Why do jews not believe Jesus is/was the Messiah?

Question

When do they think he will come? What qualities are they looking for in him to know he is the one?

Answer 1

What exactly is the Messiah?
The word "Messiah" is an English rendering of the Hebrew word "Mashiach", which means "Anointed." It usually refers to a person initiated into God's service by being anointed with oil. (Exodus 29:7, I Kings 1:39, II Kings 9:3)
Since every King and High Priest was anointed with oil, each may be referred to as "an anointed one" (a Mashiach or a Messiah). For example: "God forbid that I [David] should stretch out my hand against the Lord's Messiah [Saul]..." (I Samuel 26:11. Cf. II Samuel 23:1, Isaiah 45:1, Psalms 20:6)
Where does the Jewish concept of Messiah come from? One of the central themes of Biblical prophecy is the promise of a future age of perfection characterized by universal peace and recognition of God. (Isaiah 2:1-4; Zephaniah 3:9; Hosea 2:20-22; Amos 9:13-15; Isaiah 32:15-18, 60:15-18; Micah 4:1-4; Zechariah 8:23, 14:9; Jeremiah 31:33-34)
Many of these prophetic passages speak of a descendant of King David who will rule Israel during the age of perfection. (Isaiah 11:1-9; Jeremiah 23:5-6, 30:7-10, 33:14-16; Ezekiel 34:11-31, 37:21-28; Hosea 3:4-5)
Since every King is a Messiah, by convention, we refer to this future anointed king as The Messiah. The above is the only description in the Bible of a Davidic descendant who is to come in the future. We will recognize the Messiah by seeing who the King of Israel is at the time of complete universal perfection.

1) JESUS DID NOT FULFILL THE MESSIANIC PROPHECIES
What is the Messiah supposed to accomplish? The Bible says that he will:
A. Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).
B. Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6).
C. Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4)
D. Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: "God will be King over all the world -- on that day, God will be One and His Name will be One" (Zechariah 14:9).
The historical fact is that Jesus fulfilled none of these messianic prophecies.
Christians counter that Jesus will fulfill these in the Second Coming, but Jewish sources show that the Messiah will fulfill the prophecies outright, and no concept of a second coming exists.

2) JESUS DID NOT EMBODY THE PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS OF MESSIAH
A. MESSIAH AS PROPHET
Jesus was not a prophet. Prophecy can only exist in Israel when the land is inhabited by a majority of world Jewry. During the time of Ezra (circa 300 BCE), when the majority of Jews refused to move from Babylon to Israel, prophecy ended upon the death of the last prophets -- Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.
Jesus appeared on the scene approximately 350 years after prophecy had ended.
B. DESCENDENT OF DAVID
According to Jewish sources, the Messiah will be born of human parents and possess normal physical attributes like other people. He will not be a demi-god, nor will he possess supernatural qualities.
The Messiah must be descended on his father's side from King David (see Genesis 49:10 and Isaiah 11:1). According to the Christian claim that Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, he had no father -- and thus could not have possibly fulfilled the messianic requirement of being descended on his father's side from King David!
C. TORAH OBSERVANCE
The Messiah will lead the Jewish people to full Torah observance. The Torah states that all mitzvot (commandments) remain binding forever, and anyone coming to change the Torah is immediately identified as a false prophet. (Deut. 13:1-4)
Throughout the New Testament, Jesus contradicts the Torah and states that its commandments are no longer applicable. (see John 1:45 and 9:16, Acts 3:22 and 7:37) For example, John 9:14 records that Jesus made a paste in violation of Shabbat, which caused the Pharisees to say (verse 16), "He does not observe Shabbat!"

3) MISTRANSLATED VERSES "REFERRING" TO JESUS
Biblical verses can only be understood by studying the original Hebrew text -- which reveals many discrepancies in the Christian translation.
A. VIRGIN BIRTH
The Christian idea of a virgin birth is derived from the verse in Isaiah 7:14 describing an "alma" as giving birth. The word "alma" has always meant a young woman, but Christian theologians came centuries later and translated it as "virgin." This accords Jesus' birth with the first century pagan idea of mortals being impregnated by gods.
B. CRUCIFIXION
The verse in Psalms 22:17 reads: "Like a lion, they are at my hands and feet." The Hebrew word ki-ari (like a lion) is grammatically similar to the word "gouged." Thus Christianity reads the verse as a reference to crucifixion: "They pierced my hands and feet."
C. SUFFERING SERVANT
Christianity claims that Isaiah chapter 53 refers to Jesus, as the "suffering servant."
In actuality, Isaiah 53 directly follows the theme of chapter 52, describing the exile and redemption of the Jewish people. The prophecies are written in the singular form because the Jews ("Israel") are regarded as one unit. The Torah is filled with examples of the Jewish nation referred to with a singular pronoun.
Ironically, Isaiah's prophecies of persecution refer in part to the 11th century when Jews were tortured and killed by Crusaders who acted in the name of Jesus.
From where did these mistranslations stem? St. Gregory, 4th century Bishop of Nazianzus, wrote: "A little jargon is all that is necessary to impose on the people. The less they comprehend, the more they admire."

Answer 2

The Jews does not recognized Jesus as their messiah, because the messiah that they were expecting to come is a warrior in nature that would free them from the oppression of their enemy.

Up to this point in time, the Jews is still waiting for their messiah. But, they did not realized this that he has already come in the flesh. The Jews is expecting a physical warrior, but God send a Spiritual warrior, to free them from the bondage sins and religion.

However, in the long run they will realized this mistakes and will soon accept Jesus as their messiah and Lord in a time specified by God.

Answer 3

Jews believe that the Messiah has not come yet. But think that the messiah will come in great power and might, that is why they believe that Jesus wasn't the Messiah.

Jesus IS the one and only true Christ and Messiah. =)

Answer 4

In fact, many Jews at the time of Christ did believe that He is the Messiah.

Answer 5

I think they were and still are looking for someone along the lines of King David. A great man to lead them. I think they still viewed Jesus as a prophet, but not the Messiah.

Answer 6

They're not looking for Jesus as you know him. They believe when the Messiah comes they will know him and Jesus isn't it. Actually it's pretty simple.

Answer 7

It's difficult for the Jews to believe in a Christ-like Missiah; they were really looking for a king to lead them into battle.

Answer 8

More and more of the Jewish Faith are accepting Jesus as the Messiah. There are two on here right now.

Answer 9

At the time of Christ they were looking for a King on this world (like David) to rule Israel and they rejected Christ's call for a heavenly kingdom. People today still do, Jew and gentile alike.

Yes, I believe they still look for a savior!

Answer 10

You don't believe unless it is given to you to do so.
You don't gate crash.
There are many that are gate crashers, they are in the churches all over the place.
The true believer believes in his spirit. It is an inner thing.
I can not even explain it well.
Many look for God in the reality of this world. It is of the spirit, not of this world.---as you can see I can not explain it well.

You have probably met a new born again Christian.
They act fruity, sort of crazy. They are dying to talk to you about Jesus. They want to talk about Jesus all the time. They talk about the Bible all the time. They seem to be possessed. Well they are, by the Holy Spirit of God.
They are elated, they want to share their joy with others, they want to give it away. It can not be given away. It is theirs, it was given to them. It is personal to them.
It is the inner.