WHY DON'T JEWS BELIEVE IN JESUS?
81THIS IS SIMPLY A PERSONAL EXPLANATION
Jews do not deny that Jesus lived in the Holy Land about 2000 years ago. It is accepted as an historical fact.
What Jews cannot accept is the belief that Jesus is God. I hope to explain why.
More than 3000 years ago, Abraham chose to believe there is only one God. And that was a new idea. All of the other tribes worshipped many gods.
The people were pagans, and that does not mean they were ungodly, it means they believed in the gods of nature, the sun god and the moon god and the gods of the winds and the rains.
People were at the mercy of nature. No one knew why there were thunderstorms or lightening, why the sun rose and set. And so they prayed to all of the gods who seemed to rule their world.
Abraham came to believe there was only one God. He believed God created the world and everything in the world. And so he passed on his beliefs to his tribe, and they called themselves Hebrews.
For millenia, Jews have proclaimed: Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
When Jesus lived in the Holy Land, Jews were still the only people who believed in one God, only one God.
While Jesus lived, he gathered many Hebrews who believed in his power to perform miracles, who sought advice from him, and who thought him to be a learned scholar.
That was not unusual then, and it's not even unusual now.
For instance, in Brooklyn, NY, there is a Hasidic congregation who greatly loved their Rebbe. During his lifetime, most people in his congregation consulted the Rebbe about family or business decisions. Should I open another store? Should I allow my son to go to college even though he's only 16 years old? Should I take the job offered to me?
When this beloved Rebbe left the synagogue to walk a couple of blocks to his home, it was a procession.
In front of, beside, and behind the Rebbe were his respected assistants, who were honored to accompany the Rebbe and protect him from over-zealous followers.
On the sidewalks would be throngs of the Rebbe's congregation, as well as people who had come from far away, anxious to see the Rebbe up close.
The Rebbe's men would have to push their way through the crowd and hold the people back from swarming him.
It is easy to imagine just that sort of scene surrounding Jesus.
A large number of the Rebbe's followers came to believe he was the messiah. When he died in 1994, they waited for him to reappear. Some are still waiting.
The Rebbe is not unique. There have been many others who were believed to be the messiah.
Jesus most certainly was respected and admired by many in his lifetime. His followere would have hoped he was the messiah. Many would have believed he was the messiah.
After Jesus was crucified, some of his followers continued to believe he was the messiah, but many did not, because they did not see a messianic age beginning.
Judaism was well over one thousand years old when Jesus lived in the Holy Land. After Jesus died, Judaism continued with its traditional beliefs and practices.
Eventually, Christianity became a strong and powerful religion, especially in Europe. But Jews could not embrace the worship of Jesus.
Mainly, Jews keep holy the Sabbath and keep kosher, for instance, not for God, but for their own lives.
Judaism and its traditions are for the living. There is no promise of an afterlife or heaven for being a good person. A Jew is supposed to be a good person for his own sake and for the sake of others.
The best way to understand why there are still Jews, 2000 years after Jesus walked in the Holy Land, is to think of Judaism as preceding Jesus.
The Old Testament is the Jewish history book, and Jews do not want to give up their history, nor their traditions, and especially not their belief in one God.
Christians believe in one God who has 3 aspects, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They believe the Son came as a human life to ease the commandments the Father imposed on the Jewish people, and to open heaven to the deserving.
The Jewish concept of God simply cannot embrace that idea. Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
So through the centuries, most Jews have kept their beliefs, refusing to convert.
Think of the Jews of old, walking in the Holy Land long before Jesus was born there. Those Jews have passed on their belief in one God to all of the generations who followed.
You will not find a denial of Jesus in Judaism, because Judaism came into being long before the time of Jesus.
To be a Jew is not a denial of Jesus, because Judaism is older than Jesus.
Through the centuries since Jesus walked in the Holy Land, Jews have continued to practice Judaism as they believe God wishes them to do, as God commanded them.
Simply put, the Old Testament is the Jewish Bible, and Jesus is not in that book.
Judaism was old long before the time of Jesus. It is an ancient religion, the first to declare there is one God.
All Jews want to do is continue to observe the commandments and live their lives in the way God directed in the Old Testament.
It is not an insult to Jesus or to Christians for Jews to practice Judaism. After all, Jesus was a Jew himself.
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Hi, Sheila, this is a really simple yet interesting way to explain the Jewish religion. this is great, because there is so much written that can be confusing about it, but you have explained it in a way that everybody will understand. Thank you. I love the Jewish religion, it has always fascinated me, and sometimes I go onto the Wailing wall web cam to watch the devout at their prayers. it is lovely, as I was telling a friend about it. Evidently you can post a message or prayer on the website, and the Priests or helpers there will write it down and post it in the Wall! how wonderful is that? I will post you the site. I love it
This site is called Window on the Wall, but I also like the one called Western wall Live webcam. thanks nell
What a wonderful hub, and so well thought out and explained, I am totally impressed Thumbs up...
Many Old Testament Prophecies Of Jesus Christ Were Fulfilled In The New Testament:
http://www.cynet.com/Jesus/PROPHECY/ntquoted.htm
As much as 1/3 of the Torah was about the coming Messiah. Jesus of Nazareth was the only person who has lined up item-for-item with every one of those ancient Biblical prophesies.
Wow...you did a great job. And thanks DiamondRN for sharing the link!
Sheila, This was a very good hub and it explains the Jewish perspective very well. I never understood why more didn't believe when some did see Jesus after the crucifixion. I really appreciate your explanation. Excellent hub.
Nice explanation Sheila. I'm not complaining, but I'm kind of a picture hound and you forgot to put some in.
Wonderful explanation sheila. It was so beautifully and simply written and I thank you.
Very nice Hub! Thanks for sharing!
You explained a lot, here. Good job!
Diamond, with all respect to your link, one cannot base on it, because it is in English.... I personally know many distorted translations (I was comparing the original in Hebrew and translations, English and Russian, lots of misstranslations).
Hebrew scholars say that there is NO prophecies about Jesus in Old Testament. There are prophecies about Messiah, but not about Jesus. As sheila noted Jews DO NOT deny physical existence of Jesus as a person. They just don't grant him the favor of being the Lord.
"Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One."
This is the main reason, as sheila told. There are other reasons as well, some of them: Jesus did not fulfill what Messiah was supposed to fulfill... To make it short:
http://www.theosophyoftwtmosdjoser.com
There is a big distinction between the biblical Jesus Christ and Ben Pandira "Ben Pandera." Jesus is the name of the man and Christos is Greek for what in Ancient Egypt was MeSSeh, from which Messiah and anointed was derived from.
Second, Jesus loved Adonai, he was circumcised, observed all the Jewish festivals and was an Orthodox and observing Jew, which means, that he wanted Rome out of Judea and the Jews to have the freedom that it was rightfully theirs; however, if you consider the accusations and defamations of Jews against Jesus and his mother Miriam then, all the accusations and defamtions against them can be transferred back to Ancient Egyptian's civilization, culture, religion and psychosocial functions of the A'aferti of Egypt.
Third, there is a problem with the capitol punishment by which Jesus had die. Death by crucifixion is not a Jewish capitol punishment, but a Roman capitol punishment for criminals under Roman law and by Roman law, Jesus was innocent, but by the laws of Israel he was guilty of practicing magic in Egypt, using the name of G-d to perform miracles and raising the dead, proclaiming that he was the Son of G-d, taught the co-existence of two Gods "religions" and tried to mislead Israel in the wrong path and by the laws of Israel this is heresy and blesphemy and the capitol punishment is death by hanging from a tree, not a cross.
Ben Pandira or Ben pandera is broken Hebrew for the original Ancient Egyptian form for the "Son of the Neter "Neither with form or appearance" G-d Re." All the A'aferti "Pharaohs" of Egypt who believed in the Neter G-d Re did all these things in their religion and Judean-Christianity is based on Ancient Egyptian's religions of Ptah, Amun, Ausar, Auset, Heru, Set, Ma'at, Tehuti and Nun all fused into two camps, good and evil, Osiris and Seth.
Ausar is the Father, Heru is the Christos incarnate and resurrected and Auset is the Virginal Goddess, the give birth to the one that will slay Set, Seth, which is the accuser, the angel of death, the destroyer, the evil serpent is all came from Ancient Kemet, but you have the universal free will to deny it or accept it.
appreciate your p.o.v... have you read a bible? ALL the writers in it, including the NEW testament- are Jewish.
Actually, Yeshua Ben Yosef (Jesus- GEEZUES- is a Greco Roman name)was a Hebrew not a Jew. Study up on Essene culture. Judaism as a relegion was created LONG AFTER the Hebrew lifestyle was thousands of years old.
Jesus was the Mesiah
Some Jews rejected Yahshua but over half or more, accepted him.
All of his followers were Jews.
The Pharisees hated him because he accused them of breaking the laws they upheld, and the Sadducees rejected him because they didn't believe in an afterlife. The Priests were afraid of him, that's why they had him killed.
Why does everyone believe this erroneous stuff about the Jews?
Joy Jones, LOL Hebrew and Jew is the same thing. You might want to read up.
Our L-rd Yeshua was a Jew, His disciples were Jews and there were and still many Israelites whom are His followers. How do one believe the word of G-d was offered to the Gentiles, through the disciples of Yeshua, whom were Jews.
Ethiopian Jew
Many Jews do believe that Jesus (Yeshua) was /is the messia and are called Messianic Jews.
In His Service
SheriSapp Level 3 Commenter 2 years ago
Thanks so much Sheila. I have always been a bit confused as to what the true Jewish beliefs are. I really appreciate what I learned from you here. I know I sometimes repeat myself, but it is so amazing that Christians and Jews can get along so famously despite their differences. What a shame a certain unnamed religion feels that everyone must convert(to their twisted beliefs) or DIE!!!