Understanding........

[koberstein]

And all heavenly blessings are in Christ

Ephesians 1:3 (KJV 1900) — 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

and in Christ

Galatians 3:28 (ESV) — 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

To the Jew First – The Meaning of Romans 1:16​

BY FIRM STAFF
9 MIN READ
AUGUST 16TH, 2021

MESSIANIC BIBLE TEACHINGS
To the Entire World, but… To the Jew First
The Apostle Paul tells us, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (emphasis added). This verse, Romans 1:16, reminds us that the Jewish people have a distinct calling and a purpose.

What Does ‘To the Jew First’ Mean?​

So, what is that calling and purpose? What does to the Jew first actually mean? Firstly, consider God’s eternal plans and purposes. Remember that God chose Israel to receive His law first and His Son came to the Jewish people first. The Creator planned for the Gospel to come out of Jerusalem.
Isaiah 49:6 speaks of the Jewish people being made a light unto the nations, so that salvation reaches to the end of the earth. Then, Isaiah 56:7 describes a future Jerusalem that will be a house of prayer for all nations. What can we take away from that?
We see that the plan of redemption is not limited to the Jewish people, or to Israel. Instead, it starts in Jerusalem and expands outwards—just as Jesus told the disciples before He ascended to heaven, as described in the book of Acts.

From Jerusalem to the Ends of the World​

The disciples were hungry to know whether Jesus returned to restore the Davidic Kingdom. To which He replied:
“…It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1: 7-8)
We see here again that the Great Commission begins in Judea and Samaria, and then extends to every nation.
God links the Jewish people with the Church in His Great Commission and to fulfill His Word. The Good News needs to reach both Israel and the nations. It will go “…to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.”
By giving “to the Jew first”, we honor God’s design. We bless the people He chose, and we seek the fulfillment of His promises. Pastor Robert Morris of Gateway Church in Texas said:

1% To the Jew First​

“I really believe that one of the greatest blessings Gateway Church has ever experienced is because we take the gospel to the Jew first and we bless Israel, so we took a tithe of the tithe… In other words, 1% of our budget [goes] to ministries reaching the Jews with the Gospel. We give that money to ministries who are blessing Israel.”
Many people know Hudson Taylor for the profound and lasting impact he had on the spread of the gospel in China. But not many know that on January 1st of each year, Taylor wrote a check to a group dedicated to blessing the Jews of Europe. On that check he always wrote four simple words: “to the Jew first”.
Hudson Taylor understood that there is spiritual power in prioritizing what God said to put first. He believed what the apostle Paul had grasped thousands of years before. That the Word of God links the awakening of the Jewish people to the success of spreading the Good News to the whole world. And this was the original calling of the Jewish people all along!

‘To the Jew first… and also to the Greek’​

‘And also’ is not an afterthought—think of it more like a “so that”: salvation is to the Jew first. So that the Jewish people can fulfill their original destiny of bringing the gospel of the Messiah to the nations. In Romans 11:11, Paul gives a beautiful summary of the gentile calling. It is to stoke up jealousy in the Jewish people through their faith in Jesus, the Messiah of Israel.
“So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.”
Verse 12 continues with a glorious promise:
“Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!”
All of this is a cause for celebration and hope, as we can see that God’s redemptive plan included the nations all along! Even though the revelation was given to the Jewish people first, while the gentile nations were far away and removed from the Messiah. Israel had a means of accessing the Lord, whereas the Gentiles were not even able to enter His presence.

Salvation for Every Nation​

Greeks had neither the law, nor the covenants, nor the prophets to guide them. The nations were left to either “seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him” (Acts 17:27) as Rahab, Ruth, and Naaman did, or to choose to remain in their sin and idolatry.
“But now in Messiah Yeshua you who once were far off (Gentiles) have been brought near by the blood of Messiah. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments…that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two.” (Ephesians 2:13-15)
One day the Lord would make His house a place for all nations. This coming reality was prophesied in places like Isaiah 56 and Zechariah 8. In other words, the nations would be able to join themselves to Israel in varying ways in order to draw near to the Lord. Jesus flung open the doors to God’s presence!

Who Preached to the Gentiles?​

The Great Commission, alluded to in the Old Testament, was fully spelled out by Jesus. He defied all expectations by teaching and ministering to gentiles, notably the Roman Centurion in Matthew 8:5-13, the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:21-28) and the Samaritan woman. (Samaritans were likened to gentiles because of their mixed race.)
In Matthew 8:11, Jesus says,
“I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”
After His resurrection, Jesus gave the commission to the disciples to preach to the gentiles. At the same time, He commanded them to stay in Jerusalem until the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2, we read that the Holy Spirit was poured out on three thousand Jewish worshippers.
Later, in Chapters 8 and 10, the gospel goes forth to the gentile. Philip the Apostle leads an Ethiopian Eunuch to faith, and Peter visits Cornelius. Through the Apostle Paul’s ministry, the gospel went out to through the Roman Empire, which included parts of Asia Minor.

‘To the Jew I Became a Jew’​

The disciples taught us how to fulfill God’s calling while also keeping His priorities straight. Even in the apostle Paul’s ministry to the gentiles, he always preached to the Jew first. He preached in synagogues first, and, even if he was not well received, he refused to stop.
Paul was expert cultural anthropologist, tailoring the delivery and method of the gospel to his audience. He posited his query as a philosopher go the Athenians. And to the Jewish people, he became a Jew, preaching and teaching in a way that would make sense.
Paul said, “to those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.”
“To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:20-22)

How to Apply Romans 1:16 in Our Lives​

To the Jew First: is there a way to make this applicable in our lives? We hope that the examples of Hudson Taylor and Robert Morris inspired you. If you tithe regularly, consider giving your first percent to Israel – so that all God’s people can know their Messiah and Savior.
Because as the apostle Paul said, the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

What does “To the Jew first” mean for me?​

Does your life have a calling? Think about it for a moment… We spend a lot of our time working, going to school, staying busy, taking care of our families. And we fill the free moments with entertainment, hobbies or socializing.
In the midst of this, and with all the usual cares of life, it can be easy to forget that God has called us. He chose us by name. Not only do we have all our days at our disposal, but also, we have a destiny and a purpose!

Both Jew and Gentile are chosen and called by God. But (and yes, there is a ‘but’) our callings look a little different. Just as both women and men are equally called and equipped by God, we still have different gifts and serve differently.
The book of Ephesians tells us that as believers in Jesus, we were chosen before the foundation of the world. And in love, God predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ in and for Himself (Ephesians 1:4).

 

[koberstein]

And all heavenly blessings are in Christ

Ephesians 1:3 (KJV 1900) — 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

and in Christ

Galatians 3:28 (ESV) — 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

We serve side by side in these Last Days, prayerfully working towards the Day when all of Israel recognizes Yeshua, the Savior of the Jewish People and indeed, the entire world.​

Messianic Judaism is a Biblically based movement of people who, as committed Jews, believe in Yeshua (Jesus) as the Jewish Messiah of Israel of whom the Jewish Law and Prophets spoke.
To many this seems a glaring contradiction. Christians are Christians, Jews are decidedly not Christian. So goes the understanding that has prevailed through nearly two thousand years of history.
Messianic Jews call this a mistaken – and even anti-Scriptural – understanding. Historical and Biblical evidence demonstrates that following Yeshua was initially an entirely Jewish concept. Decades upon decades of persecution, division, and confused theology all contributed to the dichotomy between Jews and believers in Yeshua that many take for granted today.​

FIRST CENTURY BELIEVERS IN YESHUA​

Two thousand years ago Yeshua was a Jew living among Jewish people. “Yeshua,” by which Jesus was called during his time on earth, is itself a Hebrew word for “Salvation.” Yeshua kept Torah, or the Law of Moses. He studied the Jewish Scriptures that many now know as the “Old Testament,” and read them aloud at the local synagogue on Shabbat (Luke 4:16). He was called rabbi (Teacher/Master) by his followers.
“Think not that I came to abolish the law and the prophets: I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17
After His death and resurrection, His following increased. From the book of Acts and other historical evidence, many believe that in the first century A.D. hundreds of thousands of Jews followed His teachings (Acts 2:41, 2:47, 4:4, 6:7, 9:31, 21:20), and established Messianic Synagogues throughout the Roman Empire and beyond (James 1:1, 2:2).
One of the first debates these early disciples faced seems ironic to us now: Could non-Jews participate in the community of Yeshua’s followers without becoming Jews? At the very birth of Judaism, God had told Abraham that He would bless all nations of the earth through Abraham’s offspring (Genesis 12.3). Accordingly, the apostolic council in Acts 15 decided that non-Jews could follow Yeshua without converting to Judaism.
Many factors intervened in the following years. Believers in Yeshua suffered increased opposition from both Roman authorities and Jewish synagogue leaders. As more and more Gentiles came to accept this faith and as the original Jewish apostles passed away, the Jewishness of that first-century faith was gradually lost.​

MODERN MESSIANIC JUDAISM​

Though Messianic Judaism itself dates back to Yeshua’s twelve apostles, its “resurrection” is a relatively new phenomenon.
In the late 1800s, after several large-scale “revivals” among protestant believers in the United States and Europe, many Christians sought to tell Jewish people about Yeshua, or Jesus. Even as some Jewish people in Europe began to desire to return to the land of Israel and establish a permanent Jewish homeland there, the Lord stirred many Jews to look at the so-called “Christian Bible,” or New Testament Scriptures, for themselves.
Centuries of continuing anti-Semitism in the name of Jesus had left the Jewish community skeptical. But some Jewish men and women did become followers of Yeshua during this time. In the following decades whole congregations of Jewish believers in Jesus were born. This movement was dubbed “Hebrew Christianity.”
“They are the Israelites, and to them belong the Son-ship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Messiah!” Romans 9:4-5
“Hebrew Christianity” has since become known as “Messianic Judaism.” There are now tens of thousands of Messianic Jews in the United States alone; some estimate as many as 1.2 million. Messianic synagogues are springing up in almost every major city across the U.S., and Messianic Judaism is quickly growing in other nations throughout North and South America, Europe, Oceania, and the former Soviet republics.
Christianity later became the state religion of the Roman Empire. Eventually an anti-Semitic view of the Messiah’s life and death became accepted theology in Christian Europe for hundreds of years. Messianic Jews recognize that their existence is entirely due to God’s intervention on behalf of His Jewish people. Messianic Judaism is part of the fulfillment of God’s many Scriptural promises of eternal love and faithfulness to Israel.​

THE MESSIANIC JEWISH IDENTITY​

The “Messianic Jewish identity” is wholly dependent on the person of Yeshua: God Himself comes to earth to reconcile the Jewish people and all nations to Himself. (See our Statement of Faith to find out more.)
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6
The foundation of Messianic Judaism, therefore, is each individual’s personal relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through Messiah Yeshua. In the Hebrew Law God clearly demands a blood sacrifice for the remittance of sins. Each Messianic Jew recognizes his or her own sinfulness and has accepted that Yeshua Himself provided this sacrifice.
Another important aspect of the Messianic Jewish movement is Jewish congregational worship. If Yeshua really is the Jewish Messiah of whom all the Jewish Law and Prophets spoke, then it is the most Jewish thing in the world to follow Him!
Should Jews really attempt to assimilate into churches and forego their Jewish identity when they choose to put their faith in the Jewish Messiah? Messianic Judaism answers, “No!” As Yeshua Himself embraced His Jewishness, Messianic Jews seek to embrace theirs, by meeting in congregational communities with other Jewish believers and by maintaining a Biblically Jewish expression of their faith. Every congregation is different, but this expression often means worshiping in Hebrew, following Mosaic Law, dancing as King David did before the Lord, and keeping Biblical holidays such as Pesach, Sukkot, or Shavuot.
Also important is Messianic Judaism’s ministry to both the Jewish community and the Christian body of believers. Messianic Jews are part of the larger Body of Messiah throughout the world, and Messianic Jews hope to help all believers in Yeshua to better understand the Jewish roots of their faith. Finally, Yeshua declared that no-one can comes to the Father – the God of Israel – except through Him (John 14:6). Messianic Jews seek to share this way, this truth, and this life with their Jewish brothers and sisters.​

 

[koberstein]

And all heavenly blessings are in Christ

Ephesians 1:3 (KJV 1900) — 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

and in Christ

Galatians 3:28 (ESV) — 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

​ ​

​ ​ ​ From Messianic Jewish Alliance of America General Secretary – Joel Chernoff March 17, 2024 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way, to be generous in every way, which will produce thanksgiving to God. (ESV) II Corinthians 9:10-11 Nosh: This is how God’s economy works. As we are generous with others, especially the poor and needy, God is generous with us. As we sow by sharing our resources with others, God directs more resources to our management. He increases our supply of blessing, which enables us to give and share that blessing to more people, thus bringing glory to God. I have found that living a giving and sharing life and being an active partner in God’s generous economy rather than my own self-centered enterprise is a much more fulfilling and rewarding lifestyle. As the Messiah Yeshua says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). www.mjaa.org Copyright © 2024 Messianic Publishing Company. Use by permission only. All rights reserved.

 

[koberstein]

All of us tend to "flock" to those we "feel connected to". Which has created many denominations and many mistakes. I have a "low threshold" for redemption. I only require sincerity toward Jesus Christ. Most people are so consumed with traditions and the desire to "fit in" that they will never know what it is really know God in this life.

What I said was simply true. I say what I believe to be true. The vast majority of Messianic Judaism is no different than modern Judaism. "Christ" is nothing more than a name.....

There is nothing of lasting value to be found in any traditions associated with Messianic or modern Judaism. It is not a requirement. It is a preference at best. At worst, it is a means to reject the loving and caring nature of God in Jesus Christ.

It is ridiculous for any sensible person to accept the claims a Jew makes to privileges that no other men have. Christ died for all men. All men are equal. Those promises are Eternal and are exclusively OWNED by Messiah.

Messianic Judaism is vastly different from Orthodox and Reformed Judaism. If you would have visited their synagogues you would already know that. So what you say is totally untrue and false as most things you expound about Judaism. I would probably never set my foot in some of the protestant churches except for a funeral for a friend because most of them are nothing more than social clubs at best. Instead of spreading falsehoods about Messianic Judaism it would serve you better to attend a Messianic service on Shabbat and the Oneg (meal) afterwards. That's why I call you out as being antisemitic. Only an antisemitic would make the horrific comments about Messianic Judaism. All of the emissaries (apostles) were Messianic Jews and wrote the Jewish Didache and the Brit Hadashah.

 

[koberstein]

All of us tend to "flock" to those we "feel connected to". Which has created many denominations and many mistakes. I have a "low threshold" for redemption. I only require sincerity toward Jesus Christ. Most people are so consumed with traditions and the desire to "fit in" that they will never know what it is really know God in this life.

What I said was simply true. I say what I believe to be true. The vast majority of Messianic Judaism is no different than modern Judaism. "Christ" is nothing more than a name.....

There is nothing of lasting value to be found in any traditions associated with Messianic or modern Judaism. It is not a requirement. It is a preference at best. At worst, it is a means to reject the loving and caring nature of God in Jesus Christ.

It is ridiculous for any sensible person to accept the claims a Jew makes to privileges that no other men have. Christ died for all men. All men are equal. Those promises are Eternal and are exclusively OWNED by Messiah.

We serve side by side in these Last Days, prayerfully working towards the Day when all of Israel recognizes Yeshua, the Savior of the Jewish People and indeed, the entire world.​

Messianic Judaism is a Biblically based movement of people who, as committed Jews, believe in Yeshua (Jesus) as the Jewish Messiah of Israel of whom the Jewish Law and Prophets spoke.
To many this seems a glaring contradiction. Christians are Christians, Jews are decidedly not Christian. So goes the understanding that has prevailed through nearly two thousand years of history.
Messianic Jews call this a mistaken – and even anti-Scriptural – understanding. Historical and Biblical evidence demonstrates that following Yeshua was initially an entirely Jewish concept. Decades upon decades of persecution, division, and confused theology all contributed to the dichotomy between Jews and believers in Yeshua that many take for granted today.

FIRST CENTURY BELIEVERS IN YESHUA​

Two thousand years ago Yeshua was a Jew living among Jewish people. “Yeshua,” by which Jesus was called during his time on earth, is itself a Hebrew word for “Salvation.” Yeshua kept Torah, or the Law of Moses. He studied the Jewish Scriptures that many now know as the “Old Testament,” and read them aloud at the local synagogue on Shabbat (Luke 4:16). He was called rabbi (Teacher/Master) by his followers.
“Think not that I came to abolish the law and the prophets: I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17
After His death and resurrection, His following increased. From the book of Acts and other historical evidence, many believe that in the first century A.D. hundreds of thousands of Jews followed His teachings (Acts 2:41, 2:47, 4:4, 6:7, 9:31, 21:20), and established Messianic Synagogues throughout the Roman Empire and beyond (James 1:1, 2:2).
One of the first debates these early disciples faced seems ironic to us now: Could non-Jews participate in the community of Yeshua’s followers without becoming Jews? At the very birth of Judaism, God had told Abraham that He would bless all nations of the earth through Abraham’s offspring (Genesis 12.3). Accordingly, the apostolic council in Acts 15 decided that non-Jews could follow Yeshua without converting to Judaism.
Many factors intervened in the following years. Believers in Yeshua suffered increased opposition from both Roman authorities and Jewish synagogue leaders. As more and more Gentiles came to accept this faith and as the original Jewish apostles passed away, the Jewishness of that first-century faith was gradually lost.

MODERN MESSIANIC JUDAISM​

Though Messianic Judaism itself dates back to Yeshua’s twelve apostles, its “resurrection” is a relatively new phenomenon.
In the late 1800s, after several large-scale “revivals” among protestant believers in the United States and Europe, many Christians sought to tell Jewish people about Yeshua, or Jesus. Even as some Jewish people in Europe began to desire to return to the land of Israel and establish a permanent Jewish homeland there, the Lord stirred many Jews to look at the so-called “Christian Bible,” or New Testament Scriptures, for themselves.
Centuries of continuing anti-Semitism in the name of Jesus had left the Jewish community skeptical. But some Jewish men and women did become followers of Yeshua during this time. In the following decades whole congregations of Jewish believers in Jesus were born. This movement was dubbed “Hebrew Christianity.”
“They are the Israelites, and to them belong the Son-ship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Messiah!” Romans 9:4-5
“Hebrew Christianity” has since become known as “Messianic Judaism.” There are now tens of thousands of Messianic Jews in the United States alone; some estimate as many as 1.2 million. Messianic synagogues are springing up in almost every major city across the U.S., and Messianic Judaism is quickly growing in other nations throughout North and South America, Europe, Oceania, and the former Soviet republics.
Christianity later became the state religion of the Roman Empire. Eventually an anti-Semitic view of the Messiah’s life and death became accepted theology in Christian Europe for hundreds of years. Messianic Jews recognize that their existence is entirely due to God’s intervention on behalf of His Jewish people. Messianic Judaism is part of the fulfillment of God’s many Scriptural promises of eternal love and faithfulness to Israel.

THE MESSIANIC JEWISH IDENTITY​

The “Messianic Jewish identity” is wholly dependent on the person of Yeshua: God Himself comes to earth to reconcile the Jewish people and all nations to Himself. (See our Statement of Faith to find out more.)
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6
The foundation of Messianic Judaism, therefore, is each individual’s personal relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through Messiah Yeshua. In the Hebrew Law God clearly demands a blood sacrifice for the remittance of sins. Each Messianic Jew recognizes his or her own sinfulness and has accepted that Yeshua Himself provided this sacrifice.
Another important aspect of the Messianic Jewish movement is Jewish congregational worship. If Yeshua really is the Jewish Messiah of whom all the Jewish Law and Prophets spoke, then it is the most Jewish thing in the world to follow Him!
Should Jews really attempt to assimilate into churches and forego their Jewish identity when they choose to put their faith in the Jewish Messiah? Messianic Judaism answers, “No!” As Yeshua Himself embraced His Jewishness, Messianic Jews seek to embrace theirs, by meeting in congregational communities with other Jewish believers and by maintaining a Biblically Jewish expression of their faith. Every congregation is different, but this expression often means worshiping in Hebrew, following Mosaic Law, dancing as King David did before the Lord, and keeping Biblical holidays such as Pesach, Sukkot, or Shavuot.
Also important is Messianic Judaism’s ministry to both the Jewish community and the Christian body of believers. Messianic Jews are part of the larger Body of Messiah throughout the world, and Messianic Jews hope to help all believers in Yeshua to better understand the Jewish roots of their faith. Finally, Yeshua declared that no-one can comes to the Father – the God of Israel – except through Him (John 14:6). Messianic Jews seek to share this way, this truth, and this life with their Jewish brothers and sisters.

 

[praise_yeshua]

We serve side by side in these Last Days, prayerfully working towards the Day when all of Israel recognizes Yeshua, the Savior of the Jewish People and indeed, the entire world.​

Messianic Judaism is a Biblically based movement of people who, as committed Jews, believe in Yeshua (Jesus) as the Jewish Messiah of Israel of whom the Jewish Law and Prophets spoke.
To many this seems a glaring contradiction. Christians are Christians, Jews are decidedly not Christian. So goes the understanding that has prevailed through nearly two thousand years of history.
Messianic Jews call this a mistaken – and even anti-Scriptural – understanding. Historical and Biblical evidence demonstrates that following Yeshua was initially an entirely Jewish concept. Decades upon decades of persecution, division, and confused theology all contributed to the dichotomy between Jews and believers in Yeshua that many take for granted today.

FIRST CENTURY BELIEVERS IN YESHUA​

Two thousand years ago Yeshua was a Jew living among Jewish people. “Yeshua,” by which Jesus was called during his time on earth, is itself a Hebrew word for “Salvation.” Yeshua kept Torah, or the Law of Moses. He studied the Jewish Scriptures that many now know as the “Old Testament,” and read them aloud at the local synagogue on Shabbat (Luke 4:16). He was called rabbi (Teacher/Master) by his followers.
“Think not that I came to abolish the law and the prophets: I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17
After His death and resurrection, His following increased. From the book of Acts and other historical evidence, many believe that in the first century A.D. hundreds of thousands of Jews followed His teachings (Acts 2:41, 2:47, 4:4, 6:7, 9:31, 21:20), and established Messianic Synagogues throughout the Roman Empire and beyond (James 1:1, 2:2).
One of the first debates these early disciples faced seems ironic to us now: Could non-Jews participate in the community of Yeshua’s followers without becoming Jews? At the very birth of Judaism, God had told Abraham that He would bless all nations of the earth through Abraham’s offspring (Genesis 12.3). Accordingly, the apostolic council in Acts 15 decided that non-Jews could follow Yeshua without converting to Judaism.
Many factors intervened in the following years. Believers in Yeshua suffered increased opposition from both Roman authorities and Jewish synagogue leaders. As more and more Gentiles came to accept this faith and as the original Jewish apostles passed away, the Jewishness of that first-century faith was gradually lost.

MODERN MESSIANIC JUDAISM​

Though Messianic Judaism itself dates back to Yeshua’s twelve apostles, its “resurrection” is a relatively new phenomenon.
In the late 1800s, after several large-scale “revivals” among protestant believers in the United States and Europe, many Christians sought to tell Jewish people about Yeshua, or Jesus. Even as some Jewish people in Europe began to desire to return to the land of Israel and establish a permanent Jewish homeland there, the Lord stirred many Jews to look at the so-called “Christian Bible,” or New Testament Scriptures, for themselves.
Centuries of continuing anti-Semitism in the name of Jesus had left the Jewish community skeptical. But some Jewish men and women did become followers of Yeshua during this time. In the following decades whole congregations of Jewish believers in Jesus were born. This movement was dubbed “Hebrew Christianity.”
“They are the Israelites, and to them belong the Son-ship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Messiah!” Romans 9:4-5
“Hebrew Christianity” has since become known as “Messianic Judaism.” There are now tens of thousands of Messianic Jews in the United States alone; some estimate as many as 1.2 million. Messianic synagogues are springing up in almost every major city across the U.S., and Messianic Judaism is quickly growing in other nations throughout North and South America, Europe, Oceania, and the former Soviet republics.
Christianity later became the state religion of the Roman Empire. Eventually an anti-Semitic view of the Messiah’s life and death became accepted theology in Christian Europe for hundreds of years. Messianic Jews recognize that their existence is entirely due to God’s intervention on behalf of His Jewish people. Messianic Judaism is part of the fulfillment of God’s many Scriptural promises of eternal love and faithfulness to Israel.

THE MESSIANIC JEWISH IDENTITY​

The “Messianic Jewish identity” is wholly dependent on the person of Yeshua: God Himself comes to earth to reconcile the Jewish people and all nations to Himself. (See our Statement of Faith to find out more.)
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6
The foundation of Messianic Judaism, therefore, is each individual’s personal relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through Messiah Yeshua. In the Hebrew Law God clearly demands a blood sacrifice for the remittance of sins. Each Messianic Jew recognizes his or her own sinfulness and has accepted that Yeshua Himself provided this sacrifice.
Another important aspect of the Messianic Jewish movement is Jewish congregational worship. If Yeshua really is the Jewish Messiah of whom all the Jewish Law and Prophets spoke, then it is the most Jewish thing in the world to follow Him!
Should Jews really attempt to assimilate into churches and forego their Jewish identity when they choose to put their faith in the Jewish Messiah? Messianic Judaism answers, “No!” As Yeshua Himself embraced His Jewishness, Messianic Jews seek to embrace theirs, by meeting in congregational communities with other Jewish believers and by maintaining a Biblically Jewish expression of their faith. Every congregation is different, but this expression often means worshiping in Hebrew, following Mosaic Law, dancing as King David did before the Lord, and keeping Biblical holidays such as Pesach, Sukkot, or Shavuot.
Also important is Messianic Judaism’s ministry to both the Jewish community and the Christian body of believers. Messianic Jews are part of the larger Body of Messiah throughout the world, and Messianic Jews hope to help all believers in Yeshua to better understand the Jewish roots of their faith. Finally, Yeshua declared that no-one can comes to the Father – the God of Israel – except through Him (John 14:6). Messianic Jews seek to share this way, this truth, and this life with their Jewish brothers and sisters.

False claims against me. I have repeatedly explained my position. Everyone can look at how you have treated me in your comments. I have been nothing but respectful. No. I'm not going to treat you any differently than anyone else. You're not "chosen". Christ is chosen.

 

[The Rogue Tomato]

False claims against me. I have repeatedly explained my position. Everyone can look at how you have treated me in your comments. I have been nothing but respectful. No. I'm not going to treat you any differently than anyone else. You're not "chosen". Christ is chosen.

Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” (according to you, that "few" would only be one - Christ)

Romans 11:7 What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;

Colossians 3:12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; (pretty sure "those" is plural)

2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. (brethren = plural)

Titus 1:1 Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, (pretty sure "those" is plural)

 

[praise_yeshua]

Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” (according to you, that "few" would only be one - Christ)

Romans 11:7 What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;

Colossians 3:12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; (pretty sure "those" is plural)

2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. (brethren = plural)

Titus 1:1 Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, (pretty sure "those" is plural)

Where are YOU at in these verses and how were you chosen. Show me your name anywhere. Just once. Anywhere. Absolutely none of these verses name YOU. You have no identify part from Jesus Christ. Zero. Just another "name it claim it" nonsense claim.

Eph 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Eph 3:15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
Bow the knee and stop pretending YOU have been chosen. You don't actually believe what Jesus said.
Mat 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

 

[TomL]

​ ​ https://berean-apologetics.community.forum/threads/understanding.1439/post-66106

And all heavenly blessings are in Christ

Ephesians 1:3 (KJV 1900) — 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

and in Christ

Galatians 3:28 (ESV) — 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

 

[TomL]

To the Jew First – The Meaning of Romans 1:16​

https://berean-apologetics.community.forum/threads/understanding.1439/post-66106

Yes the gospel went to the Jew first according to the purpose of God

 

[TomL]

Messianic Judaism is vastly different from Orthodox and Reformed Judaism. If you would have visited their synagogues you would already know that. So what you say is totally untrue and false as most things you expound about Judaism. I would probably never set my foot in some of the protestant churches except for a funeral for a friend because most of them are nothing more than social clubs at best. Instead of spreading falsehoods about Messianic Judaism it would serve you better to attend a Messianic service on Shabbat and the Oneg (meal) afterwards. That's why I call you out as being antisemitic. Only an antisemitic would make the horrific comments about Messianic Judaism. All of the emissaries (apostles) were Messianic Jews and wrote the Jewish Didache and the Brit Hadashah.

What in the world are you talking about

what is false with

And all heavenly blessings are in Christ

Ephesians 1:3 (KJV 1900) — 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

and in Christ

Galatians 3:28 (ESV) — 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

 

[koberstein]

Where are YOU at in these verses and how were you chosen. Show me your name anywhere. Just once. Anywhere. Absolutely none of these verses name YOU. You have no identify part from Jesus Christ. Zero. Just another "name it claim it" nonsense claim.

Eph 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Eph 3:15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
Bow the knee and stop pretending YOU have been chosen. You don't actually believe what Jesus said.
Mat 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

You need to move on with you baseless
rant. You are starting to bore me. Yeshua's gospel came through Adonai's chosen people the Jews of which I am one to the Gentiles which is YOU. You need to accept that, because it is written biblical and historical fact no matter what you say or think.
Shalom

 

[Presby02]

How's going Presby02? Just for clarification if you don't mind that last line in the above post was sarcasm was it not?

Nope

 

[Rockson]

Another important aspect of the Messianic Jewish movement is Jewish congregational worship. If Yeshua really is the Jewish Messiah of whom all the Jewish Law and Prophets spoke, then it is the most Jewish thing in the world to follow Him!

Forgive me but I feel a caution light going off in my spirit at some of your words. To one in Judaism it can be a true statement to say that in being a Christian you're not outside the message that God truly had to bring. There's a feel of something different though when you say it's the most Jewish thing in the world to follow him.

You leave a sense that a Gentile needs to adopt Jewish flavored cultural things for after all it's a "Jewish thing". I see this in what appears to something you imply is a need.....and that is by using the Hebrew rendering of Jesus, name as being Yeshua. Or let me put it this way. If everyone did start saying Yeshua instead of the Greek rendering Jesus would that make you more happier and bring you delight? That would be the question I'd ask you.

Should Jews really attempt to assimilate into churches and forego their Jewish identity when they choose to put their faith in the Jewish Messiah?

So why would you feel you would have done that?

Messianic Jews are part of the larger Body of Messiah throughout the world, and Messianic Jews hope to help all believers in Yeshua to better understand the Jewish roots of their faith.

But theologically I'd say most if not all Gentile churches, what I mean is outside the Messianic Jews ways of doing things already know about the festivals of different things. Anything you can point out in the OT they already know.....unless you're saying they need to adopt keeping certain days as a must for a mature Christian. It all gets a little complex on trying to figure out just what you believe your message is.

I've said as well in a thread I did....I do have a concern that people start signing onto feeling they have some need to say Yeshua instead of Jesus. What's it matter? Well it kind of does for one asks what's their motive for doing so? If they think they're somehow more pleasing God by doing so then it needs to be made clear it doesn't. So my thought again are people being positioned into sliding into things that are not necessary.

 

[praise_yeshua]

You need to move on with you baseless
rant. You are starting to bore me. Yeshua's gospel came through Adonai's chosen people the Jews of which I am one to the Gentiles which is YOU. You need to accept that, because it is written biblical and historical fact no matter what you say or think.
Shalom

The Gospel was preached to Abraham while Abraham was still uncircumcised.

Gal 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

Jude 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints

No "Jews" necessary.

You have another issue. I'm rather certain you don't consider Yeshua and Adonai (as you define Him) as being equal.

This shouldn't be "boring to you".

 

[civic]

Where are YOU at in these verses and how were you chosen. Show me your name anywhere. Just once. Anywhere. Absolutely none of these verses name YOU. You have no identify part from Jesus Christ. Zero. Just another "name it claim it" nonsense claim.

Eph 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Eph 3:15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
Bow the knee and stop pretending YOU have been chosen. You don't actually believe what Jesus said.
Mat 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

Amazing at how many with IGNORE the context of verses they are quoting from ignoring to whom it was written about. Some think every verse in the bible have a universal application when in reality they are few and far between.

And the irony is we are discussing " UNDERSTANDING " in this thread.

 

[koberstein]

The Gospel was preached to Abraham while Abraham was still uncircumcised.

Gal 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

Jude 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints

No "Jews" necessary.

You have another issue. I'm rather certain you don't consider Yeshua and Adonai (as you define Him) as being equal.

This shouldn't be "boring to you".

Avraham was chosen by Adonai to be the father of the Hebrew/Jewish lineage to Messiah Yeshua. Adonai and Yeshua are equal. When you see generations and lineages in the Bible that most people skip over for whatever reason. Those generations and lineages reveal Revelation.
Another experience in my life I discovered when a person is antisemitic they are usually prejudice, racist and discriminate against African Americans.

 

[praise_yeshua]

Avraham was chosen by Adonai to be the father of the Hebrew/Jewish lineage to Messiah Yeshua. Adonai and Yeshua are equal. When you see generations and lineages in the Bible that most people skip over for whatever reason. Those generations and lineages reveal Revelation.
Another experience in my life I discovered when a person is antisemitic they are usually prejudice, racist and discriminate against African Americans.

No need to imply bias towards me........ I do not treat any ethnicity or race differently.

The children of Ishmael has as much of right to Adonai as you do. Isaac and Ishmael never had a problem with one another. I tell my Muslim friends this as much as I have opportunity to tell them.

Gen 25:9 Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre,

It is the children of Isaac and Ishmael that have created these problems (Yes, the descendents of Ishmael are MORE to blame).

The sons of Keturah came and worshipped Yeshua.

Mat 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,

You shouldn't claim privileges relative to Grace and then deny such Grace to others.

Luk 13:29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.

We all fight evil but we must allow God to fight for us. Those battles are His battles. Our Gospel is that all men have access to God through Yeshua.

 

[koberstein]

No need to imply bias towards me........ I do not treat any ethnicity or race differently.

The children of Ishmael has as much of right to Adonai as you do. Isaac and Ishmael never had a problem with one another. I tell my Muslim friends this as much as I have opportunity to tell them.

Gen 25:9 Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre,

It is the children of Isaac and Ishmael that have created these problems (Yes, the descendents of Ishmael are MORE to blame).

The sons of Keturah came and worshipped Yeshua.

Mat 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,

You shouldn't claim privileges relative to Grace and then deny such Grace to others.

Luk 13:29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.

We all fight evil but we must allow God to fight for us. Those battles are His battles. Our Gospel is that all men have access to God through Yeshua.

I have family members in the H

No need to imply bias towards me........ I do not treat any ethnicity or race differently.

The children of Ishmael has as much of right to Adonai as you do. Isaac and Ishmael never had a problem with one another. I tell my Muslim friends this as much as I have opportunity to tell them.

Gen 25:9 Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre,

It is the children of Isaac and Ishmael that have created these problems (Yes, the descendents of Ishmael are MORE to blame).

The sons of Keturah came and worshipped Yeshua.

Mat 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,

You shouldn't claim privileges relative to Grace and then deny such Grace to others.

Luk 13:29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.

We all fight evil but we must allow God to fight for us. Those battles are His battles. Our Gospel is that all men have access to God through Yeshua.

I'm not denying Grace to anyone that's their responsibility. Besides, its above my pay grade. I have family members in the Holocaust museum. Do you? Does your Muslim friends? Yea I didn't think so.
I know you can't help yourself, but you need to move on from your baseless claims about me and the dog whistle of antisemitism.
There are more important things in the Holy Writ to discuss.

 

[praise_yeshua]

I have family members in the H

I'm not denying Grace to anyone that's their responsibility. Besides, its above my pay grade. I have family members in the Holocaust museum. Do you? Does your Muslim friends? Yea I didn't think so.
I know you can't help yourself, but you need to move on from your baseless claims about me and the dog whistle of antisemitism.
There are more important things in the Holy Writ to discuss.

I have endless family members in the ground rotting. Worms eating their flesh and destroying their beautiful faces. We all have the dead. You have plenty of family members in the grave that didn't suffer through the Holocaust. We all do. We are all brethren in Adam. All of us. We all die. Nothing that dies is worth having. Only Eternal things remain.

That is your issue. You find uniqueness in your tragedies and your leaders feed that narrative to you. It needs to be discussed. If you ask me to leave it alone. I will. Is that what you're asking me?