Common questions
Honest answers to honest questions
Real objections deserve real answers, with the Scripture, the Jewish sources and people who asked the same thing.
Is Jesus (Yeshua) really the Messiah?
That's the question this whole site invites you to test. The Tanakh gives signs: a son of David, born in Bethlehem, who suffers for others, comes before the Second Temple falls, and brings the nations to Israel's God. Yeshua fits them in a way no one else has.
Was the Messiah supposed to be divine?
The Tanakh hints that he is more than a man: he's called "Mighty God" (Isaiah 9:5), "the LORD our righteousness" (Jeremiah 23:6), his origins are "from ancient days" (Micah 5:1), and he comes with the clouds of heaven (Daniel 7:13).
Isn't worshipping Jesus idolatry?
Idolatry is worshipping something created in place of God. Messianic Jews worship only the God of Israel, and believe Yeshua is that God made known, not a second god.
How does the Trinity fit with the Shema?
"Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4, JPS 1917). The Hebrew word for one, echad, can mean a compound unity ("one flesh", Genesis 2:24). Messianic Jews believe in one God, known as Father, Son and Spirit.
If Jesus is the Messiah, why don't most Jews believe it?
Partly history: for centuries people calling themselves Christians persecuted Jews in Jesus' name, which misled many Jews about who he is. Partly how key passages came to be read. And partly the human heart, which the prophets said would struggle.
Do I stop being Jewish if I believe in Yeshua?
No. You're Jewish by birth and covenant, and Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah. Many Messianic Jews keep Shabbat, the feasts and Jewish life, and say they feel more Jewish, not less.
What about the Torah? Did Jesus abolish the Law?
Yeshua said, "Don't think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I didn't come to destroy, but to fulfil" (Matthew 5:17). The new covenant writes Torah on the heart (Jeremiah 31:33).
What did the ancient rabbis say about Isaiah 53?
Several early Jewish sources read it about the Messiah: Targum Jonathan on 52:13 ("my servant the Messiah"), the Talmud's "leper" Messiah (Sanhedrin 98b), and later midrashim. The national reading (Israel) became the standard view after Rashi.
Why isn't Isaiah 53 read in the synagogue?
The haftarah readings (prophets read after the Torah portion) go from Isaiah 51:12-52:12 (Shoftim) to Isaiah 54:1-10 (Ki Tetze). Isaiah 52:13-53:12 falls between them and isn't read.
Isaiah 7:14: "young woman" or "virgin"?
Almah means a young, marriageable woman. In the Tanakh it's used of unmarried young women, and the Jewish translators of the Septuagint chose "virgin" (parthenos) two centuries before Jesus.
Psalm 22: "like a lion" or "they pierced"?
The Masoretic text reads ka'ari, "like a lion". The pre-Christian Septuagint reads "they dug/pierced", and a Dead Sea Scrolls era manuscript (5/6HevPs) has a verb, ka'aru. Both readings are ancient.
Wasn't the Messiah supposed to bring world peace and rebuild the Temple?
Yes, and Messianic Jews believe he will, when he returns. The Tanakh also shows a Messiah who suffers first (Isaiah 53, Zechariah 12:10). The rabbis even spoke of two Messiahs to explain it.
What about the curse on Jeconiah and Jesus' genealogy?
Matthew traces Joseph's royal line (through Jeconiah); Luke traces another line from David through Nathan. Yeshua is legally Joseph's son, and by birth from David through Miriam.
Christians persecuted Jews for centuries. How can their faith be true?
What was done to Jews in Jesus' name was evil, and it went against everything he taught. It misled many Jews about who he is. We grieve it and repent of it. Judge Yeshua by his own words, not by those who betrayed them.
Isn't the New Testament antisemitic?
It was written almost entirely by Jews, about a Jew, set in Israel. Its arguments are family arguments inside Israel, like the prophets' own rebukes. Using it to hate Jews twists it.
What do Messianic Jews believe?
That Yeshua of Nazareth is the promised Messiah of Israel and the Saviour of the world, that the Tanakh and the New Covenant are God's Word, and that Jewish people who follow him remain Jewish.
What will my family and community think?
It can be hard, and we won't pretend it isn't. Take your time, stay safe and kind, and know you're not alone: thousands of Jewish believers have walked this road. Many families come round in time.
Where was God in the Holocaust?
There is no easy answer, and we won't give a glib one. The Scriptures don't hide suffering; they cry out to God in it (Psalm 22, Lamentations). Some survivors' children found in Yeshua a God who suffers with his people.
Can I just read the Gospels for myself?
Yes, please do. Start with Matthew: it opens with "the son of David, the son of Abraham" and quotes the Tanakh on almost every page. Or Luke, which starts in the Temple.
I think I believe. What's next?
There's no pressure and no script. Talk to God in your own words, honestly. Keep reading. When you're ready, talk with a Messianic Jewish believer and look for a congregation.