Jesus and Jews

     What does Hanukkah have to do with Yeshua (Jesus)?  Perhaps nothing, but Yeshua did have something to do with Hanukkah.  He used the opportunity of Hanukkah to remind his Jewish people of the importance of dedication.  After all, the name Hanukkah comes from the Hebrew root word meaning ‘to dedicate.’

     In Chapter 10 of the Gospel of John (vs. 22-39) we see Jesus visiting the temple during the Feast of Dedication (v.22).  Some people claim this to be during Sukkoth (the Feast of Tabernacles) because Solomon dedicated the temple to God during that feast, but this does not seem likely for the following reasons.

1.      As stated before, Hanukkah’s name means ‘dedication.’

2.      Verse 22 points out that the season is winter.  While Hanukkah occurs during winter, Sukkoth is an autumn festival.

3.      The message that Yeshua offers is more in keeping with Hanukkah than with Sukkoth.

     At that time, Yeshua was asked to say whether he was the Messiah.  He responded in this way:

“I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. 

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

I and the Father are one.”

            (John 10:25-30)

     The sheep that are his flock, are those who hear his voice – who believe in him.  In the same way that Judah Maccabee and his followers were dedicated to their God, those who recognize Messiah Yeshua are likewise dedicated to God the Father.

     Moreover, as God was dedicated to the Israelites and delivered them from the hands of Antiochus IV, so is He dedicated to those who have dedicated themselves to Messiah Yeshua – no body can snatch them out of the Messiah’s hands or the Father’s hands.

     Then he makes the remarkable statement, “I and the Father are one.”  Those who say that Yeshua never claimed to be God need to come to grips with this statement.  In these verses he equates himself with God unequivocally.

     If his statement here is not enough to convince us of that affirmation, the reaction of the crowd certainly should be:

“The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.

Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”

The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

     The Israelites in Yeshua’s day, certainly knew what he was saying.  And they reacted strongly because they didn’t believe him, despite all the evidence that pointed to Yeshua as the Messiah.  But there were still many Jews in his day who did believe.  Among them were scholars and shepherds, rich and poor, leaders and followers - just as their are today (well, maybe not so many shepherds).

     Hanukkah is a Festival of Dedication.  We Jews who are believers in Yeshua (Jesus) celebrate this festival as a reminder of God’s dedication in the time of Judah Maccabee, and as a time to remember the dedication of God to all those who will dedicate themselves to him and follow him according to his standards.

     Messiah Yeshua is the standard by which we are called to dedicate our life to God.  When we put our faith in him as our Saviour and as our Lord we enter into a perfect life of dedication: us to Him, and Him to us.

     Hanukkah is also a Festival of Lights, and when we light the Menorah we remember what Yeshua said to his Jewish people: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12)” 

     Why don’t you check out Yeshua’s claims for yourself.  Read the Tanakh - the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament).  Read the Brit Hadashah (the New Testament) as well.  Then ask God to show you his truth.  If you don’t have a bible, contact us.  We’d be happy to send you one.

     If you want, give us a call and we’ll talk!  Call 647-439-2936 and ask for Daniel.  Or email us at info@newcovenantforum.org.  Or check out our website at www.newcovenantforum.org.

     You don’t have to agree with us.  But, at least, make your decision from an informed perspective.

The most common objection I get, when sharing Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) with my Jewish people, is this very simple one: you can’t be Jewish and believe in Jesus.  I have received this response from the religious and the unreligious; by the old and by the young.  And to each one I have a very simple question:  Why not?

The most typical answer I receive is that Jews don’t believe in Jesus, but that is clearly a faulty argument.   I grew up Jewish and I became a believer in Him.  Not only that, but I know of many Jews who have come to believe in Yeshua, and there are many, many more that I don’t know.  Some of them were very religious Orthodox Jews, some of them were observant Jews in the Conservative or Reform movements and some were completely secular: die-hard atheists or not so die-hard agnostics.  The one thing they have in common is that they are Jewish.

I use the present tense when I say we are Jewish because, as far as we are concerned, believing in Jesus is a very Jewish thing to do.  You see, I believe that this statement – you can’t be Jewish and believe in Jesus – really means – Jesus is not the Jewish Messiah, he is not Saviour and he is not Lord.

The problem is that the response is almost always based, not on what the objectors know, but only on what they’ve been told.  When I challenge Jewish people to tell me how they know Jesus is not the Messiah, they don’t really have a response.  Most Jewish people have not investigated the claims of Jesus as found both in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures) or the B’rit Hadashah (the New Testament).  Many have made half-hearted attempts to read some of the B’rit Hadashah (or, for that matter, the Tanakh), but not really done a critical and honest investigation.

Recently I spoke with a Haredi rabbi, and in the midst of our discussions I challenged him to do just that.  To look at the New Testament text, not in a cynical way, but in a critical way, honestly seeking to understand what it says.  He said he would, but a month or so later he had barely done any reading.  He said he was happy with the Judaism he had – but again, he has not honestly looked at the text that tells us about the Messianic claims of Yeshua. 

I came to believe in Yeshua because I recognized that the promise of Yeshua is in the Tanakh.  I have come to understand that there is a picture of a lowly Messiah in the Hebrew Scriptures (Psalm 22; Isaiah 53; Zechariah 12:10),  that this picture was recognized by the rabbis in his day (though they did not recognize him when he came), and is even recorded in the Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 98a; b. Sukkah 52a).  Over the years I am more and more amazed at the Jewish sensibilities in the B’rit Hadashah, and how consistent it is with the Tanakh.

And I know that everything that is written in the Tanakh is a preparation for the time of Yeshua’s coming – the promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the covenant at Sinai with its sacrificial system and its laws of sanctification; the promises to David and through the Prophets.  Ultimately the Hebrew Scriptures are about Messiah Yeshua.

But if you won’t read the book, you can’t know the truth.  The truth that I have found, that many Jewish people have found, is that the most Jewish thing you can do is to believe in the Messiah promised by Moses and the Prophets – and that Messiah is Yeshua.  For if he is not the Messiah to the Jews then he can be nobody’s Messiah.

Why not check out the truth for yourself.  Read the Hebrew Scriptures.  Read the New Testament as well.  If you need a copy we would be happy to provide you with one – just email us.  Then ask the Lord of all Creation to show you His truth.  Not my truth – and not the rabbis’ truth – but His truth.

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. (Jeremiah 33:3)”

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)”

If you want, give us a call and we’ll talk!  Call 647-439-2936 and ask for Daniel.  Or email us at info@newcovenantforum.org. 

Or check out our website at www.newcovenantforum.org.

You don’t have to agree with us.  But, at least, make your decision from an informed perspective.

I would love to receive your instructive and constructive response.

As I stepped out of my car one morning, upon arriving at work, I heard a voice calling to me. I turned to see a young Jewish man (a Lubavitcher as I learned later) approaching me.

“What kind of a place is this? It looks like a synagogue, but any knowledgeable Jew would know that a synagogue would not have the words “New Covenant” in their name, unless they attended a synagogue like _______ (he named a large reform synagogue). But then, those are probably the Jews you are targeting.”

“Oh, targeting Jews,” I responded. “Well, if you know anything at all about evangelical Christians, you will know that we ‘target’ the whole world. We are interested in talking about Jesus with anyone who is open to speaking with us.” I then went on to explain that many evangelical ministries focus on specific people groups, and that the ministry I represented was committed to sharing the gospel with anyone, giving a particular focus to the Jewish community.

We often face objections from both Jews and non-Jews about our desire to explain the gospel to Jewish people. But we are convinced that Christians have a responsibility to share their faith with everyone, including the Jewish community.

The New Testament Scriptures are clear, all people should hear the gospel. It was Jesus himself who commissioned his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations” [Matthew 28:19 NIV*] The Apostle Paul (the former Rabbi Shaul before coming to believe in Jesus as Messiah and Savior) wrote:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (gentile).” [Romans 1:16 NIV]

There was no question in Paul’s mind but that the gospel message - salvation, the forgiveness of sins - is a message that must be shared with all, beginning with the Jewish community. How tragic it would be if we failed to share the message of Messiah Jesus with those who have been “entrusted with the very words of God” [Romans 3:2 NIV].

While we ”target” Jews no more than any other people group - we speak with far more Gentiles than Jews - we make no apology for seeking to “Encourage Conversation about Jesus” with the Jewish people we meet.

Without reservation we believe Jesus is our only hope of salvation. It was the Apostle Peter (a Jewish believer in Jesus) who declared to the Jewish religious leaders of his day:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” [Acts 4:12 NIV].

As long as God gives us the ability, we will share this wonderful news of salvation in Yeshua (Jesus) with everyone who is willing to listen, including Jewish people.

We’d love to talk about this with you.

____________________

NIV = The Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

New Covenant Forum encourages conversation about Jesus. We believe that humankind’s only hope of salvation, forgiveness of sins and right standing with God, is found only through faith in Jesus.

We believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah of Israel - the one of whom the ancient Hebrew prophets spoke. The Apostle Peter, a first century (CE) Jewish fisherman who became a Jesus follower spoke of this in his first epistle. In an extended discussion about the living hope Jesus followers have, he says:

Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was reavealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven - things which angels desire to look into. [1 Peter 1:10-12 New King James Version]

We believe the New Testament scriptures when they record that Jesus voluntarily laid down his life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of all who will believe in Him. We also believe that it is our responsibility to take this good news - salvation and freedom from the guilt of sin is available in Yeshua - to the entire world.

We also believe that this message is critically important for the worldwide Jewish community. Jesus was born a Jew, lived a Jewish life, and included Jewish people in his atoning sacrifice on that cursed tree. This gospel that has been embraced by millions the world over is a good news message for Jewish people too.

The Apostle Paul emphasizes the importance of keeping the Jewish community in mind when declaring the gospel message of salvation in Jesus. In his letter to the believers in Rome, he writes:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek (gentile). For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’. [Romans 1:16-17 New King James Version - emphasis mine]

Generally speaking, Jewish people are conditioned to reject the messiahship of Jesus, to view Him simply as the gentile god. But that is not how the first century Jewish followers of Jesus saw things. It is certainly not how the Bible (e.g. New Testament) speaks. The gospel message must go to the entire world - the Jewish community included.

Because there is so much misconception about Jesus among contemporary Jews, we are committed to encouraging conversation about Jesus. As far as is humanly possible, we want Jewish people to respond to Jesus out of a clear understanding of who He is, why He came, and what He did on our behalf.

We welcome your comments.