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JEWISH ROOTS

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WHY THE EMPHASIS ON JEWISH ROOTS?



The centre and focus of our faith should always be Jesus. (We prefer to use his given name of Yeshua - however this should never be a basis for division.) Of Jesus, one Jewish scholar has said, "The faith of Jesus unites us - but faith in Jesus divides us." The truth is, it is the Old Testament that separates Jew from Gentile - but the New Testament and Jesus unites us!

There is no doubt, Jesus was Jewish and he spoke, thought and acted as a Jew.(Despite the silly attempts of some to suggest that his blood was divine and not Jewish!) Both his foster father and his mother were Jewish, of the royal line of King David. If there had been any doubt, it would have been a simple matter for his detractors to visit the Temple and check the genealogies stored there.

It is interesting that some later Rabbis have sought to deny the Jewishness of Jesus because he was not the natural son of Joseph. However this argument is refuted by their own insistence that Jewishness be defined through the mother. In Jesus' case his mother, Miriam (Mary), was thoroughly Jewish. The foreknowledge of God is seen in this, for he knew before time how the Rabbis would define Jewishness.

The church itself emerged as a movement within Judaism and for some time remained exclusively Jewish. In fact the Greek terms, "Sunagoge" & "Ekklesia" were used interchangeably by both Jews and "Christians" to describe their meetings until the 4th century. Examples of meetings of believers being called "Synagogue" in the New Testament are found in James 2:2 & Hebrews 10:25. In Acts 7:38 we have the gathering of Israel called "Ecclesia". Ultimately "Synagogue" and "Church" have the same meaning and both were only adopted formally in the 4th century as terms to distinguish Jewish and "Christian" congregations.

For Messianics the term "Synagogue" suggests an affinity to Israel and the Jewish people. More accurate words to use in English would be "Congregation" or "Assembly".

Scripture makes it abundantly clear that believers in Jesus have not been planted separately from Israel but have been "grafted in among the others" - the others most definitely being Israel. (See Romans 11 & Ephesians 2)

The Bible itself is an entirely Jewish book. Not one writer of any of the 66 books of the Bible was a Gentile. This is made clear by Romans 3:1&2, "What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, they are being entrusted with the very words of God."

What, you may say, of Luke? There is no biblical evidence to suggest that he was anything but Jewish. Certainly, "Luke" was not an exclusively Jewish name - one of Paul's relatives was named "Luke" (Romans 16:21). Also, Acts chapters 16 & 21 talk of two incidences where either half-Jewish or fully Gentile believers caused problems for Paul. On neither of these occasions is Luke part of the problem, even though he was present. No! There is no doubt, the evidence of Scripture is THE ENTIRE WORD OF GOD WAS BROUGHT TO US THROUGH JEWISH AUTHORS. The Bible is Jewish through and through.

It is true that the primary elements of the Bible can be understood by all. There is also no doubt that the best language to read the Bible in is your own language; e.g. English. But as the Bible is Jewish, if you wish to study the Bible in any depth, then it is helpful to have an understanding of the Jewish thinking behind it. Also, a people who have studied the Bible for over 3,000 years must have something they can offer to our study of the Bible. Of course we must use Jewish interpretation as carefully as we would a Gentile/"Christian" commentary. (Assuming, of course, we do carefully weigh all that we read and hear carefully!)

Many forget that the major portion of the Bible is the Tenach (Old Testament). It was written either in Hebrew or Aramaic and makes up at least 72% of our Bibles! There is an adage, "The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed." It is this weak view of Scripture that has led our generation to lose so much in spiritual maturity. A much better way of expressing the relation between the Hebrew & Greek scriptures is, "The New is in the Old contained, the Old is in the New explained."

We have to understand that God has graciously given us the whole of Scripture. All 66 books are supreme and authoritative. When God speaks he does not use words loosely, cheaply or without purpose. God always uses words, whether Greek or Hebrew, carefully. The Bible is unadulterated by human contribution. It is not part God's word and part man's - so that only those especially trained can decide between them. No! We, whether Messianic or of the more traditional denominations, must "do our best to present ourselves to God as those approved, workmen who do not need to be ashamed and who correctly handle the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)

We should therefore neither emphasise nor denigrate any part of scripture because of the language through which God chose to bring it. Nor should we ignore anything that can help us to further shed light on this precious treasure. An understanding of the Jewishness of Jesus, the Bible and all the authors used by the Holy Spirit of God to bring us his Word should be seen as a basic requirement.

Continue to: What Will You Gain From This Emphasis?

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