It occurred to me recently why Jews don't believe in the Messiah Yeshua: They don't want to believe.
And it occurred to me why Christians don't believe in Torah obedience: They don't want to believe.
I reached this conclusion by consuming the volumes of vitriol produced by both sides in support of their position. Jews cite the many verses which indicate there is no Torah requirement for the death of a sinless man to cover sins, and no Tanack verses "naming" Yeshua as the Messiah, while Christians cite the many verses in the New Testament which (they argue) indicate "all they have to do is believe".
Both are wrong. Both sides "can't see the forest for the trees"!
Jews posses the forest but won't leave the middle, "old growth", to discover the "new growth". They simply won't see the many verses in the Tanack describing a messiah as having been fulfilled in Yeshua - mostly because Christianity has turned the tallit-wearing, Torah obedient, God-fearing "Yeshua" (which means "salvation") into "Jesus", a Torahless, 3-piece suit-wearing "god-alternate" who hands out "everlasting life" like candy.
Consequently, while the Tanack speaks often about YHWH saving His people by sending a deliverer, Jews simply cannot see a God-given "deliverer" in a Messiah who apparently told Christians they can "sin at will" and "eat pork" and ignore the commanded Feasts of YHWH in favor of Easter eggs and a red-suited fat man giving gifts to all around a decorated tree, and, worse, a messiah who says to "follow him" - making "Jesus" a false god. Why would any Jew - God's people - want to believe in "that" messiah? Sigh.
Sadly, many Jews won't read the New Testament to find out who the Messiah Yeshua really is and see the amazing things He did which brought us that long-promised salvation, while many well-schooled Jews who HAVE read the New Testament, have simply found evidence of that "false messiah" they just cannot accept.
Christians, on the other hand, have cut down the "old growth forest" and used the wood to build a wall around the "new growth". Then they pruned the new growth trees leaving only the "Paul said..." branches which flourished in the sun and overcame the "Yeshua said..." branches. Consequently, Christians don't know that their "Jesus" actually never taught that "Torah was abolished", and never said he was a "get out of jail free" card.
They turned the "Good News" into "all I have to do is believe" and since they don't ever venture into old growth forest, they'll never know the true meaning of the "Good News". Most Christians, ignoring the Old Testament, never learn that Yeshua only taught the Word of God from the Old Testament! Consequently it's no wonder that when they read the words of the Messiah in the New Testament, they have no clue what He is saying! Others who have read the Old Testament usually only see it as "that old stuff for the Jews" and "We don't have to do that." Sigh.
So there you have it. It's truly the proverbial "rock and hard place"! Neither side will consider the "whole". Jews don't want to. Christians don't want to. Thus Jews and Christians are both equally blind to the truth contained in the forest, clinging only to their desired group of "trees". That's just the way it is, and it's the way it will remain as the last of prophecy unfolds. It means that only those few, from wherever they stand in the forest, willing to set aside their long-held biases and be open to the Ruach ("Holy Spirit" in Judaism, "Holy Ghost" in Christianity - not the same) will receive wisdom and come to understand "the whole".
May you, regardless of where you are in the forest, find a place in your heart, amongst the trees, for the Ruach.
This article says exactly what I've been saying for a long time!! Just haven't had the right wording... Well said. BARUCH Hashem
ReplyDeleteSo sadly true...
ReplyDeleteWe need mediators :) who are wise teachers--who have the real gift to teach, and that would be a start. When I believed about five years ago..I was reading the Old Testament and the New Testament at the same time. Since then I have offended the Holy Spirit. But thanks to God reading both helped me find my Savior...which was amazing and I felt like I had the "torah" "written in my heart" like the verse says in Micah I think...great post!
ReplyDeleteThis will be the Mystery of YHWH revealed in the end of times..
ReplyDeleteEphesians 3: 4-6
When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
You're right.. Both are blinded and YHWH will lift the veil when the time is right..
-Amber
Thank you Amber. There is a very good appendix in the AENT where this issue is addressed. In part it says:
Delete"Neither Jews or Gentiles have their own exclusive Covenant with YHWH. There is no discrimination in Torah or the Renewed Covenant against non-Jewish converts of Mashiyach; but neither is it acceptable for Gentiles to discriminate against Jews. These important directives are found in Jeremiah 50:6, Isaiah 42:1-6; 49:6; 60:3; Jeremiah 16:19; Hosea 8:8; Micah 5:8; Matthew 15:24, and in many other places in Torah. Because Mashiyach Y’shua presented “light” to Jews first, it is imperative for non-Jews to comprehend the “roots” of Mashiyach and the Renewed Covenant according to Torah in the original Hebrew and Aramaic languages. This is important because counterfeit religions have attempted to displace the original Faith by removing Y’shua and his teachings out from the original context of Torah and reinventing a different Messiah within an anti-Torah culture. Therefore, the challenge today for both Jew and Gentile is to depart from all manner of man’s religion and turn to Mashiyach according to Torah." (AENT, 5th ed, 835-36)