Why don't Jews accept Jesus as the Messiah & Son of God?

[Ogner]

A lot of people on this forum say something like this: Ezra said: In the meantime, there is a veil over the hearts and minds of Jews who limit themselves to the Old Testament and ignore Christ and the New Testament (2 Cor 3:1-18).

Or like this, Thallasa said:  I think most misunderstand that Salvation comes collectlvely as well a individually ,and it is collectively that salvation comes through the Jews ,and individually through Jesus Christ . Jesus sets in motion all salvation ,but He has given a special role to the Jews in His  long term plans .Those Jews who believe in God the Father  have had a role in history which supercedes other cultures ,at least this is what I think.

As I understand it, they're trying to tell that one fine day all Jews will believe in Jesus Christ and will be saved collectively just because they are the Jews. Until that time the Jews do not believe in Jesus because of God. 

I don't know where they got that. 

If the Jews do not believe in Jesus because of God. Why did Jesus marvel because of their unbelief and reproach them by that?

John 8:38-45, "I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not." 

 Matthew 8:10-13 " When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour."

Question: Why to search for faith if the Jews do not believe in Jesus because of God?

Luke 13:26-29 "Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God"

Question: Jesus will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers! There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth...’. Why did He say this? 

John 15:22-25 "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause."

Question:  If the Jews do not believe in Jesus because of God. Why do they have no excuse for their sin?

Edited June 4, 2016 by Ogner

[Ogner]

Matthew 10:34-36 "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
And a man's foes shall be they of his own household."

How can we say about that Salvation comes collectively if a man's foes shall be they of his own household? 

[Ogner]

There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

John3:18, "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

John3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

Mark 16:16 "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

1 John 5:10 "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son."

[Ogner]

Matthew 11: 20-22, "Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee."

If the Jews do not believe in Jesus because of God. Why does he upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not?

Faith and repentance are truly inseparable. You, therefore, can’t have faith without repentance, and you can’t have repentance without faith. If faith means turning to the new life in Christ, then repentance means turning away from the old life. It’s only one turn from the old to the new – opposite sides of the same coin. Because faith and repentance are almost interchangeable, we often find the promise of salvation depends on faith, but also repentance. Therefore, in many offers of salvation, faith isn’t mentioned. Mentioning repentance is clearly enough: 

 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. (Acts 17:30; 2:38; 3:19: 8:22)

[ayin jade]

You asked why they do not believe. The bible addresses that. 

Romans 11

11 I say then, Did they not stumble that they fall? Let it not be! But by their slipping away came salvation to the nations, to provoke them to jealousy.

[LeavesSeeds]

"The Myth of Jewish Rejection of Jesus"  (a short excerpt from his paper online, showing that many Jews believed in Jesus, and many do;  gentiles also;  "few" compared to those who don't believe, for both, until such time as God intervenes(so to speak) )

by Paul Sumner

"Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover many believed in his name...
many of the multitude believed in him...
many came to believe in him...
many of the Samaritans believed in him...
a great many of the priests became obedient."
(John 2:23; 7:31; 8:30; 4:39; Acts 6:7)

"You see, brother, how many tens of thousands there are among the Jews
of those who have believed,
and they are all zealous for the Torah."
(Acts 21:20)

[Guest shiloh357]

Jewish rejection of Jesus today has a completely different dynamic than it did in Paul's day.   A lot has happened to the Jewish people in the name of Jesus over the last 1700 + years that has had a lot of impact on how Jewish people perceive Jesus and Christianity.  Unfortunately, many in the Church, due to pride are unwilling to face up to this.

There has been a lot of persecution of the Jews throughout middle ages due to the poisonous teachings of many "early Church fathers"  which portray the Jews as the villains of the NT and emblem of God's contempt.   Many anti-Semites have projected their hatred on to the Bible and have interpreted the Bible through filter of their personal bigotry.

This post would be 100 pages, or more if I were to go into the litany of events wherein so called "Christians"  persecuted the Jews or publically advocated for their persecution.  It can be rightly argued that those engaging in those activities were not true followers of Jesus.   But many Jewish people, especially those raised in the Orthodox traditions of Judaism are not theologically equipped to recognize the difference.   Hitler was, a "Christian."   He was a member in good standing in the Roman Catholic Church until he was excommunicated ex post facto when the RCC saw that the allies were going to defeat Germany.  Many of the Nazi concentration camp guards were baptized members in good standing in their local churches in Poland and elsewhere.   Christianity was, for the most part, silent while the Holocaust was happening and that silence was not due to ignorance of what was going on.

So today, for a Jewish person to accept Jesus it is as repulsive to them as becoming a Nazi.  Jewish people, especially those in Israel, pay an unimaginable price for accepting Jesus.  Many Christians don't realize that in say, Israel, you can lose your job, lose your home, your marriage is annulled, you won't be able to see your children anymore, you are completely cut off from the economic and social aspects of society.  It is as if you are dead.   In the US, while Jewish citizens enjoy some constitutional protections that they don't have in Israel, they are still excommunicated, if you will, from Jewish society in the US.

So, Jewish rejection of Jesus has a huge social component that many Christians don't understand.  They don't understand that Jewish people have to weigh this out and count the cost. It can cost them everything.    We, as Christians, blather about giving up everything to follow Jesus.   For the Jewish person considering Jesus, that is more real than any of us have ever known.   We might lose a couple of friends because of our faith and think we have "sacrificed" something for Jesus.   But we really don't have a clue. Find a Jewish person who believes in Jesus and you will likely see someone who has truly given all, has denied themselves, taken up their cross and followed Him.

[Ogner]

3 hours ago, LeavesSeeds said:

"The Myth of Jewish Rejection of Jesus"  (a short excerpt from his paper online, showing that many Jews believed in Jesus, and many do;  gentiles also;  "few" compared to those who don't believe, for both, until such time as God intervenes(so to speak) )

by Paul Sumner

"Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover many believed in his name...
many of the multitude believed in him...
many came to believe in him...
many of the Samaritans believed in him...
a great many of the priests became obedient."
(John 2:23; 7:31; 8:30; 4:39; Acts 6:7)

"You see, brother, how many tens of thousands there are among the Jews
of those who have believed,
and they are all zealous for the Torah."
(Acts 21:20)

John3:18, "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

John3:24, "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."

[Ogner]

4 hours ago, ayin jade said:

You asked why they do not believe. The bible addresses that. 

Romans 11

11 I say then, Did they not stumble that they fall? Let it not be! But by their slipping away came salvation to the nations, to provoke them to jealousy.

1 Thessalonians 2:14-16, "For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:  Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost."

 

[Ogner]

3 hours ago, shiloh357 said:

Hitler was, a "Christian."  

I reject this lampoon with contempt.

Godwin's law is an Internet adage asserting that "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazism or Hitler approaches —that is, if an online discussion (regardless of topic or scope) goes on long enough, sooner or later someone will compare someone or something to Hitler or Nazism.

There are many corollaries to Godwin's law, some considered more canonical (by being adopted by Godwin himself) than others. For example, there is a tradition in many newsgroups and other Internet discussion forums that once such a comparison is made, the thread is finished and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost whatever debate was in progress. This principle is itself frequently referred to as Godwin's law.