Jewish view of Jesus

[KnitMum]

This is something I’ve been curious about for a long time. What are the reasons Jews have for rejecting Jesus as the Messiah? Knowing what I do about Jesus’ fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the Messiah, how do the Jewish people explain these away?

 

[kbourse]

I’m not entirely sure, but I think they reject Him because they don’t consider Him of the lineage of David, since His conception was Immaculate and therefore had nothing to do with Joseph. However, I am definitely no expert and have been wrong many times before.

 

[jakasaki]

I’ve attached a link for your review:

I’ve quoted a tiny portion from their web site - but if you want to know the whole understanding, click on the link below…

The Mashiach

The mashiach will be a great political leader descended from King David (Jeremiah 23:5). The mashiach is often referred to as “mashiach ben David” (mashiach, son of David).

He will be well-versed in Jewish law, and observant of its commandments (Isaiah 11:2-5). He will be a charismatic leader, inspiring others to follow his example. He will be a great military leader, who will win battles for Israel.

He will be a great judge, who makes righteous decisions (Jeremiah 33:15).

But above all, he will be a human being, not a god, demi-god or other supernatural being.

It has been said that in every generation, a person is born with the potential to be the mashiach.
If the time is right for the messianic age within that person’s lifetime, then that person will be the mashiach.

But if that person dies before he completes the mission of the mashiach, then that person is not the mashiach.

jewfaq.org/mashiach.htm

 

[Barb3]

This is something I’ve always been curious about – I just couldn’t understand why the Jews didn’t accept Jesus because it seems to me He fulfilled all the prophesies. Of course, the first Christians" were Jews – Paul, Peter and all of the Apostles. I definitely will go into the site mentioned and would love to hear other people’s opinions about this one.

 

[chosen_people]

To those who are interested in this subject may I suggest reading “Twenty-six reasons why Jews don’t believe in Jesus” by Asher Norman.

 

[trdchubi]

Common objections to Yahshua haMashiach were already posted. Let us read the Answers to their Objections from the perspective of a Jewish man who believed.

 

[Kaninchen]

This is something I’ve been curious about for a long time. What are the reasons Jews have for rejecting Jesus as the Messiah? Knowing what I do about Jesus’ fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the Messiah, how do the Jewish people explain these away?

I expect you imagine that prophesies were fulfilled because the aspects of life and teachings of Jesus in the New Testament can be linked to various passages in what you call the Old Testament.

That makes sense if one believes the New Testament as a valid record, if one doesn’t, then it doesn’t.

 

[Publisher]

This is something I’ve always been curious about – I just couldn’t understand why the Jews didn’t accept Jesus because it seems to me He fulfilled all the prophesies. Of course, the first Christians" were Jews – Paul, Peter and all of the Apostles. I definitely will go into the site mentioned and would love to hear other people’s opinions about this one.

Jesus onlly fulfilled “prophesies” according to Christians understanding of Hebrew scriptures using isolated verses giving them “Christian” meanings apart from traditional understanding by Jews.

Only Christians see “fullfilled prophesies”.

 

[chaunceygardner]

Jesus was not what a Jewish Messiah was supposed to be and he didn’t do what the Messiah was expected to do. The Messiah was to be a political/military leader who would unite all of Israel, triumph over Israel’s enemies, restore Jerusalem, etc. Very simply the Messiah was NOT God or the son of God, but a human being endowed by God with special powers and abilities (like Moses). Here is another quote from the link provided by Jakasaki:

He [Jesus] simply did not fulfill the mission of the mashiach as it is described in the biblical passages cited above. Jesus did not do any of the things that the scriptures said the messiah would do.

In order to make Jesus the “Messiah” the early Christians in essence had to change the definition of Messiah and find OT passages that would back that new view. Keep in mind that although Christians today think of Jesus as “Jesus Christ” or “Jesus Messiah” that was only ONE view by the early Christian communities of who and what Jesus was. There were then (and still are today) several different “Christologies” that mixed and matched the various ideas circulating within Christianity about Jesus. Some of these were declared heresies fairly quickly; others are still around and argued today, by bible scholars and theologians. The dominant Christology found within most Christian faiths is a amalgamation of these various views.

The reminder by another poster that the earliest disciples and apostles were Jews points out the different understandings of Jesus that existed within the Jewish community. These disciples accepted Jesus as Son of God, but not necessarily as the Messiah defined by their Jewish faith. These two views are basically incompatible.

 

[trdchubi]

I think it is. He has pointed out and made a lot of valid answers against the objections which KnitMum asked. Jakasaki and chosen people have their link and book respectively to answer the OP

“ What are the reasons Jews have for rejecting Jesus as the Messiah?”

I simply linked the site so we can recognized the other reasons of their rejection which he personally encountered as a Messianic Jew. Giving us a better picture of the Jewish mindset regarding Yeshuah (Jesus).

 

[DRIVING_BEAR]

This is something I’ve been curious about for a long time. What are the reasons Jews have for rejecting Jesus as the Messiah? Knowing what I do about Jesus’ fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the Messiah, how do the Jewish people explain these away?

You should visit the site OutreachJudaism.org and goto the section of the left side of the page that says something like Rabbi Tovia Singer answers your question and click on that

His goes through all the reason jews should reject Christ as the messiah

 

[sojo]

I don’t have any educated answers, but I’m Jewish by birth on my mother’s side. And I asked her about this when I was young. My mother said “her people” (her religious community growing up), had great respect for Jesus as a holy man with an command of the religion, an inspired moral code, and great charism. But they attributed his miracles to “magic” and just couldn’t buy that he rose from the dead. So he was born a Jew, died a Jew and his followers turned his moral code into a new religion.

My mother always respected Christians, most particular Catholics as they were the closest to the Jewish faith in so many areas. She had three best friends - all Catholic. She studied the faith, and she read the NT. She dated my Dad, who was a devoted Catholic and altar boy, and she sat in the back of the Church at Mass when he served. Then he went off to WWII and came back an atheist. I always wonder if he had returned as devout as he left if she might have converted???

But he came back not believing in God, and my mother brought us up loosely (very loosely) Jewish. But she respected Christians, especially Catholics and brought us up to find our own God and way in the world. She probably bought more Mass cards than many Catholics! But she just couldn’t get herself to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Much of the time, she had trouble even believing in God due to all the tragedy in life.

I didn’t believe a word of it either until I was positively grabbed by the Lord.

Faith is a gift - some get it some don’t. I don’t know why.

 

[sojo]

Oh, it would only be fair to add that my sister, the middle child is an avowed atheist. She is also one of the most moral people I know, and the only one in my family who supported my choice not to abort my baby when we found out he had Down syndrome. All of my Jewish side of the family urged me to abort, and my Catholic and Evangelical relatives remained strangely silent.

My sister is the director of a large hospice agency, and she was responsible for arranging for weekly “prayer” wrap-ups for all the nurses to debrief and pray together. As she doesn’t believe in God (anymore), she meditates but encourages all believers to join in prayer. She believes prayer and meditation are healing and most powerful when done together in love.

She also holds prayers services when each of their patients dies. She donates a lot of time and money to charitable causes, even to the point of emotional exhaustion. Sometimes I joke and tell folks that my atheist sister lives the most Christian life I know.

Life is funny.