Judaism and Jesus
An unconventional look at two very similar religious systems from a Christian perspective.
1- Jesus was and continues to be Jewish. He was a Rabbi, he had followers, and he practiced faith in God of Israel. He never denounced his faith, but he did denounce the religious leaders of his day. Jesus told the religious leaders that they had no faith in God. He caused a riot because they allowed trade in the Temple, and he prophesied
that the Temple would fall. And that he would build it up again. (What he meant by re-building the Temple is open to debate. Some interpret it that he was speaking of his own destruction and resurrection. Others say he will build the Temple again when he returns. In fact, on a side note, I've been in Catholic bible studies where some people said, "oh, the religious leaders of Jesus's day are just like the Catholic leaders today!" There's nothing new under Heaven!)
2 - The only thing Jesus cared about was that people follow the will of God in Heaven. He demonstrated this by becoming completely obedient to the will of God, and dying on the cross. He never said- "Worship me". He did say, however, "I am the son of God, and several of these verses in the Bible (Jewish Bible, or Old Testament) are about me." (I'm paraphrasing here.) I interpret this to mean- it does not matter what your religion is, as long as you're following God, you are good. God being the God of Abraham, from where the three great religions stem: Judaism, Christianity, Islam
Here is a quote which demonstrates this:
When asked, "what is the Greatest commandment?" Jesus replied: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (These are very similar to the words found in mezuzah scrolls and in the head teffillin)
3- Jesus said that his brothers and sisters are those who love God and do God's will here on earth. He said this in 3 different Gospels. (Matthew, Mark and Luke) I interpret this to mean- it doesn't matter your religion, we are all brothers and sisters who love God. That is why I feel comfortable worshipping at Temple on Saturdays, Church on Sundays, and Mosque at Muslim prayer times.
4- Jesus asked for forgiveness to those who killed him. On the cross he prayed to God saying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Jesus was killed by a small group which included pagan Roman provincial leaders and the main Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem. He was NOT killed by the entire Jewish people. And I, yes I, was the one who drove in the spike.
5- Jesus lived his life as an example of how to love God on earth. He even said, just because you know me, doesn't mean anything. You need to follow me, and do God's will on earth. That is what matters most. Many Christians feel that they only have to say, I love and know Jesus. But when they turn around and hate Blacks or Whites, or Jews, or Muslims or Turks or Greeks or Mexicans, That's a major fail.
6- What is God's enemy? Paganism. There's also satanism. But paganism is one of those things that wants to erase God's holy name from the earth, and get us to worship material things. And it's subtle. How should we deal with such an abomination? Through prayer and love. Jesus said, "Love your enemies." That mean's loving the racist bastard, loving the dotard, and the despicable rapist and killer. Hard to do, yes. But everyone is redeemable, and far be it for me to condemn anyone who is struggling in their atheism (as I was). When I condemn, I stand in the way of that person's redemption. And make it harder for God to redeem. So, I am to love and understand their struggle. And I am to be that light to a better day, through God's infinite love and mercy.
7- Why I love Jews more than I love some of my Christian brothers and sisters. Jews have withstood horror after horror, have suffered above and beyond what many can even realize. yet, they continue to hold on to their faith, and not try to force their beliefs on anyone. That is quite amazing. And one of the most remarkable things, is they wrote the vast majority of the Bible, and included all their faults, failings as well as their victories. They present themselves as honestly as any people ever did. And their story is about how one people try to Love God through pain, misery, joy, health, wealth and poverty. They struggle. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they fail. But mostly they succeed. They even introduce us to God, who they said "yes" to first- before any other people said yes.
And how could Jesus come into the world without Judaism? It could not happen! And what did Jesus come to do? Bring people closer to God. That was and continues to be his only job. So, looking at history, the pagan Romans and pagan Greeks were defeated by some weak, lowly, yet very bold Jewish vagabond from Galillee. That is God working, and nothing else. God bless the Jews!
An unconventional look at two very similar religious systems from a Christian perspective.
1- Jesus was and continues to be Jewish. He was a Rabbi, he had followers, and he practiced faith in God of Israel. He never denounced his faith, but he did denounce the religious leaders of his day. Jesus told the religious leaders that they had no faith in God. He caused a riot because they allowed trade in the Temple, and he prophesied
2 - The only thing Jesus cared about was that people follow the will of God in Heaven. He demonstrated this by becoming completely obedient to the will of God, and dying on the cross. He never said- "Worship me". He did say, however, "I am the son of God, and several of these verses in the Bible (Jewish Bible, or Old Testament) are about me." (I'm paraphrasing here.) I interpret this to mean- it does not matter what your religion is, as long as you're following God, you are good. God being the God of Abraham, from where the three great religions stem: Judaism, Christianity, Islam
Here is a quote which demonstrates this:
When asked, "what is the Greatest commandment?" Jesus replied: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (These are very similar to the words found in mezuzah scrolls and in the head teffillin)
3- Jesus said that his brothers and sisters are those who love God and do God's will here on earth. He said this in 3 different Gospels. (Matthew, Mark and Luke) I interpret this to mean- it doesn't matter your religion, we are all brothers and sisters who love God. That is why I feel comfortable worshipping at Temple on Saturdays, Church on Sundays, and Mosque at Muslim prayer times.
4- Jesus asked for forgiveness to those who killed him. On the cross he prayed to God saying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Jesus was killed by a small group which included pagan Roman provincial leaders and the main Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem. He was NOT killed by the entire Jewish people. And I, yes I, was the one who drove in the spike.
5- Jesus lived his life as an example of how to love God on earth. He even said, just because you know me, doesn't mean anything. You need to follow me, and do God's will on earth. That is what matters most. Many Christians feel that they only have to say, I love and know Jesus. But when they turn around and hate Blacks or Whites, or Jews, or Muslims or Turks or Greeks or Mexicans, That's a major fail.
6- What is God's enemy? Paganism. There's also satanism. But paganism is one of those things that wants to erase God's holy name from the earth, and get us to worship material things. And it's subtle. How should we deal with such an abomination? Through prayer and love. Jesus said, "Love your enemies." That mean's loving the racist bastard, loving the dotard, and the despicable rapist and killer. Hard to do, yes. But everyone is redeemable, and far be it for me to condemn anyone who is struggling in their atheism (as I was). When I condemn, I stand in the way of that person's redemption. And make it harder for God to redeem. So, I am to love and understand their struggle. And I am to be that light to a better day, through God's infinite love and mercy.
7- Why I love Jews more than I love some of my Christian brothers and sisters. Jews have withstood horror after horror, have suffered above and beyond what many can even realize. yet, they continue to hold on to their faith, and not try to force their beliefs on anyone. That is quite amazing. And one of the most remarkable things, is they wrote the vast majority of the Bible, and included all their faults, failings as well as their victories. They present themselves as honestly as any people ever did. And their story is about how one people try to Love God through pain, misery, joy, health, wealth and poverty. They struggle. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they fail. But mostly they succeed. They even introduce us to God, who they said "yes" to first- before any other people said yes.
And how could Jesus come into the world without Judaism? It could not happen! And what did Jesus come to do? Bring people closer to God. That was and continues to be his only job. So, looking at history, the pagan Romans and pagan Greeks were defeated by some weak, lowly, yet very bold Jewish vagabond from Galillee. That is God working, and nothing else. God bless the Jews!
Comments