by Harry BuererThe Jesus that is portrayed by most churches and Christians is significantly different from the Jesus of the New Testament. He is often portrayed as someone whose Jewishness is unimportant, who taught people not to follow God’s law (Torah), and who rejected the Jewish people. None of this is true. This kind of Jesus could not possibly be embraced by faithful Jews and those who believe the Hebrew scriptures.
Jesus’ Jewishness was central to his identity. He was a religiously observant Jew all his life. His family followed the instructions of the Torah strictly, having him circumcized on the eighth day, bringing him to the temple for the purification ritual, and making annual trips to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. Torah was God’s standard of right and wrong, and if Jesus had not followed it completely all his life, he could not be a sinless sacrifice as a payment for our sins.
Also critical was that Jesus was a descendant of David in the Jewish kingly line. The geneologies in the gospels are to establish that he was descended from David and an heir to the throne. There were many mentions in the Hebrew prophets that God would have one of David’s descendants on the throne of Israel forever. When Jesus’ conception and birth was announced, this was the central theme; he was to be the Davidic king of the Jews.
When Jesus started preaching, one of the first things he did was to affirm God’s law in no uncertain terms. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-19)
During his lifetime he worshiped and taught regularly in the synagogue; he observed the biblical festivals, and when he healed people, he directed them to go through the rituals that were prescribed by the law given by Moses. He told people that the Pharisees sat in Moses’ seat and people should do as they say, although they themselves did not always set a good example. Several times he criticized them for not following the law closely enough.
When Jesus began preaching, his primary message was that the end-times kingdom of God (kingdom of heaven) was “at hand”, and that he was God’s designated king for it. He performed miracles of healing and other kinds to demonstrate that he was indeed the promised king.
Jesus did not come to start a new religion and he did not do so. When he was asked whether his teachings were new, he pointedly denied it, saying, “You don’t fix an old coat with a new patch and you don’t fill an old wineskin with new wine. They would tear and ruin them. Besides, everybody knows that old wine is better.” (Luke 5:36-39 paraphrased) Jesus’ message was entirely Judaism, with the addition of the fact that he was the designated king of the kingdom of God.
When this offer of the kingdom was rejected by the Jewish leaders, his immediate mission changed. He was still the king, but the kingdom was delayed to a future time. His immediate task became being the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of God’s people. This was foreseen by God and predicted in the Hebrew scriptures as well.
His death and resurrection, as foreseen by the prophets, inaugurated the new covenant that Jeremiah spoke of. This covenant will not be completely in effect until the future kingdom but it initiated the prophecied time when people of the nations would join with Israel in worshiping Israel’s God and following his commandments.
The teaching of Jesus, as well as all his immediate followers, was that of Judaism as taught in the Hebrew scriptures. He embraced Torah and the prophecies of a future kingdom of God on earth. May we who claim to follow Jesus do the same.