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How Did Jewish Yeshua Become Gentile Jesus?
BY JONATHAN BERNIS
The Jewish followers of Jesus simply did not know what to do with the Gentiles. Their confusion shows that they did not think of themselves as members of a new religion; they considered themselves to be faithful, obedient Jews who accepted Yeshua as their Messiah and believed that they had forgiveness of their sins through faith in Him.
A
s believers in Yeshua (Jesus), we know that He fulfilled dozens of Messianic prophecies of the Tanakh that are central to Judaism and Messianic expectation. We also know that many first- century Jews recognized this and became early followers of Yeshua as the Jewish Mes- siah, while retaining their Jewish identity and continuing to observe practices such as worshiping on Shabbat. How then, did Yeshua come to be thought of as a blond- haired, blue-eyed Aryan figure—a man Jew- ish People do not recognize because He looks so much like a Gentile?
Sent to the Gentiles To understand how this change took
place, we first need to see that it was always God’s plan for the Messiah to bring the Gentiles into His Kingdom. Many verses throughout the Tanakh prove that this is true. In Genesis 12:3, for example, God says to Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” This promise to bless the
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entire world through Abraham’s descen- dants has two meanings. First, the Jewish people have fulfilled
this promise by blessing the world through the advancements they have brought to medicine, science, literature, and culture. In fact, although Jews make up only .0025 per- cent of the world’s population, they have won 23 percent of the Nobel Prizes since the award was established in 1901. Second and more importantly, God’s promise to Abraham refers to the fact that the Messiah, the Savior of all humankind, would come into the world through God’s Chosen people. Scriptures referring to this include:
“Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.” —Genesis 18:18
“I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” —Isaiah 42:6-7
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.” —Isaiah 49:6
The Magi Were Gentiles Zoroastrianism was an obscure religion
founded by Zoroaster, who is better known as Zarathustra. Zarathustra lived in Persia perhaps a thousand years before the birth of Yeshua. He believed in one God, the Cre- ator, and taught his followers to live good, moral lives. He also told them to keep watch because God was going to send a deliverer who would bring salvation. And watch they did, for years and years until one night, they saw a new star in the sky. Zara- thustra’s priests were called magi. The New Testament tells us that three
“wise men” from the East came to Bethle- hem to honor Yeshua shortly after His birth, bringing Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Matthew calls them magi and says that they stopped in Jerusalem and
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