My wife and I were talking the other night. I asked her (yes, she is Jewish), “What do Jewish people think of Jesus?” Without batting an eyelash, her response was, “Jewish people do not think of Jesus!” Generally Jesus is given little to no thought.
Throughout the ages, the question of who Y’shua (Jesus) is has encountered a full spectrum of reactions ranging from He is a myth, fable and the New Testament is merely an assemblage of narishkeit (Yiddish for foolishness)... all the way to He is the promised Messiah, God incarnate who died for our sins and rose from the dead. Quite a spectrum, indeed.
What do Jewish Scriptures and traditions say about sin and its consequence? Is there a permanent solution?
Steven was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home. He went to Hebrew school, had his bar mitzvah and observed the holidays. Yet when he turned 15, his parents began to experiment with a more liberal Jewish lifestyle. Perhaps it was an act of rebellion against her own mother, but Steven's mother began making pork chops, a food previously forbidden from the family menu and alien to their palates. At the same time, and seemingly unrelated at first, his father bought a smoke alarm. In case of fire, they would be ready! But as it happened, whenever the mother made pork chops, the alarm would start to blast. Its piercing warning would upset the otherwise peaceful household. Sometimes there was even smoke accompanying the alarm. Steven's father quipped that maybe God was trying to tell them something--namely that they shouldn't eat pork. The rest of the family shrugged off the remark as a joke and the culinary experiments continued. Still, whenever pork was cooked, the alarm sounded. Eventually, Steven's father took the obvious solution. He got rid of the smoke alarm!
It is important to understand the foundation of what Jewish people believe today. There is no single answer. The term dogma, which is much better applied to Christianity, has little place within Judaism. In Judaism, the need for a profession of belief did not arise, and rabbis saw no necessity for drawing up concise formulas stressing Jewish beliefs and faith.
Theologically speaking, it is understood that Jewish people are born into God’s covenant with the people of Israel in Genesis 12:1-3:
The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.'
The resources here explore the typical Jewish life cycle, from birth to death. Significant life events are explored from a uniquely Jewish perspective. Knowing this perspective provides further understanding of the broad interplay that scripture (the Bible) has even in modern Jewish life.
Jesus wandered about the country for three years accompanied by a hand-picked group of disciples. While some of us memorized the names of the original twelve, we know that there were others who also were followers. But Jesus gave himself, his time, his involvement, to just a small band, and ultimately just to three close-in followers: Peter, James and John.
There were many leading rabbis of His day who likewise had their bands of followers, students, disciples. Unlike our modern way of training pastors where one heads off to an institution of higher learning, a disciple accompanied a teacher as he went about his regular duties and learned from first hand experiences.
The passport is a tool for helping you disciple someone through their early spiritual journey. We all share a common path: birth, life, death, and judgment day. What happens between birth and death makes a big difference concerning our final destination.
Consider using this tool as you reach out to fellow travelers on life’s bumpy roads.
The resources here focus on the major festivals in Jewish life. Use the Festivals Overview presentation to gain a better understanding of the overall annual festival calendar and the Biblical basis for each major festival. The Passover presentation takes a deeper look at the purpose and meaning behind Passover from both an Old Testament (Pentatuch) and New Testament perspective. The Shavuot presentation discusses the feast of Shavuot, otherwise known as Pentecost, and the significance it has in biblical history.
