There are many Jesuses out there. Rav Sha’ul recognized this when he wrote: “For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear it well.” (2 Cor. 11:4)
I don’t believe that another Jesus can save us. Jesus has been adopted into many religions, including many Oriental cults as well as even in Islam, where they expect Jesus to come back, promote Islam, and destroy the churches! Can the Muslim Jesus save you? Or the Jehovah’s Witness Jesus save you? How about the Mormon Jesus? The Catholic Jesus? How about the Protestant Jesus, who supposedly abolished the Law (Torah)? Frankly, I am not going to answer these questions. Our Father in Heaven is the final judge, not me. However, our salvation is in Yeshua, or Jesus if you prefer. It is not based on belonging to any human organization, such as Watchtower Society.
The one Jesus that is not widely accepted is the Jewish Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah! Regretfully, most Gentiles around the world have taken the Jewish Messiah and turned Him into something of a Greek god. He wasn’t a blond, blue-eyed Swede, nor was He Chinese or African. I presume that He was a swarthy-complexioned Middle-Eastern Jew, not at all like the Hollywood version or the Jesus of European artists from earlier centuries.
I am not knocking everything taught about Jesus in the churches. Messianic Judaism and Christianity are in agreement on many fundamentals. He was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) in Bethlehem (Micah 5:1-2). He was crucified (Psalm 22) for our transgressions (Isaiah 53), providing atonement for the sins to those who choose to follow Him. Yeshua was also resurrected from the dead, and will return to reign for a thousand years. From Jerusalem!
However, in Matthew 5:17-19 Yeshua tells us, “Think not that I have come to abolish the Law (Torah),[1] or the prophets: I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 18For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any way pass from the law, until all be fulfilled. 19Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
The Jesus that is taught in most churches is the Jesus of Dispensational Theology, whereby the Dispensation of Law has been abolished, and replaced by the Dispensation of Grace. This is much like the fickle Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, keeping their followers nervous, never knowing what is expected of them each day. My Bible tells me that God never changes in Malachi 3:6, and that Yeshua is the same yesterday, today, and forever in Hebrews 13:8. There was grace in the Tanakh (OT), as was demonstrated after the sins of Abraham and King David. And there is Law in the Newer Testament. Yeshua commends those who keep His commandments in John 14:21.
Moshe gave us great instructions on how to determine who is a true prophet, and who is a false prophet in Dt. 12:32 to Dt. 13:10:
Deut. 12:32: “Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to nor take away from it. Deut. 13:1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2And the sign or the wonder comes to pass, whereof he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them,’ 3you shall not hearken to the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for YHWH your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4You shall walk after YHWH your God, and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him, and cleave to Him. 5And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he has spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust you out of the way which the LORD your God commanded you to walk in. So you shall put the evil away from the midst of you.
6 If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend, which is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, you, or your fathers; 7Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, near to you, or far off from you, from the one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. 8You shall not consent to him, nor hearken to him; neither shall your eye pity him, neither shall you spare, neither shall you conceal him. 9 But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10And you shall stone him with stones, that he shall die; because he has sought to thrust you away from YHWH your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.”
The above scriptures warn us about false prophets. These prophets might even prophesy correctly, with the evidence of their prophecies actually coming true. However, if they tell you (in verse 5) to disobey God’s commandments, we are told to put such prophets to death. In fact, even if a prophet is correct 99 times, but is wrong just once, he (or she) is considered a false prophet. I don’t recommend stoning such prophets today. However, we should not continue to follow such “prophets.” Today’s Dispensational Theology being taught in thousands of churches basically teaches that God’s Law has been dispensed with. Psalm 119:169 tells us that God’s commandments are “everlasting.”
We would be thrilled to have spiritually gifted people in our midst who have the gifts of prophecy, are able to cast out demons, and perform miracles. However, we must also consider the words of Yeshua:
¨ Mathew 7: 21Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and in your name have cast out devils, and in your name performed many miracles?” 23And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice iniquity (lit., Lawlessness).”
These are scary words. Yeshua is addressing people who believe that they are Spirit-filled Christians, with the evidence of performing supernatural wonders. However, they are denied entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven with the words, “I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice Lawlessness.”
What Law was Yeshua referring to? I believe it is the same Law that Yeshua was referring to in Matthew 5:17, when He said, “Think not that I have come to abolish the Law (Torah) or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one yod or tittle shall pass from the Law, until all be fulfilled.”
One of the very best explanations of Matthew 5:17 is from Jacob Franczak: “The word ‘fulfill’ doesn’t mean that Jesus kept the Torah so I don’t have to. It means that Jesus kept the Torah to show us how it is done – to show us God’s heart and intention behind the commandments of the Old Testament. His teachings don’t replace the Torah; they explain the Torah.” [2]
The very definition of the New Covenant is the Torah is found in Jeremiah 31:31-33, but especially verse 33: “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days: I will put my Law within them, and on their heart, and I will be their God and they shall be My people.” (See also Hebrews 8:8-10.) You cannot claim to be a “New Covenant” Christian if you are eating a ham sandwich and don’t observe the Biblical Sabbath (Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset).
In 1 John 3:4, we find that the very definition of sin is transgression of Torah. I feel safe in believing that this is the definition of sin for both Jew and Gentile. We don’t observe Torah to “get” saved. The Torah is God’s instructions for those who are already redeemed.
Moses gave us a very important clue as to the identity of the coming Messiah. In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses wrote, “YHWH your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your countrymen. You shall listen to him.” God confirms this in Deut. 18:8, by saying, “I will raise up a prophet from among your countrymen like you (Moses), and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I commend him.”
In Acts 3:22, Shimon Kefa (Simon Peter) repeated this prophecy while speaking to Jewish people in the Beit HaMikdash (Temple), telling them (and us!) that it refers to Yeshua. In Acts 7:37, Stephen also quotes this prophecy, telling his accusers that it refers to Yeshua.
First of all, according to Deut. 18:15, “YHWH your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your countrymen.” This means that the Messiah is descended from the physical seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In other words, Jesus is Jewish! Secondly, Deut. 18:18 tells us that the coming Messiah will be “a countryman like you (Moses).”
The Christian Jesus is often at odds with Moses. Christians will often say that the Law has been abolished. They will often speak of divisions in time, such as the “Dispensation of Law,” in which people were expected to keep the Law, and the “Dispensation of Grace,” in which Torah (the “Law”) is no longer relevant. This ignores the fact that there is “grace” in the “Old” Testament, as can be seen with King David, who, despite his sins, was called a man after God’s own heart. Many non-Evangelical Christians are shocked when you tell them that Jesus was a Jew!
Not only was Jesus a Jew; He was also a rabbi! In John 1:38 & 49; 3:2 & 6; and 6:26, Yeshua was addressed as “Rabbi.” As a rabbi, he would have been associated with the Pharisees, perhaps especially the School of Hillel. Jesus is my Rabbi, and hopefully yours also!
We also see in the Newer Testament that Paul, the “apostle of liberty,” also was Torah-observant Jew. In Acts 20:16, he was “hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost (Shavuot – a Jewish holiday).” In Acts 21:26, he offered up sacrifices in the Temple. In Acts 22:3, he said, “I am a Jew.” He never converted to any other religion. Why should a Jew convert to another religion to follow his own Messiah? In Acts 23:6, he proclaimed, “I am a Pharisee,” not, “I used to be a Pharisee.” The Pharisees were famous for their obedience to the precepts of Torah. In Acts 28:17, he proclaimed, “I have done nothing against our people (the Jews), or the customs of our fathers.” The customs would include Rabbinic traditions not even mentioned in the Torah, such as not having dairy and meat in the same meal. Paul never ate a cheeseburger!
In Matthew 7:13-14, Yeshua says, “Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.”
There are some very impressive mega-churches with thousands in attendance each Sunday, often with a television audience of millions as well. Congregations that teach the Jewish Jesus, such as keeping the mitzvot (commandments), tend to be much smaller. Rabbi Harvey Koelner was the spiritual leader of Temple Aron Kodesh in Florida years ago. One time he was telling me how his Messianic congregation was expanding very rapidly. Therefore, they invested many thousands of dollars into an expansion project. However, he told me that when He began teaching the people to keep the commandments, his congregation “grew” from 300 to 50.
The main point that I am making is this: If you are looking for truth, you might want to avoid the mega-churches. “Narrow is the way that leads to life.” Also, biblical truth is not decided by majority opinion. Remember the twelve Israelite spies who searched the Land? Ten said there were giants in the Land. (True.) And they said that it would be impossible to conquer the Land. (Not true.) Only two spies – Joshua and Caleb – said that they would be able to conquer the Land. Joshua and Caleb were right; the others were wrong.
I happen to be a strong proponent of democracy. However, the best man (or woman) does not always win. I also believe that the ballots of the voters count, even if I am not happy with the results. Likewise, those who believe in Yeshua and keep the commandments of God, as mentioned in Revelation 14:12, are a distinct minority. For instance, billions of Christians might believe that Sunday is the Sabbath. And they are wrong! According to Scripture, the seventh day is Shabbat.
The day is coming when Messiah Yeshua will return to set up His Kingdom. There will not be any elections. We will have the perfect Leader. Jerusalem will be the capital, not just of Israel, but capital of the entire world! “The Law (Torah) will go forth from Zion, the word of YHWH from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3b).”
P.S. I want our readers to understand that I am very grateful for Christians. People of faith, usually Christians, were the founders of great universities such as Harvard and Yale, as well as great hospitals, etc., around the world. I do not believe that truly born-again Evangelic Christians are “going to hell.” I believe that they are saved by the blood of the Lamb, just as I am. In fact, my wife and I became believers in an old-fashioned church many years ago. I am grateful to the good people in that church for giving us a start in the faith.
This article is meant to strengthen Messianic Jews in their faith. It is also meant to cause Christians to seek out the Jewish Jesus, and walk according to His ways. Avoid false teachers and put away false doctrines. After all, Jesus did not come to Planet Earth to start a new religion. He came to Planet Earth as the Messiah for the old religion: Judaism. Yes, give me that old time religion, the same religion that Abraham, Moses, and Yeshua followed! RAC
[1] The word “Torah” literally means “Teaching.” It also means the first five books of the Bible, Genesis to Deuteronomy. However, these books also include many commandments.
[2] Messiah Magazine, Issue 24, p. 27,
By Rav Richard Aharon Chaimberlin / Are you following the real Jesus? (petahtikvah.com)
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