Program / Course 18: World Religions / Lesson 2.2
What you will learn
- State the main reasons Jewish tradition does not accept Jesus as Messiah or as divine.
- Describe how Jewish teachers read the Old Testament passages that Christians apply to Jesus.
- Outline the history of Jewish and Christian relations, including Christian persecution.
- State the strongest Christian replies and the range of Christian views on the Jewish people today.
The big idea
Judaism does not accept that Jesus is the Messiah or the Son of God in the Christian sense. The main reasons given are that the messianic age has not arrived, that a human Messiah cannot be divine, and that Christian teaching about the Trinity and the incarnation breaks the oneness of God. Jewish teachers also read the passages Christians apply to Jesus differently. Christians reply from the same Scriptures and from the resurrection. The two traditions disagree honestly, and a sad history lies between them.
Key terms
- Messiah (mashiach)
- Hebrew for anointed one. In Jewish thought, the future king of David’s line who will bring justice and peace. The Greek form is Christ.
- Supersessionism
- The view that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s plan, so that the Jewish covenant has ended. Many Christians now reject or qualify this view.
- Incarnation
- The Christian teaching that the eternal Son of God became a human being in Jesus.
- Suffering Servant
- A figure in Isaiah 52-53 whom Christians read as Jesus and whom Jewish tradition usually reads as Israel or the righteous remnant.
- Antisemitism
- Hatred of or discrimination against Jews. Christian teaching and preaching has sometimes fed it, though the Church has condemned it.
- Noahide laws
- The rabbinic list of moral duties held to bind all humanity, which also underlies the Jewish view that non-Jews need not become Jews.
- Maimonides
- Moses ben Maimon (1138-1204), a great medieval Jewish scholar who wrote the Thirteen Principles of faith and discussed Jesus and Muhammad in his legal code.
Background
Jesus and his first followers were Jews. Early Christianity began as a movement inside Judaism, with debate about whether Gentiles needed to follow the Torah (Acts 15). In time the two communities separated, and they developed rival readings of the same Scriptures. Rabbinic Judaism did not accept the claim that Jesus was the Messiah, and the Church came to teach that he was the Son of God.
This lesson sets out the Jewish position as Jews state it, with the Christian replies. It is not a debate to be won. It aims to give a Christian the ability to understand a Jewish neighbor’s reasons and to speak honestly about his own. A responsible account must also recognize that Christians for many centuries persecuted Jews, often citing the death of Jesus as a reason. The Church has repudiated that teaching, but the memory remains vivid for Jews.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: The Jewish expectation of the Messiah
Judaism expects a human king descended from David who will gather the Jewish exiles, rebuild the Temple in some accounts, bring peace among nations and cause knowledge of God to fill the earth (Isaiah 11:1-9, Isaiah 2:2-4). Jewish teachers hold that these things have not yet happened. The world still knows war, injustice and suffering. For this reason they conclude that the Messiah has not come.
Christians reply that the Messiah comes in two stages: a first coming to suffer and to rise, and a second in glory to complete his work. Jewish tradition has not generally read the Scriptures this way, and it points out that the Hebrew Bible nowhere describes two comings.
Step 2: The oneness of God
The deepest Jewish objection is not about the Messiah but about God. The Shema declares that God is one. Jewish thought holds that God is wholly other than creation, cannot be a man, and cannot be shared with any other. The Christian doctrines of the Trinity and of the incarnation are therefore understood by most Jews as a departure from monotheism, even though Christians believe they affirm one God.
Christians answer that the one God has made himself known in the Son and the Spirit, and that the New Testament writers, who were Jews, read the Scriptures in that light (John 1:1, Philippians 2:5-11). The disagreement is real, and the Christian reply requires accepting the New Testament’s authority, which Judaism does not.
Step 3: Prophecy read differently
The New Testament applies many passages to Jesus, such as Isaiah 7:14 (the young woman who will bear a son), Isaiah 53 (the suffering servant), Psalm 22 and Micah 5:2. Jewish scholars note that in their context many of these refer to events in the writer’s own time. They point out that Isaiah 7:14 uses a Hebrew word (almah) that means a young woman, and that Isaiah 53 is explicitly identified with Israel in earlier chapters (Isaiah 49:3). The Septuagint, the early Greek translation, used a word meaning virgin for Isaiah 7:14, which Christians follow.
Christians reply that many biblical texts have more than one level of meaning, and that the early Church found in these texts a pattern fulfilled in Jesus. Jewish readers say that this method reads Christian conclusions into the texts. Scholars of both faiths acknowledge that the readings are shaped by presuppositions the two communities do not share.
Step 4: Law, grace and the people of Israel
Jews hold that the Torah is an eternal covenant and that its commandments are binding on Jews. They find Paul’s teaching that believers are not under the law (Romans 6:14, Galatians 3) to be a break with that covenant. Christians reply that Paul, who remained a Jew, was explaining how Gentiles are brought into God’s people, and that he declared the law holy (Romans 7:12).
Christian teaching about the Jewish people has varied. Some taught supersessionism, and some of the worst accusations made against Jews as a people grew from it. The Second Vatican Council taught that the Jews remain dear to God and that antisemitism is condemned. Many Protestants and Orthodox likewise reject the notion that God has rejected Israel, citing Romans 9 to 11, where Paul says that God has not cast away his people (Romans 11:1).
Step 5: History, memory and living together
The history includes forced debates in the Middle Ages, expulsions, the charge of ritual murder, ghettos and pogroms, and finally the Holocaust, which took place in Christian Europe. Not all Christians took part, and some risked their lives to protect Jews. But Jews remember that Christian teaching and preaching had sometimes prepared the ground. After the Second World War many churches reconsidered what they had taught, and Jewish and Christian scholars have since worked together.
A Christian today can hold that Jesus is Lord and also reject every form of contempt for Jews. Both Jews and Christians commonly say that they can talk honestly about their differences while treating each other as people made in God’s image. Many Jews ask that Christians not target Jews for conversion. Many Christians feel they must bear witness. This tension is real, and different churches handle it differently.
- What did Jews expect the Messiah to do, and why do Jewish teachers say it has not been done?
- Why is the oneness of God more important for Judaism than the question of the Messiah?
- How would a Jewish reader respond to the Christian reading of Isaiah 53?
- What was the Christian argument that the Messiah comes twice, and why is it not accepted in Judaism?
- How should a Christian speak about the death of Jesus in light of the history of Christian antisemitism?
- What does Paul mean when he says that God has not cast away his people?
Examples
The messianic age as Jews hope for it
In the prayers recited every day, Jews ask God to rebuild Jerusalem, gather the exiles and send the offspring of David. This continuing prayer shows that the hope is alive and not a historical relic. A Jewish neighbor who does not accept Jesus is not simply unaware of the Christian claim. They have heard it and disagree.
Two readings of Isaiah 53
A Christian reads, “he was wounded for our transgressions” as describing the death of Jesus. A rabbinic commentator, such as Rashi in the eleventh century, reads the suffering servant as the people of Israel, who suffered among the nations. Each reading takes the text seriously and each makes a different claim about who the servant is.
A sermon retold
A pastor preaching on Good Friday says that “the Jews killed Christ.” A Jewish listener hears an old charge that has been used to justify violence. The Church’s later teaching is that Christ’s death was freely accepted for the sins of all people, and that Jews today cannot be blamed. (A constructed example.)
Different perspectives
Jewish
Jewish teachers across the movements hold that Jesus was a Jew, and many honor him as a teacher, but they do not accept that he was the Messiah, that he rose from the dead, or that he was divine. Maimonides taught that Christianity was an error but also held, in some texts, that it plays a part in preparing the world for the knowledge of God. Modern Jewish scholars often stress that Jesus should be read within the Judaism of his time.
Catholic
The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God, and also that the Jews remain in a covenant that God has not revoked. Nostra Aetate (1965) and later documents reject any collective blame on the Jews and condemn antisemitism. The Church does not claim that Jews should be targeted for conversion, though it continues to proclaim Christ.
Orthodox
Orthodox Christians confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of God, and the Church’s worship is built on the Old Testament. Their history includes both cooperation with Jewish communities and times of tension. Some Orthodox liturgical texts contain harsh language about Jews, which Orthodox scholars discuss and often seek to interpret or revise.
Protestant
Protestants hold that Jesus is Messiah and Lord. Luther wrote violent attacks on the Jews late in life, which later Lutheran churches have repudiated. Many Protestants emphasize Romans 9 to 11 and the continuing election of Israel. Evangelicals differ among themselves about whether to pursue Jewish evangelism and about the meaning of modern Israel.
Scholarly
Historians note that Jews and Christians shaped their identities partly in contrast to each other. Scholars debate how soon the parting of the ways occurred, with proposals ranging from the first century to the fourth. There is wide agreement that the Gospels were written in the context of this conflict and that Jesus himself was a Jew who lived within Judaism.
Why it matters
Jews and Christians read the same Scriptures and are the nearest of neighbors in faith. The difference over Jesus is the most basic one, and it has been the occasion of centuries of suffering. A Christian who understands the Jewish reasons can speak with respect, can give a faithful account of the Christian claim, and can reject contempt without softening the gospel.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: Jews have never really considered whether Jesus is the Messiah.
Correction: Jewish scholars have examined the claim for nearly two thousand years and have given reasoned replies. Their disagreement is considered, not ignorant.
Misunderstanding: Judaism is hostile to Jesus.
Correction: Hostility has occurred in history, often in response to persecution. Many contemporary Jews regard Jesus with respect as a Jewish teacher, while denying that he is the Messiah or God.
Misunderstanding: Christian teaching has always held that Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus.
Correction: Some Christians taught this and it caused harm. The Second Vatican Council stated that blame cannot rest on all Jews of that time or on Jews today. Many churches have repudiated the charge.
Misunderstanding: If Jews are still in a covenant, Christianity must be false.
Correction: This does not follow. Christians who affirm the continuing covenant (Romans 11) do so while still confessing Christ. How the two relate is a matter of ongoing theological work.
Knowledge check
State two reasons Jewish teachers give for not accepting Jesus as the Messiah.
One reason is that the Messiah is expected to bring a world of peace and justice, gather the exiles and spread knowledge of God, and Jews hold that this has not occurred. Another is that the Messiah is understood to be human, not divine. Jews also note that the Hebrew Bible does not describe a Messiah who comes twice.
Why do many Jews see the Trinity as a problem?
The Shema declares that God is one, and Jewish thought holds God to be wholly other than creation and not to be a man. The Trinity and the incarnation therefore seem to many Jews to divide God or to place a human being in his position, even though Christians say they confess one God.
How do Jewish teachers read the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53?
Many classical Jewish commentators read the servant as the people of Israel, who suffered among the nations, and point to Isaiah 49:3, where Israel is called the servant. Christians read the chapter as pointing to Jesus. Both cite the text and context, and the dispute turns on who the servant is.
What did the Second Vatican Council say about Jews and the death of Jesus?
In Nostra Aetate it taught that what happened in Christ’s passion cannot be charged against all Jews then alive, nor against Jews today. It stated that the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, and it deplored hatred and persecution of Jews.
Think it through
- How would you explain the Christian claim about Jesus to a Jewish neighbor without implying contempt?
- Why might the history of persecution make it difficult for Jews to hear Christian witness?
- Can a Christian affirm the continuing covenant with Israel and also say that salvation is in Christ? How?
- What would it mean to take the Jewish objections as questions that Christians must answer, not as insults?
Independent assignment
A fair exchange
In your notebook, write about 250 words setting out the Jewish case that Jesus is not the Messiah, in a form a thoughtful Jew would accept. Then write about 250 words giving the strongest Christian reply, drawn from Scripture and from the resurrection. End with 100 words naming one way a Christian should speak or act differently in light of the history of Christian antisemitism.
Further study
- Jewish Publication Society, The Hebrew Bible in English (JPS translation) Read Isaiah 52 and 53 and Isaiah 7 in a Jewish translation and note the wording.
- Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity Use for the history of the separation of church and synagogue and of medieval relations.
- Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church Read the paragraphs on the Jewish people and the Old Covenant, and on the responsibility for Christ’s death.
- Isaiah 53:5 Wounded for our transgressions, read differently by Jews and Christians.
- Romans 11:1 Hath God cast away his people? God forbid.
- Isaiah 11:6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, part of the messianic hope.
- Philippians 2:5 A text Christians read as describing the incarnation.