Roots

I found an episode of Larry King last night, in which he was interviewing a southern Baptist, two Rabbi's, and a volunteer from a group called "Jews for Jesus," (or was he the head of the organization?)

Anyway, this created a rather unique platform for each opinion, whether the individual was Jewish or Christian. Now, there was a pretty good amount of arguing going on, most of which was coming from from one of the Rabbi's on the panel. He was angry because the President of the Southern Baptists Organization and the head of Jews for Jesus organization were challenging the idea that a person could be "good" and go to Heaven. The other Rabbi did not like what he called their "propaganda". His point was that these Christian groups didn't really believe that Jewish people are "good enough.". So, why didn't they just come out and say so? He was also offended because they (Southern Baptists)use Jewish symbols in their pamphlets. His point was, Don't pretend to be one of us, when you are not.

Wow. Understandably, a lot of emotions flying.

Okay. Please know that my intent here is not to start a fight. To me, this is not about any one group being better than the other. I'd like to try and look at both sides and present possible reasoning for both ways of thinking. I will be as gentle as I can, and as respectful as possible.

Now, I'll use the Bible as my point of reference, so that you don't have to take my word for it. To me, this whole thing is not about religion, it's about relationship and emotional attachment.

The Bible does teach that Jesus was Jewish. His Geneology can be found in the book of Matthew (CH.1), up to verse 18, the family tree of Jesus is recorded going all the way back to .Abraham. As is Jewish tradition, the family line of his father Joseph is recorded. Now, the Bible also teaches that Jesus's own people would in fact reject him, and not believe that he was the Messiah. (John 1:10-11). Why this is I am unsure, as I believe many are. But for whatever reason, this is simply what scripture teaches.
Verse 12 of John chapter 1 is the key to what Christians believe: "But as many as had received Him, (He gave them power) to become sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.". In English, this means that we are saved when we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord.

Now, of course, many people, whether Jewish or not, do not believe that Christ is Lord, right? So, the anger comes when Christians begin talking about the H word and saying that people who do not accept Christ will go there. For Jewish folks, the emotional attachment is a perceived attack on their character, as well as their teachings, and their wonderful, strong attachment to their rich traditions. For Christian folks the emotional attachment is to the Bible, and what it teaches about Jesus dying and rising again, and being sure that they uphold it.

Now, couple this with the conversion experience of most Christians, and you have the most emotionally exciting experience in the world... an experience that Christians hope that everyone can experience! This is partly because the Christian knows how wonderful it was for them when they were saved, coupled with what the Bible teaches about the consequences of not being saved. But those consequences are the same for every person... Not only Jewish people.

It's a hard thing, because, who wants to hear that? Who wants to be told that? No one, right? Now, imagine if you're the messenger! Christians have the immense joy of their own conversion experience to "back up" what they believe. The dilemma comes because no Christian can lay their heart on the table so that someone can SEE that they are saved. It is the nature of people to be skeptical and need proof, so a lot of times, when a Christian tries to explain salvation, the other person can basically say "Says you.". Salvation is an emotional thing because it involves belief, without a ritual, or tradition, or ledger, or strategy. It involves trust.

Okay, guess what? Jewish folks, you're God's favorite, did you know that? Again and again in both the old and new testaments, there are references to Israel and the Jewish people being especially favored by God. (see Psalm 147: 20) It's sorta like going to a food court and loving all the food there, but having those specific things that you especially like, the things you look for first, because those foods are your very favorites. (please forgive the comparison to food, but it was all I could think of that everyone enjoys :)). So, Christians, believing that Jesus went to the cross to save the world, often have a deep love for Jewish people because their saviour was also Jewish. I myself have an endearing fascination with Jewish folks, because according to scripture, my savior is also Jewish. I think this is an amazing thing!

In my personal opinion, many Christians, in particular, Evangelicals, are a bit baffled as to why many Jewish folks do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah. I think this is probably because we believe it would be such an honor to have the savior of the world share the same heritage that you do. Please know that there is no offense intended here at all. I believe Jewish folks and Christian folks can gently help each other to better understand each other's positions. Again, Christains remember their being saved as the most awesome, wonderful event that's ever taken place in life, not because of what physically happened when he carried that cross up that hill, but because the Bible says that he rose up on the third day and ascended to be with his father in Heaven (!!!) :). No more pain, or blood, or anything that he suffered in those last hours. And because he suffered all of that, we too will someday see Heaven in all it's glory, and see Jesus as he is (wow! :) and live in eternity with Him (if we accept him as Lord).

Now, if you don't believe any of this, I imagine it would be quite difficult to have any empathy for those who do. Jewish folks, please forgive us Christians. We are not trying to feed you a fairytale, because we believe that what we are saying is the truth. Please know that a Christian sharing thier faith with you is not designed to be an attack on your character. All we really want is for you to experience the joy that we have found in Christ, and in that sense, we can tend to believe that Jewish folks are the most blessed on earth! You share your heritage with the eternal messiah...how glorious! (we think).

But I would imagine that most Jewish folks look at the slain Jesus as a terribly
tragic event in a rather persecuted history. I say this because one of the Rabbi's on the Larry King panel, brought up the Holocaust more than once. Looking at it from this perspective, how can we not empathize when someone who is Jewish does not believe that the story of the cross is a glorious one? I've heard many evangelical pastors ask the question: "Aren't you glad you were born on this side of the cross?". They refer to the fact that people who've accepted Jesus can drink of the joy that this provides, without the suffering (referring to persecution of Old Testament Christians,etc.) it's a hard history. A difficult history graced with amazing traditions and customs that have gloriously endured.

Apparently, in writing the Old Testament, every time the sacred name of God the Father was written down, there was a cleansing ritual that the author would go through before continuing because that name was sacred and holy. (At least, this is what I was taught in one of my college classes). I would imagine the author probably did not feel he was worthy to continue until he did so. In the Evangelical church today, we usually make no mystery of the fact that we are glad these things are no longer necessary (because they are too difficult and too much to remember, right?) Besides, Christ died for all that, right? It's all about grace, right?

Is it possible to take the grace of Jesus and trample all over it (maybe without realizing it?). Sad to say, but I've been in churches where the Old Testament is barely touched upon, if at all. Particularly in what are called "New Testament Churches" the old testament seems hurried under the "grace" of the new testament. This is an odd choice of words, but that's exactly my point. It's also an odd paradox. I mean, how many churches today are called New Testament churches, and their aim seems to be to teach people to forget their "legalism" and just accept Jesus. I don't think this is a bad idea because I believe Christ's death paid for my sins; but do we as Christians want Jewish folks to just forget that they are Jewish? Of course not. But I wonder if sometimes, this is what Jewish folks hear when Christians attempt to "witness" to them?

Do Jewish folks feel offended because Christians walk around being glad that one of their own was brutally killed and then his death was deemed necessary to save all humanity? When we take all the divinity out of the equation, and look at it strictly from a human perspective, it is quite disturbing and insulting and scary, and unfair. But Christians, are looking at the crucifixion from the perspective of Christ's rising on the third day and ascending to Heaven. We're believing in Chist's divinity and celebrating that his suffering is over, and ours is only temporary, rather than being eternal.

It is my personal belief that those who are Messianic Jews can be a tremendous help in these subjects, simply because they are greatly impacted by both sides of the equation. It is my understanding that a Messianic Jew, is a Jewish person who has accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior, while adhering to the old testament feast days and customs and traditions. At the same time, I've heard some Jewish folks say that there is no such thing as a Messianic Jew. In any case, I like to refer to the story of Jesus speaking with Niccodemus, and telling him that to know the father, one must be reborn. Of course, the million dollar question is "How can a man come from his Mother's womb again?"

Of course, the answer is that he can't. This refers to the "conversion" we experience inside when we accept Christ as savior. He changes individual hearts ( when we request it). As I mentioned, one of the Rabbi's in particular seemed rather insulted by the idea of conversion. His question was "Why am I not acceptable to God on my own?". I think Niccodemus wanted to know the same thing. :). (John 3:2-20). So what's it like for a Messianic Jewish person who knows Jesus as their savior? I've seen many churches which are based on both the Jewish traditions and feast days, and also knowing Christ as our personal savior.

Now, I've grown up in the evangelical Christian church. I accepted Christ as my savior when I was fifteen, and as a teenager, Jesus was like my divine buddy-pal. He guided me through everything, and of course, I wanted others to know the saving grace that I had been shown.

So my life became all about showing people Jesus. Now, in theory, I don't believe there is anything wrong with this. But, as I've gained a bit of wisdom, it has seemed that something has been missing from my faith. I know all the fundamentals were there: I'd believed and accepted His death as payment for my sins by faith alone. I went to church every week and enjoyed it. I read my Bible, and my little heart beamed with his love. But, where were the roots to keep my faith in place? I realize today, that they were actually quite weak.

I think that as we grow in anything, the challenges become more intense and the struggles more personal. This is what happened to me in regards to my faith...but AS it happened, I came to realize that the ground I was standing on was actually quite shaky. I did not persevere through trials very well. Instead, I would just wish that God would remove the struggle and then become angry when he wouldn't. The only thing I really knew was that the OLD testament was really really hard, and the NEW testament was really really easy. That sounds terrible, doesn't it?

My church taught about suffering, yes, but looking back, suffering seemed to be presented like an afterthought, or something that was always very temporary and very minor. Now, in light of God's eternal glory, suffering is temporary and minor. So what was the problem? Where did the disconnect come? Actually, I'm still delving into all this now, even as I write this. But an irony here is the way that Christ's divinity and humanity show themselves in each place. As I said, I believed that Christ's grace would save me (and I was) but my roots really didn't go very deep. I realize now, that this is because I (still) don't know how to suffer very well.

The interesting thing has been, that as I've examined churches cultivated in the Jewish faith, I've learned better how to cultivate my own faith. I think this is because of the way I've been able to see the way the old testament is connected or "bridged" to the new testament. I know now that the faith I had, while based in scripture, seemed so contemporary that I could not see where the "roots" were. Most of the time in church, the old testament seemed to be mentioned as a reference point to the new testament. Now, this was not always the case, but quite a bit. The angle seemed to be that the "ease" of Christ's grace made the ritual and repetition of the old testament unnecessary. Now, the rituals and repetitions and "sacrifices" of the old testament are not necessary to salvation itself, because Jesus became the sacrifice. This is basically the overriding message that always seeped into my head. This message is correct, as far as I was taught; but as a result, if I would read the old testament, I would only skim over it, and then go straight to something like Romans 8:28, or Philippians 4:4-8. Unconsciously, I was learning to ignore what was hard and just move right to what was simple and easy to hear.

I didn't realize this was going on until I got a bit older and the challenges of my life... became more challenging. I've had a very weak way of grabbing onto scripture that I did not have to actually look up. Looking it up was too much trouble. I did know how to close my door, and talk to my father in private, but as long as delving into the old testament was too much of a bother to me, I truly had a major disconnect to who my Father really was.

In my world, people seemed to acknowledge verbally that Christians need to learn how to be long suffering... but without really training us how to do it. I think the goal is to not interfere with whatever God may be personally convicting us of. But I know now that He could not convict me of much because I have not really been properly (patiently) seeking him out. My church certainly taught about seeking Him out, but there seemed to be a gap someplace.

Then one evening, I was looking around on YouTube, as I often am, and I found videos of some services from a Messianic Jewish church. I was not purposely looking for this...it showed up in some other search results. I did not know much about Messianic Jewish churches, but I was amazed by the Rabbi's attention to detail! He could take patterns of events presented in the old testament and explain things that take place in the new testament, related to seasons and moons and cycles and feast days and being camped out in the wilderness... All sorts of different things, that I had heard before-- but never like this! The Rabbi would explain the Hebrew alphabet, and the way that one mark on one letter would make an otherwise identical word... completely different!

Never had I thought of re-creating the experience of the tents in the wilderness. I did not know that a feast day, means a divine appointment with the Lord. It isn't just another day where people gather and eat (Although, that's a wonderful idea!). The Jewish calendar is completely different then the calendar I've always followed. I never knew this, and was very intrigued by it. I'd never thought of wearing white on the feast days to commemorate them. The Jewish day actually begins at midnight. Wow... That means, by the time we get up (say 6:00 AM), the day is literally half over! This is a completely different concept of time, that I'd never thought about before. My point is that all of the sudden, my perspective on scripture and my savior took a 180 turn. I was in a world where things took TIME and little things mean a great deal. And all because of a newly found appreciation for...the old testament!

Now, here I was watching this panel of people debate, interrupt each other, and argue over Christianity and Judaism The point was made that the Christian pamphlets had prayers relating specifically to Jewish folks. I think this was taken as an attempt to change those who are Jewish, rather tan extend love to them. I offer this: We BOTH need each other. We both need each other, and thankfully, we both have opportunities to love each other and pray for each other. The Old Testament is not absent from God's grace, and the New Testament is not absent from the law. In my own journey, I simply learned to address my own laziness and work on things in me that need change. I think the key is finding balance, because my personal faith had become too light-hearted, and I hadn't realized it. I would say with my mouth, Christ is Lord, but then know next to nothing about the first half of his word. (Let's face it, I didn't do too much better with the second half either!) :)

The initial act of accepting Jesus BEGINS with a simple prayer...yes. But the journey of having a relationship with him is a process that continues the rest of our lives. It seems it would be difficult to cultivate a relationship with anyone when we don't really know where they came from. Add to this, a microwave, drive through, credit card, have it now society; and it makes sense that actual relationships are rarely cultivated anymore. The customs and traditions and feast days of the old testament, and taking time for them, can represent, a dedication and care and "precision" that I had simply never even known was there.

The new testament, can be like a breath of fresh air that can lift the sting out of the suffering, and the grief out of the waiting. The suffering and perseverance through it, create the art of long-suffering, while the grace makes the process bearable. Both are necessary for us to be complete... Yes? The old and new testaments teach us where Jesus came from, why he came (the events leading up to it), where he went, and where he is today. They also teach that we all have a choice as to where we will go when we leave here. We can join Jesus where he is, or we can be separated from him, depending on the choice we make. This is a universal truth. (John 3:16). It isn't about a debate between one group or the other. Just love your neighbor as you love yourself, and care for orphans and widows, speaking up for those unable to speak for themselves... for this is the "religion" acceptable to Christ.

Matt.22:39. James 1:27. Proverbs 31:8-9. John 3:2-20 (Nicodemus)

Peace, love and best wishes to you, my friend (and everyone who was on Larry King's show that evening). :)