Two books this time: Judaism for Everyone (2002) and Why the
Jews Rejected Jesus (2005). These two books are two sides of the same coin and
discuss some of the same issues.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the author of eleven books with
titles like Kosher Sex, The Rabbi and the Psychic, and The Jewish Guide to
Adultery, wrote Judaism for Everyone as an apologetic work (but, he emphatically points out, not as an
evangelistic effort). The secondary title of the book is Renewing Your Life
Through the Vibrant Lessons of the Jewish Faith.
David Klinghoffer says that he wrote Why the Jews Rejected
Jesus as an explanation to his well-meaning Christian friends who cannot
understand why he would reject the free gift of salvation offered by the
Gospel.
For both authors the idea reduces down to one point: they do
not believe that Jesus fulfilled the requirements for being declared the
Messiah. Christians, of course, see the same things, but come to an entirely
different interpretation *.
The Jews list these reasons for rejecting Jesus:
1.
Jesus never fought the Romans. * Chrisians say
that Rome clearly saw Jesus as a threat.
2.
Jesus did not establish a physical political messianic
kingdom. * Christians say that
Jesus established His kingdom in the hearts of His followers, an idea which
Jews utterly reject.
3.
A new Temple was not built in Jerusalem. * Christians say that Jesus Himself is
the new Temple and its priest.
4.
The world did not recognize God as Lord. * Christians say that at the Second
Coming every head will bow and every knee will bend in acknowledgement of God.
5.
A
New Covenant based on restored commitment to observance of the Law was not
given to the Jews. * Christians say that the New Covenant based on Faith in the
Saving Grace of Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law.
6.
There was no ingathering of the Jewish
exiles. * Some Christians see the
fulfillment of this requirement in the establishment of the modern State of
Israel.
The Jews saw the claims of Jesus and His Christian followers
to be blasphemous. Klinghoffer
points out that to the Jews, blasphemy is abusing God’s name for a forbidden
purpose. Boteach clarifies what
the Jews see as that forbidden purpose: He declares that the idea that God can
be Human is the ultimate heresy. *Christians, of course, insist that Jesus was
fully divine and fully human.
I urge you to read both of these books. Christianity and
Judaism have major differences between them. A Christian, for example, cannot echo Rabbi Boteach in
saying, “Doing the right thing for the wrong reasons is far more important than
waiting for the right motivation.”
Even with the differences, there is agreement on the vast
majority of our two worldviews and an understanding of Jewish history,
symbolism, and theology is absolutely essential for a proper understanding of
Christianity. Jesus was an orthodox Jew.
Also, since God does not change, all of His promises to
Israel still stand. He is not finished with the Jews. The Bible tells us that in the end days “all Israel shall be
saved.”
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A general caution: books may give you wonderful new
insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian
beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are.
All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with
discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the
Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts
17:11 NASB
Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical
full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with
scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a
fuzzy fungus growing on it.