Being he came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel as he said. Wouldn't we be reformed Jews? Or Jews of some kind, not Messianic, being Jesus fulfilled the prophecy concerning the Messiah?
How did we arrive at being called Christians? As if we're following Christ's teachings as if they had no foundation in the OT Jewish faith?
I think you misunderstand a few things. Jesus, while he was alive as a man in Judea, was specifically called to minister to Jews. But after His resurrection, He announced that He held full authority over everybody, both Jews and Gentiles. Recall the Great Commission:
Quote
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, you go and make disciples of every nation, baptizing them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey whatever I taught you." Matthew 28:18-19
The part where He says "All authority...has been given to Me" makes Him the Lord of all nations, not just the nation of Israel.
The part where He says "make disciples of every nation" indicates that His disciples are to make converts outside the nation of Israel as well as inside it.
The part where He says "baptizing them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" makes it clear that what they're being introduced into is not strictly 1st century Judaism, since the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is not strictly part of 1st century Judaism. Trinitarian faith is something a bit different from the Jewish Law. Jesus actually said a fair amount about 1st century Jewish law, most of it negative.
However, you are correct when you note that the Christ's teachings had their root in OT Judaism. He was quite clear that His source was God, the Father, and the Hebrew scriptures. Notice what He says in the Sermon on the Mount:
Quote
"Do not think that I have come to abolishthe Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them butto fulfill them.For truly, I say to you,until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.Therefore whoever relaxesone of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called leastin the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called greatin the kingdom of heaven.For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceedsthat of the scribes and Pharisees, youwill never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:17-20
This can be confusing if you don't know how Jews spoke of their scriptures in the 1st century. Did you notice how He mentioned both the Law and the Prophets? He was not talking about the Jewish Law that Paul spoke about; "the Law and the Prophets" was the 1st century Jewish shorthand way to refer to the Hebrew scriptures, what we would call "Old Testament" or Jews would call "tanakh." There were three sections in the Jewish canon, called "Law," "Prophets," and "Writings" (in Hebrew, "Torah," "Nevi'im," and "Ketuvim." The first letter of each forms the consonants TNK, from which they derive the word "tanakh.") When they made a reference to their canon of scripture, they didn't say "Bible" (that's an Anglicized version of the Latin "biblia" or the Greek "biblos") they said "The Law and the Prophets," or "The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms," or "Moses and the Prophets," or something like that.
What Jesus was saying here is that the scripture would never cease to be authoritative. He actually said, though, that the Jewish Law was not what He meant. That's why He said "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was defined by what Paul called "the Law." THAT Law was imperfect; Jesus was saying that God's perfect Law would never change.
The part where the Holy Spirit makes it clear that the Gentiles do not have to become Jews occurs first in Acts 10 and 11, and then gets added to in Acts 15. In Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council meets and decides that Gentiles need not obey the Jewish law but need simply refrain from pagan religious service to the demons. That's more or less what is meant by the declaration in Acts 15:28-29.
When did Jesus call his teaching Christianity? Wouldn't we be Jews instead?
in Understanding Hebrew Roots
Posted · Edited by philwynk
Jewels7 wrote:
I think you misunderstand a few things. Jesus, while he was alive as a man in Judea, was specifically called to minister to Jews. But after His resurrection, He announced that He held full authority over everybody, both Jews and Gentiles. Recall the Great Commission:
The part where He says "All authority...has been given to Me" makes Him the Lord of all nations, not just the nation of Israel.
The part where He says "make disciples of every nation" indicates that His disciples are to make converts outside the nation of Israel as well as inside it.
The part where He says "baptizing them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" makes it clear that what they're being introduced into is not strictly 1st century Judaism, since the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is not strictly part of 1st century Judaism. Trinitarian faith is something a bit different from the Jewish Law. Jesus actually said a fair amount about 1st century Jewish law, most of it negative.
However, you are correct when you note that the Christ's teachings had their root in OT Judaism. He was quite clear that His source was God, the Father, and the Hebrew scriptures. Notice what He says in the Sermon on the Mount:
This can be confusing if you don't know how Jews spoke of their scriptures in the 1st century. Did you notice how He mentioned both the Law and the Prophets? He was not talking about the Jewish Law that Paul spoke about; "the Law and the Prophets" was the 1st century Jewish shorthand way to refer to the Hebrew scriptures, what we would call "Old Testament" or Jews would call "tanakh." There were three sections in the Jewish canon, called "Law," "Prophets," and "Writings" (in Hebrew, "Torah," "Nevi'im," and "Ketuvim." The first letter of each forms the consonants TNK, from which they derive the word "tanakh.") When they made a reference to their canon of scripture, they didn't say "Bible" (that's an Anglicized version of the Latin "biblia" or the Greek "biblos") they said "The Law and the Prophets," or "The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms," or "Moses and the Prophets," or something like that.
What Jesus was saying here is that the scripture would never cease to be authoritative. He actually said, though, that the Jewish Law was not what He meant. That's why He said "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was defined by what Paul called "the Law." THAT Law was imperfect; Jesus was saying that God's perfect Law would never change.
The part where the Holy Spirit makes it clear that the Gentiles do not have to become Jews occurs first in Acts 10 and 11, and then gets added to in Acts 15. In Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council meets and decides that Gentiles need not obey the Jewish law but need simply refrain from pagan religious service to the demons. That's more or less what is meant by the declaration in Acts 15:28-29.
Sorry that was so long.