The Jewish Jesus

Within the Christian faith, there are no ethnic divisions or racial walls. Nevertheless, at the center of Christianity is Jesus, and Jesus is a Jew.

Jewishness of Jesus -Yeshua

The movement which began with Jesus the Jew has grown to include every tribe and nation on earth. The Christian faith has crossed over every cultural line and social barrier. Yet all to often, the Jewishness of Jesus -Yeshua is lost among believers. Many people. Jews and Christians alike, are astonished when they first realize that Jesus is a Jew.

Jesus was born to a Jewish mother, in a Jewish family. Like all Jewish sons, He was circumcised on the eighth day. In keeping with Jewish tradition, He was given His Hebrew name on the same day He was circumcised. He was named Yeshua. Yeshua means “salvation.” He was named Salvation because He will “save His people.” He people are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: Jewish people.

Jesus was raised as a Jew within an Orthodox Jewish community. Nazareth, His hometown, was a thoroughly Jewish village pioneered by descendants of King David. Keeping with the ancient Jewish tradition, He had His hair cut when He was three years old. He kept the festivals and the Sabbath. He ate only kosher. He ate matzo on Passover; He fasted on the Day of Atonement.

He dressed as a Jew. He did not wear a mixture of wool and linen. He wore fringes on the corners of His garments. He wore Tefillin (phylacteries).

He had a Jewish education. He learned Hebrew. He learned the Hebrew blessings. At age 5, He began to learn the Torah (Bible). He went to the Synagogue every Sabbath. He taught from the Holy Books of the Jews. He taught about the God of the Jews. His disciples were all Jews. They called Him “Rabbi.”

Theology often parts Jesus against Judaism. But the anti-Jewish Jesus is not the Biblical Yeshua. He is a creation of the anti-Semitic and anti-Torah climate of the developing gentile church.

The gospels in the Bible portray Yeshua as a faithful and deeply committed Jew operating within the context of First Century Judaism. Although His interpretation of the Torah (Bible) was often at odds what that of His contemporaries, He never abolished the Law of God. He repeatedly demonstrated His affection for His people. He compared Himself to a shepherd and Isreal to His sheepfold.

Yeshua is a Jew. The Yeshua of the gospels is not a one-size-fits-all mystic. To remove Him from His Jewish context is to misunderstand Him. He lived as a Jew, He taught as a Jew, He prayed as a Jew and He died as a Jew. His blood was Jewish blood. The sugb above the cross said, “Yeshua of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”

Someone used Artificial Intelligence to create an image of what Jesus really looked like. This is what He looked like, and it’s different than all the images that we have come to recognize.