Welcome back friends!  Because our heritage is so rooted in Judaism, Christians often struggle to understand why Jews do not believe in Jesus.  It is a legitimate wonder on the part of Christians, but it must be balanced with a respect of the Jewish faith. Thus, we’re examining some reasons why Jews don’t believe in Jesus.  Yesterday we identified these possible reasons:

1. Jewish belief is a national issue, not a spiritual one
2. Jesus doesn’t meet the qualifications of the Messiah
3. Jesus failed to fulfill Messianic prophecies
4. Christians do not appropriately interpret verses referring to Jesus

We focused on the first reason yesterday, so let’s consider the second argument today: Jesus doesn’t meet the qualifications of the Messiah.

According to Jewish tradition, the Messiah is to be a prophet on the scale of Moses.  Yet, according to Jewish sages, prophecy can only exist when the majority of Jews (worldwide) inhabit Israel.  Following Babylonian captivity and the death of the prophets who were alive at that time, prophecy ended.  Jesus did not come on the scene for another 300-400 years.  Thus, He could not be a prophet.

But, not only does Jesus fail to qualify as a prophet, He also fails in being a descendant of David.  Per Jewish belief, the Messiah must descend on his father’s side from King David.  That is obviously an issue, as Jesus was immaculately conceived and did not have an earthly biological father.  Jewish sources indicate that Jesus is to be born of human parents, have normal physical attributes, and will not possess supernatural qualities.

Another reason Jesus doesn’t meet the criteria as Messiah is that Jews believe that the Messiah will lead the Jewish people in full Torah observance.  We know, however, that the New Testament records many examples of Jesus contradicting the Torah.  For example, no work was to be performed on the Sabbath, yet John 9 recounts Jesus’ healing of a blind man by spitting on the ground in order to make a healing paste to place on the blind man’s eyes.  This constituted work and brought this response from the Pharisees: “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.”  (verse 16)

Thus, in Jewish perspective, Jesus did not meet the qualifications of Messiah.

As you see, as closely related as Christianity is to Judaism, there are key differences when it comes to Jesus’ qualifications to be the Messiah.  As Christians, we view Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy, though to Jews there remains conflict of belief.

We can be certain that God will make all things known in due time.  Stick with us tomorrow as we examine yet another reason why Jews don’t believe in Jesus as Messiah.

Blessings friends!