The NT: Part V – Respect for Jews

Content

  • Respect for Jews and Judaism
  • Converts to Judaism
  • Jesus as Lord
  • Jesus as Rabbi
  • Jesus was a Jew
  • Jesus, King of the Jews
  • Jews preaching about Jesus
  • Good conservative passages
  • On Gays
  • Jews rejected Christ

Respect for Jews and Judaism

The bible is far from antisemitic. It respects the Jewish prophets, the Jewish festivities, and Jewish customs. As we are about to see further, the character Jesus was a Jew, the King of the Jews, and a Rabbi. Below are examples of the passages that respect Jews and Judaism.

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 9:33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

John 1:47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.”

John 4:45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.

John 12:14-15 Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” [Zech. 9:9]

Acts 3:13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.

Respect for Mosaic law, but wants an improvement on it:

Hebrews 10:1 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming — not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.

Revelations 5:5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Revelations 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

Converts to Judaism

Christianity was design to fool the non-Jews into thinking that Judaism is a benign universal religion that anybody can easily convert to. Judaism in reality does not seek converts and is not a universal religion. Judaism is a tribal religion designed for the Jewish tribe. The strong protocols Judaism has against Jews hopping on to another religion was designed to protect them from being destroyed through assimilation. They know that once you succumb to a foreign religion you are essentially abandoning your identity and are controlled by a foreign power.

Acts 2:8-12 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs — we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

NKJV: 10 “Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes;

Choosing of seven disciples:

Acts 6:5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

Acts 13:42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

Jesus as Lord, the son of the Jewish god Yahweh

Acts 1:6 Then they (apostles) gathered around him (Jesus) and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 26:14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice [69] saying to me in Aramaic [or Hebrew], ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied.

NKJV version: 14 “And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 “So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

John 13:13 “You call me `Teacher’ and `Lord’, and rightly so, for that is what I am.

John 13:19 “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He (Lord).

John 13:25 Leaning back against Jesus, he (Simon Peter) asked him (Jesus), “Lord, who is it?”

John 20:18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Thomas who had doubted that Jesus was still alive after being crucified:

John 20:27-28 Then he (Jesus) said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

John 21:12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.

Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

The age old debate is how can Jesus be both Lord and the son of the Lord? Even a passage in the bible asks this:

Matthew 22:45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Jesus as Rabbi

Mark 9:5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

John 1:49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

John 3:2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no-one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

John 4:31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him (Jesus), “Rabbi, eat something.”

John 6:25 When they (disciples) found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me,

John 9:2 His disciples asked him (Jesus), “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

John 11:8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?”

John 20:16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).

Jesus was a Jew

John 4:9 The Samaritan woman said to him (Jesus), “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?”

John 4:19-22 “Sir,” (addressing Jesus) the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.

Jesus, King of the Jews

Matthew 27:11 (also Mark 15:2 & Luke 23:3) Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.

Matthew 27:37 (also Mark 15:26, Luke 23:38, & John 19:19) There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Mark 15:16 (also John 19:1-5) The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!”

Mark 15:32 Let this Messiah (or Christ), this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

John 12:13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him (Jesus), shouting, “Hosanna!” [A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise] “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” [Psalm 118:25,26] “Blessed is the King of Israel!”

John 18:38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

Jews preaching about Jesus

Paul was considered the most important apostle in Christianity. According to the NT, Paul (Paul of Tarsus) was a true Jew, studied under Jewish law, and became a “devout Christian” who preached his message to the world. All thirteen New Testament Epistles are traditionally attributed to Paul.

Acts 22:1 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.” 2 When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

Acts 23:6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees.

Though it can be inferred that all or nearly all of the early promoters of Christianity were Jews, these verses blatantly say it, just like the one about Paul above.

Acts 18:24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue.

Good conservative passages

I need to point out that not everything with the bible is bad. There are a few good passages, but just a few. No doubt these were put in to lure the sheep in thinking the rest of the bible is good and holy. The authors have to put some good in there or nobody would take the religion seriously at all. That is how programming works. But the second reason for putting some good in the bible is an intended effect of creating a more civil society. A civil society is one that is easier to control.

Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Mark 10:10 (also Luke 16:18) When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

Galatians 6:3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.

1 Timothy 2:12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.

1 Timothy 3:2-3 (also in Titus 1:7) Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness;

1 Timothy 3:4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.

1 Timothy 3:11 In the same way, their wives [Or way, deaconesses] are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

1 Timothy 3:12 A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well.

1 Timothy 5:4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.

1 Timothy 5:6 But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.

1 Timothy 5:8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

2 Timothy 2:6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. (Contradiction of many other parts of NT. See the section on Communism.)

Titus 2:6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.

1 Peter 5:5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older.

2 Peter 1:5-6 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control;

2 Corinthians 12:14 Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

On Gays

1 Corinthians 6:9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

NKJV: 9 Do you not know that the un­righ­teous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

Romans 1:27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

Jews rejected Christ

Jews reject Jesus. According to the NT, Jews remain Jews because they refuse to acknowledge Christ. Never mind that Judaism has strong protocols against worshiping any god other than Yahweh. This is a protective mechanism and prevents them from hopping on to a foreign religion. Once you succumb to the religion of a foreigner, you are essentially controlled by them.

Jesus performs a miracle at a synagogue:

Mark 3:5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

John 18:31 Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” “But we have no right to execute anyone,” the Jews objected.

John 19:4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”

John 19:7 The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

*Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ [Isaiah 49:6] ”

Acts 18:4 Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6 But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

2 Corinthians 11:21 Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.

1 Thessalonians 1:14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews 15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone 16 in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.

Revelations 3:9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars — I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.