Jewish Belief Question

[lisahiku]

Can someone tell me in a nutshell, the main reason Jewish people do not accept that
Jesus Christ is the messiah?

 

[meltzerboy]

Can someone tell me in a nutshell, the main reason Jewish people do not accept that
Jesus Christ is the messiah?

Lisahiku, this question has been asked several times before and has inevitably led all of us down a perilous road. In short, the reasons Jews do not believe Jesus to be the Messiah are that Jesus did not fulfill any of the Scriptural prophecies the Messiah was supposed to complete during the First Coming (there is no indication of a Second Coming in the Hebrew Bible); the Messiah is not prophesied to be G-d or His Son, according to the Jewish interpretation of all the relevant verses in Isaiah and elsewhere of the Hebrew Bible in the Masoretic text particularly; and Jesus is not of the proper patrilineal descent according to the Hebrew Bible. Further, the fact Jesus performed miracles–including resurrection of the dead–was forewarned by Moses in Deuteronomy as a means of G-d’s testing the faith of the Jewish people to see whether they would remain faithful or not. The notion that much of Jesus’ story parallels stories found in other religions is a minor objection, in my view, since there are also certain unique elements connected to it that distinguish it from similar accounts.

 

[JM3]

whatjewsbelieve.org/index.html

 

[Heuchler]

Lisahiku, this question has been asked several times before and has inevitably led all of us down a perilous road. In short, the reasons Jews do not believe Jesus to be the Messiah are that Jesus did not fulfill any of the Scriptural prophecies the Messiah was supposed to complete during the First Coming (there is no indication of a Second Coming in the Hebrew Bible); the Messiah is not prophesied to be G-d or His Son, according to the Jewish interpretation of all the relevant verses in Isaiah and elsewhere of the Hebrew Bible in the Masoretic text particularly; and Jesus is not of the proper patrilineal descent according to the Hebrew Bible. Further, the fact Jesus performed miracles–including resurrection of the dead–was forewarned by Moses in Deuteronomy as a means of G-d’s testing the faith of the Jewish people to see whether they would remain faithful or not. The notion that much of Jesus’ story parallels stories found in other religions is a minor objection, in my view, since there are also certain unique elements connected to it that distinguish it from similar accounts.

I don’t mean to sound rude, but what would constitute of the finding of the messiah today and do you think he would be accepted by the Jewish people.

 

[meltzerboy]

I don’t mean to sound rude, but what would constitute of the finding of the messiah today and do you think he would be accepted by the Jewish people.

No, you’re not at all being rude. We simply have different religious beliefs but that doesn’t mean we can’t respect one another’s views. To answer your question directly, the Messiah would have to be fully human, rather than claim to be both fully human and fully divine; require no blood sacrifice of himself as a means of vicarious atonement for human sins (this is NOT the way Jews are instructed to atone for their sins, either today or in ancient times, and Judaism does not believe in original sin); and, most of all, fulfill the prophecies the Hebrew Bible claims he is destined to fulfill during his first coming, including world peace, rebuilding the Temple, in-gathering of the lost Tribes, realization of the truth of ethical monotheism and particularly Judaism (though no forced conversion would occur or be necessary), and so on. The Messiah would probably be accepted by most of the Jewish people and others as well, because of the tangible evidence of these happenings. However, a minority of Jews do not believe in the coming of a Messiah.

 

[AdesteFideles]

Well, the nutshell answer is maybe too simple, but I think there’s four main reasons (interested) Jews may give:

1. They feel messianic prophecy was not adequately fulfilled by Jesus, and thus that he was not the messiah.
2. The may hold the the Law of Moses was perpetually established, and if Jesus’ followers and His teaching lead Jews away from the Law, then He cannot be from God.
3. They believe God Himself could not possibly be a triunity, and they feel all revelation which God gave them should send off extremely loud alarms with regard to the concept of worshiping a man as God.

and I would respectfully add one more:

1. Christians have not always historically been the greatest of witnesses for Christ before the Jews; and many Jews equate Jesus with persecution and anti-semitism.

If you have some questions with regard to why some Jews DO accept Jesus, I would recommend visiting www.SalvationIsFromTheJews.com

Not only does that website contain a wealth of information – including audio and video – but Mr. Schoeman is highly approachable via e-mail. I would recommend browsing the site for a bit before contacting him, however; and there are some archived episodes of Catholic Answers Live on which he has appeared.

 

[Heuchler]

No, you’re not at all being rude. We simply have different religious beliefs but that doesn’t mean we can’t respect one another’s views. To answer your question directly, the Messiah would have to be fully human, rather than claim to be both fully human and fully divine; require no blood sacrifice of himself as a means of vicarious atonement for human sins (this is NOT the way Jews are instructed to atone for their sins, either today or in ancient times, and Judaism does not believe in original sin); and, most of all, fulfill the prophecies the Hebrew Bible claims he is destined to fulfill during his first coming, including world peace, rebuilding the Temple, in-gathering of the lost Tribes, realization of the truth of ethical monotheism and particularly Judaism (though no forced conversion would occur or be necessary), and so on. The Messiah would probably be accepted by most of the Jewish people and others as well, because of the tangible evidence of these happenings. However, a minority of Jews do not believe in the coming of a Messiah.

Ok and do you believe that there are still prophets around today, or what happened? Why did it all seem to stop?

 

[lisahiku]

I didn’t mean to stir the pot. Just wondering in a nutshell the reasons.

God bless,
Lisa

 

[meltzerboy]

Ok and do you believe that there are still prophets around today, or what happened? Why did it all seem to stop?

Jews believe the “Era of the Major Prophets” ceased with Malachi in about 300 BC. However, they also believe it will return with the coming of the Messiah. In addition, some believe there are still minor prophets, such as the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Schneerson, who prophesied the Messiah would arrive imminently. There is also a belief among some that the Messiah will appear on or before the year 6,000 according to the Hebrew calendar. This is based on each millennium representing the days of the Creation. Today is the start of the year 5,772, so that’s fairly soon. At the same time, Jews are forbidden to set a specific date for his arrival. Finally, although major prophets are no longer present, individuals may still have prophetic visions.