Early in our marriage, Jessica was taking a class to learn to read and write Hebrew, and she was teaching me, too. Through that class, we were introduced to other classes at a local synagogue. We thought attending would deepen our understanding of the Old Testament. We already knew they didn’t accept Jesus as Lord, so we went in prepared for that, but we hoped that understanding the festivals and customs better would help the Old Testament come alive for us.
What we found
It was illuminating, but not in the way we hoped. We sat under several rabbis from different branches of Judaism, some we liked more than others. But no matter which branch they came from, we found that modern expressions of Judaism had drifted so far from what God instituted in the Old Testament that they were barely recognizable as biblical Judaism. Much of what is practiced today comes from the Talmud and centuries of rabbinic tradition, not from the Scriptures God gave. Some of what we saw left us convinced we had seen enough, and we never went back. Converting was never an option for us anyway.
I say all of that so you know I recognize how far modern rabbinic Judaism has wandered before I make the point I’m about to make. To not accept Yeshua as Messiah means missing the point entirely, and beyond that, layers of man-made tradition have obscured God’s instructions so badly that King David himself wouldn’t recognize much of it.
Jesus didn’t start a new religion
All that being said, Yeshua did not come to institute a new religion. Did you realize that all of the apostles were Messianic Jews? That every author of the New Testament (with the possible exception of Luke) was a Messianic Jew? I mean the faith, not just the bloodline. And they were also what we would call Christians. “Christian” described someone who followed Christ, not a new religion. For years after Yeshua’s death and resurrection, all of the new believers were Messianic Jews and Christians at the same time.
There are many Messianic Jews today. Their practice looks a little different from first-century Messianic Judaism, and I have some theological differences with them, but they are Christians, and they will be in Heaven with us.
Yeshua didn’t come to create a new religion. He came to fulfill the law. The faith God instituted in the Old Testament is the same faith we share now. The difference is that the Old Testament is now viewed through the lens of Yeshua’s sacrifice. The instructions God gave the Hebrews are still true, and the New Testament shows how they are expressed now that the Messiah has come.
What do I mean by that? In the Old Testament, animal sacrifices were required to atone for sin. Now that Jesus has been the final sacrifice for sin, animal sacrifices are no longer needed. In the Old Testament, only the high priest could enter God’s presence. Since Yeshua’s sacrifice, the veil to the Holy of Holies has been torn, and God’s presence dwells with all of His followers through the Holy Spirit. I could keep going, but you get the point.
Don’t throw out the Old Testament
Jesus’ sacrifice doesn’t mean we throw out the Old Testament, as I’m seeing so many people begin to suggest. God’s nature, character, desires, and heart are all beautifully revealed in the Old Testament. To truly understand God, you need both Testaments. Jesus said that until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or tittle will pass from the law until all is fulfilled (Matthew 5:18). We don’t throw out the Old Testament. We read it through the lens of Jesus.
Don’t fall into the trap of divorcing yourself from the Old Testament. Every person I’ve watched go down that path eventually ended up in spiritual ruin, and most of them eventually abandoned Christianity altogether.
Abandoning the Old Testament is the gateway to apostasy, and antisemitism is a gateway to abandoning the Old Testament.
I’ve already watched several people begin to despise Jews because of the political and social climate, and then, having turned against them, begin to question the Old Testament because of its devotion to the Jewish people. That is a dangerous, slippery slope. Don’t fall for the deception.
