As Jesus devoutly practiced Judaism as his religion, shouldn’t those that follow Jesus (Christians)…?

Question

…as a religious leader, god, or demigod, be practicing his religion i.e. Judaism?

I don’t think there would be much opposition to the statement that Jesus was a devoutly religious Jew.
Even the Christian gospels indicate this clearly. He was called a rabbi (Judaic religious teacher). He was very knowledgeable of the Judaic religious texts. He followed the Torah and observed religious feasts like Passover (the last supper was a Passover feast). In the last days of his life he drove the moneychangers from the temple because he felt they were defiling this holiest of Judaic sites. He regarded himself and was regarded by others as a Judaic prophet.

So why do Christians, the self-professed followers of Jesus, follow a different, religion (or group of religions) to Jesus? Why do they have Popes, heretics, saint, monks, nuns, George and the dragon, Santa Claus, crusades, televangelists, Christmas trees, the trinity, virgin births, purgatory, etc; all the trappings of Christianity that have nothing to do with Judaism or Jesus’s beliefs?
In the time of Jesus there was diversity in Judaism, there were, for example, Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, and Zealots. After his death there were also 2 (at least) varieties of Judaism that were started by Jesus’s family and disciples, based on Jesus’s teachings Ebonites and Nazarenes. However all these groups were Judaic in their theology and religious practices, and certainly did not resemble at all Christian theology or practices.

One should note the term Messiah means annointed one...not personal saviour. The Jewish Messiah was supposed to be a king to free the Jews from oppressors. In Jesus's time the Roman oppression

Answer 1

Wow------I am impressed at your question, I am a jew and a follower of the annointed King Yeshua now......this can be answered very easily but it will take just more then a few sentences to discuss the issue in fullness.

If you are a non-jew you may give homuge to G-d with the acknowledgement of the messiah Yeshua, you do not have to convert to judaism for this, for the messiah said: I HAVE SHEEP THAT ARE NOT OF THIS FOLD.

He [the messiah] mentioned this to the house of Israel, so ask yourself, is there another house he was implying it too?

The answer is yes and it is to the house of the children of Noah, in other words he was stating this comment to Israel about the children of Noah who are also sheep of his pasture for G-d has a covenent with them also.

But having quoted this, does not make those who call themselves christians his followers only to those who understands these writtings for if this message is hid it's hid from those who are lost, for the holy spirit teaches us the truth of his word.

Besides remember Paul's rebuke to Peter where he [Paul] watched Peter straying into hipocrocy because he sat with non-jews and when certain jewish men came around he would sit up and go unto them showing the jews prefferance over non-jews and upon Paul seeing this, he rebuked Peter to his face and said: you being a jew cannot keep all the commandments how can you put a burden on these non-jews.

I am quoting this from memory and I hope I am quoting it correctly if I am not, please accept my apology.

But you get the picture the essense of following the messiah dosen't revolve around judaism the messiah encumpasses all of this and more, judaism does not limit him in anyway shape or form. Now......if you told me that G-d is Judaism then I guess my message would then change right?

I must reply to what----- Lone ranger-----posted on the next page.

There is no problem in anything you have said and your doctrine is a good doctrine but on 1 issue of the Noahide laws you spoke against I must disagree with you there because,
a covenent is a treaty between 2 or more witnesses in this case G-d established a covenent between Noah and his children as an [everlasting covenent] in treaties one finds set of laws implemented in the agreement.

In this treaty G-d gives to Noah and his children a law and He states you shall not eat a limb [flesh] of an animal while it's life is still in him, that is it's blood surely for your life blood I will demand a reckoning. etc etc....... Another Law was that they could eat anything they so desired up untill then the only food man was legally aloud to eat was herb of the field and trees of the forest [vegetation].

But to get to why our rabbi's teach 7 noachide laws is due because Noah and their children were to be extentions of the example to the world since they were to begin colonising the entire world as Adam an eve did, but G-d did not make a covanent with Adam and eve he did however give them Laws to follow but a covenent was not explicitly given untill Noah, and a hint that there are 7 laws are found in the 7 colors of the rainbow that G-d placed to re-inact his remembrance to man that he would no longer destroy the earth for man's sake. I could go on and on I hope you can understand this and respond to it if you have any more questions regarding this teaching.

To recieve the specific laws [commandments] G-d instituted for all the world please contact me there is just to much information for this to be given here at yahoo answers. But it is biblical as I have been quoting it to you from Genesis 9:3 and on.

I make this final note to everyone here: That Yeshua's name means Savior in hebrew his name and the attribute of his name are inseperable, G-d's word is inseperable from himself he is One and the same and there is no other. The messiah was given to exersize [all] authority.

Candi-----may G-d richly bless you and your household.
You also had a great answer too, his word is sweeter then honey.

Answer 2

If you read the new testament you will see that the Holy Spirit was available to those that were following the Judaic laws and circumcision and to the Gentiles IF they dedicated their lives to God and followed Jesus. Christians that truly love God and want to do his will are going to follow the 10 commandments etc. but the dietary laws and other laws were laid out to the Jews only. Peter's vision in Acts 10 talks about what is clean and what is not so the Gentile believers were not forced to follow the Judaic laws. Many of the Jewish laws that were added beyond the 10 commandments were added by men and not God and Jesus often pointed out they were missing the reason and relationship of God's purpose.

There are about 100,000 Messianic Jews (Jews that believe Jesus was the messiah) that still follow the Judaic laws today.

Answer 3

Given the amount of posts that you have that are anit-Christian, why do you even care?

You had some good answers, and some of them even had a lot of correct facts, but, the real answer is that the simple religion of the Bible, which Christ followed, is not the religion of either Judaism or Christianity.

It would even be hard, at this point to send you to a website, not just because you have already shown yourself to be an enemy of the Truth, but because no single place or organization has all the Truth.

What can be shown, it the definition from God of who the Christians in the end time are. You may wish to think about these verse in light of what you have written in your "question":

Matthew 5:17 Let there be no thought that I have come to put an end to the law or the prophets. I have not come for destruction, but to make complete. 18 Truly I say to you, Till heaven and earth come to an end, not the smallest letter or part of a letter will in any way be taken from the law, till all things are done. 19 Whoever then goes against the smallest of these laws, teaching men to do the same, will be named least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who keeps the laws, teaching others to keep them, will be named great in the kingdom of heaven.

Did Paul really institue different standards for salvation between Jewish and Gentile believers?:

1 Corinthians 7:17 But as God has distributed to every man, as the Lord has called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.
18 Is any man called being circumcised (Jewish)? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision (Gentile)? let him not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

Looks like Paul did not make any difference in the requirements for Jew and Gentile. This section of scripture should give pause to those who teach a "Noahide Law", no such thing exists and it is not Biblical.

How does God define His end-time Church?

Revelations 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Answer 4

Could at least one of you people maybe leaf through the New Testament before you start making statements that show your ignorance?

Christians are not "followers of Jesus". We are followers of the God of Abraham. We believe that Jesus Christ is part of the trinity of God. He could hardly have followed a religion that included Himself. We believe that with His resurrection, the sins of mankind have been paid for, so we are no longer under the Law of Moses but under grace. Therefore, there is no need for a day of attonement, no food prohibitions, etc.

He didn't chase the money changers out of the temple because they were defiling "this holiest of Judaic sites". He did it because He said they were defiling His temple. That's in the New Testament, which you would know if you'd ever bothered to read it.

I could spend a lot of pages on those other things you mention, but as a matter of fact I've heard of Jews who have Christmas trees - a Germanic custom, I believe.

Just once, I'd like to see some Christian-basher come on here with something approaching a new and creative criticism, instead of the same old ignorance-fed harping. Tell you what - you go read the New Testament for real, actually talk (!) to some Christians, and then maybe you can come up with something a little less predictable.

Answer 5

While it is true that Jesus was a Jew, he also spoke out against the practices of the Pharisees (and the other Judaic diversions) as well. Matthew records a rather lengthy "sermon" in which Jesus mentions six areas he challenged by introducing each one as "you have heard it said", and then going on to say, "but I say unto you." He scathingly rebuked their habit of "teaching for doctrine the commandments of men". The fact that he was hated by the Jews sufficiently to demand the Romans put him to death should tell you that Jesus was not, in their eyes, a "model Jew".

Also, you need to consider that when Jesus died, he put an end to the "handwriting of ordinances, nailing them to the cross", all the laws of Moses that were written out on scrolls and stored in the side of the ark of the covenant, the rules governing the Jewish nation. This is not to be confused with the ten commandments which were written in stone and stored inside the ark. The entire sacrificial system ended then, too. That was made very plain when at the time Jesus breathed his last breath, the curtain in the temple separating the holy from the most holy place where the ark of the covenant was kept was torn in half by unseen hands, from the top down thus exposing the most holy place.

Jesus definitely made a new covenant with the people. Based on the old covenant which looked forward to a "savior", the Lamb of God, made with the Jewish people, the new was based on a "better sacrifice", Jesus. The new covenant was not only addressed to the Jews....it was for everyone. It had been God's intended purpose for the Jews to evangelise the world, but what they failed to do, Jesus now instructed Christians to do. Read the book of Acts.

Jews do not accept Jesus as the Messiah, the son of God, or acknowledge the death of Jesus for our sins. Jews are still , figuratively, living in the outer court of the sanctuary. Christians have enter into the holy place by their belief in the blood of Jesus. Jesus is the heart of the Christian belief. He was a illigitimate child who blashpemed God in the Jewish belief. There is no reconciliation of the two.

Answer 6

Yes Jesus was Jewish and he did live the Jewish traditions , SOME...... IF you will follow me here, maybe I can make this understandable.... *sigh*, ....... If you will read Isaiah 9 focus on verse 6, you will see references to Jesus, the promised son........ also through out the Bible the many names of God reveal more about him as time goes on..... that is for another time perhaps...... anyway, Jesus was dealing with the Jewish Nation, NOT the Gentiles, He came FIRST to the Jew....... If you remember Saul/Paul was the worst of worst when it came to pursecution of those who Followed Jesus, he wanted them ALL dead, BLASPHEMY, he said....... and Jesus own words told us that he KNEW he would be rejected by his own people.... He also told his diciples that he would be killed....... the cross had NOT happened yet !!!!! Remember Jesus' prayer in the garden, he was praying to the Father ??? about his own death ??? Even in the OT there are verses about Jesus' rejection by his own....... No Christianity does NOT resemble Judaism, it can not...... Judaism is before the Cross, Christianity is AFTER........ Hence the name...... the Jewish Nation was and still is UNDER law, we are NOT....... In truth if the Jewish people still went fully by their belief system they should still be sacrificesing and washing and all the other TRADITIONS of the Jewish ........ true ???? Jesus was NOTa devout Jew, he followed some of the Jewish traditions, I must correct myself from top statement here, He did NOT sacrifice, or many of the other things, but he did practice some do to the fact he was revealing WHO he was...... sorry, lost train of thought here....... but anyway, Jesus in his OWN words did in fact teach the things we Christians do live by and have *faith* in...... hope you get at least a little of what I am trying to say ....... go in peace..... God bless
PS...... thanks for the thumbs down......
PSS- just ignore my answer, after reading some of the others , geeeeeeeee, I feel, very humbled !!!!!!!

Answer 7

The Apostles Peter and Paul addressed this rather thoroughly - and it seems that the practice expected of Christians has more to do with what of the Jewish dietary and hygenic laws we gentiles are not required to observe than whether we follow the general underlying beliefs of Judaism - and certainly that we are expected to follow Christ, a departure from the Judaism held by most Jews to this day.

We do not reject the Jewish bible (the 'old testament'), but do embrace also the new covenant (new testament) - not so among non-messianic Jews - a difference.

Christ brought a new covenant that revealed to all that we are saved by grace and belief in Him as savior - we believe that Christ gave himself as the one perfect sacrifice for our sins - sacrifice being something of Judaism, but in His assuming this role something repugnant to many Jews in His time on earth (and still). This is a notable departure from what the Jews believed before Christ, and from what continues today between Christian and Jew - these would be crucial points of difference.

Yes, Jesus was a practicing Jew, a rabbi - but in His ministry departed from what was and is accepted by many Jews. To us Christians it seems that God had revealed Himself anew from among His chosen people.

Answer 8

Jesus was indeed a Jew, though (as you point out) Judaism assumed a variety of forms in the first century before and after Christ. Temple worship and animal sacrifice continued until 70 A.D. (or ACE if you prefer), when Rome destroyed the Temple, and Judaism was forced to take on a new form.

Jesus was devoutly religious, but questioned some aspects of belief and practice in His day. He also criticized what He saw as hypocrisy among its leaders, which didn't earn Him any friends.

Jesus' followers were also Jews, but their belief system changed after Jesus's death (especially as a result of Paul's teachings). It was thus natural for those who believed in Jesus to consider themselves Christians and not Jews.

There was also the issue of whether non-Jews could be Christians, which was eventually resolved on the yes side, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.

It is possible, of course, to embrace Judaism and to regard Jesus as a great teacher and, in His time, a devout Jew. But full acceptance of Jesus as Savior and Lord is possible only for a Christian.

Answer 9

You make a good point. In truth though, this is a period in Christian history where Christians by the millions in America (not sure about other regions of the world) are beginning to realize this and follow Jewish traditions. Not to become Jewish, but to return to the intent of the Law.

Those congregations I have had the privilage of knowing pretty much all reject the writings of the Rabbi's who added to the Bible and made more laws through their interpretations. They want to honor Jesus while also honoring the Sabbaths, the feasts and festivals, eating clean, and reaching back to gain understanding of the Hebrew roots of Christian faith.

I am not one of them, although I do adhere to much of the above.

Answer 10

If you'd read the Christian Gospels than you would know that the Pharisees and the Saducees were responsible for His being crucified by the Romans. The Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah (which was what He was and is) and persecuted Jesus' followers. So why don't we practice Judaism?

Answer 11

Brother, We gentile believers in Yeshua have no more burden to bear than those commandments which were laid down in Acts 15. Also we are to obey the commandments of God since Jesus said if ye love me keep my commandments. The Mosaic ceremonial law of sacrifice was done away with when Jesus our Passover lamb died on the cross. Now with that said I agree with much of what you say concerning the feasts. I think we Christians should know all about the Jewish roots of our Lord and the Bible. At my church we celebrate the passover every year, Our Pastor blows the shofar every Sunday before the sermon, I wear a Jewish prayer shawl at times when I pray and read the Bible, we keep all the festivals/feasts in our hearts, and we celebrate the Jewishness of our Lord and Christ. Some of us are also students of Hebrew to better understand the Torah and the Prophets. Just because it is not required of gentiles to follow Jewish customs does not make it wrong to do so out of honor to the God of Israel. The big shame comes when Christ is removed from being the center of our worship and Jewishness takes his place. This ought not to be. So yes if taken in proper perspective gentiles can celebrate like Messianic Jews do, but Jesus must always remain preeminent. Many Christians in the US including Roman Catholics, Methodists, Lutherens, & Presbyterians, and also other groups like Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses have a belief called "replacement theology" . This is a false teaching that the Church has replaced Israel and is now the recipient of all the promises made to Israel and to the Fathers, (Abraham .Isaac, and Jacob) as (the promises) are recorded by the Hebrew prophets and the New Testament. They are actually anti-Semitic and do not support God's chosen people. I do not believe this. I believe that the duty of Gentile and Jewish believers is to support Israel and that (as Paul said in Romans 11:26 ) And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: This will happen, how and when it will happen is God's business, but I believe that it is going to happen when as it is written in Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. As to why we have all those trappings you mentioned, remember you can not describe all of us by what some of us do. Dont put Christian Zionists in the same camp as those you mention above. We love Israel and the Jews.