If you have been around the Messianic Jewish Movement for a while you know that you are forever having to explaining yourself to the rest of the world. It starts in elementary school when friends ask you “what are you?” When you get a little older – and for the rest of your life you get the inevitable follow up question, “How can you be Jewish and believe in Jesus” or “Why do you go to a Jewish service if you are not Jewish?” We are a misunderstood people. While we might look forward to the day when Messianic Judaism is so mainstream that our synagogues are full and everyone knows who we are, may I suggest that we are exactly in the right place. We should not be on the defensive or lamenting our position but rather rejoicing in the Lord! We have always been a nation of “aliens and sojourners.” In the wilderness, God warned us not to be like the people around us – Egyptians where we came from or like the Canaanites where we were going (see Le. 18:3) but to be a unique people. But even within Israel, the remnant,(the prophets and those who believed them), were in the minority and quite misunderstood. When Yeshua came it was no different. He was considered a rebel, a radical and was rejected by most but not all of the Jewish world. We should not be frustrated or disappointed that we are not embraced by either the rest of the Jewish community or the community at large. I will suggest that God has called us to be in the margins. Yeshua came to change the status quo of the mainstream community – not to simply join it! That is what he wants us to do. This is done from the margins of the community – at the edges but within the community. We are called to be a witness of the presence of Yeshua the Messiah within the Jewish community. We do this through our words and actions. We speak into the community with the messianic claims of Yeshua and we live in community with like minded messiah followers in order to manifest the life of Yeshua to those around us. But we are not a ghetto. We must take Yeshua out of the synagogue and into the community. This means getting involved in the larger Jewish world and the world at large and displaying the life of Messiah in all of our interactions. But we must be intentional. In other words, if we are going to change the status quo – if we are going to be radical – if we are going to be like Yeshua we must be forthright about his claims and the difference he has made in our lives. We must exhibit the radical joy; the radical love; the radical servanthood of Messiah and the satisfaction that he provides. The result will be spiritual growth in our own lives and communities as we fulfill our calling and we will see some people will heed the message and become messiah followers.
Let us remember that while we may be misunderstood we will find those who are sympathetic and friendly. In addition and most importantly, we are a “segulah” a treasured possession to the Lord. Let us focus on being pleasing to him in all things – in our holiness, our joy and in our calling to bring Yeshua to our people and to the world.
Howard,
You lamented “We are a misunderstood people.” How disingenuous!
You are misunderstood, and mistrusted, because you intentionally deceive people. You present yourself as that which you’re not, and then you exhibit stupendous audacity by marveling at others’ confusion at the obvious contradiction between the words you use to describe yourself and the reality of what you are.
You call yourself a Jew, but you preach Christianity. You call yourself a rabbi, but you’re the leader of a church. You call your god Yeshua, but it’s Jesus that you worship. You call your sacred text by a Hebrew name (the “brit hadasha”), but in English that means “new testament”–a Greek document translated into English by King James.
If you want to be understood, then just use the words of the English language that properly describe yourself. Then you won’t be misunderstood anymore. As it stands, there’s no mystery as to why you’re mistrusted, nor have you fooled the majority of the Jews you seek to trick. “Messianic Jew” is not a mystery, it’s an oxymoron. You should admit that you’re a Christian, because that is what you are.
Rabbi Silverman,
I really enjoyed reading your post and I have to say it made me think about the bigger picture. The phrase “How then shall we live” comes to my mind. I thought about how I live my life and I don’t know if I can say that I truly live in a way that evokes others to think… “Wow what a radically loving, joyful, servant of Messiah.” But while I am constantly becoming more and more like Yeshua I am taking hope in knowing that I’m a treasured possession to the lord. Thanks for the insightful post Rabbi
Instead of joining with Mr. Silverman in purposely blurring the very important religious differences between Judaism and Christianity by means of torturing the English language, perhaps you should call Mr. Silverman “Father” or “Right Reverend”. Something that indicates his status as a Christian clergyman that heads up a church at which Jesus the god of the Christian bible is worshiped.
Rabbi is the title reserved for practicing scholars of the Jewish religion, and it is passed down traditionally through the generations from one authentic rabbi to the next, with the chain of ordination tracing back through the ages. Silverman was ordained a rabbi by a Christian bible college. The title he claims for himself is one more example of his abuse of language to achieve the effect of confusing people about the fact that he’s a Christian clergyman. If you think or believe that Jesus stood for honesty, then for Heaven’s sake don’t join with Howard in dishonesty.
The unbroken chain of ordination petered off somewhere the fourth or fifth century, although there are rumors of it existing as late as the twelfth. Maimonides didn’t know of its existence, at least. The current ordinations began in France and Germany in the Middle Ages as an analogue to the Christian practice of awarding theological degrees.
Rabbi can mean a lot of things. In Reform communities, “rabbi” simply came to mean the Jewish analogue to “minister”. While I’ve had my grievances with this practice, to think that Messianic Jews are the only people out there who call people “rabbi” who function as clergy and not on the basis of their ability to render halachic decisions or possession of semichah is mistaken. (Many hasidim, at various points, have done this and yes, I know the difference between “rebbe” and “rabbi”, before you bring that up.) Also, if you’re going to go around being a “fact checker”, I would suggest you learn the difference between where someone got a degree and where someone was ordained.
Take Obadiah’s “corrections” to religious terminology with the following grain of salt:
Obadiah runs a Web site called “Just Jewish”, at which he propounds none other than Christianity!
On his site, Obadiah throws around lots of Jewish-sounding phrases, but there’s one small problem with his claim to be “Just Jewish”…he’s a gentile! He calls himself Jewish, knowing that his novel definition of the term is out of consonance with the English meaning of the expression and inconsistent with how Jews define it.
Obadiah’s sole methodology for defending his indefensible religious stylings is to delete comments that point out his arguments’ weaknesses.
So take all of that into account as you consider his pontifications about the definition of religious terms like rabbi.
Howard,
Excellent post.
I think that, as time goes on, the idea of following Jesus as Jews will make sense to Jewish people. Navigating between Judaism and Christianity is an increasingly common phenomenon in the Jewish world as the result of intermarriage, and the basic concept, “We’re Jews, and we believe in Jesus” is not particularly hard to grasp, especially in a society where religion is increasingly eclectic. That’s not to say they’ll agree with us, but that what we’re doing will at least be understandable in a way that it hasn’t been. I hope the Messianic Jewish movement makes the step from “outside the community” to “inside the community on its margins”.
What I don’t think anyone, Jewish, Christian, or neither, will understand is the Messianic Gentile phenomenon, especially in its second generation. A Christian who “feels called to supporting the Jewish people” makes sense, but when a non-Jewish child invites their friends to his/her bar/bat mitzvah, I can’t think of anyone outside of the Messianic world who won’t be confused. Converts, people get. This, not so much.
Obadiah,
You wrote “[w]hat I don’t think anyone, Jewish, Christian, or neither, will understand is the Messianic Gentile phenomenon,” and for once we can agree on something!
You’re right: it simply makes no sense for a Christian gentile to pursue his religion by assuming a Jewish identity. Number one, that’s impossible to do; becoming Jewish is, by definition, an exercise in rejecting Christianity. And number two, since it’s your objective to worship Jesus, then you’re already in the perfect state to do just that since you are a Christian gentile; there’s no benefit to be had by you by becoming a Jew (even if that were possible).
So let’s call a spade a spade, shall we? Since you’re a gentile interested only in a version of Judaism of your own creation, one perverted beyond recognition into a Christian faith, you may as well use the extant lexicon that adequately characterizes you and your religion rather than borrow from one that doesn’t. You’re a Christian, and you need not be ashamed about that. But you ought to stop passing yourself off as something you most certainly are not: “Just Jewish”.
I just want to share why I as a gentile like worshiping Jesus in a Jewish setting. I share this not to debate out theology or philosophy but just to give a voice to my reasoning behind my choice.
I like worshiping Jesus is a Jewish setting because He Himself was Jewish and did these things. The church I grew up in impressed on us the catch phrase “It’s a relationship, not a religion” I was always taught that believing in Jesus meant being in a relationship with Him. I have come to resent the word religion for this very reason. Sure, if I were just interested in doing specific religious practices because of oral or written tradition, I’d stay in a mainstream church. But its not about religion. Its about believing in and having a relationship with this Man Jesus, who died for my sins. Religion makes it about what you do, not Who you know. As with any relationship, the more you get to know the person, the more you share with the person. The more I got to know Jesus, the more I wanted to share in His life. And no one can debate that Jesus lived a Jewish life. So to the Jewish people out there, messianic or mainstream I say simply this: I am here because I am in a relationship with a Jewish man, and I love Him so much that I want to worship Him the way He worshiped, the way described in the first 5 books of the bible.” I hope that helps the Jewish people understand what I’m doing here. And dear Anonymous, you can write back trying to tell me to go to a Christian church if you want, but I promise you it won’t change my resolve. I prefer to do what is written in Gen-Deut, same as Jesus did, rather than doing what some Romans decided we should do 300 years after Jesus had ascended into Heaven. Because I view my faith in terms as having a relationship with Jesus, it opens the door for me to do the Jewish things while still respecting the mainstream things, even if I no longer participate in them. It keeps me from being hostile to a group of people who are worshiping Jesus in the Jewish ways of the Bible. Anonymous, if you prefer to call me a Hebraic Christian you are free to, some people do, I don’t care so much about what I get labeled. What I care about is being an authentic relationship with Jesus (Yeshua was the name He was called by His mom in His Jewish home, so I like to call Him that too) and the only way I know how to do that is in a Messianic Judaic congregation.
Dear rabbi Howard!
We like these words: “… we are a “segulah” a treasured possession to the Lord. Let us focus on being pleasing to him in all things – in our holiness, our joy and in our calling to bring Yeshua to our people and to the world.”
Shalom from Kharkov (Ukraine).
Vladislav,
What is your connection to the Jewish community in Kharkov?
It is the duty of true Jew’s to bring the Light of God’s Holy Word to all people. Paul was a Zealot for what he felt was right, but he was wrong. Make no mistake, when he became a beliver in Jesus Christ he became all things to all men that he may win them to the truth. This truth is what matters the most and should matter the most to both Jews and Christians. Jesus Christ is The Messiah and Saviour of all the people of the earth. And just for the record, no one can be saved from their sins except through the innocent sacrafice chossen and ordained by God for the one guilty of sins and trangressions. To the Christian be they Jewish or non-jewish, Jesus alone is the Sacrafice choosen and ordained to die for the sins of all the human race. Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the promise God gave to Abraham, when He said” I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curse thee, and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Jesus is The Way,The Truth, and The life ,no man comes to the Father but by Him.
Pastor,
You concluded by borrowing from the Christian bible, where in John 14:6 Jesus is quoted claiming “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”.
It’s clear and admirable that your advice to the Jews is heartfelt and sincere and that your convictions about Jesus are serious. And given the clarity of that verse, you may well wonder why the Jews have not become Christian. And while there are many reasons the Jews, after careful consideration, do not assign any credibility to the Christian bible, permit me to share just this one thought with you: Jesus’ claim in John 14:6 contradicts their ultimate benchmark for divine truth: the Jewish Bible.
In John 14:6, Jesus is quoted commanding, or rather threatening, the Jews to worship the G-d of Israel (“the Father”) through himself as intermediary. But worshiping G-d through an intermediary is expressly forbidden by the Jews’ First Commandment from G-d. The Ten Commandments lead off with “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3). That was not some minor detail of the Law; it was the very first thing G-d saw fit to tell the Jewish people when He openly introduced Himself to them collectively for the very first time in human history. So after G-d ordered the Jews to pray only to Him, and to do so directly, that Jesus’ subsequent insistence that G-d really wants the Jews to pray to Him through another god was not very convincing.
Pastor, I wish you much success and happiness in your life, in whatever mode of worship you select for yourself. I also hope that this response gives you a taste of one dimension of the multifacted logic behind the Jews’ conclusion that Christianity constitutes a rebellion against G-d.