What is Messianic Judaism?

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Jewish Roots Probably not since the first century CE has the Church seen believers so eager to know about and recognize the Jewish foundation of their faith. Today all over the world followers of Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth are beginning to understand His Jewishness and the Hebraic roots of His teachings. This new enthusiasm has paralleled the meteoric rise in the number of ethnically Jewish people worldwide who now recognize Yeshua as their Messiah. Quite often Christians will be moved to embrace the Jewish foundation of their faith after visiting Israel or after hearing about the Messianic fulfillment found in the appointed times of the L-rd G- d of Israel (Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, The Feast of Weeks, The Day of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, The Feast of Booths). Prophetically, the Church’s recognition of her Jewish roots may be linked with today’s Body of Messiah returning to resemble the Body of Messiah of the first century CE (Book of Acts). The apostles Peter (Shimon Kefa) and Paul (Shaul) are recognized as pivotal men in the establishing of Yeshua’s following. Interestingly, both men claimed at separate times that the Messiah Yeshua had not come to establish a new world religion, but rather had come to fulfill everything written in the prophetic writings of the Hebrew Scriptures, or “Tanakh” (see Acts 3:12- 26 and Acts 24:14). Yeshua Himself verified that He had not come to establish a new religion but instead helped His disciples to see that all of the Tanakh had spoken about Him (Luke 24:27). Living water flowing from a Rock, the bronze snake nailed to a pole, the Passover lamb, the binding of Isaac, Israel’s initial rejection of Joseph and Moses, the sacrificial system, the first set of stone tablets of the Law being broken, the Son of Man of Daniel 7, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, the Cornerstone rejected by the builders, the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15) who would defeat ha satan, the seed of Abraham through whom all nations would be blessed, and countless other words from the Law, the Prophets and the Writings all foretold the mission and life of Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel and the Light to the Gentiles. Thus, He came not as the founder of a new religion, but as the fulfillment of biblical Judaism. The New Covenant Scriptures not only catalog many of the ways in which Yeshua fulfilled messianic prophecy, but also show that members of His congregation, whether Jewish or from the nations, nonetheless take on a spiritually Jewish heritage. Gentile followers of Yeshua are grafted into the olive tree of remnant Israel (Rom. 11:16-24), become the offspring of Abraham (Rom. 4:16), are circumcised of the heart (Col. 2:11), have the Torah written on their hearts (Heb. 8:10), and are considered no longer foreigners but citizens of the commonwealth of Israel (Eph. 2:12). In the language of the prophetic writings of the apostle John, anyone who would come into the Bride of Messiah must necessarily enter through Israel (Rev. 21:9-12).
Is Yeshua the Messiah? To some, Yeshua (Jesus of Nazareth) seems like an unlikely candidate for the promised Messiah of Israel. Nearly 2,000 years ago, he was executed by Roman crucifixion after being rejected by the ruling council in Israel. His followers claimed he rose from the dead, fulfilling prophecy in the Tanakh. He then departed from Israel (and the rest of the world) but with a promise to return. Messianic hope has centered around G-d’s Anointed One being a political deliverer who would free Israel from gentile oppression and usher in a never-ending period of Israeli (and worldwide) peace. If Yeshua was the Messiah, he certainly did not fulfill that hope. How, then, could he possibly be G-d’s Anointed? Another way to pose the question is to ask: Did G-d give any scriptural evidence that the Messiah would initially be rejected by Israel, then depart from her for a long span of time, and finally return as her Redeemer? Interestingly, the lives of two prominent Hebrews closely fit such a pattern … Joseph was rejected by his brothers, the sons of Israel. As a result of this rejection, he was separated from them for many years. When they saw him again, the sons of Israel did not initially recognize him as one of their own, but rather as merely a gentile ruler. And the one whom they had rejected became their savior in the end, making provision for the entire house of Israel during a time of great famine. Joseph concluded that what his brothers had meant for evil, G-d had meant for good. Moses’ life followed a similar pattern. The children of Israel considered him merely a gentile ruler, and not as one of their own. He, too, like Joseph, was initially rejected. As a result, he went away for many years and was separated from his people. When he finally returned to them, G-d used him as their redeemer, freeing them from Egyptian bondage. Are G-d’s back-to-back accounts of the lives of Joseph (Genesis 37-41) and Moses (Exodus 1-12) merely coincidental in their similarity? Both men were initially rejected by Israel; both were separated from their people for many years; both were used by G-d to redeem Israel in a time of great need. Could not G-d have been using the lives of Joseph and Moses to point to the ultimate Redeemer of Israel? The biblical accounts of Joseph and Moses would explain how the true Messiah of Israel could be rejected by His own people, leave them for many years and yet one day return as their national Deliverer. The life of Yeshua of Nazareth fits that scenario, closely paralleling the lives of Joseph and Moses. In fact, a Grecian Jew of the first century CE, named Stephen, used the lives of Joseph and Moses as testimony (two witnesses) before the Sanhedrin that Yeshua was Indeed the promised Messiah, and that his life was perfectly foreshadowed in the Tanakh (see the Book of Acts, chapters 6 and 7).
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