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Why don’t Jews believe Jesus was the Messiah?
Judaism has a concept of and prophecies of Moshiach—a messiah. The prophecies tell us that when Moshiach comes, he will be a regular person. There is no indication in the Hebrew prophecies that Moshiach will be divinely conceived as Jesus is believe to have been. In fact, Torah says G-d cannot be mortal. Maimonides writes extensively in the “Guide for the Perplexed” about how G-d has no physical form. Moshiach will be entirely human and a descendant of King David. Jesus was neither of those things. I’ve seen some family trees that connect Joseph to King David, but Christianity’s texts tell us Joseph was not his biological father.
Jewish texts tell us Moshiach will bring about a messianic age where the world is repaired. There are a number of things that Moshiach will do in his life time. Among other things, he’ll bring all the Jews back to Israel where the Temple will be rebuilt. The world will find peace in the Messianic age. Jesus didn’t fulfill any of these prophecies. Jews understand that Christians believe Jesus will return to fulfill the prophecies, but our texts disagree. Our prophecies say Moshiach will fulfill these in his life time. We have no concept of a second coming.
The religion created in Jesus’ name contradicts Jewish teachings. Many Christians believe the “Old Testament” no longer applies because Jesus is the “new covenant.” Jews believe the Torah is binding and a messiah would never contradict or abandon Torah. Many of Paul’s teachings in Jesus’ name completely negate the Torah. Paul declares Christians are no longer bound by the 613 mitzvot which are central to Judaism. Christianity has the concept of the trinity where G-d takes three forms. Judaism very explicitly believes in one G-d. The Sh’ma, the watchword of our faith is very clear, “Hear O’Israel the L-rd is our G-d the L-rd is one.” There is an argument that the trinity is different aspects of one G-d, but the very idea is contradictory to Judaism. Christianity treats the world as inherently evil. Many branches of Christianity believe one is born with original sin needs to be saved from it. This directly contradicts Jewish teachings. We believe people are born without sin and have both a good impulse and an evil impulse and the free will to follow either. Moshiach will come to help lead us to a better world, not to save us from our sins. We are responsible for our own sins. The idea of a divine being dying for our sins is not a Jewish concept at all and cannot be rectified with the teachings of the Torah.
Christianity teaches that belief in Jesus is the only way to heaven. The Christian concept of the end times includes Jews converting or suffering. This is obviously not a Jewish concept. We don’t believe in any such thing. In fact, many Jews find the idea offensive. The Talmud, in contrast, teaches that non-Jews need only follow the seven basic Noahide laws to be considered righteous.
This is only the basics of a very complex discussion. There is so much more that could be written, but I am not a rabbi, so I opted to present just the very basics. Here are some books for suggested reading on the topic:
“The Real Messiah,”by Aryeh Kaplan, “Faith Strengthened” by Isaac Troki, “You Take Jesus, I’ll Take God” and “Their Hollow Inheritance” by Michoel Drain; “A Rabbi Talks With Jesus” by Jacob Neusner
Thanks so this! I’m continuing learning through these great features.
Thank you for such a direct answer to a complex question. I feel like I actually might grasp this after years of wondering.
Very well written. Thanks for taking this one on!
Are these the seven Noahide laws?
Do Not Deny God
Do Not Blaspheme God
Do Not Murder
Do Not Engage in Incestuous, Adulterous or Homosexual Relationships.
Do Not Steal
Do Not Eat of a Live Animal
Establish Courts/Legal System to Ensure Law Obedience
I have always admired the Jewish people for everything they have contributed to humanity in Science, Arts, Music, Medicine, etc. but it saddens me to see the rejection and hatred by Palestines, who are the decendants of Ismael; how Jews cling to themselves and their traditions without opening the doors to the rest of the world. Yes, we are welcome to visit Israel, and I’ve been there twice, but the LOVE that Jesus taught is not practiced. We are ALL supposed to love GOD and love our neighbors; and to do that we need to be more inclusive, more generous, more kind and more accepting of our differences. We should not only love the ones who love us; even the greatest sinners accomplish that! I would love to see unity, sharing of values, respect for different traditions. I would love to see PEACE in the world and the Jewish state. God bless you!