Christians and Jews
by Buddy Martin

Rabbi Steward Rosenberg, after having observed Christians for years, made this statement; "The stronger a person's Christian faith, the more Jewish will he regard himself."

The preeminent Christian theologian Carl Barth said, "The Bible is a Jewish book. It cannot be read, understood and expounded unless we are prepared to become Jews with the Jews."

Why would two learned men of different religious traditions reach such a similar conclusion? The answer is that Christianity finds its roots in ancient Judaism. It could be said that Christians are spiritual Semites. Jesus said that salvation is from the Jews. The apostle adds, "And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise." [Cf. Gal. 3:29]

Does this surprise you? Probably the greatest single need among Christian believers today is to learn more about their Hebraic heritage and identity. The Church has been living largely in a Greek-Latin mind set ever since she lost her Judaic identity.

Many Christians are not aware that Christianity began as a form of Judaism. During the second temple period, which takes in the time of Christ, there were twenty-four major movements in Judaism. You might say there were twenty-four Judaisms. After the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, only two of these movements survived. One evolved into Rabbinic Judaism. The other movement became what we know as Apostolic Christianity. Christianity is the true heir of the ancient Messianic faith.

Yet we share a kinship with the Jewish people. Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. The apostles were Jews. The prophets were Jews. The Bible of the early Church was Jewish. In fact the Bible we love is a Jewish document from Genesis to Revelations. (This is why when Jews read the New Testament, they hear a Jewish voice.)

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. Of course they continued to believe in a coming Messiah. The other branch of Judaism took on the name Christian. (Early Christians were also known as 'Nazarenes.' Cf. Acts 24:5; 24:14; 28:22)

In early church persecutions, the persecutions were Jews persecuting Jews. Christian Jews were accused of being heretics. Following the destruction of Jerusalem, the two branches of Judaism continued with a love-hate relationship. The issue, however, was that the Christian branch had an atonement in the Messiah. The Judaists had neither atonement nor temple. It continues that way to this day.

With the temple gone there was little need for a priesthood in Israel. The Sadducees passed off the scene. Rabbinic Judaism evolved into modern Judaism with its three major groupings; Orthodox Judaism, Conservative, and Reformed Judaism. No more blood sacrifices. The Rabbis were at center stage.

As for the other major branch of Judaism, a name change was foretold by the prophets. (Cf. Isaiah 65:15) Peter, who was most certainly a Jewish apostle, told the new covenant believers never to be ashamed of their name 'Christian.' (1 Pet 4:16)

As Gentiles flooded into the Church, Christianity began to drift from her Hebraic roots. Over time Greek philosophy filled the Church. Dualism became the norm. The Church still struggles over this. Sadly enough there are parts of Christianity that are yet filled with pagan influences.

Once Christianity began centering in Rome, the Church started taking on a strange nature. Varied pagan influences found entrance. It should be noted, however, that there have always been purer forms of Christianity than that which evolved out of Rome. (Keep in mind that the one who has the votes writes the history.)

What eventually happened is that the Greek-Latin aberration of Christianity took the place of the Hebraic form. Darkness began to overtake much of the Church. Paul warned of this. (Cf. 1 Tim. 4:1-6)

Yet Paul also warned Gentile believers not to boast against the Jewish branches who were broken off, nor against the Hebraic nature of the Church.

Paul explained that Gentile believers are wild olive branches who have been engrafted into God's cultivated olive tree. This means that Gentiles were partaking of a completed Messianic-redemptive faith of the Jews. Paul further says, "For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things." (Rom. 15:27)

It is likely that the olive tree speaks of God's peoples of all ages, although some say it is a reference to Abraham. The root of the tree would be the true Messianic faith which, in turn, would be the source of God's blessings that flow to the branches. The sole purpose of the root is to provide life and nourishment for the branches. The branches that were broken off were those Jews who did not accept Jesus.

Our engraft is into a tree that existed long before New Testament Christianity. Some like to limit the tree to Israel, but this is probably not the case. Actually the tree existed before there was an Abraham or Isaac. Since the olive tree is a metaphor there are many thoughts that can come forth from a study on the olive tree.

The point is that as engrafted branches, we are to take on the nature of the olive tree, not vice versa. Perhaps it is in this sense that Gentile believers feel themselves to have Jewish hearts. (Jewish in the sense of a completed Messianic Judaism.)

It is true that in God's salvation code being Jew or Gentile is meaningless. However, the fact remains that the Church is Hebraic in nature. All believers are spiritual descendants of Abraham. Abraham was a Semite. (There were no Jews at his time. Jews derive their name from the tribe of Judah or possibly the province of Judea.)

Here are examples of what we have lost from our Hebraic heritage. Often when Christians read and study the Scriptures, our desire is to accumulate knowledge. We gather data. We study with scholastics in mind. In the Biblical-Hebrew tradition, God's people are taught to study the Scriptures in order to draw near to God.

For the ancient Hebrews the study of Torah was the highest form of worship. David's Psalm 119 certainly brings this out. It was through study that a person came to know God in a personal way. For the Jews who rejected Jesus, the Torah became a closed book in many senses. This is because Jesus Himself is the living Word of God.

Then we have prayer. Often Christians are taught that the more we pray the more spiritual we become. The stress is often on long prayers. Certainly there is a place for longer prayers, yet in the Hebrew tradition, long prayers were not that common. In fact, Jesus rebuked the Scribes and Pharisees over their pretence of righteousness with the use of long prayer. (Matt. 23:14)

The Jewish people were taught that that their whole life was an offering of prayer. Even their work was to be considered worship. The Hebraic emphasis is more on short prayers of thankfulness. (Cf. Matt. 6:5-13; 1 Thess. 5:16-18.)

When Paul says we should pray without ceasing, he was speaking as a Jewish man. As a rule our daily life should to be a continuous activity of short prayers filled with thanksgivings.

Then there is dualism. Some Greeks felt that anything of the material world was evil. When Paul said that in his flesh dwelt no good thing, he was not calling his body evil. He was saying that there is a principle of sin in fallen man. The Hebrew writers refer to this as the evil inclination. Actually we are to rejoice in our humanity.

With the Greeks the highest form of spirituality was to enter into a monastic form of living. Monasticism comes from a root word which means to be alone. What did God say about aloneness? He said it wasn't good. (Gen. 2:18)

One of the Latin fathers went so far as to say that when a man and his wife have conjugal relations the Holy Spirit leaves the bedroom. It was this thinking that contributed to the celibate priesthood.

Nowhere does the Bible teach that a celibate lifestyle is particularly spiritual. Actually it teaches the opposite. The Bible affirms the goodness of marriage and the family. A Biblical requirement of a Christian bishop (pastor) is that he be married.

In the Hebrew tradition the act of love in marriage is considered both sacred and joyful. Love in marriage allows a couple to express their gift of maleness and femaleness. If you don't think God wants us to celebrate the romantic side of marriage, read the Song of Solomon. Because of our western mindset this book can be embarrassing. (Cf. Prov. 5:15-20; Eccl. 9:9; Heb. 13:4)

Perhaps it is enough to say that we Christians are finding ourselves in an identity crisis. Who am I? What am I about? Where did I come from? You can be certain that many of these questions have their answer in a rediscovery our Hebraic heritage in Christ.

But it is not only Christians who are in an identify crisis. Jews are there also. There is a statistic put out by the Jews that I find quite interesting. They say that over 50% of Jewish men marry outside their culture. Most marry Christian women. Why would a Jewish man be drawn to a Christian women? Is it possible that it relates to a Messiah hunger in the Jews? 

There is a final caution. In our search for roots, we should not reject everything that is not Hebraic. Neither should we get on a Jewish lust trip. No person is ever closer to God than being in Christ Jesus. We should rejoice in the diversity and beauty of Christianity while we seek to learn more about our true Biblical heritage.

Just a thought - Some time back I was watching a major TV newscaster speak with people on the streets in Bethlehem. When he asked a Jewish man what he thought about Christians filling the city at Christmas time, the man simply responded, "They are Jews too."

What a simple answer. But is it relevant? Paul did say, "But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God." (Rom. 2:29) 

Yes, we do share a heart with the Jewish people. But we have to remember that new covenant people have been given a new name. Christian means those who belong to the Messiah. 

Think about it. May the Lord bless you.

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(This article first appeared in the October, 1996 Issue)

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