Why Jews don’t believe in Jesus.
As a Jew living in a Christian environment I am often faced with the question: “Why don’t Jews believe in Jesus?”, or “Why don’t you accept Jesus as your personal savior?”
In a certain sense this question runs much deeper than it would seem at the surface. Jesus claimed to be the Messiah predicted by the Jewish prophets. He did not claim to be a fulfillment of a prediction uttered by the Greek Oracles, he did not claim to be the Messiah that the Gauls, or the Saxons were waiting for. Jesus did not claim to be the culmination and the apex of Roman or Spanish history. Jesus claimed to be the final fulfillment and the long awaited climax of Jewish history. Now, the Gauls, the Saxon, the Romans, the Greeks and the Spaniards are the ones who accepted Jesus as their Messiah. It is precisely the Jews who did not. The Jews who are supposed to be waiting for this Messiah are the very people who until today disregard the Messianic claims of Jesus from Nazareth.
The question actually runs even deeper. Jews didn’t simply ignore Jesus and disregard his claims. Perhaps that is what they would have done if the Church would have let them be, but the Church did no such thing. Throughout history, on many occasions, the Church thrust upon the Jew the grim choice; accept Jesus or die. While many Jews as individuals have accepted Jesus over the centuries, but the Jewish people as a national entity have invariably chosen death over Jesus. The Jewish resistance to the message of Christianity is not a peripheral aspect of Judaism. The struggle between Judaism and Christianity cuts to the heart of what it means to be a Jew.
Why indeed don’t we believe in Jesus? Why don’t we accept him as our savior?
What do Christians mean when they say “believe in Jesus”? What are they asking for when they encourage us to “accept Jesus as our savior”?
Missionaries often answer these questions by pointing to the Jewish prophets. The Jewish prophets predicted the future coming of a glorious king. This leader, who will reign over all men in a utopian world, is known as the Messiah. Christianity claims that Jesus is this future leader predicted by the Jewish prophets. On a superficial level, when Christians ask us why we don’t believe in Jesus, they are asking us why we do not accept the claim that he is the Messiah predicted by the Jewish prophets.
We can respond to this question by examining the various Scriptural texts that foretell the coming of the Messiah. We can analyze the various translations and interpretations of Scripture and try to determine if the Christian belief is truly loyal to the text and to the spirit of Scripture. In this brief article we will not take that route. Instead we will take the discussion above and beyond the pages of Scripture.
The debate between Judaism and Christianity is not a debate over the translation or interpretation about a few passages from the Bible. As serious as such a debate would be it would still not do justice to the divide that separates Judaism from Christianity.
When the Christian refers to “believing in Jesus”, it is not merely a matter of identifying one of the characters spoken of by the Jewish prophets. “Accepting Jesus” means accepting all that Christianity stands for. Judaism and Christianity are two different belief systems. The theological differences between Judaism and Christianity are not limited to the question: “Who is the Messiah”. These two world religions disagree over many foundational issues that precede a debate over the identity of the Messiah.
Judaism and Christianity clash over issues such as the focus of worship, the essential character of man, the correct process for validating the books of Scripture, the role of the Law of Moses in our relationship with God, atonement, and the underlying concept of Messiah and the Messianic age. It would be premature to discuss the identity of the Messiah before gaining an understanding of these elemental matters.
It is beyond the scope of this brief article to examine each of these concepts in depth. We will concentrate our attention on the first issue; the focus of worship. This issue stands at the heart of Judaism. But before we turn to this one issue, I will make a general statement about all of the issues that stand between Judaism and Christianity.
Christians encourage people to put their faith in Jesus on the basis of the predictions of the Jewish prophets. Missionaries point to various passages in the Jewish Bible and contend that these prophecies foretell the advent of Jesus. In essence, the missionary is advocating that we make a life-changing decision on the basis of words in a book.
If one is going to make an important decision on the basis of a book, there are some logical steps that he or she must take. First, one must acquire a familiarity with the doctrinal differences that stand between Judaism and Christianity. Then, the book must be studied seriously and intensely from cover to cover. Only after one has thoroughly mastered the book can they claim to base a decision on the book.
Furthermore, in order to base a decision on the Jewish Bible one must first accept the principles that were used to authenticate the Bible. Who were the people that wrote the books of the Bible? What process was applied in order to determine if these men and women were truly sent by God? Which people implemented the procedure that served to validate the books of Scripture, and under what authority did they operate?
If this book was given to you in order that you turn your life around on the basis of its content, then we can be sure that whoever gave it to you expected you to be confident with the validation process that authenticates the book. He certainly expected you to know this information and take it seriously.
What indeed is the validation process that was used to authenticate the prophets of Scripture?
In order to determine the authenticity of the prophets of Scripture, the Jewish people had to apply the axioms that were presented to them when Judaism was established. It was necessary to determine if the prophet and his or her message conformed to the foundational truths of Judaism. We can only be confident that this process was applied accurately and efficiently if we accept that the religious leadership of the Jewish people was indeed commissioned by God to implement this process.
We will not analyze every link in the chain of this process, although that would be a worthwhile undertaking. Just the last step of the process, standing alone, does not leave room for the Christian application of the Jewish Scriptures. The religious leadership of the Jewish people did not recognize Jesus’ claims to prophecy. Christendom rejects the authority of this body of religious leadership in determining the authenticity of a prophetic claim. If that is the case, then they cannot expect people to take the Jewish Scriptures seriously, much less base life-changing decisions on the basis of the Bible. If the religious leadership of the Jewish people cannot be trusted to sort out the true prophets from the frauds then the canon of their Scripture ought to be rejected outright. If the Church insists on rejecting the process through which God validated the Scriptures, the Church must realize that their quotations from the same Scriptures will not be taken seriously.
Let us now turn to the primary distinction between Judaism and Christianity; the focus of worship.
The central message of the Jewish Bible is that God is the One Master of all. Everything came into being at His command, and the continued existence of all that we can comprehend is but an expression of His love. All religious devotion belongs to Him and to Him alone. Devotion and worship belong to Him to whom all belongs. Directing worship to one of His creations is a denial of His absolute sovereignty.
The calling of the Jewish people as a nation before God is to give testimony to this ultimate truth. God chose the Jewish people to testify to the world that there is but One Creator of all.
When the Churchmen gave the Jew the choice; accept Jesus or die, the Jew had no choice. Acceptance of Jesus meant directing worship, the type of worship that is appropriate to Creator alone, towards an inhabitant of God’s earth. The devotion demanded by the Church would constitute the deepest violation of the relationship that the Jew shared with his or her God. This was not an option for the Jew.
Over the course of history, many Jews have strayed far from the theological roots of Judaism. Sadly, many Jews don’t see their relationship with the One Creator of all as a cause for which it worth sacrificing everything. It would be an understatement to say that a large number of Jews do not identify a positive relationship with the God of Israel as an important feature of their lives. Yet there is one aspect of this relationship that is still recognizable even in Jews that have wandered far from the paths of their fathers.
The aspect of the relationship with God that is still maintained by most Jews is the refusal to submit themselves in religious devotion to any other entity. Israel’s core mission to bear witness to the absolute sovereignty of God has two practical ramifications. The first ramification of this truth is that devotion and worship ought to be directed to God, and it is this aspect of the relationship that many Jews no longer identify with. The second ramification of God’s sovereignty is that devotion and worship should not be directed towards any creation of God. This part of the relationship is still alive and strong in the heart of people who identify themselves as Jews.
When the surrounding populations were steeped in the belief that some people are intrinsically higher than others, or that man should consider himself lower than one power or another, the Jew stood apart. When the Romans were deifying their Emperors, when the pagans were surrendering themselves in worship to various supernatural entities, and when most nations believed that the nobility was intrinsically superior to the serfs – the Jew stood apart. The Jew stood for, and still stands for the knowledge that no created being is intrinsically higher than any other creation of God. This truth is the foundation of a just society. The world was blessed through the loyalty that the Jew maintained towards this belief. When a Jew accepts a theology that attributes divinity to a human being, he or she has betrayed the very core of the calling of the Jewish people before God. “Believing in Jesus” means giving up on what it means to be a Jew.
If you found this article helpful please consider making a donation to Judaism Resources by clicking on the link below.
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=FEAQ55Y7MR3E6
Judaism Resources is a recognized 501(c) 3 public charity and your donation is tax exempt.
Thank You
Yisroel C. Blumenthal
1000 Verses - a project of Judaism Resources 
Thankfully, many did and continue to today. Otherwise, the New Testament would be very short, and I probably would not be invited to a Seder at Passover, being Christian
May I please ask what exactly you are saying? Sorry I don’t understand. Thank you for your reply
Linda
Are you asking me (the author of the article) or are you asking John for clarification?
Oh, I am so sorry that I wasn’t clear on whom I was addressing.. I was asking John what he meant by>>”Thankfully, many did and continue to today. Otherwise, the New Testament would be very short, and I probably would not be invited to a Seder at Passover, being Christian”/// I would like to let you know that I am getting so much from your site. I have just gotten started but I know I have so much to read, that you have written. Thank you so much for your time. May I ask you for direction on the diaspora histories, like for example if the northern tribes simulated into Europe, maybe by marrying into gentile families. Again thank you for your help..
Linda
My understanding is that the Ten Tribes migrated east not west
Isiah chapter 19 versus 18-25 say it all, but you are all blinded by the truth. The only language common in those 3 countries, is Arabic, and no other language from Canaan, has been spoken by all 3 cultures!
Dear Pharisee friend,
Excellent, you have written well, I congratulate you. You are cent per cent right that “When a Jew accepts a theology that attributes divinity to a human being, he or she has betrayed the very core of the calling of the Jewish people before God”. But you should add few more words to your statement ““Believing in Jesus”, I mean you should say ” believing in Jesus as son of God and God as the Christian believe and preach”means giving up on what it means to be a Jew, then only your statement become cent per cent true. I don’t know who said it but it is the truth that ” belief of Jesus unites us ( us means Jews and Christians) and belief in Jesus divides us”.
What was the belief of Jesus? Jesus was a Jew, he was brought up as a Jew and lived as a Jew and died with a Jewish prayer on his lips with the Jewish belief that the Lord our God, the Lord is one. This belief of Jesus unites Jews and Christians. But when the Christians wrongly believe that Jesus is son of God and God it divides Jews and Christians.
Nobody can blame the Christians. It is the wrong interpretation of bible words that makes Jesus the messiah, son of god and God. It is time to end wain debates between Jews and Christians, it is the need of the hour to give a right interpretation of Bible words and words of Jesus to reveal the real Jesus who says to those who tried to kill him with the wrong belief that Jesus makes himself God that ” you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. I have not come on my own; but he sent me..(John 8:40,42) I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:16-17) Is it right to say and believe this Jesus claimed he is son of God and God ?
Daniel
You say that Jesus’ belief in God unites Jews and Christains – for trinitarian Christians – this is a dividing point not a uniting point. My question to you is – since you do not belive in Jesus as God -why don’t you go argue with trinitarians about their idolatry? why do you come here to argue with people who are not idolators simply because they do not share your view of a mere man?
Can anyone explain what did Thomas mean when he said to Jesus “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28) http://bibleq.info/answer/1360/ and http://www.trulyworship.com/my_lord_and_my_god.html
I truly want to understand as I am searching for the truth about keeping the commandments of God and the testimonies of Jesus. Of which the first is Thou shalt not have any other gods before Me. And to love the Lord God >>>You shall worship the Lord your God and only Him shall you serve… Thank you in advance for your time and input to this very important subject..respectfully yours,
Linda
It means that Thomas recognized Jesus (The human being in front of him as the physical Jesus the Son of God – that can be seen and where the Jesus the Spirit (The Father which is a spirit and cannot be seen by our naked eyes) incarnated. The physical Jesus (Son) he called Lord and Jesus the Spirit (Father) as God. That’s why our Lord Jesus Christ said to Philip – if you have seen me you have seen the Father also because the Father and I are one. There is only ONE GOD and His name is JESUS CHRIST – Immanuel – means GOD with us. NO TRINITY as proven by Thomas when he said “My Lord and my God. Brother Francis
Dear Francisco; The comment of seeing a person, you see G-d does have merit, but in the Torah sense; only G-d and Humans are accepted by most as having “Free Will”. This Free Will is possible only because G-d imbue each one of us with a piece of His property, a Soul. With a Soul, we have a connection with G-d. Thus, to make my response as short as I can, one sees another person, who also has this piece of G-d’s property in Him, on a Spiritual level, G-d is seen. This is in each human being, and one of the main reasons why life is so important. I see you, I see what G-d has made on a Spiritual par with Him. So, if so, is each Human Being a messiah? Yes, potentially, but not the Moshiac. Thank you and Shalom.
Hi Francisco, Thomas only showed he was worshipping a human being. This is considered idolatry, because, as Deuteronomy 4 say “G-d did not show himself in any form”. Now Thomas father would have testify that he never worshipped Jesus. As per the Torah, his father should have brought him to the judges and he should have throw the first stone, because Thomas cause the children of Israel to turn away from the living G-d to worship a man. Even if Jesus/Yeshua miraculously raised from the dead (I doubt it), this miracle would not suffice because he would have ask to worship a created being (himself), another god that was not the L-rd and that was not shown at mount Horeb. Thus Jesus was a false prophet.
Francisco; The modalism/Sabellianism you advocate is not orthodoxy, but heresy according to the vast majority of Christians ( and frankly a terrible interpretation of the new testament).
Not surprising, because the new testament was not inspired, anybody can arrive at the conclusion he wants, picking up the verse that fits his view of Jesus and of the law. They would only say “it’s a mystery” to explain the contradiction of who Jesus really was. Some will say that they keep the law, but again, they reinterpret anything to fit their own needs. What, driving on the sabbath? No biggy… Shopping, I won’t do it. What about gardening? As long as I am not paid, etc.
For those who have eyes to see they will see many passages in the scriptures that talks about Yahshua.
When the jews see a man walk through the golden gates they will think it’s their messiah.
Yahshua fulfilled this prophecy 2,000 years ago.
The wise shall understand.
May Yahweh bless you.
I don’t think Jesus considered himself above anyone else. I think he challenged us to look at ourselves and change what was undesirable beyond what we are capable on our own. I don’t know why the Almighty would come to a people who he chose and present a picture of himself in the flesh at odds, radically from what it appears he told them to believe who he is. Jesus wasn’t lieing when he said he didn’t come to bring peace but a sword. I recognize the conflict between gentile Christians and Jews down through the ages, I think the way Jews were treated by Christians was deplorable. I recognize many aspects of Christianity are paganized. That said and there could be more to point out the clash between the two. We need to remember that Jesus himself was Jewish, his message was for Jews alone and I can’t help wondering where the Jews would be today if they had accepted his message. Barry Schwartz’s one of the photographers with a team of scientists studying the shroud of Turin was a gentleman who I had saw recently on Ted talks. He said that he was Orthodox Jewish until he was thirteen then he left it to pursue science and photography. He reported that he was hesitant to participate because he was Jewish and why would the Catholic church want a Jew studying this relic with them. He was told by another scientist on the team to just report the truth. He said in short that that cloth bears the image of a mechanicali transparent anatomically perfect man who according to the four gospels would be Jesus of Nazareth. It was reported by the scientific team that the only way that image could have been made on that cloth was if that body burst out a pulse of ultraviolet radiation of 6 billion watts for 40 nanoseconds. Barry said that that cloth encountering the image of that man reignited his faith as a Jew. I don’t believe for a second that Jesus wanted to converted to an alien faith. Who knows what the world would be calling Jesus if the Jews by and large accepted him for who he said he was. I’ve said it before the world needs a Jewish Jesus. The European one is ok but a Jewish one would be perfect.
Hi John,
Welcome to the blog.
I do come across videos on the Shroud of Turin and of Barry Schwortz’s dedication over this relic. Barry organizes tours for people to view the Shroud of Turin. He also has a site on the shroud here https://www.shroud.com/
Honestly I find it surprising that a Jew would be fascinated with a relic associated with Jesus. Barry has stated in his videos clearly that he is not a believer of Jesus, despite his dedication to the Shroud of Turin.
I can see that you do see Jesus in a positive light. However there is a lot of reasons why most Jews may not share the same views as you. Barry to me is the exception. Barry is not a Catholic but he has no qualms organizing these tours and bringing Catholics closer to Jesus!
As someone born Catholic , I find Barry’s story in one sense heartwarming. However Barry is a member of a nation who knows God’s Truth. He knows that idolatry is forbidden in the Torah . It is good that he remains a Jew . But he did Catholics great harm by encouraging further idolatry in the Catholics community. As a light to the nations , he shouldn’t have lead people who don’t know their right from their left into further darkness.
Perhaps you could tell him that when you see him next time.
Have a good day.