Having served in a region of the country where it was more common to find multiple Jewish synagogues than other Missouri Synod Lutheran congregations, I have a deep appreciation for what Jews have suffered at the hands of others. I have no wish to add to their suffering but I cannot avoid taking issue with the heading Abrahamic faith's especially with regard to Judaism and Christianity. That said, it is incredible that Abraham has become in whom the faiths are connected and not the Lord whom Abraham believed.
Though there might be a human desire to lump Judaism, Islam, and Christianity under one umbrella, the Christian must pay attention to the many ways that Jesus refutes the whole idea. According to the New Testament, there is only Abrahamic faith—Christianity. Though Popes have made accommodations with the Jews and conservative Protestants have fostered relationships with Israel for their millenial pursuits, Jesus does not equivocate. When the Jews claimed, “Abraham is our father!” (John 8:39), Jesus immediately denies this by insisting “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. (John 8:39-44) You can read further for an even stronger indictment of Jesus against the Jews who did not believe in Him.
Christians have danced around this for a very long time. We think we are doing a favor by shying away from the words of Christ but we are doing no such thing. Jesus is not a Jew hater or an anti-Semite for saying what He said. He is affirming the truth that exists for all who would be saved. There are not multiple paths to God but one. Abraham's God is Jesus. Jesus insists upon this over and over again. One way, one truth, and one life. He is that way, that truth, and that life. There is no Father to be known except the one whom we know through Christ. By presuming a special relationship continues to exist apart from the Messiah whom the Father has sent, we deny part of what Christ has claimed for Himself and in doing so we encourage a falsehood that will not save but can condemn.
This Jesus who is born of Mary by the Holy Spirit -- is He who He claims to be or is He not? For a very long time I have wondered about the special relationship commonly claimed between Roman Catholics and Jews and between some Protestants and Jews. How can we approach Jews as if the covenant relationship between God and them continues apart from Christ and be faithful to Christ and His own words? Christians and Jews are not different sides of the same coin. The Jew does not tell us who Jesus is but they do say who Jesus is not -- He is not Messiah. It is clear from the Jewish point of view that Christians must worship a different God (Triune) than their God, that this God has a very different means of saving (grace by faith), and that while Christians claim the Old Testament Jews have no claim on the New Testament. In the face of increasing violence toward Jews, it is always worth remembering that the distinction we are making here is theological and not cultural. Before such unjust violence, the Christian must stand with the Jew but that does not erase the problems we have theologically.
The Reform Rabbi James Glazier addresses this point of the website of Reform Judaism:
The essential difference between Jews and Christians is that Christians accept Jesus as messiah and personal savior. Jesus is not part of Jewish theology. Amongst Jews, Jesus is not considered a divine being. Therefore all holidays that have a connection to the life of Jesus are not part of Jewish life and/or practice (Christmas, Easter, Lent, Advent, Palm Sunday, etc.).
Judaism originates as a result of the covenantal relationship between God and Abraham. The Bible (Hebrew Bible which doesn't include New Testament for reasons stated previously) is our sacred literature. The relationship between the Jewish people and God is documented in the text. In the Bible, the history, culture, language, theology, and practices of the Jewish people are presented.
Jesus insists that Abraham rejoiced to see His day. Jesus insists that Abraham's faith is fulfilled in Him. Furthermore, Jesus insists that He is the key to the Scriptures -- from the Law to the Prophets to the Writings -- it is all about Him. Jesus is not tangential to every text but its very purpose and each text is revealed in Christ just as Christ reveals each text. On the road to Emmaus, the risen Jesus insists to the two disciples walking along the way that He is the subject of Scripture (here meaning Old Testament or Hebrew Bible and unfolds in those Scriptures all “things concerning himself in all the Scriptures,” beginning with “Moses and with all the prophets” (Luke 24:27). To the eleven (minus Judas), Jesus says the exact same thing though in even more specific terms: “all things which are written about me in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (24:44). Jesus is not claiming the New Testament is about Him -- an obvious claim -- but that the entire Hebrew Bible prophesies of Him -- of His incarnation, obedient life, life-giving suffering, death defiant resurrection, and the glory of heaven opened to all believers in Him.
While some might like to lump together Judaism, Islam, and Christianity under the heading of Abrahamic faiths, it seems to me that this contributes more to misunderstanding than understanding. I can well understand the unwillingness of Jews to accept Islam as an equal religion under the heading of Abrahamic faith, it is perfectly clear that any comfort in trying to find accommodation between Judaism and Christianity is equally offensive to both. It is not that Christians have made this judgment but Christ has. His insistence is that any Abrahamic faith recognizes that He is the Son of God in flesh and blood, the Christ (Messiah) long foretold, and the only name under heaven and on earth by which any who will be saved shall be saved. Honestly, I do not know any other way to say it and be faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ and true to His Word. Christianity and Judaism are incompatible but that does not mean that Christians and Jews must be at enmity with one another. If anything, it ought to give a sense of urgency to the cause of proclaiming Christ to all people, starting from Jerusalem. In Christ, the world finds not a rejection from God but an invitation. He who was first sought out by the Magi looking for the birthplace of the King of the Jews and whose cross is adorned by the title King of the Jews wants to provide for everyone the grace to be saved. You cannot go to the Manger or the Cross and not come face to face with this inclusive exclusive truth. What makes sense to religious historians without a faith, makes no sense to Abraham and his faith.
2 comments:
It is true that each of the major religious traditions in the world can be broken into multiple tenets and branches, with differing beliefs and interpretations, and even Christianity has schisms and sub categories with doctrinal distinctives. Judaism also has many similarities and differences among its practitioners. Many times in the history of the Jews, these differences were expressed violently. Josephus and Eusebius wrote of the violent clashes between Jewish sects even as the Romans were laying waste to the Temple Mount at Jerusalem. As you noted, “Christianity and Judaism are incompatible, but that does not mean that Christians and Jews must be at enmity with one another.” It is troubling that there was always some anti Semitic tension directed at the Jews by Christians in the past, and even today, as we read in the news. It is an uncomfortable topic. Though Christians and Jews see Christ from a different perspective, both religions have a common link. Our Lord came to earth as eternal God in the human identity as a Jew. That most Jews would reject Him was prophesied. And Christ is found throughout the Old Testament in Holy Writ, and came for all people, starting with the Jews; we Christians must continue to support and to pray for the Jewish people and the conversion of Jews. The love of God calls all people to follow Jesus, believe on Him, confess sins, repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit. The Bible declares that theLord has a plan for the Jews, and He has not abandoned them. Soli Deo Gloria
It is estimated that about 2% of all Jews are Messianic Jews. They do not call themselves “Christians” because of the horrendous atrocities, which Christians have committed against them and continue to commit. They do not speak of the “cross”, but rather, of the “execution stake” for the same reason.
I wish that Christian churches would interact to a greater extent with Messianic Jewish synagogues. Some of their beliefs and practices might take them aback, but we should remember that salvation is from the Jews. For instance, they do not believe in the “real presence”, and they celebrate the Eucharist once a year, on Passover. It is interesting to hear the reasoning for what they believe, because it is based on Jewish tradition, which the Christian churches have abandoned for the Greek method of reasoning.
Jeremiah 31 makes it clear that God made the New Covenant with the Jewish people. St. Paul warns us that if God did not spare the natural branches, He is also able to abandon those that were grafted in.
Contemporary Jewish tradition includes the remembrance of all of the atrocities Christians have committed against the Jews, not just the Holocaust. If you have studied even a small part of that tradition, you will come to the conclusion, that if it were not for Christians, many more Jews would now believe that Christ is “the Messiah;” the Anointed, whether in Greek or in Hebrew.
Peace and Joy!
George A. Marquart
Post a Comment