Messiach

Jerry's Web Page

Messiah or Messiach

For the most part, this page is complete. I intend to refine it. It appears as "work in progress."

Some Major Differences Between Judaism and Christianity

If you are not Jewish, that's fine with me. Not only is this page not directed at you, I'm a little uncomfortable that you are here for fear that my intentions will be misinterpreted. Nothing presented on these pages is intended to offend or change your beliefs.

There is no philosophy and/or evangelist activity within Judaism that proposes changing any non-Jewish person's beliefs or religious affiliation. An inherent belief of Judaism is that the righteous followers of any religion have a place in the "World to Come" if they conform to a limited set of ethical laws that are summarized below. There is no thought that if one is not Jewish they are condemned by our creator to some punishment. We believe that G-d, expects everyone's adherence to these ethical rules of behavior which include a belief in G-d and behaving in a civilized manner. These rules we call the Seven Laws of Noah. They do not include being Jewish and are primarily negative commandments. For the Engineers in the crowd, these are derived requirements. We do not believe that Jews are better than anyone else but, by being Jewish we have rules to follow than those of other religions. That is, the Gentile must conform to seven laws, the Jew 613. Boy, was Moses a good negotiator!...and Navigator! Do you suppose if he a compass or GPS, Israel might have been the place with oil?

The Seven Laws of Noah are:

Not to engage in Idolatry, that is not to deny G-d
Not to blaspheme or curse G-d
Not to murder
Not to engage in a forbidden sexual relationship such as incest, adultery, bestiality, etc.
Not to steal
Not to eat meat off of a live animal
To set up courts to ensure obedience to the other six laws.

How do we know that Judaism does not attempt to convert those of other religions? Not only does it not solicit converts, it discourages them. If you try to convert to Judaism, you can expect to be turned away...three times. The reason is that people accepted for conversion must convince a Rabbi that they really want to become Jewish for the right reasons and that they intend to stay Jewish. As a group, we have a "live and let live" philosophy. By the same token, we resent anyone trying to interfere with our beliefs. This page is here because some people harass Jews by not respecting the right of Jews to follow their G-d and the eternal convent the Jews have with him. That is we get a lot of uninvited and unwelcome attention from "missionarys." Currently, the approaches used by these "good folks" is to mix beliefs and interpretations incompatible with Judaism with fundamental Jewish beliefs causing confusion. My purpose is to assist other Jews to identify these inconsistencies.

Some Major Differences Between Judaism and Christianity

It has often been a source of amazement to me that Judaism and Christianity are derived from the same source. While both religions arrived at a similar set of rules for living in a society, the structure of each's fundamental beliefs are very different and incompatible. I have noted, in completely non-hostile conversations with Christian friends, that trying to explain to each other why each believes what they do, provides a good feeling for the environment at the tower of Babel. In discussing why, it's much worse. In a recent discussion, I thought I provided a clear explanation to a Christian friend of the Jewish concept of Messiah. When I finished, he said "But there is that one sentence." There is no sentence in the Jewish bible that forecasts a messiah that will do extraordinary wonderful things. But if such a person had been prophesized, wouldn't they and their future deeds warrant at least a page?

Before discussing the differences, note that there are Judaic-Christian common beliefs. Monotheism, waiting for a messiah (note I didn't say the), and resurrection are valid concepts in both religions.

The focus of these two religions is different. Judaism is focused on G-d and only G-d. No one may come between any individual and G-d. While some people do get more respect than others (ask Rodney Dangerfield), based on what they have done or know, we are all of equal status in the eyes of G-d. In contrast, Christianity is focused on a single individual that has divine attributes. No one may approach G-d, except through that individual. Belief in that individual's divine characteristics is an essential part of this religion. In some branches of Christianity praying to an additional intermediary is also acceptable.

Judaism assumes that man begins life with freewill and is not predestined to a particular fate. He is judged on his behavior, primarily towards his fellow man. A major premise of Christianity is that man, when born, is condemned through heredity to hell until he accepts certain religious beliefs. While action is not dismissed, belief in a specific messiah and that messiah's divine status is more important than any other measurement of behavior.

Belief that a Messiah is coming is an inherent part of Judaism. Yet, asking most Jews to discuss the characteristics of "the Messiah" usually leads to the equivalent of "huh?" The reason is, that while the Jew announces daily that he is waiting for the Messiah, compared to his belief in G-d, and conforming to his commandments, the existence of a messiah is almost of no consequence. Furthermore, the role of the Messiah is almost incidental.

Jews really wait for the Messianic Age, when the entire world will be at peace, all will believe in G-d, and the Jewish nation will have returned to the land of Israel. How will we recognize the next messiah? Recognizing the Messianic Age is key. That is when the "perfect world" prophecies come true, the one sitting on the throne of Israel will be a messiah. I explain in the section "Messiah", why I refer to the next Messiah and what a Messiah is to a Jew. I won't attempt to describe the Christian concept of the messiah since I don't understand it. It includes the integration of the Messiah with G-d (the Trinity), a second coming for the messiah, superhuman characteristics, and as previously stated, the belief that the only way to approach G-d and to avoid spending eternity in hell is through the Messiah. None of these concepts is compatible with the Jewish bible or beliefs. In summary, the expression "believing in Jesus" is so foreign from the fundamentals of the Jewish religion that there is no comprehension of the expression.

Can a Jew believe in Jesus?

Yes! I bet that's a surprise. A Jew can be an atheist. Ignoring conversions, being a Jew is an inherited position. If one's mother is Jewish, one is Jewish regardless of belief.

The religion of a Jew that "believes in Jesus" is Christianity. The Greek word, 'Christianos,' means "follower of Christ." Switching languages from Greek to Hebrew doesn't change one's religion, i.e. calling "Jesus" "Yesuha" doesn't change the fact that someone who follows the teaching of Jesus is Christian.

If I were a Christian, I would be offended by any religious group that "believes in Jesus" but can't bear to call themselves Christian.

Messiach

So who is the Messiah? How does one recognize the Messiah? No one can make such a determination unless they understand what a Messiah is and what a Messiah is suppose to do. Starting with the basics, the English word "Messiah" is a transliteration of the Hebrew word "Messiach". The literal translation of Messiach is "anointed". It refers to someone anointed with oil as part of a religious service, which was, and is, in some cases, performed upon assuming a leadership role. In some sense, the Queen of England is a Messiah.

In the Jewish Bible, the term messiah refers to someone anointed with oil in the service of g-d. All the Kings of Israel and the high Priests were anointed. The bible refers to these "anointed people" as Messiahs. In other words, it is a generic term. One can find references to King Saul, and King Cyrus (of Persia) as "G-d's Messiah." Of all the messiahs referenced, only one was called "the Messiah." That was Aaron, Moses’s elder brother. The word messiah is never used to describe a future person.

So, if the bible does not refer to a future messiah, where does the concept (in Judaism) come from? Who are we waiting for? There are a number of references (Isaiah, Amos, Jeremiah, et al) to a future age of perfection where there will be peace all over the world and all people will recognize G-d. Some of these references refer to someone, a descendent of David (or Jessie, David's father) and Solomon, sitting on the throne of Israel during this perfect time. He is not referred to as "the Messiah." But, if he is on the throne, he will be anointed and therefore a messiah. When a Jew says he is waiting for the messiah, he refers to this individual.

What is the messiah's role? The prophecies are that this king will reign with righteousness and justice over the Jews in the land he gave them, and follow the rules (ordinances and statures) that G-d provided. The bible does not ever refer to a belief in the Messiah. Belief will not be necessary. If the entire earth is at peace, the Jews have returned to the Land of Israel, and all people believe in G-d we will indisputable be in the Messianic age.

Why are we still waiting for the Messiah? Because the messianic age hasn't occurred. No one has ruled Israel (or any place else) during such an age. The world has never seen a time when peace was everywhere and when all people believed in G-d.

Can Jesus or anyone else that has lived be the Jewish Messiah? Obviously not. Not only hasn't the messianic age occurred, but Elijah, the prophet, hasn't returned (another criteria). In Jesus's case, he did not meet any of the Jewish Bible's criteria for the Jewish Messiah. He was not anointed as king, did not rule Israel, did not rule Israel during a time of peace, and did not possess the necessary genealogy (which must be passed through the biological father). Even if it could be passed through the adopted father, Joseph's father's roots include Jeconiah who was cursed by G-d disqualifying him.

The bottom line is that the Jewish concept of "the Messiah" is incompatible with the Christian concept. Fortunately, we live in a country where we can have such different beliefs, yet respect each other's right to do so.