This document discusses why Christians are not Jewish even though Jesus was a Jew. It explains that while Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Messiah, most Jewish people at the time did not accept him as the Messiah. It notes that the old Mosaic covenant has been replaced by a new covenant through Jesus' sacrifice, so Christians do not need to follow Jewish laws and traditions. The document concludes by expressing the hope that one day the Jewish people will come to believe in Jesus as their Messiah and Savior.

1. Jesus was a Jew, why aren't Christians Jewish? –14th
August 2017
“Nowto you who believe,this stone isprecious.But to those who donot believe, the stone the
buildersrejected hasbecome the cornerstone.” (1 Peter 2:7).
With the proliferation of various formsof religions inthe worldtoday, some inquire astowhy
Christiansdon’tfollowJudaism whenJesuswashimself aJew. The numberof livingJewishpeoplewho
believeinYeshua(Jesus’name inHebrew) numbers are insignificant,itisnoware nearto be the
majorityof the Jewishpeople. The bibletellsusthatthe Jewishpeoplewere waitingforthe comingof a
messiah. We can learnwhere Petersaidin Matthew16:16, “SimonPeter answered, “Youare the
Messiah,the Son ofthe livingGod.” Butevenfromthattime on Jewishpeople didnotacceptJesus
Christas the messiah. Tomany Jewishpeople,itmayseemratherstrange tothinkthat the Messiah
couldhave come,but that comparativelysofew Jewsbelieve inHim eventoday.Manytimes Jewstoday
question JewishbelieversinChrist, “So,withall the scholarsandrabbissearchingtodiscoverthe
Messiah,you’re the onlygeniustofigure thisout?” Asbeingourhumannature,mostof the time the
“truth” isdeterminedbythe majorityvote. However,asmuchas thismayplaya role in today’spolitics
of men,ithas little todowiththe truth of God.
From the bible we canlearnthat the Laws of Judaismwere giventoMoses forthe childrenof Israel ina
verysacredand special covenantatMount Sinai andrecordedforus in the bookof Exodus. We can
learnthisfrom Exodus20. In thiscovenant,Godwrote Hislawson tabletsof stone,andIsrael was
commandedtobe obedienttoall thatwas revealedtothem.Butthiscovenantwasonlya picture of a
NewandbettercovenantthatGod wouldone daygive to His people,bothJew andGentile.
Thisnewcovenant wasprophesizedbyJeremiahas recordedforusin Jeremiah 31:31-34, “The days are
coming,” declaresthe LORD, “whenI will make a new covenantwith the people of Israel and with the
people ofJudah.32
Itwill not be like the covenant I made withtheir ancestorswhen I took them by the
handto lead them out of Egypt, becausethey broke my covenant,thoughI was a husbandto them,”
declares the LORD. 33
“Thisisthe covenantI will make withthe peopleof Israel after that time,”
declares the LORD.“Iwill put my law intheir minds andwrite it on their hearts. I will be their God, and
they will be my people. 34
Nolonger will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Knowthe
LORD,’because they will all know me, fromthe leastof them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I
will forgivetheir wickedness andwill remember their sinsno more.”
In the HebrewScriptures(the Tanakh),the prophetIsaiahdeclaresthatmostJewishpeople wouldnot
recognize the MessiahwhenHe wouldfirstcome.We canlearnas statedin Isaiah53:1-3, “ Who has
believed ourmessage and to whomhas the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2
He grew up before him
like a tender shoot,and like a root out of dry ground.He hadno beauty or majestyto attract us to
him,nothingin hisappearancethat we shoulddesire him.3
Hewas despisedand rejected by mankind,
a man ofsuffering,andfamiliarwithpain.Like one fromwhom peoplehide their faces he was
despised,andwe held himin lowesteem.” God knew andrevealedtoIsaiaha truththat seemsobvious
once we understandit: The majorityof people don’twantGod’swayof salvation –not evenmany
Christianpeople! Infact,that’sexactlywhatIsaiahgoesonto say: “All we like sheep have gone astray,
each one has turned hisown way; but the Lord has laidon Him the iniquityofus all.” (Isaiah53:6).

2. In answeringthe questionastowhy Christians aren'tJewish whenJesuswasaJew, we can understand
that intoday’s contextChristiansdon’tfollow Judaismbecausethe Mosaiccovenanthasbeenfulfilled
withthe arrival of JesusChrist. We can learnfromwhere Jesussaid, “Donotthink thatI have come to
abolishthe Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolishthem but to fulfill them.” (Matthew5:17).
It ismade clear whenwe readfromwhere the writertothe Hebrewswrote, “Bycallingthiscovenant
“new,” he has madethe firstone obsolete; andwhat is obsoleteand outdatedwill soon
disappear.”(Hebrews8:13). We can learnthat inthe bible ithas beenprophesiedthatalthoughHe
wouldbe our sin-bearer,the true Messiahwouldbe rejectedbythe majorityof the Jewishpeoplewhen
He wouldfirstcome.Isaiahmakesthismatterclearwhenwe read Isaiah10:21, “A remnant will return,
a remnant of Jacobwill return to the MightyGod.”
Yes, Jesus wasa Jew butwe believethatHe isGod inflesh.We can readfrom 1 John4:2, “
This ishow
you can recognizethe Spirit of God:Every spirit that acknowledgesthatJesus Christhas come in the
fleshis from God.” AsChristianswe don’tneedtofollowthe oldcovenantanylongerbecause thatold
covenanthasbeenreplaced. Asstatedin Jeremiah31:31-34 we now have a bettercovenant,witha
bettersacrifice,administeredbyabetterHighPriest! We can learnthisfrom Hebrews 10:19-23,
“Therefore, brothers, sincewe have confidenceto enter the Most HolyPlace by the bloodof Jesus,by a
new and livingwayopened for us throughthe curtain,that is, hisbody, andsince we have a great
priest over the houseof God,let us draw near to Godwith a sincere heart in full assuranceof faith,
havingour hearts sprinkledto cleanse usfrom a guiltyconscience andhavingour bodieswashedwith
pure water. Let us holdunswervinglyto the hope we profess, forhe whopromised isfaithful.”
Thoughthe Scripturesmake clearthe phenomenonof general unbelief, there will be some whostill
wonderhowthe rabbiscouldhave “missedit”. The MessiahwhomGod promisedandsentwasnot the
‘Messiah’whomthe worldorthe rabbiswere lookingfor. TheywantedaMessiahwhowould
immediatelyremove RomandominationfromIsrael andreturnittoitsformerglory. But the purpose of
Jesus’ comingwasto be the atoningsacrifice forsins of humanity asthe perfectPassoverLamb. Rather
than vindicate the self-righteousjudgmentof the rabbis, JesusChristinsistedthatthe religiousleaders
of Israel repentaswell! Thiswasintolerable forthe rabbinical leaders,and,though manyinIsrael did
accept Yeshuaas Messiah,the majorityof the Jewishpeople andrabbisrejectedHim, justasthe
prophetspredicted. We canlearnfrom Isaiah28:16, “So thisis what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I
lay a stone inZion,a tested stone, a preciouscornerstone for a sure foundation;theone who relies on
it will never be stricken with panic.”
As Christianswe hope andpraythat there will come aday when the Jewish peopleasa nationwill come
to believein JesusChristastheirMessiahand Saviour.The Prophetsalsospoke of thisfuture day as
statedin Zechariah 12:10, “AndI will pour outon the houseof Davidand the inhabitantsofJerusalem
a spiritof grace and supplication.Theywill lookon me, the one they have pierced,and they will
mournfor him as one mournsfor an onlychild,andgrieve bitterly for himas one grieves for a
firstbornson.” We can alsolearnwhenPeterstates: “Nowtoyou whobelieve, thisstone is precious.
But to thosewho do not believe, the stone the buildersrejected hasbecome the cornerstone.” (1 Peter
2:7).