by Harry BuererIt’s a shorter move from Judaism than from Christianity because Jesus and all his immediate followers were proponents of biblical Judaism. They affirmed Torah. They worshiped in synagogues and the temple. Paul called his version of faith, “the Way”, which was considered a form of Judaism. (Acts 24:14) He spends the last few chapters of Acts insisting that what he is teaching accords with the law and the prophets. (26:6, 22)
Jesus, too, when asked if he was teaching something new, something different than the prophets and rabbis taught, responded by saying that you don’t fix an old coat with a new patch and you don’t fill an old wineskin with new wine. (Luke 5:36-37) The old coat and wineskin represented the Judaism of his day and he was denying that he was adding anything new. The only thing he was declaring was how he fit into that package, as the Davidic king that the prophets announced.
If your present faith is Judaism, there are two things I would recommend in order to embrace the Tanakh that Jesus taught, as well as the New Testament. The first is to take Torah seriously. Only you know what your current relation to Torah is. Jesus preached almost exclusively to Jewish audiences, and his message was, “Repent”, i.e. get right with God and his commands, “for the kingdom of heaven (God) is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) The kingdom was subsequently delayed because the leaders didn’t accept it. But it will come, and Jesus wanted his followers to live in light of that coming.
The second thing I would recommend is that you open your mind to the possibility that the teaching of Jesus and the rest of the New Testament is continuous with Judaism. Jesus offered a kingdom that the prophets announced. When this kingdom was rejected, as God knew it would be, Jesus took the role of the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of mankind. This is totally consistent with the Hebrew scriptures. The whole sacrificial system pointed forward to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
When Isaiah writes abut the servant of God, he seems to be speaking of Israel as a nation. (Isaiah 41:8) But on the other hand, he seems to be speaking of an individual who represents the nation. (Isaiah 42:1) Both aspects of this servant are illustrated in Isaiah 49 where verse 3 seems to speak of the nation of Israel, and verses 5 and 6 seem to be speaking of an individual. As we go on to chapter 53 we see a description that fits Jesus perfectly. I’m not going to cite the entirety of Isaiah 53, but I urge you to read it. The role of Jesus in being the lamb of God (John 1:29) who bore the sin of many (Isaiah 53:12) is the core message of the New Testament.
In the book of Acts and the New Testament epistles the opportunity to turn to God because of what Jesus had done was opened up to non-Jews as well. The prophets reported that in the last days people from the nations would embrace Israel’s God and worship him. That is why Paul and the other disciples of Jesus urged the Gentiles not to become circumcized and convert to Judaism. (Acts 15; Galatians) If they converted, they would be Jews, and not people of the nations any more. Since the last days began, according to Paul, with the resurrection of Jesus, it was important to Paul that these new worshipers of God continue to be people from the nations, and not Jews. He did say that once they embraced the God of Israel, through Jesus, they would be like wild branches grafted into the Jewish olive tree (Romans 11) and become part of the covenant people of greater Israel. But they continued to be Gentiles, people of the nations.
I am not recommending that you “convert to Christianity.” Since the second century C.E., traditional Christianity has mostly abandoned the Torah and God’s promises to Israel. But the New Testament doesn’t support that. The early believers worshiped in synagogues, and if you’re happy with your synagogue, there’s no reason you should leave it. But the early believers also met together in homes, besides their synagogue meetings. If you can find a Messianic Jewish congregation, you may want to try them out. Another option is to connect with a Torah Club sponsored by First Fruits of Zion. These are small groups that meet in homes and follow a guided study that examines the Jewishness of Jesus and his followers. I recommend them highly.
Even though “Christians” from the second century on have separated from Judaism and been in the forefront of persecuting Jews, they don’t represent Jesus or the teaching of the New Testament in that regard. Israel continues to be God’s chosen people. Paul and other New Testament writers predict that eventually the Jewish people as a whole will recognize Jesus (Yeshua) as their promised Messiah. (Romans 11:25-29) Then the promised kingdom will come, with Messiah reigning from the throne of David in Jerusalem. May it come soon.