In the midst of the ongoing controversy concerning GOD TV’s new Hebrew speaking channel in Israel, a larger question has emerged. Is it right for Christians to share their faith with Jews? After all, the Jewish people were chosen by God and have the Torah and their traditions. Why try to “convert” them to an alien faith, especially in light of centuries of “Christian” antisemitism? Why not leave the Jewish people with their faith and offer Jesus to the Gentiles?
Michael Brown holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University and has served as a professor at a number of seminaries. He is the author of 25 books and hosts the nationally syndicated, daily talk radio show, the Line of Fire.
As attractive and irenic as this sounds, it cannot work for one fundamental reason. If Jesus is who He and His followers claimed Him to be — the Messiah of Israel — then Jewish people around the world should follow Him. All Jews should be Jews for Jesus!
And if He wasn’t who He and His followers claimed Him to be — if He was not the Messiah of Israel — then no one should follow Him. There should be no Gentiles for Jesus, no Christians on the planet.
It’s either all or nothing at all. The words of Jesus and the words of the rest of the New Testament leave us with no other choice.
Some scholars and religious leaders suggest that, although Jesus was Jewish His mission was to make the God of Israel known to the nations. So, Jews would follow Judaism while Gentiles would follow Christianity, and Jews could express their appreciation for this beautiful faith for the nations.
Christians, for their part, would not try to convince Jews to believe in Jesus, since His message was for the Gentiles, not for His fellow Jews. Everyone could live happily ever after.
But again, that’s not what the New Testament says in passage after passage. Instead, from beginning to end, it claims that Yeshua (Jesus) came as Israel’s Messiah, because of which He was also the Savior of the world.
Consequently, if Yeshua was not the Messiah of Israel, then He was not the Savior of the world. He was a deceiver, not a prophet; a fraud, not a messenger sent by God. And if He did not fulfill the ancient prophecies of Moses and Isaiah and others, then His Jewish people were right in rejecting Him and the nations should not listen to Him. If He was not Israel’s Messiah, then Christianity is a lie.
To summarize the evidence of the New Covenant (New Testament) writings:
• Yeshua was called “King of the Jews” at His birth and at His death (Matthew 2:2; 27:37). YP.
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