My Jewish Study Bible says that "If anything marks Jewish biblical interpretation it is the diversity of approaches employed and the multiplicity of meanings produced."and that,"..there is no official Jewish interpretation of the Bible." If "messianic Jews" were to view Jesus as the messiah, but not God, could they then still be classified as Jews? If they were to see Jesus as fulfilling enough prophecies to qualify as the messiah because of their interpretation, would they still be considered Jews? I don't think that they would be considered christians because they wouldn't accept his divinity.
2008-06-15T20:00:01Z
My question is "IF 'messianic Jews' believed Jesus wasn't divine? IF HE WASN'T DIVINE?
2008-06-15T20:02:05Z
There is a Jewish Study Bible. It's put out by the Jewish Publication Society
Anonymous2008-06-15T20:43:19Z
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Your version of what Christians call the OT has been misinterpreted from the Talmud/Torah..
Any Jew who accepts Jesus as the Messiah is NOT Jewish but an apostate.One can't be both...Jesus did not fufill any of our prophesies,not one.. And our Moshiach will not be divine but a rightous human being who'll bring peace to the entire world needing no 2nd time around..
You've already had many good answers & it'd be a waste of energy to say more. Good Night
As I understand it (and I may be wrong) - Messianic Jews believe that Jesus is the messiah and that he was divine. That's in contradiction to the Jewish religion. That makes them Christians.
Jesus didn't fulfill the prophecies. He was supposedly of divine origin - the messiah won't be. G-d cannot become human. Jesus is presented as a human sacrifice, taking on the sins of everyone - that's against Jewish teachings. The Messiah will be human and fulfill all the prophecies in one life time - no second coming. There is no original sin to be saved from. No threat of hell.
See how Christianity is incompatible with Judaism?
You can't be Christian and Jewish at the same time.
And there is no Jewish bible. That's a Christian term. There is the Tanakh, not the Old Testament and no New Testament in Judaism.
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If someone doesn't believe Jesus was divine, then he was just a prophet and not the messiah. He didn't fulfill the prophecies. Christians justify worshipping him because they claim he'll return and fulfill the ones he didn't. If he was a prophet, he won't be back. That means he couldn't be the messiah - divine or not. He didn't fulfill the prophecies.
If someone believes Jesus was a prophet only, they'd more likely be a Muslim.
Jews don't believe he was a prophet either. If they think of him at all it's usually as a teacher.
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Then I have a question: does your Jewish bible have the New Testament?
I think people seem to be missing a key point: there is an OBJECTIVE definition of the word 'Jewish'.
It means: a person born to a Jewish mother OR a person who converts to Judaism.
In addition, there are OBJECTIVE Jewish beliefs that also DEFINE Judaism, and following Christ in ANY capacity VIOLATES TORAH, VIOLATES CORE JEWISH BELIEF.
I can declare myself a Cherokee Indian - does that mean I am one?
I can follow a few of their rituals, and change others - does that mean I am an authentic Cherokee Indian?
NO!
Messianics are not Jewish. They are the ones responsible for CONVERTING MANY JEWS TO CHRISTIANITY.
HATACIANA
- what you say is INCORRECT and you know it.
Judaism is inherently messianic - all Jews await OUR TRUE MESSIAH.
The specific term 'messianic jew' = CHRISTIANS. Messianics themselves chose this absurd term. They are not Jewish, they were NEVER Jewish, and the tiny 1% of them that were born Jewish ARE NOW PRACTISING CHRISTIANITY AND THEREFORE - ARE - CHRISTIANS.
It isn't rocket science. I simply don't believe that so many people are getting confused over this.
Human sacrifice to atone for sin is an abomination unto God in the Torah.
Anyone born to a Jewish mother who leaves Judaism to adopt beliefs that are forbidden to Jews in the Torah, places themself in a state of apostasy.
Not all Christians believe in the divnity of Jesus, that has been debated since before Nicea among the early sects. This is why there are passages in the New Testament that both affirm for them, that Jesus was god in human form and others that refute it.
Jewish law alone determines Jewish identity.
When kings of Israel tried to introduce foreign deities to be worshipped, it was harshly criticized in the Torah. Tammuz worship is specifically mentioned in the Tanakh and has elements that are strikingly similar to Easter observance, with the death and resurrection of this man/god whose blood atoned for sin. In Ezekiel 8 the men were holding the first "sun rise service" and the women were in the temple lamenting or singing to Tammuz.
Jews had become apostate to the covenant of Israel THEN in the days of the Bible. If it was considered worthy for the prophets to condemn and for the Torah to condemn for Israel to do such things, it isn't going to become any more Jewish today to consider a man a deity or a form of sacrifice. From the time of Abraham, the fact that the Hebrews eschewed human sacrifice was one of the earliest and most distinct differences from those who surrounded them who practiced human sacrifice.
Worship of a Jew is never a Jewish thing to do. Sacrifice of a human is never a Torah observant thing to do.
A Jew who believes in Christian dogma that a messiah is someone who has the function of a deity to pardon sin..is an apostate Jew who has separated themself from the covenant people Israel of his or her own free will. Period.
An apostate has the option to repent and return should they choose that path. Unless they do they are not considered as members of the covenant nation, Israel and according to Jewish law, may not be buried in a Jewish cemetery, be called to Torah or speak for the Jewish people. Teshuvah ( repentance and return) is up to them.
Judaism IS a messianic faith. The concept of messiah in the Christian doctrine ( New Testament) is simply incompatible with the Jewish religion.
Jews would be Christians because they recognise Jesus divinity as the son of God, the firstborn of all creation.
They would be worshipping the Creator, the Almighty God, Jehovah. Isn't that what we find in the book of 'Acts' the Jews preaching that the messiah/ Christ had arrived and been raised form the dead? As their God Jehovah had promised?
That is who the message went to first the Jews. Gods chosen nation.
KJV preface will tell you God represents the name Jehovah, Jesus the 2 most important laws, love Jehovah with whole heart, mind and soul, and love neighbour as self.
So if we go out killing people in the name of religion, can we still call ourselves Christians?