Messianic Jewish theology discusses Jesus as a great rabbi. He was knowlegeable of Jewish law, and, as G-d, his teachings are perfect. One example where he cites Jewish law is in John 8:12-18
This is a fascinating quote of Jewish law, in verse 17 when he cites Jewish legal code. Unfortunately, it is completely incorrect, and also contradictory to Messianic Jewish theology. Witnesses Jesus states that according to Jewish law, "the testimony of two men is true." He then uses himself and "the Father" as his two witnesses to prove that he is correct. There are a number of major problems in his statement. First, having the testimony of two witnesses does not make the testimony "true." According to Jewish law, you need a minimum of two witnesses to prove your case. However, does that make something "true?" Let's use an analogy to review this. As an example, we have a gentelman by the name of "Bill", who is accused of stealing money. Two witnesses for the prosecution say that they saw him steal the money. Bill, our defendant, also brings two witnesses who say that he never stole the money, and was with them the entire time. There are two witnesses on each side, but can both sides be "true?" Is it possible for Bill to be a thief and not be a thief at the same time? Of course not, that is logically impossible. This analogy demonstrates how two witnesses do not automatically make something "true." Qualifications As we continue our analysis, unfortunately, the errors continue. Jesus calls himself and "the Father" as his witness. In a Jewish court of law, one cannot call him/herself as a witness. Since a defendant is disqualified as their own witness, he is incorrect in naming himself as a witness. Moreover, according to Messianic Jewish beliefs, Jesus and the Father are one, unified and inseparable as G-d. Since Jesus and the Father are the same, and one cannot call him/herself as their own witness, the Father is disqualified as a witness. As such, Jesus has no witnesses for his case. But, the water is further muddied by his comments. Jesus states that you need two witnesses in Jewish law, then calls himself and the Father separately. How can Jesus and the Father be called as separate witnesses, if they are unified as a singular entity? By doing so, it appears that Jesus is denying that he is unified with the Father, which calls the entire entity of the Trinity into question. In sum, Jesus' teachings in this section of the Gospel of John are incorrect, and throw doubt into the entire view of the Trinity.
Why Jews Don't Believe in JesusThere are many reasons why Jews do not accept Jesus, and the links below are some of the better explanations on this topic. Of course, if you have questions that are not covered on the links, you can always e-mail me with your questions. An Answer from Rabbi Stuart Federow Click Here An Answer from Rabbi Shraga Simmons Click Here Ask the Rabbi from Ohr Somayach Click Here Rabbi Tovia Singer Click Here There are a number of groups that provide Countermissionary Counseling. Here are links to a few of them:
Here are a number of great sites that counter missionaries and explain the differences in belief between Judaism and Christianity, including addressing the Biblical verses that missionaries try to use against the Jews and explaining why the missionaries are incorrect. For the most in-depth analysis of verse by verse questions, go to Messiah Truth (sections on Counter-Missionary: Multi-media training [this can be read without being "multi-media"], Knowing Your Orchard and Judaism's Answer), Jews for Judaism (in their Reference Section (please note that the Isaiah topics tend to be under "Suffering Servant" part of the "Proof Text" section) and the Q & A section of Outreach Judaism. Escape From Counterfeit Judaism Talking to Kids About Missionaries
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