To some, the concept of a Jew believing in Yeshua seems to be a contradiction. The reason is on the one hand, you have Jews and Judaism and on the other hand, Christians and Christianity. You are either one or the other. In reality this is not that simple. If we go back 2000 years we find that Yeshua was a Jew living in a Jewish land among Jewish people. All the apostles were Jewish as well as the writers of the New Testament and for many years this faith in Yeshua, the Messiah was strictly a Jewish one.From the Book of Acts and other historical evidence, we learn that in the first century there were hundreds of thousands of Messianic Jews. In addition, there were Messianic Synagogues scattered throughout the Roman Empire and beyond.
These first-century Messianic Jews remained highly loyal to their land and their people. Whether it was Jewish to believe in Yeshua was never an issue. Of course it was Jewish! What else could it be?
The big question back then was whether Yeshua had been sent for the Gentiles also. God miraculously showed the Messianic Jews that Yeshua was the Messiah for both Jew and Gentile alike. Then Gentiles from every nation began to pour into this Jewish faith. Through the years, as the numbers of Gentile believers increased, they began to predominate in this Messianic faith. With the passing on of the Jewish apostles and the early Messianic Jews, the Jewish roots of the faith were eventually lost until it became alien for a Jewish person to believe in Yeshua as his Messiah!
Messianic Judaism is a spiritual renaissance,seeking to put the Messiah back within the biblically Jewish context and return to the faith as the Messianic Jews had in the first-century, unencumbered by the traditions of men. It is a return to a pure and simple faith based upon having a living, vibrant and personal relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through the Messiah Yeshua.
The real issue we must recognize is not whether it is Jewish to believe in Yeshua, because the Jewishness of Yeshua is historically unquestionable. The real issue at stake here is whether Yeshua is truly the Messiah or not. If He is, then it is the most Jewish thing in the world to believe in Him. If He is not the Messiah, then we should not follow Him.
There is only one way to find out and that is to go back into the Jewish Scriptures ourselves and study the Messianic prophecies.According to the Jewish Scriptures the Messiah was to come twice:
The first time to suffer and die.
The second time to usher in the Messianic era of peace upon the earth.
Why did the Messiah have to die? The Jewish prophet Isaiah answered this question when he said, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. ... For He was cut off (killed) from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people He was stricken". (Isaiah 53:6, 8)
Without God there is no hope for mankind! It is obvious that man is separated from God when we view the ever-worsening situation in the world today. That is why He sent Yeshua, the Messiah, who came to deliver us from our sins and to bring us into a new life in Him.
For tens of thousands of us today, we know that we have found the Messiah who said, "Do not think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill! (Matthew 5:17)
We would like to encourage you to read and study the Jewish Scriptures for yourself and find out if Yeshua is truly the One of whom the prophets spoke. Before you research the Scriptures, pray and ask the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to guide you and show you His truth.
What do our Scriptures and rabbis say about our Messiah? In our Scriptures - Zechariah 12:10 - "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on Me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son."
In our Scriptures - Isaiah 53: "Surely our sickness He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him."
What does the Talmud say about these verses? The ancient rabbis not only knew the Messiah would be pierced, but they also knew He would die! In fact, in a discussion in the Talmud Sukkah 52A, they cited Zechariah 12:10, which we quoted above, to show they understood that Scripture said that Messiah would have to die.
In Isaiah 53, also partially quoted above, it must have been clear to our rabbis that this passage was talking about Messiah. Referencing this chapter in an ancient rabbinical Targum they said: "...my servant, the Messiah, in whom I am well pleased." When you put these scriptures in Isaiah and Zechariah together with these two commentaries, it is easy to see that our ancient rabbis believed Messiah was to come and die for our sins.
Our Scriptures tell us when the Messiah will come: Our prophet Daniel prophesied that the Messiah would come! Read (Daniel 9:25, 26) for yourself. Note: When you read the word 'sevens' that word is similar to our word decade and means 7 years. So when you read seven 'sevens', that equals 49 years (7 X 7 = 49). When it says sixty- two 'sevens' that equals 434 years (62 X 7 = 434). Now, when you add 49 + 434 you get 483 years. 483 years after the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, Yeshua (the Messiah) walked the earth just as Daniel prophesied.
What does the Talmud say about Daniel 9 ? In the Talmud, in Megillah fol. 3a it says, "...a Bath Kol (voice from Heaven) came forth and exclaimed, "...Enough! What was the reason? Because the date of the Messiah is foretold in it." It's amazing what our ancient rabbis have said, isn't it.
Now, since the temple was destroyed we could no longer offer sacrifices for our sins. God knew ahead of time that the temple would be destroyed, so He told us through His prophets in our Scriptures of the substitutionary system of atonement that He Himself would provide. God provided His own lamb, Yeshua, to be His perfect final blood sacrifice!
What does the Talmud say about this ? The Talmud (Tractate Yoma 39:b) records in essence that on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) it was customary to tie some red wool to the temple gate. Miraculously, after the lamb died to take away or atone for our sin, the red wool always turned white as a sign to the people that they had been forgiven. But during the 40 years before the destruction of the temple and the altar in 70 AD, the red wool tied to the temple gate remained red. The rabbis concluded God was saying, "I will not forgive, I will not forgive." Did you know that the beginning of this 40 year period coincides with God providing His own lamb (Yeshua) to make one final atonement for all of our sins? In other words, God provided His own perfect and spotless lamb to be the sacrifice that would forever atone for all of our sins, if and only if we accepted His new plan of atonement!
God foretold this new covenant or promise in Jeremiah 31:31, 32 when He said, "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; it will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke My covenant."
The ancient rabbis commenting on Jeremiah 31:31,32 known as the Midrash Tehelim, fol.3, col.4 said, "When the time of the advent of the Messiah will be near, then the blessed God will say to him: "With him I will make a new covenant. And this is the time I will acknowledge Him as my son, saying 'This day have I begotten thee.'" So our ancient rabbis saw in this scripture that the new covenant would be ushered in by the Messiah, who would be God's own Son.
Another ancient rabbinical commentary on Jeremiah 31:31, 32 known as the Midrash Talpiyot, 58a says, "He will sit and expound the new Torah which He will give through the Messiah."
Here are eight ways to identify Messiah
according to our own Jewish Scriptures:
2. When He would be born. (Daniel 9:25)
3. His manner of birth. (Isaiah 7:14)
4. His betrayal. (Zechariah 11: 12, 13)
5. Manner of death (Psalm 22:16-18)
6. Piercing of hands, feet, and side (Zechariah 12:10)
7. People mocking (Psalm 22:7)
8. Burial (Isaiah 53:9)The compound probability of just these eight prophecies being fulfilled is staggering. Yeshua the Messiah fulfilled over 300 prophecies in our scriptures!
In the 21st century we are seeking the truth. The Bible is God's truth to us. We can choose to follow the god of time, the god of money, the god of power, and the god of self-indulgence. However, the God of the Bible is the one true God! We at Shoresh David Messianic Synagogue would encourage you not to follow us, and not to follow other people, Even as wonderful as traditions are, they also are from men. We encourage you to think for yourself and follow God. Read the bible for yourself and feel free to call us if you want to discuss what you have read. "May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you! May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace". (Numbers 6:24-26)
What is Messianic Judaism? Messianic Judaism is a biblically based End-time Revival movement of the Jewish & non Jewish people, who have come to believe Yeshua is the Promised Messiah of Israel. Yeshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus and His name means: "the Lord saves"
Today, there are hundreds of Messianic Synagogues in America and throughout the world. Nations such as Israel, Canada, Russia, England, France, Brazil, South Africa, South America, and others are experiencing similar growth in the number of Messianic Jews and Synagogues.
Shoresh David is a congregation of Jews and non-Jews who come together to worship the Lord in unity. Our congregational family believes that it can make a difference in the Tampa Bay area by bringing a spirit of love and grace to everyone we meet. We believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the promised Messiah of Israel and it is through knowing Him that we can express unconditional love. Each Friday night our services begin at 7:30 pm. On Saturdays we vary our activities. They could include a Torah Service, a Bible study, or men's and women's separate studies.It might be that all your questions are not answered on this site. Please feel free to call us for more inforation. We love to have visitors. When you come, please make sure you introduce yourself to me as I seek to meet all those I don't know.
 4320 W. Bay to Bay Blvd. Tampa, Florida, 33629 Phone: (813)-831-LORD (5673) www.shoreshdavidtampa.org Rabbi Steve Weiler |
