By Bill Sargent
When I lived in Northern Virginia I had a Jewish house-mate for several years, and in the mid-1970s my boss was Jewish. All of my personal experiences and interactions with members of the Jewish community have been positive! In recent times I’ve had a burden for them.
Recently a Rabbi spoke to a group I attend. He explained there are the three denominations within the Judaism:
The Orthodox [which tries to adhere to the law of Moses and rabbinical laws];
The Reform [which is based upon the Bible and oral laws passed down through generations. They emphasize themes such as social justice rather than strict adherence to the law of Moses]; and
The Conservates [which share many of the views of the Reform but feel the Reform movement has pulled too far away from the Jewish tradition. They believe the Jewish law remains obligatory, but that the Orthodox interpretation is too rigid.]
When I asked him what happens to Jewish people when they die, the Rabbi said he doesn’t believe in heaven and hell as Christians do and consequently, he didn’t know what happens.
Not mentioned was the rapidly growing Messianic movement which observes the Jewish traditions but which believes both the Old Testament and the New Testament are valid parts of the same book; The Bible. They accept Jesus [Yeshua in the Hebrew language] as the Messiah. My former boss at the Commerce Department in Washington, Paul Liberman, has been a leader in this movement for generations. There are close to a thousand such congregations worldwide and currently 275 active groups that meet weekly in Israel.
When I started working for Paul, I asked him how he could believe Jesus was Messiah and he told me that a Christian on the commuter bus he took to and from work challenged him to find as many Messianic prophesies in the Old Testament as he could and then to see if Jesus fulfilled them. Paul took on the challenge and discovered that Jesus had fulfilled all of them! Then he had a choice to make. He wasn’t willing to give up being Jewish. So, Paul became a Messianic Jew – one who believes Jesus is the Messiah.
So, this Christmas as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, let’s take a few moments to look at some of these Messianic prophecies:
- Isaiah 7:14 – Messiah would be born by a virgin. [The angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her she would be impregnated by the Holy Spirit and that her child was to be called Jesus. Then the Gabriel came to Joseph and told him in a dream that Mary had not been playing around, that the child was from the Holy Spirit and was the Son of God.]
- Michah 5:2 – Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. [Ceasar Augustus decreed that a census be taken with each person going to their hometown to register. Mary and Joesph being of the House of David went to Bethlehem where Jesus was born.]
- Isaiah 53 – Messiah would be rejected by His own people [After a triumphant arrival to Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey (foretold in Zechariah 9:9) the people turned on Him calling for His crucifixion.]
- Psalm 51 & Zechariah 11 – Messiah would be betrayed by a close friend for 30 silver coins. [Judas, one of the twelve, plotted with the Chief Priests to betray Jesus for exactly 30 pieces of silver.]
- Psalm 22 – His garments would be split between them and they would gamble for His clothes [The soldiers who crucified Jesus split His garments between them but because His outer garment was one piece of cloth, they threw dice to determine who would get it.]
- Psalm 34 – None of Messiah’s bones would be broken [Death by crucifixion is death by asphyxiation where the person’s lungs fill up with fluid until they die from a lack of oxygen. The person can push up with their legs in order to get air but eventually they die. The religious leaders didn’t want to have bodies hanging on crosses during the Passover celebration so they asked to have the prisoner’s legs broken in order to hasten death. The Roman soldiers did so for the two who were crucified with Jesus but Jesus was already dead so none of His bones were not broken.]
Space doesn’t allow us to discuss all the Messianic prophesies but it’s clear no human could fulfill all of them, but God’s son Jesus did. So, this Christmas think about these truths:
- Jesus (Yeshua) really is the Jewish Messiah.
- It’s clear the Jews are God’s Chosen People. We should be praying for their protection in the midst of all the antisemitism we see these days. God promised Abraham those who bless His people will be blessed and those who curse them will be cursed. Speak blessing upon them.
- Jesus isn’t just a historical figure, He’s alive today, not necessarily in bodily form but he’s alive just the same. We should take Him seriously. As we do, our lives will reflect it.
- And finally, we are all sinners. Forgiveness and redemption comes through Jesus’ sacrifice/atonement on the cross for what we deserve. It’s what He did not for us, not anything we can earn by doing good deeds.
Merry Christmas!
