Why Jews don't believe in Jesus

Aish ^ | Dec 6, 2012 | Rabbi Simmons

[yinandyang]

Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah because: Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies. Jesus did not embody the personal qualifications of the Messiah. Biblical verses "referring" to Jesus are mistranslations. Jewish belief is based on national revelation.

[Truth2012]

I have corrected that about Paul.

BUT, I believe Luke was Jewish. He understood the Old Testament ,and seemed to refer to himself as a Jew in Acts.

I believe the idea of whether or not Luke was a Jew, or Jewish is answered for us in the book of Ruth.

The story of a kinship redeemer.

Who is redeemed, who is adopted? Who is a Jew? What is Jewish?

Personally, I believe all the disciples are Jews.

[SkyDancer]

We Jews looked upon Yashua as the One to remove oppression little realizing He first came as a “messenger” - then to return as a conquering Messiah to save Israel. The article should have said “Why Jews Didn’t Believe In Jesus” not “Don’t”. As for not fulfilling messianic prophecies read the Book of Isaiah.

[delchiante]

There are either believers or unbelievers...saved or the lost(unsaved)

There is no smoking or non smoking section in heaven and I cant believe there would be any denominational sections..

Jew, Christian, Catholic, Presbsyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, etc etc....on and on and on...

Believer or unbeliever... that is what you are.. one thing we all have in common. We are sinners and need to be saved.... Jews who don’t believe in Jesus are lost... same way as the gentile down the street or next door....
Jesus either lied, was a lunatic or is exactly who He said He is- Lord.

[Jeff F]

...The Disciples were Jewish...

Might be nit picking your phrasing, but it also worth pointing out that Paul was not one of the original 12 Disciples of Jesus, nor even one of the original 12 Apostles, but rather an "apostle of the Gentiles" as he himself phrased it. He only encountered Jesus after the crucifixion on the road to Damascus.

While I feel confident you know these details, the terms Disciple and Apostle are often conflated (even within the Gospel of John) so this might be helpful for others.

[rjsimmon]

The Hebrew Moschiach will be descended from TWO houses. David and Aaron.

Jesus was from both Houses. Mary, his mother, was cousin to Elizabeth (mother of John the Baptist) who is described as being a descendant of Aaron (Luke 1:5), thus making Mary a descendant of Aaron as well as from David's lineage.

According to Ben Sirach, the descent in the Davidic line works differently from the descent of the children of Aaron. Descent in the Davidic line is only from father to son, while descent from Aaron passes through all children, male and female. Jesus can only be an heir to David through his father Joseph, but he could be an heir to Aaron through his mother’s family.

What we know about Mary’s family and ancestry is that she is a blood relative of Elizabeth, wife of the priest Zechariah. Elizabeth herself is described as a daughter of Aaron, carrying the inheritance of the children of Aaron. As her blood relative, Mary can also be expected to be a daughter of the house of Aaron and Jesus to receive from his mother the right of descent that would make it possible for him to be the priestly messiah, the Messiah of Aaron.

[Jeff F]

Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city...

Seventy "Weeks" is written as Seventy "Sevens". This is alternately interpreted as being either 70 weeks as you quote, or as 70 x 7 biblical years of 360 days. The later translation leads though some abstruse calendar math roughly to the time period of March/April of AD 32 or 33. That coincides with Jesus' entrance riding on a donkey into Jerusalem - the moment at which he revealed himself to be the Messiah.

There is enough fuzziness in the language and math that I don't know if this interpretation can unequivocally be claimed as confirmed prophesy, however it certainly is interesting.

[RoosterRedux]

I think you addressed this to me in error.;-)

[PapaBear3625]

It is impossible to be Jewish and accept Jesus as Christians do. Does anyone really not understand this?

Depends on your definition of Jew. I know some Messianic Jews, and they practice both Christianity and the Jewish traditions.

Questions: do you think it's possible to be atheist and still Jewish? There are plenty of people around who are atheist, of Jewish descent, and are still considered Jews by many Jews.

How about a Jew who decides to convert of Buddhism? To Islam?

If someone comes who a bunch of rabbis decide to proclaim as the Messiah, and other rabbis disagree, which side stops being considered Jewish? Majority vote?

[tophat9000]

Sakic...by your definition of Jewish , Jesus was not Jewish..

[Hostage]

Jesus: Son of David and Son of Aaron

Abstract
Messianic Patterns and Possibilities
The Identity of the Messiah of Aaron
Numbers
Zechariah
Rule of the Community at Qumran
Damascus Covenant
Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
The Levitical Ancestry of Jesus
Conclusion
References

Abstract

It is generally accepted that there was an unreconciled diversity of opinion in the first century about the person of the Messiah between groups and even within single groups within Judaism. There can be as many as four messianic roles identified: the king of the house of David, the priest of the house of Aaron, the war leader of the house of Joseph, and the prophet representing Elijah. The goal of this paper is to look at first century expectations around the priestly messiah, the Messiah of Aaron, and to consider whether Jesus was an eligible candidate to fill that particular messianic role. First it will explore the understanding of the role of priestly messiah based on references in Numbers and Zechariah, and then consider that role in the Qumran Community Rule, the Damascus Covenant, and the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs.

This priestly messiah is identified as a descendant of Aaron. Jesus is often referred to as a descendant of David, but is he a descendant of Aaron as well? According to Ben Sirach, the descent in the Davidic line works differently from the descent of the children of Aaron. Descent in the Davidic line is only from father to son, while descent from Aaron passes through all children, male and female. Jesus can only be an heir to David through his father Joseph, but he could be an heir to Aaron through his mother’s family.

What we know about Mary’s family and ancestry is that she is a blood relative of Elizabeth, wife of the priest Zechariah. Elizabeth herself is described as a daughter of Aaron, carrying the inheritance of the children of Aaron. As her blood relative, Mary can also be expected to be a daughter of the house of Aaron and Jesus to receive from his mother the right of descent that would make it possible for him to be the priestly messiah, the Messiah of Aaron.

http://www.jeanrisley.org/W2articles/WhoArtAaron.htm

[Truth2012]

:) Yes. I do believe that as a disciple, Paul was commanded to be an apostle.

I do think that all of us, who obey the Lord and seek His ways, are disciples. The Lord chooses Apostles, for a specific purpose.

Paul was a Jew, a Pharisee, who was converted to a new point of view, to seek the ways of Jesus, which made him a disciple. He was not one of the original disciples who walked with Jesus before his death, because his conversion happened after Jesus rose from death.

He was commanded, by God, to be an apostle to the Gentiles.

I hope that clears it up for everyone, what I meant. :)

[Zionist Conspirator]

All this is true so far as it goes, but the most basic thing is that the Jewish religion is the Torah, which is everlasting and is not a "preparation" for a greater revelation to come.

But good luck in getting any chrstians to actually even consider this. Their most fundamental religious assumption is that J*sus was the "messiah" and they read the Hebrew Bible with this assumption. They define "messiah" by what J*sus did (or allegedly did). So long as their church or their "new testament" tells them that the "old testament" predicted J*sus that is what they will believe.

I suppose you got the usual "new testament" quotations to "prove" that J*sus was the messiah?

[Petrosius]

The Christian idea of a virgin birth is derived from the verse in Isaiah 7:14 describing an "alma" as giving birth. The word "alma" has always meant a young woman, but Christian theologians came centuries later and translated it as "virgin."

Actually "alma" should more correctly be translated as "maiden". Yes, a young women but with the implication of being a virgin. And it was Jewish scholars before Christ who translated it as "virgin" in the Septuagint not Christian theologians.

[grumpa]

This is a worthwhile article for Christians to consider, and unless you understand biblical eschatology correctly, you will have a difficult time refuting this Jewish argument. The error the Jews make is similar to error most Christians—especially dispensationalists make—literalizing biblical language that was meant spiritutally or figuratively. For example, both Jews and dispensationalists expect a literal earthly utopian period (the millennium). The Jewish author, for example, quoted Isaiah 30. In this chapter one also finds such things as “the sun shall be no more your light by day” and “your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself.” These are certainly not to be taken literally. See my blog http://prophecyquestions.wordpress.com/.

[Georgia Girl 2]

“Messianic Jews surely believe in Jesus.”

Yes, what this article does not tell us is that there are 5 or 6 distinct sects within Judeaism. The Messianic or completed jews do believe that Christ is the Messiah. My fiancee’ is a Messianic Jew.

[stonehouse01]

“...here is no such thing as a messianic jew...

A messianic jew is a de facto Christian.

[stonehouse01]

sorry - there is no such thing as a Messianic Jew..”

A Messianic Jew is a de facto Christian.

[delchiante]

At least 100 of prophetic images of the Jewish Messiah and they miss them or ignore them. Even in the psalms by King David...

But thanks be to God that many Jews deny His only Son and I was elected to be grafted in!

The Jews history is one of being chosen and then falling away for a time because of not following God. They are then judged and they repent ... sin, judged, repented..over and over....

They will have their time to repent the final time when Jesus comes back... reach out believers to your Jewish brethren with love and joy till the Lord comes... many are tending not to lead lives a Jew would be moved to jealousy for as the Scripture commands..
Life as salt of the earth and light to the world.... Who couldn’t truly see that and not be jealous of the peace, joy and forgiving hearts that Christ gives us..

[sakic]

The Inquisition was a drop in the bucket? I must be misunderstanding what you wrote. Is that what you truly meant?

[sakic]

As a Jew, I don’t believe Jesus was more than a human being. That is part of being Jewish. I also don’t believe he wanted to impose his beliefs on everyone else but I am not a Christian scholar.