Can you help me understand the Jewish people?

[debrakay]

I was not sure where to post this since I do not know if this pertains to theology, apologetics, prophesy, etc. since I don't have a definite understanding of the meanings of those words.  

I read an article today and have more questions than answers about the Jewish people and their denial of Jesus as Messiah.  I figure if Jesus showed up on earth today with signs and wonders they would still be calling out for him to be crucified.  Here is the link to the article. https://www.aish.com/jw/s/48892792.html

They deny everything in old testament scripture that shows Jesus as Christ.  They deny a virgin birth and believe the Messiah would have two human parents. They deny he was a prophet.  They deny he descended from the linage of King David through his human father Joseph. There is much more.  

I understand that our Christian faith and belief is enhanced by the Holy Spirit in our lives.  The Jews do not accept Jesus are not born again and therefore are not filled with the Holy Spirit who reveals truth.  I guess their denial of Christ is much like our denial of Muhammud or Buddah as god's.  It is good to know that there are Messianic Jews and Messianic Muslims. 

I would love to hear any words of wisdom from others on how God's chosen people can be so deceived and who keep God in a box of their own making. 

Edited February 20, 2022 by debrakay

[missmuffet]

5 minutes ago, debrakay said:

I was not sure where to post this since I do not know if this pertains to theology, apologetics, prophesy, etc. since I don't have a definite understanding of the meanings of those words.  

I read an article today and have more questions than answers about the Jewish people and their denial of Jesus as Messiah.  I figure if Jesus showed up on earth today with signs and wonders they would still be calling out for him to be crucified.  Here is the link to the article. https://www.aish.com/jw/s/48892792.html

They deny everything old testament scriptural shows Jesus as Christ.  They deny a virgin birth and believe the Messiah would have two human parents. They deny he was a prophet.  They deny he descended from the linage of King David through his human father Joseph. There is much more.  

I understand that our Christian faith and belief is enhanced by the Holy Spirit in our lives.  The Jews do not accept Jesus are not born again and therefore are not filled with the Holy Spirit who reveals truth.  I guess their denial of Christ is much like our denial of Muhammud or Buddah as god's.  It is good to know that there are Messianic Jews and Messianic Muslims. 

I would love to hear any words of wisdom from others on how God's chosen people can be so deceived and who keep God in a box of their own making. 

The Messianic Jews are Christians and believe in Jesus Christ.

Why do most Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah?

https://www.gotquestions.org/img/print.svg

ANSWER

The Jews rejected Jesus because He failed, in their eyes, to do what they expected their Messiah to do—destroy evil and all their enemies and establish an eternal kingdom with Israel as the preeminent nation in the world. The prophecies in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 describe a suffering Messiah who would be persecuted and killed, but the Jews chose to focus instead on those prophecies that discuss His glorious victories, not His crucifixion.

The commentaries in the Talmud, written before the onset of Christianity, clearly discuss the Messianic prophecies of Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 and puzzle over how these would be fulfilled with the glorious setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah. After the church used these prophecies to prove the claims of Christ, the Jews took the position that the prophecies did not refer to the Messiah, but to Israel or some other person.

The Jews believed that the Messiah, the prophet which Moses spoke about, would come and deliver them from Roman bondage and set up a kingdom where they would be the rulers. Two of the disciples, James and John, even asked to sit at Jesus’ right and left in His kingdom when He came into His glory. The people of Jerusalem also thought He would deliver them. They shouted praises to God for the mighty works they had seen Jesus do and called out, “Hosanna, save us,” when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (Matthew 21:9). They treated Him like a conquering king. Then, when He allowed Himself to be arrested, tried, and crucified on a cursed cross, the people stopped believing that He was the promised prophet. They rejected their Messiah (Matthew 27:22).

Note that Paul tells the church that the spiritual blindness of Israel is a “mystery” that had not previously been revealed (Romans chapters 9–11). For thousands of years, Israel had been the one nation that looked to God while the Gentile nations generally rejected the light and chose to live in spiritual darkness. Israel and her inspired prophets revealed monotheism—one God who was personally interested in mankind’s destiny of heaven or hell, the path to salvation, the written Word with the Ten Commandments. Yet Israel rejected her prophesied Messiah, and the promises of the kingdom of heaven were postponed. A veil of spiritual blindness fell upon the eyes of the Jews, who previously were the most spiritually discerning people. As Paul explained, this hardening on the part of Israel led to the blessing of the Gentiles who would believe in Jesus and accept Him as Lord and Savior.

Two thousand years after He came to the nation of Israel as their Messiah, Christ is still (for the most part) rejected by the Jews. Many Jews today (some say at least half of all living Jews) identify themselves as Jewish but prefer to remain “secular.” They identify with no particular Jewish movement and have no understanding or affiliation with any Jewish biblical roots. The concept of Messiah as expressed in the Hebrew Scriptures or Judaism’s “13 Principles of Faith” is foreign to most Jews today.

But one concept is generally held as universal: Jews must have nothing to do with Jesus! Most Jews today perceive the last 2,000 years of historical Jewish persecution to be at the hands of so-called “Christians.” From the Crusades, to the Inquisition, to the pogroms in Europe, to Hitler’s Holocaust—Jews ultimately believe that they are being held responsible for the death of Jesus Christ and are being persecuted for that reason. They, therefore, reject Him today.

The good news is that many Jews are turning to Christ today. The God of Israel has always been faithful to keep a “remnant” of believing Jews to Himself. In the United States alone, some estimates say that there are over 100,000 Jewish believers in Jesus, and the numbers are growing all the time.

Edited February 20, 2022 by missmuffet

[WilliamL]

7 minutes ago, debrakay said:

I would love to hear any words of wisdom from others on how God's chosen people can be so deceived and who keep God in a box of their own making. 

Simply put, they believed, and the religious ones still believe, that the traditions of their religious leaders supplanted the Scriptures in authority.

Just as many Christians do now.

[branchesofHim]

16 minutes ago, debrakay said:

I would love to hear any words of wisdom from others on how God's chosen people can be so deceived and who keep God in a box of their own making. 

Everyone does what they want to do based on what they believe.  Everyone has a box. Including those who believe in Jesus. Shalom

Romans 2:[28] For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
[29] But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

But God, in mercy, has concluded all of the natural Jews in unbelief for the sake of mercy.

Romans 11:[25] For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
[26] And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
[27] For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
[28] As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
[29] For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
[30] For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
[31] Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
[32] For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

[Ani Tefillah]

If I wanna understand the Jewish people, I can for example start to read the Holy Word from the Genesis to the Revelation. Over and over again..... 

[branchesofHim]

2 minutes ago, MonicaWife said:

If I wanna understand the Jewish people, I can for example start to read the Holy Word from the Genesis to the Revelation. Over and over again..... 

Great idea. You will learn much. Shalom

Romans 1:[16] For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

[Ani Tefillah]

2 minutes ago, branchesofHim said:

Great idea. You will learn much. Shalom

Romans 1:[16] For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Amen and Amen! "To the Jew first, and also to the Greek." 

Shalom from Norway 🇳🇴. I love Israel 🇮🇱 and the Jewish people! 😊 

[branchesofHim]

9 minutes ago, MonicaWife said:

Amen and Amen! "To the Jew first, and also to the Greek." 

Isaiah 54:[5] For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
[6] For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
[7] For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
[8] In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
[9] For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
[10] For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.

[debrakay]

1 hour ago, MonicaWife said:

If I wanna understand the Jewish people, I can for example start to read the Holy Word from the Genesis to the Revelation. Over and over again..... 

I have read the Bible many many times in my almost 50 year walk with Jesus.  I still do not understand Judaism and their unbelief.  But I do understand the Holy Spirit does and has opened the eyes, ears and hearts of my Jewish people throughout the centuries.

[debrakay]

1 hour ago, branchesofHim said:

Great idea. You will learn much. Shalom

Romans 1:[16] For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

But the Jewish people are ashamed of the gospel of Christ which is why they continue to crucify him.  The words of the New Testament are lost to them. But as the scripture says, "for it is the power of God" and God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) can reveal truth to the hearts and minds of anyone and everyone.