I've heard so many misconceptions about how Christians
view the Jews that I want to address this here.
True followers of Jesus can't help but treasure the Jews. Why?
Because it is through them that the Savior of the world came, and God
made Himself intimately known to us humans. And God Himself
treasures them. God has always used
Israel (the Jews) to teach the rest of us about Him. The Jews have
gone through so much as God's Chosen People—chosen by God as the people through
which He would show Himself to the world and then save
the world—and we are grateful! Where would Christians—or the
rest of the world—be without them? And God isn't through with the
Jews yet—both the Bible's New and Old Testaments have plenty of prophecies about how God will continue to use the
Jews to bring the world to Him.
Surely
he took up our
infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by
God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our
transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that
brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
(Isaiah 53:4-5, Old Testament)
As (Jesus) approached Jerusalem
and saw the city, He wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had
only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is
hidden from your eyes."
(Luke 19:41-42)
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you
who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have
longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks
under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is
left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see Me again
until you say, 'Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the
Lord.'" (Matthew
23:37-39)
"O Israel, I will not
forget you. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your
sins like the morning mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you."
—God, talking to
the prophet Isaiah about His people (Isaiah 44:21-22, Old Testament)
"When Israel was a child, I
loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. But the more I called
Israel, the further they went from Me. They sacrificed to the
Baals and they burned incense to images. It was I who taught
Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it
was I Who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness,
and with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down
to feed them." —God,
talking to the prophet Hosea about His people (Hosea 11:1-4,
Old Testament)
Come to Me,
all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in
heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is
easy and My burden is light." —Jesus (Matthew
11:28-30)
And I will pour out on the
house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and
supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and
they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve
bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. ... On
that day, a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
(Zechariah 12:10; 13:1, Old Testament)
It seems much like the story of Joseph
and his brothers who sold him as a slave into Egypt. When Joseph
revealed himself to them years later when he was the second in
command to Pharaoh, they were scared he would take revenge.
Joseph said to his
brothers, "I am Joseph!" ... But his brothers
were not able to answer him because they were terrified at his
presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to
me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your
brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be
distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here,
because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.
... But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant
on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then,
it was not you who sent me here, but God. ... You can see
for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I
who am speaking to you." ... Then he threw his arms around
his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him,
weeping. And he kissed all his brothers and wept over
them. (Genesis 45:3-5, 7-8,12,14-15.
Old Testament) But
Joseph said, "Don't be afraid. ... You intended to harm me,
but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the
saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will
provide for you and your children." And he reassured them
and spoke kindly to them. (Genesis
50:19-21, Old Testament)
To see a scene like the one between Joseph and his
brothers, except to see it played out between the Jews and Jesus, their
Messiah, is one of the things I look forward to most. What a
wonderful thing to see Israel finally reunited with its faithful,
forgiving, LOVING Messiah!
"I will heal their waywardness and
love them freely, for My anger has turned away from them."
—God,
talking to the prophet Hosea about His people
(Hosea 14:4, Old Testament)
God doesn't break His promises, either—and He's told the Jews over and over
for 4,000 years that He will not forsake them. It's all wrapped up
in His original promise to Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation,
2,000 years before the birth of Jesus:
"I will make you into a great nation and I will
bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
(Genesis 12:2-3, Old Testament)
Jesus was a Jew—and the Bible He quoted was the Old Testament, the
Scriptures of the Jews. And for all the people who've been taught
that the Jews killed Jesus, I've got news for you. Max Lucado says
it extremely well:
"The cross was no accident. The moment the forbidden fruit
touched the lips of Eve, the shadow of a cross appeared on the horizon.
It means Jesus planned His own sacrifice. It means He voluntarily
placed His Judas in the womb of a woman. The ropes used to tie His
hands and the soldiers used to lead Him to the cross were
unnecessary. Had they not been there, had there been no trial, no
Pilate, and no crowd, the very same crucifixion would have
occurred. Had Jesus been forced to nail Himself to the cross, He
would have done it. It was not the soldiers who killed Him, nor
the screams of the mob: It was His devotion to us. On the eve of
the cross, Jesus made His decision. He would rather go to hell for
you than go to heaven without you."
(from "God Came Near,"
page 79-81. © Copyright 1987 by Max Lucado; Published by Multnomah
Publishers, Inc., Sisters, Ore.; and from "And
the Angels Were Silent," © Copyright 1992 by Max
Lucado; Published by Multnomah Publishers, Inc., Sisters,
Ore.)
I can't imagine a Christian having any other feeling toward a Jew
besides a deeply grateful "Thank you!" We personally
know their long-awaited Messiah (Christ), who was born as a man ("God
with us"—"Immanuel") 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem with the name "Jesus"
(which means "He will save").
If you're a Jew reading this, I'd encourage you to read just the
first book of the Christian's New Testament in the Bible—Matthew.
It was written by one of Jesus' 12 disciples and was tailored to the
Jewish audience. Do you want to see Old Testament prophecies about
the Messiah directly fulfilled? Matthew's the place to
start. (And the "Matthew"
video I speak of so often on this web site is this book of
Matthew, word for word.)
The following Scriptures are in my "God's Story" section, but
they're worth repeating here; they are some of the basic of some 300 or
more Messianic prophecies fulfilled in Jesus:
"I will make you into a
great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless
you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all
peoples on earth will be blessed through you." —God's
promise to Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, 2,000 years
before Jesus' birth (Genesis 12:2-3, Old Testament) |
| "God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt
offering, my son." —Abraham speaking
to Isaac, his one and only son through his wife, Sarah (Genesis 22:
6-7, Old Testament)
The next day John (the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him
and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of
the world!" (John 1:29)
|
| Surely he took up our
infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by
God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our
transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that
brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
—the prophet Isaiah, almost 700 years before Jesus' birth—and before
crucifixion had been invented (Isaiah 53:4-5, Old
Testament) |
| In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made
that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the
light of men.... The Word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and
Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.... No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who
is at the Father's side, has made Him known to us. (John
1:1-4; 1:14; 1:18) |
| An angel of the LORD appeared in a dream to
Joseph, who was betrothed (engaged) to marry Jesus' mother,
Mary. The angel told Joseph to go ahead and marry her even
though she was already pregnant. The angel
explained, "Joseph son of David, do not be
afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because
what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will
give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."
Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua or Yeshua, which means
"the LORD saves." (Matthew 20-21) |
| In the past
He humbled the land
of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor Galilee
of the Gentiles by the way of the sea, along the Jordan—The people
walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land
of the shadow of death a light has dawned. (Isaiah
9:1-2)
When Jesus heard that John had
been put in prison, He returned to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, He
went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of
Zebulun and Naphtali—to fulfill what was said through the prophet
Isaiah: "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the
sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in
darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the
shadow of death a light has dawned." (Matthew
4:12-16
, referring to Isaiah 9:1-2 in the Old Testament)
|
| "Say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come, He will come with vengeance; with divine
retribution He will come to save you.' Then will the eyes
of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout
for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and
streams in the desert." (Isaiah 35:4-6)
"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on
me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the
poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim freedom to the captives and release from darkness for
the prisoners..." (Isaiah 61:1)
When John (the Baptist) heard in prison what
Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask Him, "Are
you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone
else?" Jesus replied, "Go back and report to
John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the
lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the
poor." (Matthew 11:2-5
, referring to
Isaiah 35:4-6 and 61:1 in the Old Testament)
|
| Tell the whole community of Israel that on the
tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family....
The animals you choose must be year-old males
without defect.... Take care of them until the
fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the
community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then
they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and
tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs....
On that same night, I will pass through Egypt
and strike down every firstborn.... The blood will be a
sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the
blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will
touch you when I strike Egypt." —God,
giving instructions to Moses about the first Passover
(Exodus 12:3, 5-7, 12-13, Old Testament)
While they were eating (the Passover meal), Jesus
took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his
disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is My
body." Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered
it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This
is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for
the forgiveness of sins." —Jesus, at
the Last Supper only hours before He was arrested and crucified,
explaining to His disciples that He is both the true manna from
Heaven and the blood of the covenant. This was the
final Passover to end all Passovers. (Matthew 26:26-28)
|
| "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" ... "All who see me mock me; they hurl insults,
shaking their heads: 'He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue
him. Let Him deliver him, since He delights in him.' ...
"I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of
joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away
within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my
tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of
death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has
encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I
can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.
They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my
clothing.'' —David (Psalm 22:1; 22:7-8;
22:18, Old Testament) |
| (The soldiers) stripped (Jesus) and put a scarlet
robe on Him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set
it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and
knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. 'Hail, king of the
Jews!' they said. ... When they had crucified Him, they divided
up His clothes by casting lots ... Those who passed by hurled
insults at Him, shaking their heads.... (The chief priests,
teachers of the law, and elders said,) "He trusts in
God. Let God rescue Him now if He wants Him, for He said,
'I am the Son of God. " (Matthew
27:27-29; 27:35; 27:39; 27:43) |
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness
came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried
out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama
sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have
you forsaken Me?" —Jesus on the cross
(Matthew 27:45-46
, directly quoting King David's Psalm 22:1 in the Old Testament
)
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He
gave up His spirit. At that moment the curtain of the
temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook
and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies
of many holy people who had died were raised to
life. —the curtain separated the
Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (Matthew 27:50-52) |
| Jesus said, "It is finished."
With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. —Jesus'
last words on the cross; God's plan to redeem all people was
finished. (John 19:30) |
| And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud
voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the
scroll?" But no one in heaven or on earth or under
the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I
wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open
the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to
me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of
Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to
open the scroll and its seven seals." Then I saw a
Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of
the throne ... He came and took the scroll from the right hand
of Him who sat on the throne. And when He had taken it,
the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down
before the Lamb ... And they sang a new song: "You
are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You
were slain, and with Your blood You purchased men for God from
every tribe and language and people and nation." —John
(Jesus' disciple/apostle) during Jesus' revelation to John
of
future events and the final showdown between God and Satan;
written about 40-60 years after Jesus' resurrection; in the
final book of the Bible (Revelation 5:1-9) |
One more thing—I've also heard people ask if Christians worship the Pope.
Well, not
all Christians are Catholics—and the Pope is the Catholic Church's
leader. And unless I am confused, Catholics do not worship the Pope. Christians don't worship the cross, nor do we use it as a
"good-luck" or magic charm. It's only reminder of the
high price Jesus paid to save us all—all humanity, if we will let
Him. The cross is where the sins of all humans were paid for, once
and for all, and where all humans were given free access to a
personal relationship with God and—wonder of wonders!—complete rights
and inheritance as His adopted child! For me, wearing a cross is also
like an engagement ring—it says I belong to Jesus and am anxiously
waiting for Him to return to get me.
Just about any Christian will agree with the following:
-
Jesus Christ is the only Son of God (the Jewish
God—also known as
Yahweh; "I AM"; "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;
and "Christ" is the Greek word for
"Messiah").
-
Jesus is co-equal with God the Father.
-
Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the
perfect sacrifice for the sins of all men for all time by dying on a
cross. (We just have to accept that Gift to get it.)
-
Jesus rose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power
over sin and death.
-
Jesus was seen alive (in a real, physical body) many times in many
places by hundreds of people after his death and resurrection.
-
Jesus ascended to Heaven and will return again to earth to reign
as King of Kings, and Lord of
Lords.
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