Understanding Your Jewish Neighbor

Defining Terms

Before we understand the Jewish faith, it is important for Christians to understand how to approach their Jewish neighbors. Christians have certain ideas about what they mean when they refer to Judaism or Jewish people. But those ideas may not necessarily be accurate to how Jewish people view themselves. Christian perspectives often need to be corrected in order for them to have profitable conversations with their Jewish neighbors. To this end, we will explore the different meanings of “Jewish” and “Judaism.”

Jewish

While this term can refer to a race or ethnicity, a racial definition is insufficient by itself because even non-Jews can also become “Jewish” through a formal conversion process. The best way to understand Jewish identity is through the illustration of an extended family. This image comes from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) since Israelites are often referred to as “the children of Israel.” To be Jewish is to be a member of this family. This family tie can be demonstrated through one’s race, cultural practices, religious beliefs, or national identity.For instance, a person of Jewish descent may be an atheist or agnostic. His Jewish family and friends would still view him as Jewish. However, from an Orthodox perspective, one can only be Jewish by ethnicity if Jewish blood comes from his mother’s side; the father’s blood by itself is insufficient. This can be difficult to comprehend for Christians since we only call people Christians who believe a basic set of doctrinal truths, namely the gospel. We must recognize how Jewish people perceive their own identity regardless of misconceptions that exist.

Judaism

While Jewish identity has many facets, Judaism is more straightforward. It refers to the religious beliefs and practices of the Jewish people. But even within the Jewish faith, differences of opinion exist. The 5 million Jews that currently reside in the United States are typically divided among three distinct movements of Judaism: Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative.

• Orthodox: They believe that God gave Moses the whole Torah, both written and oral, on Mount Sinai. All 613 laws in the Torah are binding on Jews, but not on non-Jews. Orthodox Jews are further broken up into three groups with some differences of belief and practice – Modern Orthodox, Chasidic, and Yeshivish.
• Reform: Considered more liberal, Reform Jews does not believe in the divine authorship of the Torah. They accept the critical view that the Hebrew Scriptures were written by different human sources, then eventually put together. While they do not believe the 613 laws are binding, they embrace many of the ethical and cultural aspects of Judaism.
• Conservative: This group seeks to be a middle ground between Orthodox and Reform Judaism. They believe the Torah came from God, but it contains human elements because people transmitted it. Jewish laws are binding, but they can adapt to the culture when appropriate.

Witnessing to Jewish People

The New Testament is filled with passages about reaching Jewish people with the good news about their Messiah. The Apostle Paul especially was known for preaching the gospel to the Jews in his ministry (Acts 17:1-3; Rom. 1:16; 9:1-5; 10:1). Christians should remain devoted to the cause of preaching Christ to all people, but especially to the Jewish people. Jesus is the promised Messiah for the nation of Israel, even if the people of this nation have rejected him.The Jewish people are at the core of God’s plan of redemption for the world. It was through Abraham’s family line that all nations of the earth would be blessed. It was through the line of King David that the Messiah would come. It was in the land of Israel that the Messiah eventually came in the person of Jesus Christ. Christians can understand many of their New Testament beliefs through the lens of Jewish context and background.In spite of these connections between Christian and Jewish belief, Jewish people do not recognize them. When speaking with them, it is important to understand this and to speak accordingly. We should be careful with the words we use, so as not to be offensive. We can do this without conceding essential truths of the gospel. As Christians, we should be able to converse in a way that is gracious and appropriate with people of all faiths, including Jewish people (Col. 4:6).In your conversation with Jewish neighbors, there are certain terms you want to avoid. These terms, if used, may shut down conversations instead of opening them. However, there is language you can substitute so you still communicate the gospel effectively.

Jesus Christ

When you refer to Jesus in your conversation, replace his name with the Hebrew version, Yeshua. Also, instead of using the Greek word “Christ,” use the Hebrew word “Messiah.” These may seem like small and unnecessary adjustments, but they will be helpful in removing barriers to your conversation. The word “Christ” is not widely recognized in Jewish communities and homes. Jewish people hardly speak of a Messiah among themselves, but at least they will acknowledge Messiah as a figure whom they believe in and hope for his coming. “Christ” also brings up disturbing memories in the Jewish mind of their ancestors in history being labeled “Christ-killers” by Christians. To avoid this connotation from surfacing, you can refer to Jesus Christ as Yeshua, the Messiah of the Jewish people.

Christian

As you share your own religious beliefs, you can replace the label “Christian” with the phrase “follower of Yeshua.” This is not meant to hide your true beliefs. Rather, it more clearly expresses to a Jewish person what you believe about Jesus. Furthermore, the term “Christian” brings up similar memories as the name “Christ.” By calling yourself a “Christian,” you associate yourself with so-called Christians in history who unfortunately treated Jewish people with disdain and hatred. To avoid this association, you can explain to your Jewish neighbor that you are a follower of Yeshua because you believe he is the Messiah for all people.

Old Testament

Jewish people do not know the first 39 books of the Bible as the “Old Testament.” This terminology is distinctly Christian. In place of this term, you can refer to these books as the Jewish Scriptures or the Hebrew Bible. In the Hebrew language, these books collectively are called the Tanakh. The word Torah can also be used, but this term refers more specifically to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible.As you have opportunities to speak with Jewish people about Jesus, you must understand how they view him. In Judaism, it is anathema to equate Jesus with Messiah. Nothing is more foreign to the Jewish mind than to acknowledge Jesus as the prophesied Messiah of the Hebrew Bible. Jewish people will accept atheists and agnostics, polytheists and secularists into their ranks before they accept one of their own turning to the Jesus of Christianity. When you enter a conversation with a devotee of Judaism, recognize the Jewish perspective of Jesus.Furthermore, Christians in general are not highly esteemed by Jewish people. Sadly, many so-called Christians have been the cause of much harm and persecution to the Jewish people. To some who have never read the New Testament, the Christian Bible is full of anti-Semitic rhetoric and compels Christians to persecute Jewish people. This is not the case for all Jewish people, and certainly not for those who have read the NT. Nevertheless, be aware that you may face opposition and antagonism for these reasons.How should Christians respond? It is certainly not your fault that Jesus in particular and Christians in general are viewed in these negative ways. The best thing you can do is demonstrate genuine love and patience towards those in the Jewish faith. You do not need to immediately list off dozens of prophecies that clearly link Jesus to the Messiah of the Hebrew Bible. Your first response to a Jewish person should be to hear them out. Discover what they believe about God and the Bible. You can start on common ground if you both believe in God and that he has revealed himself through inspired Scriptures. If the Jewish person is an atheist or believes that the Hebrew Bible is the work of man, this requires a different response that will not be covered here.In your conversations with Jewish people, you want to learn how much they know about their own Scriptures. To those in the Orthodox camp, the Hebrew Bible is precious and may be read and studied frequently. In more liberal movements of Judaism, such as Conservative and Reform, the Scriptures may not be regarded as highly. Ask your Jewish neighbor if he reads from the Hebrew Bible on a regular basis. This question causes him to reflect on how much he interacts with his own Scriptures.In addition, ask him if he has read prophecies about the Messiah in the Bible. Many Jewish people have not read them. They generally trust the teachings of their rabbis, which often claim that Christians have skewed the prophecies about Messiah to fit the story of Jesus. If your Jewish neighbor has not read them, encourage him to do his own personal Bible study. Provide him with some references to look up if he does not know where to begin his study. After he studies the prophecies himself, set up another meeting to talk through any questions or thoughts he has from his research.One of the most powerful passages in the Hebrew Bible that relates to Jesus is Isaiah 53. Sadly, most Jewish people are either ignorant of this chapter altogether, or they are discouraged from drawing any connections to Jesus. In your conversations with Jewish neighbors, here is something you can try: provide them with a copy of Isaiah 53 on a single sheet of paper without the reference. Tell them the passage comes from the Bible, but don’t initially say that it comes from one of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible. Ask them to read it, think about what it means, and be ready to talk about it the next time you meet.In your next meeting, they will probably claim the passage refers to Jesus, so it must come from the New Testament. At this point, let them know the reference for this passage is Isaiah 53. This provides the opportunity to talk about Jesus and how the Hebrew Bible predicted the manner of his death with great precision. This conversation may springboard into the vast multitude of other prophecies in the Hebrew Bible that speak of Jesus in his birth, ministry, death, burial, and resurrection.Your Jewish neighbors will probably claim that Jesus did not fulfill all the Messianic prophecies. Jewish people believe the Messiah is primarily a political figure who will bring political and spiritual redemption to Israel. This will happen sometime in the future when Messiah comes to reign over the earth and inaugurates an age of peace. Since Jesus did not accomplish this in his first coming, Jewish people claim he cannot be Messiah.In response, acknowledge their claim, but emphasize that the New Testament teaches Jesus will fulfill these prophecies in the future. In his first coming, however, he fulfilled dozens of Messianic prophecies; some scholars claim that as many as 456 prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus. This was not because of coincidence or human intervention. Let's consider just 8 of these prophecies, out of the hundreds that have been discovered. The chances of one person fulfilling just 8 prophecies is 1 in 10^17; that is the number 1 with 17 zeroes next to it. Imagine what the chances would be of one person fulfilling all 456! Jesus accomplished this, and we know it was not blind chance. He really is Messiah because his life, death, and resurrection demonstrate perfect correlation with the ancient prophecies.Eventually, you want to challenge your Jewish neighbors to consider the claims of Jesus Christ. He claimed to be God in his earthly ministry; he proved this by his death and resurrection. He claimed to be the Messiah of the Jewish people; he proved this by fulfilling all the Messianic prophecies related to his first coming. Explain to them that in order to be saved, they must come into a personal relationship with Jesus. In other words, they need to receive Jesus as their personal Messiah, their deliverer from sin and death. Remind them that believing in Jesus does not mean they lose their “Jewishness.” On the contrary, faith in the Messiah brings true salvation to all people, both Jew and Gentile.

Assignment

• Memorize Romans 10:1
• Short Answer Question: Suppose you had a Jewish friend from years ago you recently reconnected with. In your first meeting, the subject of your faith comes up. Your Jewish friend asks you this question: “How can Jesus be Messiah when he did not fulfill all the prophecies from the Scriptures?” For the quiz, be prepared to write a brief paragraph (3-5 sentences) explaining how you would respond to this question from your friend.
• Additional Resources:
  • Stan Telchin, Betrayed!, 1981.
  • Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ (Chapter 10 – The Fingerprint Evidence), 1998.

Appendix: Messianic Prophecies*

*Adapted from Stan Telchin’s Betrayed!

Prophecy / Fulfillment

Son of GodPsalm 2:7 / Matthew 3:17Seed of AbrahamGenesis 22:18 / Matthew 1:1Son of IsaacGenesis 21:12 / Luke 3:23-24Son of JacobNumbers 24:17 / Luke 3:23-24Tribe of JudahGenesis 49:10 / Luke 3:23, 33Family line of JesseIsaiah 11:1 / Luke 3:23, 32House of DavidJeremiah 23:5 / Luke 3:23, 31His pre-existenceMicah 5:2 / Colossians 1:17He will be called LordPsalm 110:1 / Luke 2:11He will be a ProphetDeuteronomy / 18:18 Matthew 21:11He will be a PriestPsalm 110:4 / Hebrews 3:1He will be a JudgeIsaiah 33:22 / John 5:30He will be a KingPsalm 2:6 / Matthew 27:37He will be anointed of the Holy SpiritIsaiah 11:2 / Matthew 3:16-17He will perform miraclesIsaiah 35:5-6 / Matthew 9:35They divided his garments and cast lots for themPsalm 22:18 / John 19:23-24He would suffer thirstPsalm 69:21 / John 19:28They offered him gall and vinegar to drinkPsalm 69:21 / Matthew 27:34He cried aloudPsalm 22:1 / Matthew 27:46He committed his spiritPsalm 31:5 / Luke 23:46His bones were not brokenPsalm 34:20 / John 19:33His heart was brokenPsalm 22:14 / John 19:34His side was piercedZechariah 12:10 / John 19:34Darkness came over the landAmos 8:9 / Matthew 27:45He was buried in a rich man’s tombIsaiah 53:9 / Matthew 27:57-60[av_button_big label='Download the Quiz' description_pos='below' link='manually,https://shepherdthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/15_Judaism_Quiz-15.pdf' link_target='' icon_select='yes-left-icon' icon='ue82d' font='entypo-fontello' custom_font='#ffffff' color='theme-color' custom_bg='#444444' color_hover='theme-color-subtle' custom_bg_hover='#444444'][/av_button_big]