Jesus and Jewishness

Over the past 2,000 years, a majority of Jews and Gentiles have accepted the misconception that Jesus and Jewishness have nothing in common. Nothing could be further from the truth!

According to the New Testament, which was written by Jews, Jesus was born in the Land of Israel to Jewish parents. He was a descendant of the royal family of King David. He was given the Hebrew name "Yeshua" which means salvation. As Israel's Messiah, Yeshua would save his people from their sins.

Yeshua is the most famous Rabbi of all time. He traveled throughout Israel, teaching the Jewish people and bringing mankind closer to God.

Yeshua demonstrated that he was the Messiah by displaying miraculous power. He fed thousands of people with a few loaves of bread, healed the hopelessly sick and disabled, and brought the dead back to life!

Yeshua fulfilled many of the predictions in the Hebrew Scriptures concerning the Messiah:

• He was born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:1-2)
• He was a descendant of King David (Jeremiah 23:5-6)
• He was more than an ordinary human being (Isaiah 9:6-7)
• He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9)
• He arrived before 70 AD (Daniel 9:24-27)
• He was rejected and unjustly killed (Isaiah 53:1-12)
• He defeated death (Psalm 16:10, Isaiah 53:12)
• He instituted a new covenant between God and His people (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
• He brought the Gentiles to faith in the God of Israel (Isaiah 49:5-7)

Yeshua died in Jerusalem during Passover. Three days later, the power of God brought him back to life. Over 500 Jewish eyewitnesses say Yeshua after His resurrection from death. These people were completely transformed by this unique event, and God used them to transform the entire course of human history.

Because of the great impact Yeshua had among the nations, people have forgotten that all the first followers of Yeshua were Jewish. Messianic Jewish congregations existed in the Middle East for the first 500 years of the common era.

Most Jewish people have overlooked the Jewishness of Yeshua for centuries. Consequently people question whether a Jewish person can believe in Jesus and still be Jewish. Ironically, the biggest controversy among the first century followers was: "Can a Gentile follow Yeshua without first becoming a Jew"?

Like the apostles, Messianic Jews continue living Jewish lives. But we have a personal relationship with God that we never had before we encountered Yeshua. Our lives are permeated by a new joy, peace, purpose and meaning that are impossible apart from the atonement and the eternal life that we have because of him. Messianic congregations are a place for us to worship God in keeping with our Jewish heritage and our faith in Yeshua as the Messiah. There are approximately 100 Messianic congregations in the United States and another 30 in Israel.

Ask the God of Israel to reveal to you whether Yeshua is the promised Messiah. Read the Bible, both the Tenach (the Hebrew Scriptures) and the Brit Chadasha (the New Testament) and ask God to show you whether or not these things are true.

© 1989 Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

How to Recognize the Messiah

2. He must be of the tribe of Judah. When Jacob was dying, he said to his son Judah: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." (Genesis 49:10).

3. He must be of the house of David. In Isaiah's prophesy of the Messiah we read: "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with justice and with righteousness." (Isaiah 9:7)

4. He must be born a virgin. The prophet Isaiah wrote: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)

5. He must be born in Bethlehem as foretold by the prophet Micah: "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, through thou be little amount the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel" (Micah 5:2)

6. He must be God. Isaiah clearly stated that when he wrote: "His name shall be called ... The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

More than nineteen hundred years ago, a child was born in a stable in the town of Bethlehem. He was of the seed of Abraham. He was of the tribe of Judah and the house of David. His mother was a virgin. The Messiah has come!

Who is the Messiah? The only one who meets all the requirements is Jesus. As a devout Jew, Jesus lived a remarkable life. He restored sight to the blind, healed crippled limbs and even raised the dead. He astounded the Jewish leaders of the time by his insight, wisdom and teaching of the Scriptures. By his words and works he proved himself to be God's Anointed One.

Then, according to the predetermined plan of God, Jesus gave himself as God's Passover Lamb-he died for the atonement of his people's sins. As the prophet Isaiah predicted:

© 1990 Good News Publishers
Used by Permission