelation.
At the end of this article, we will examine these additional topics:
5)
Christianity contradicts Jewish theology
6) Jews and Gentiles
7) Bringing
the Messiah
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1) JESUS DID NOT FULFILL THE MESSIANIC PROPHECIES
What is the
Messiah supposed to accomplish? The Bible says that he will:
A. Build the
Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).
B. Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel
(Isaiah 43:5-6).
C. Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression,
suffering and disease. As it says: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall man learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4)
D. Spread universal knowledge
of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: "God will
be King over all the world -- on that day, God will be One and His Name will be
One" (Zechariah 14:9).
The historical fact is that Jesus fulfilled none
of these messianic prophecies.
Christians counter that Jesus will fulfill
these in the Second Coming, but Jewish sources show that the Messiah will fulfill
the prophecies outright, and no concept of a second coming exists.
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2) JESUS DID NOT EMBODY THE PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS OF MESSIAH
A. MESSIAH AS PROPHET
Jesus was not a prophet. Prophecy can only exist
in Israel when the land is inhabited by a majority of world Jewry. During the
time of Ezra (circa 300 BCE), when the majority of Jews refused to move from Babylon
to Israel, prophecy ended upon the death of the last prophets -- Haggai, Zechariah
and Malachi.
Jesus appeared on the scene approximately 350 years after prophecy
had ended.
B. DESCENDENT OF DAVID
The Messiah must be descended
on his father's side from King David (see Genesis 49:10 and Isaiah 11:1). According
to the Christian claim that Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, he had no
father -- and thus could not have possibly fulfilled the messianic requirement
of being descended on his father's side from King David!
C. TORAH OBSERVANCE
The Messiah will lead the Jewish people to full Torah observance. The Torah states
that all mitzvot remain binding forever, and anyone coming to change the Torah
is immediately identified as a false prophet. (Deut. 13:1-4)
Throughout the
New Testament, Jesus contradicts the Torah and states that its commandments are
no longer applicable. (see John 1:45 and 9:16, Acts 3:22 and 7:37)
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3) MISTRANSLATED VERSES "REFERRING" TO JESUS
Biblical verses can
only be understood by studying the original Hebrew text -- which reveals many
discrepancies in the Christian translation.
A. VIRGIN BIRTH
The
Christian idea of a virgin birth is derived from the verse in Isaiah 7:14 describing
an "alma" as giving birth. The word "alma" has always meant a young woman, but
Christian theologians came centuries later and translated it as "virgin." This
accords Jesus' birth with the first century pagan idea of mortals being impregnated
by gods.
B. CRUCIFIXION
The verse in Psalms 22:17 reads: "Like
a lion, they are at my hands and feet." The Hebrew word ki-ari (like a lion) is
grammatically similar to the word "gouged." Thus Christianity reads the verse
as a reference to crucifixion: "They pierced my hands and feet."
C. SUFFERING
SERVANT
Christianity claims that Isaiah chapter 53 refers to Jesus, as
the "suffering servant."
In actuality, Isaiah 53 directly follows the theme
of chapter 52, describing the exile and redemption of the Jewish people. The prophecies
are written in the singular form because the Jews ("Israel") are regarded as one
unit. The Torah is filled with examples of the Jewish nation referred to with
a singular pronoun.
Ironically, Isaiah's prophecies of persecution refer in
part to the 11th century when Jews were tortured and killed by Crusaders who acted
in the name of Jesus.
From where did these mistranslations stem? St. Gregory,
4th century Bishop of Nanianzus, wrote: "A little jargon is all that is necessary
to impose on the people. The less they comprehend, the more they admire."
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4) JEWISH BELIEF IS BASED SOLELY ON NATIONAL REVELATION
Of the 15,000
religions in human history, only Judaism bases its belief on national revelation
-- i.e. God speaking to the entire nation. If God is going to start a religion,
it makes sense He'll tell everyone, not just one person.
Judaism, unique among
all of the world's major religions, does not rely on "claims of miracles" as the
basis for its religion. In fact, the Bible says that God sometimes grants the
power of "miracles" to charlatans, in order to test Jewish loyalty to the Torah
(Deut. 13:4).
Maimonides states (Foundations of Torah, ch. 8):
The Jews
did not believe in Moses, our teacher, because of the miracles he performed. Whenever
anyone's belief is based on seeing miracles, he has lingering doubts, because
it is possible the miracles were performed through magic or sorcery. All of the
miracles performed by Moses in the desert were because they were necessary, and
not as proof of his prophecy.
What then was the basis of [Jewish] belief?
The Revelation at Mount Sinai, which we saw with our own eyes and heard with our
own ears, not dependent on the testimony of others... as it says, "Face to face,
God spoke with you..." The Torah also states: "God did not make this covenant
with our fathers, but with us -- who are all here alive today." (Deut. 5:3)
Judaism is not miracles. It is the personal eyewitness experience of every man,
woman and child, standing at Mount Sinai 3,300 years ago.
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5) CHRISTIANITY CONTRADICTS JEWISH THEOLOGY
The following
theological points apply primarily to the Roman Catholic Church, the largest Christian
denomination, and the one most familiar to the Western world.
A. GOD AS
THREE?
The Catholic idea of Trinity breaks God into three separate beings:
The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19).
Contrast this to the
Shema, the basis of Jewish belief: "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord
is ONE" (Deut. 6:4). Jews declare the Shema every day, while writing it on doorposts
(Mezuzah), and binding it to the hand and head (Tefillin). This statement of God's
One-ness is the first words a Jewish child is taught to say, and the last words
uttered before a Jew dies.
In Jewish law, worship of a three-part god is considered
idolatry -- one of the three cardinal sins that a Jew should rather give up his
life than transgress. This explains why during the Inquisitions and throughout
history, Jews gave up their lives rather than convert.
B. MAN AS GOD?
Christians believe that God came down to earth in human form, as Jesus said: "I
and the Father are one" (John 10:30).
Maimonides devotes most of the "Guide
for the Perplexed" to the fundamental idea that God is incorporeal, meaning that
He assumes no physical form. God is Eternal, above time. He is Infinite, beyond
space. He cannot be born, and cannot die. Saying that God assumes human form makes
God small, diminishing both His unity and His divinity. As the Torah says: "God
is not a mortal" (Numbers 23:19).
Judaism says that the Messiah will be born
of human parents, and possess normal physical attributes like other people. He
will not be a demi-god, and will not possess supernatural qualities. In fact,
an individual is alive in every generation with the capacity to step into the
role of the Messiah. (see Maimonides - Laws of Kings 11:3)
C. INTERMEDIARY
FOR PRAYER?
The Catholic belief is that prayer must be directed through
an intermediary -- i.e. confessing one's sins to a priest. Jesus himself is an
intermediary, as Jesus said: "No man cometh unto the Father but by me."
In
Judaism, prayer is a totally private matter, between each individual and God.
As the Bible says: "God is near to all who call unto Him" (Psalms 145:18). Further,
the Ten Commandments state: "You shall have no other gods BEFORE ME," meaning
that it is forbidden to set up a mediator between God and man. (see Maimonides
- Laws of Idolatry ch. 1)
D. INVOLVEMENT IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD
Catholic doctrine often treats the physical world as an evil to be avoided. Mary,
the holiest woman, is portrayed as a virgin. Priests and nuns are celibate. And
monasteries are in remote, secluded locations.
By contrast, Judaism believes
that God created the physical world not to frustrate us, but for our pleasure.
Jewish spirituality comes through grappling with the mundane world in a way that
uplifts and elevates. Sex in the proper context is one of the holiest acts we
can perform.
The Talmud says if a person has the opportunity to taste a new
fruit and refuses to do so, he will have to account for that in the World to Come.
Jewish rabbinical schools teach how to live amidst the bustle of commercial activity.
Jews don't retreat from life, we elevate it.
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6) JEWS AND GENTILES
Judaism does not demand that everyone convert
to the religion. The Torah of Moses is a truth for all humanity, whether Jewish
or not. King Solomon asked God to heed the prayers of non-Jews who come to the
Holy Temple (Kings I 8:41-43). The prophet Isaiah refers to the Temple as a "House
for all nations."
The Temple service during Sukkot featured 70 bull offerings,
corresponding to the 70 nations of the world. The Talmud says that if the Romans
would have realized how much benefit they were getting from the Temple, they'd
never have destroyed it.
Jews have never actively sought converts to Judaism
because the Torah prescribes a righteous path for gentiles to follow, known as
the "Seven Laws of Noah." Maimonides explains that any human being who faithfully
observes these basic moral laws earns a proper place in heaven.
For further
study of the Seven Laws of Noah, see:
Bnei Noah of Fort Worth
http://www.fastlane.net/~bneinoah/
Path of the Righteous Gentile
http://www.chabad.org/gopher/outlook/7laws/index.html
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7) BRINGING THE MESSIAH
Maimonides states that the popularity of Christianity
(and Islam) is part of God's plan to spread the ideals of Torah throughout the
world. This moves society closer to a perfected state of morality and toward a
greater understanding of God. All this is in preparation for the Messianic age.
Indeed, the world is in desperate need of Messianic redemption. War and pollution
threaten our planet; ego and confusion erode family life. To the extent we are
aware of the problems of society, is the extent we will yearn for redemption.
As the Talmud says, one of the first questions a Jew is asked on Judgment Day
is: "Did you yearn for the arrival of the Messiah?"
How can we hasten the
coming of the Messiah? The best way is to love all humanity generously, to keep
the mitzvot of the Torah (as best we can), and to encourage others to do so as
well.
Despite the gloom, the world does seem headed toward redemption.
One apparent sign is that the Jewish people have returned to the Land of Israel
and made it bloom again. Additionally, a major movement is afoot of young Jews
returning to Torah tradition.
The Messiah can come at any moment, and
it all depends on our actions. God is ready when we are. For as King David says:
"Redemption will come today -- if you hearken to His voice."
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For further study, read "The Real Messiah" by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
Online resources on the Jewish view of Jesus:
http://www.jewsforjudaism.org
http://www.outreachjudaism.org
http://www.drazin.com
With
blessings from Jerusalem,
Rabbi Shraga Simmons
Aish.com
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