Sari Shepphird, PhD
Messianic Expectations
It can be argued that the whole of Scripture is about Christ. The designation “Christ” is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word “Messiah,” meaning the “Anointed One.” From its inception, the nation of Israel collectively longed for the day when the Messiah would come and bless the world with a greater knowledge of God and with salvation.
If Jesus accomplished this, why have the Jewish people collectively rejected him as their Messiah?
Varying Views of Messiah
It is important to recognize that Jews do not hold to one uniform view of the Messiah. There are different branches of Judaism, and each has a different take on who the Messiah will be, what his role will look like, and if the Messiah is more of a concept rather than a title or designation of an actual person. Even in biblical times, varying Jewish sects, such as the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Zealots, held differing views of the Messiah.
In contemporary times, Orthodox Jews hold to belief in a Messiah, descended from David, who will gather the Jewish people from all nations back to the land of Israel, rebuild the Temple, and reign in peace over all nations.1
Conservative Judaism holds to the belief in this kind of a personal Messiah, meaning a literal figure who will appear in history, but biblical prophecies of the Messiah are not always taken as literally as in Orthodox Judaism.
In Reform Judaism views range from a personal Messiah and world leader who will usher in peace to the idea of a “Messianic age” where justice and peace will prevail, but without the intervention of a distinct person, per se. This latter view is also held by Reconstructionist Jews who tend to emphasize an evolving, progressive religious and political culture.
Secular Jews, who identify with Jewish culture but not with Jewish religious practices, may not hold to a belief in a Messiah at all. Most U.S. Jews identify as secular or cultural Jews, rather than viewing themselves as particularly religious.2
Consensus on a Central Issue
Despite varying ideas about the Messiah among different people groups within Judaism, there is agreement on one central issue: the Messiah is not, nor will he be, divine.
This is one key reason that Jews have rejected Jesus throughout the centuries. While Jewish people may hold to the concept of a personal Messiah who will usher in an age of righteousness, be empowered by the Spirit of God in a unique way, and even call God his father, he will be human. He will not be equal to God or divine in nature.3
Even in Jesus’s day, the Jewish people looked for a political deliverer who would inaugurate a universal reign that the Gentile nations would acknowledge, not understanding from the Scriptures that the Messiah would be the Son of God by nature and therefore divine.4
For Jews today who expect a Messiah, the same can be said; the Messiah will be a great leader and deliverer, perhaps even performing miracles, but he will not be divine.
The Challenge of Sharing Jesus in a Jewish Way
If Jewish people tend not to believe in a personal Messiah, does that mean we should leave Jesus out of the conversation? Of course not. However, it will be helpful to begin a conversation by asking the Jewish person with whom we share Christianity what it is that they believe. Understanding more about a person’s Messianic ideas will help to ground and guide where we may choose to begin.
We can, and should, include Messianic prophecies fulfilled by Jesus in our presentation of the gospel. Yet, as with any conversation about faith, it’s helpful to start where a person is and meet them there. Sharing how Jesus has changed our lives, the hope that we have in this life and for the next, our need for forgiveness, and the new birth can be starting points no matter the presuppositions a Jewish person may hold.
Notes
- Douglas Pyle, Sharing Jesus in a Jewish Way (Chosen People Productions, 2012), 15.
- Pew Research Center, “Jewish Americans in 2020,” May 11, 2021, https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/jewish-americans-in-2020/.
- Anne Punton, The World Jesus Knew (Moody Press, 1996), 177.
- Punton, The World Jesus Knew, 178.