It is important to state that Messiah.
Most have many misconceptions obscuring the true identity of Jesus—many of them derived from a 2,000-year legacy of misunderstanding about the Jewishness of Jesus. We’re going to look at just ten of the most significant lies about Jesus and His Jewishness that separate Him from His Jewish People.
Jesus Only Appears in the New Testament A common argument is that Jesus is not found in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament—that He is a Christian or Gentile creation, only mentioned in the New Testament. True, the name “Jesus” is not found in the Old Testament, as it is an anglicized version of the Greek name Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous).
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According to Mathew 1:21, the Hebrew name Yeshua was the given name for Jesus. He was born in Israel, among a Hebrew-speaking people who understood that His Name meant “salvation” or “God saves.” Mathew 1:21 says, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Many Bibles will contain this footnote: “Hebrew: Yeshua (Joshua), meaning Te LORD saves.”
Biblical names commonly reveal the character, atributes, or destiny of a person. Tis is exactly the case with the name Yeshua—the reason for His existence is to save His People from their sins. Here are just a few examples: • Te LORD is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation. —Exodus 15:2
• Te Lord has made His salvation known . —Psalm 98:2
• I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. — Isaiah 49:6
In these verses—and more than 150 times throughout the Old Testament— the word salvation is the Hebrew word DREYI Yeshua (ye•shu•ah). He existed from the beginning, and His Hebrew Name is found throughout the Hebrew Scriptures in amazing prophecies.
The Jewish People
Rejected Jesus as Their Messiah Both Judaism and Christianity have promulgated the lie that the Jewish People rejected Jesus as their Messiah for almost 2,000 years. I was raised as a child in a Jewish home with the understanding that I was born a Jew, that I was to die a Jew, and anyone who wasn’t Jewish was a Christian or a Gentile. I also understood that Jewish identity meant one thing: Jews don’t believe in Jesus. But that is a lie—the Jews have not rejected Jesus.
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However, the entire New Testament story took place in the Land of Israel— the Land of the Jews. Jesus was a Jew. He declared Himself the Messiah of Israel. All of His followers were Jews. Te disciples were all Jews, as were the 120 in the Upper Room. Te 3,000 that came to faith on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, or Pentecost, “grew to about 5,000,” according to Acts 4:4. So
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JewishVoiceToday.org | November/December 2011
there is a record of thousands of Jewish Believers in the promised Messiah of Israel, and they took the Gospel around the world.
The Jews Killed Jesus Te grievous lie that the Jews killed Jesus and that God has cut them off irrevocably is the cornerstone of deception, causing a 2,000-year legacy of hatred, anti-Semitism, and persecution of Jewish People in the name of Christ and Christianity. Tis is the foundation of Replacement Teology, an erroneous doctrine claiming the Jews are under eternal punishment, and have been replaced by the Church.
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It wasn’t the Jews as a whole who killed Jesus. Tere was a small group of Jewish leaders, in addition to a crowd that shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” At the same time, however, thousands of Jews were followers of the Messiah!
Te pinnacle of the Gospel is that Yeshua, Jesus, laid down His life for you and for me:
have not rejected Jesus. They simply haven’t heard a Gospel message they can identify with or a biblically authentic representation of their
I believe Jewish People
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