If Jesus was a Jew, why should we be Christians?

Question

If a non-believer asked me this question, what is the best answer?

Answer 1

Hello Kiya,
That is a wonderful question! Christ was the Messiah who was prophesied in the Jewish writings. HE came and died so that we would have an opportunity to be saved from eternaql HELL. The Jewish People were under the Law and had to return to the HOLY LAND each year to be pardoned from their sins. We have an unblemished Lamb who died sinless so that we would be able to be (Baptized) Cleansed of our sins and develope a relationship with our FATHER that allows us to pray throughy HIS ONLY SON for our sins that are committed afterwards. The New Testament tells us what is important in our religious worship and everything that we need to continue to do for HIM. Read, study, and obey HIS WORD! Have a wonderful week.
Thanks,
Eds


.

Answer 2

Yes Jesus was a Jew. However, the answer to your question can be found by looking at the difference between Jews and Christians. Christians are believers in Jesus Christ and His message. Jews do not look at Jesus as the Messiah. They just view Him as a human, not divine. So, we Christians are called Christians because we believe and follow the message and teachings of Jesus.

Answer 3

Jesus being a Jew was just the race He came as, that is because for a reason we cannot understand, God chose the people of Israel as His chosen people, that is why he was a Jew. We are following Jesus not Judaism or any other religion, besides Jesus was before the world began and after it's all over He will still be here, and He only spent 33years here as a man, so the focus should be on why He came and what He did for us not his race.

Answer 4

Simply put.....
Back then the Jewish people believed that a Messiah was going to be sent by God to help them and teach them a better way. He would be the "Christ" of legendary prophecy hence the word "Christians" who believe in Christ.

When they ask you that question they do not want to be preached to, they just want the quick answer. When you start going through the story in detail and it seems you are trying to convert that is when you loose your audience - so to speak - and that is when they loose interest. People now adays want the quick answer and let it go. If they are meant to be converted they will come back and ask another question, ect ect. But keep it short and sweet and make sure your answers seem like you know it off the top of your head and that the answer is like common knowledge to you and then go to the next subject in the conversation. This is the how you teach and never preach. Just answer the questions before you.

Answer 5

we as Christians believe in the same God and the same revelation they do, plus the New Testament. As the Holy Father once pointed out, Christians are all "spiritual Semites" (spiritually united with the Jews and the faith of Abraham). Basically, Christians are what you could call "Messianic Jews", that is, we are "adopted" Jews who believe Jesus was the long awaited Jewish Messiah…the Savior. We have been grafted into the family tree. Of course, our faith has grown considerably from there as well. While we have significant theological differences with traditional Judaism (primarily revolving around Christ), our understanding of morality is of the same basic cloth.

We should never forget our roots. We should never forget that Jesus was a Jew (who attended synagogue), as were his mother and adoptive father, all the apostles and even the first pope (Peter). Almost all of the first "believers" were Jews, and they all attended synagogue as well. While it is true that some Jews called for His execution (particularly those threatened by Jesus as a potential leader who threatened their hold on power) , the Catechism reminds us that every human who has ever lived bears responsibility for his crucifixion. We are all responsible.

As Christians, we believe that, in rejecting Jesus, most of the Jews rejected their own Messiah, as prophecy foretold (Isaiah 53:3-4, Hosea 11:4). As the apostle Paul points out in Romans 11, this is part of a mystery, wherein God used their lack of faith-response in order to bring the Gentiles (non-Jews) into His family. While there continue to be Jews who come to accept Jesus as the Jewish Messiah throughout history, we prayerfully hope for the day when the Jews will most fully come to accept Jesus and be "grafted back into the tree" (which St. Paul also writes about in Romans 11).

Answer 6

Jesus was a Jew but He came to fulfill the Covenant God had with the Jews. Jesus said he came first for the Jew and then the gentile. To be a Jew one would have to place themselves under the Old Covenant law and rituals. Jesus makes it clear that these rituals are not required for Gentiles.

Answer 7

The term Christianity didn't come about till way after Jesus died. However, your question is not so logical. Jesus' thoughts and preaching was apocalyptic. He thought the Kingdom of Heaven was going to happen in his lifetime as he alluded to, but it didn't happen.

So Jesus was a Jew bringing a message, so? What does his ethnic background have to do with what he preached? Accordingly, he was the fulfillment of the Old Testament in his messiahship.

Answer 8

Jesus truly IS the Jewish Messiah.

"Christian" was originally used as a derogatory term. Prior to the use of that term, they were either "disciples", or "of the way", etc.

Paul rebuked those who preached that to become a Christian (ie a follower of Jesus) that you first had to become a Jew. They were called "Judaisers", and they said that men had to first become circumcised as a Jew before they could follow Jesus, but Paul rebuked that teaching.

Being a Christian, according to Paul, meant that you, as a wild branch, were grafted in to the tree, contrary to nature.

I hope this helps.

Answer 9

Christianity came out of Judaism. It is its own religion, yet it is very much dependent on Judaism. In the beginning of the Jesus Movement there was not much distinction between Judaism and Christianity. Most of the early "Christians" simply viewed themselves as followers of the correct Judaism. However, over time, a substantial chasm grew between Jews who accepted Christ as Messiah and those who did not. As a result, there is now a clear demarcation between Judaism and Christianity.

Answer 10

cause the covenant with Jews finished after his death according to Daniel 9:27 and Matthew 23:37 also Ephesian 2:15.