Ask The Pastor

Dec 2,1998

Dear Rob,

I appreciate the comments you made concerning my article on  'Believers With Jewish Hearts.' I will respond accordingly and share some of my Christian beliefs.

> I read with interest your article, I've have found it interesting how
> christianity is now moving back in various way to it Jewish origins.

Believe it or not, the return to the Hebraic ideals of our faith has been largely due to the input of Jewish peoples who have turned to Jesus. They are speaking into Christianity in a way that is stirring the hearts of Christians. Our problem now is largely how to keep balance. Christianity by its nature is multi-cultural. Yet our greatest loss has been the forgotten Jewish nature of our faith. (You might say that Christianity was a gift of the Jews.)

> You made a statement that always makes me cringe. "When Jerusalem
> was destroyed, Rabbinic Judaism, which had its source in the
> Pharisees, became non-Messianic in the sense that Jesus Christ was
> rejected as the Messiah."

I should have clarified this statement better. The Judaism of the 2nd temple period was not the same as the Judaism of the prophets. During the time of Jesus, 2nd temple Judaism had become quite sectarian. (Pharisees, Essences, Sadduccees, Zealots, etc.) This is what laid the groundwork for Rabbinic Judaism to come to the forefront after the temple was destroyed.

As for Rabbinic Judaism being non-Messianic, I meant this only in the sense of their having rejected Jesus as the Messiah. Certainly they are Messianic in that they believe in the coming of the Messiah. ("Though He tarry, I will wait for Him.")

> The church has long claimed this so-called REJECTION of the
> Jewish people of Jesus, as fuel for rejecting the Jews and
> Judaism, and calling for their demise, harsh measures, crusades,
> progroms, and the holocaust followed.

You have to keep in mind that much of the history of "the church" is actually Catholic history. The very ones who persecuted the Jews also persecuted Protestant Christians. History gave us a common tormentor. (If you are a reader may I recommend that you get a copy of 'Fox's Book of Martyrs.')

> The Pharisees never became "non-Messianic" the belief in the
> coming of the Messiah has always been a fundamental belief, one
> who denies this in Judaism is a heretic.

You are correct. It is also true that the Jewish peoples have been plagued by false Messiahs through the centuries. And yet with regard to Jesus, there is a vast number of Jewish people who are turning to Him in these days. In fact more Jews are turning to Him today than at any time in history. According to Rabbi Tovia of Jerusalem, more Jews have converted to Christianity in the last 19  years than in the last 1900 years.

> The reason the majority of Jewish people do not call Jesus the
> Messiah, is because Jesus did not ACCEPT the Jewish people, nor
> the Non-Jewish people either.

I would think that more likely the reason the majority of the Jesus  people do not call Jesus Messiah is because a great percentage of Jewish people are simply non religious. Many are secular and want little to do with religion in any form. Yet these are the very peoples who are now turning to Jesus. (Not to mention that many orthodox are also looking to Jesus.) It is not uncommon to find Jewish people in the synagogues who believe fully in Jesus Christ.

> The world is still a mess, wars, crimes, sickness etc. The job
> of the Messiah is to bring peace and the knowledge of G-d to
> this world.

Jesus brings peace to the hearts of all who call upon Him. He also  brings with Him the knowledge of God.

As for the world still being in a mess, this is exactly the way Jesus said it would be at His second coming. The prophets spoke of two appearances of Messiah. One for salvation. This was to take out of all the nations a people for God. The second time would be to rule.

> Yes, I know christians say he did bring salvation, by dying for our
> sins. But, I will not feel saved until the exile is ended, people stop
> suffering, and evil is ended.

I assume that you are Jewish. I can appreciate where you are coming from. If you have questions about the beliefs of Biblical Christianity I will be happy to offer some insights.

With regard to the issue of salvation, the Lord places a seal upon the heart of each person who turns to Jesus. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. The seal means that the person now belongs to the Lord. It is a "living" seal that carries in it peace. Therefore, we are saved out of this present evil age for the age of Messiah to come.

> We have always, always, known G-d forgives us of our sins, that is
> accepted by faith and as a matter of fact, we have not been waiting for
> forgiveness we have been waiting for salvation when all manner of evil
> ceases, and to goodness and the knowledge and presence of G-d is in the
> world and everyone's lives.

Here is where we find the major dividing line between Judaism and Christianity. Jesus said to certain of the Pharisees, "You will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." (John 8:24) The forgiveness of our sins is only found in the sacrifice of God's Lamb.

The prophet Isaiah said, "All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." (Isa53:6)

When Messiah comes, the prophet Zechariah says, "They will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn." (Zech12:10)

Rob, both the Hebrew and the Christian Torah are the only writings that record history before it happens. The writings of the prophets and the writings of the apostles agree. One day the Jewish peoples will turn to Jesus with a full heart.

Our great Jewish apostle Paul spoke for God in saying, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is My covenant with them [Jewish people], when I take away their sins."

Paul also warned Christians concerning the Jewish people, in saying, "For I do not want you, brethren to be uninformed of this mystery - so that you will not be wise in your own estimation - that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved..." (Rom11:25)

> When the True Messiah does come and accepts this task, we will
> in turn accept him, we are still awaiting, not rejecting,
> patiently awaiting, may that day arrive soon.

I also say, "May that day arrive soon."

I have a Christian friend who received his doctorate from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. It seems that many of our Orthodox Jewish kin are taking a very serious second look at Jesus as the Messiah. One of the Orthodox Jewish professors (Emeritus) at the university told him that when Messiah comes, he would not be surprised if it were Jesus.

Dr. Raphael Patai who is orthodox Jewish, who also taught Hebrew at Hebrew University says there is a Jesus wave sweeping Israel. Many Jewish people wish to reclaim Jesus.

In many cases Jewish folk are just now realizing the Jewishness of Jesus, and that all the apostles were Jews. As for me, when I see a Jewish person, I always want to thank him for giving me Jesus. If you are indeed Jewish, then I want to thank you.

I've taken the liberty to express my own Christian faith since you were so gracious as to speak from your heart. Thank you again for writing. If you wish to continue in dialogue with me please accept my invitation to do so.

Buddy
Bro. Buddy Martin - Ask the Pastor

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Lawrence "Buddy" Martin
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org

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