Why do Christians believe more in Jesus than most Jews?

Question

This is a confusing triangle, as Jesus was Jew all of his life, the Christian Church was started by his disciples, but the Jews disregard Jesus as the son of God, but rather a prophet or even a delusional. Actually, I could be wrong. Correct me if I am wrong.

Answer 1

As Jews we don't view Jesus as a prophet or 'minister' as someone has claimed in their answer. The simple fact is that Jesus does not feature at all in Jewish theology.

Jesus was, as you rightly say, a Jew all his life; he lived and died a practising Jew. He never stated that G-d's eternal covenant with the Jews was obsolete, or being replaced.

The Jews were used to radicals and false messiahs, and Jesus was just one more, out of many.

Crucially, as Jews we are given detailed advice in the Torah, about how to identify the real messiah. He/she must

- usher in world peace
- be a normal human, not part divine
- achieve certain things and if even ONE is not done, this person is not the real messiah
- be from the line of King David
- achieve everything in one normal, human lifespan, before dying; no second chances/second comings
- NOT perform magic nor miracles

Now clearly, none of this describes Jesus. In fact, it all proves to us as Jews that, according to what OUR bible says, Jesus could not possibly have been the messiah.

I see some Christians arguing every day on this site that we as Jews are simply deluded. I find that arrogant of them, because they claim Jesus is mentioned in the Torah. But he isn't, and anyone who thinks he is is ALWAYS relying on wrongly translated Hebrew.

No Jews accepts Jesus as messiah - the very idea is heretical to us because Judaism teaches that G-d is G-d and man is man and G-d NEVER becomes flesh.

Anyone who you see claiming they are 'jewish' but that they also believe in Jesus is NOT JEWISH. They are 'messianics' which means they are Christians.

A person cannot be both Jewish and Christian just as a person cannot be both Catholic and Hindu.

Hope this answer has helped :)

For more info, check out http://www.whatjewsbelieve.org/

EDIT TO ASKER

I'm sorry that you have mostly been given incorrect answers. I know that the non Jews are answering in good faith and they mean well - but in all honesty, and logically only a Jew can give you the right answer as to why Jews don't accept Jesus! I would never presume to answer on behalf of another religion, yet many people here do.

Oh, and a word of caution: MARJI has given you an incorrect answer as well. I have outlined in my response the SPECIFIC reasons why we don't recognise Jesus as messiah. They are the reasons that any and all Jews will give you.

MARJI's reasons are not correct, and stem from the fact that she is a Jew who has converted to Christianity. I respect her choices and wish her well, but I wish she'd stop answering on behalf of Jews, when she is now a Christian! I would NEVER presume to answer for a Christian; why can't we be shown the same respect? :)

Answer 2

J*sus failed to dulfill the requirements and prophecies related to the Jewish messiah

The Sanhedrin will be re-established (Isaiah 1:26)
Once he is King, leaders of other nations will look to him for guidance. (Isaiah 2:4)
The whole world will worship the One God of Israel (Isaiah 2:17)
He will be descended from King David (Isaiah 11:1) via Solomon (1 Chron. 22:8-10)
The Moshiach will be a man of this world, an observant Jew with "fear of God" (Isaiah 11:2)
Evil and tyranny will not be able to stand before his leadership (Isaiah 11:4)
Knowledge of God will fill the world (Isaiah 11:9)
He will include and attract people from all cultures and nations (Isaiah 11:10)
All Israelites will be returned to their homeland (Isaiah 11:12)
Death will be swallowed up forever (Isaiah 25:8)
There will be no more hunger or illness, and death will cease (Isaiah 25:8)
All of the dead will rise again (Isaiah 26:19)
The Jewish people will experience eternal joy and gladness (Isaiah 51:11)
He will be a messenger of peace (Isaiah 52:7)
Nations will end up recognizing the wrongs they did to Israel (Isaiah 52:13-53:5)
The peoples of the world will turn to the Jews for spiritual guidance (Zechariah 8:23)
The ruined cities of Israel will be restored (Ezekiel 16:55)
Weapons of war will be destroyed (Ezekiel 39:9)
The Temple will be rebuilt (Ezekiel 40) resuming many of the suspended mitzvot
He will then perfect the entire world to serve God together (Zephaniah 3:9)
Jews will know the Torah without study (Jeremiah 31:33)[original research?]
He will give you all the worthy desires of your heart (Psalms 37:4)
He will take the barren land and make it abundant and fruitful (Isaiah 51:3, Amos 9:13-15, Ezekiel 36:29-30, Isaiah 11:6-9)

Answer 3

Christians believe that Jesus was a God, Jews don't.

Its really that simple.

Love that answer above me. Why is your God so intent on sending people to hell? God blinded them, because they kept making mistakes and is waiting for the end of time for the big reveal, then they will be sorry as they are being tortured for eternity.

Religion of LOVE?

Answer 4

It is not that us Christians believe "more" in Jesus than Jewish people rather they believe that he was something different, Muslims also believe in Jesus, the Jews believe that he existed but that he was a lunatic and not a prophet, the Muslims believe he was a minor prophet whereas Christians believe that he was and is the Son of God. We see Him as the Savior of Mankind and that His next appearance on Earth will be to judge us at the day of judgement.

Answer 5

God will help the Jews, In Rev.19:11-14 You see Jesus coming back with his Bride which is those armies in Rev. 19:14 to rule & reign upon this earth for 1000 yrs. Gog & magog is Talking about Moscow & Russia.

Answer 6

The answer to how something that was so "Jewish" then (remember - all the first followers of Jesus were Jews) became so "not" today is long and complicated - just like the history between the time of His first followers to today. You have Titus, the Bar Kochba revolt, the ejection of all Jews from Jerusalem, the shift in church leadership from Jewish to Gentile believers, the political climate and subsequent desire to distance themselves from "all things Jewish" - councils and edicts - Crusades and Pogroms - with lots of "details" in between. The modern Jewish attitude toward Jesus is a result of all this and more.
I was once asked a similar question by a student - and we spent 7 weeks discussing the answer. If you're really interested, email me and I'll send you my lecture notes.

Answer 7

uh... Jesus was a Jew, yes, but because he perceived problems (man-made problems) in Judaism (which originally had been GOd's true religion, according to the Bible) his followers founded a "new" religion (Christianity) based on his teachings..

Christians see Jesus as the son of God, the messiah that Judaism predicted, and our perfefct example/redeemer

Jews do not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah.. they see him as simply a human.

Pretty simple, really..

Answer 8

I couldn't say for certain, but I would be persuaded to believe that it stems from the Jew's view of Christ as nothing more than a prophet rather than the Messiah they were looking for. Think about it....The Jews are under occupation from Rome and are looking for a conquering King, not a suffering servant! They're not looking for redemption from their sins, but from human oppression! They didn't realize that the prophecy contained in the Law was to save their souls instead of their bodies and when He came in all humility as the Sacrifice He was intended to be, it hindered their understanding further and enraged them that he would speak so highly of Himself as their long-awaited Messiah.

Answer 9

Its a pity really, Yeshua was totally Jewish & He is coming
back soon. When Jews see the nail prints in His hands &
feet, they will know who He is. Many Jews today are realizing
that Yeshua is their Messiah & fulfilled all the prophecies, He
was supposed to at the time & will do the rest the 2nd time.

Answer 10

They were looking for someone to come back as a King, not as the Saviour of the world. Yet, He's both. This is one of the reasons why they didn't believe that He is their King. Yet, He's "the" King and Saviour of all people.

Up Date:

shockosh..., what makes you believe that Jesus wasn't a Jew?