The prevailing mindset remains:
One may be either jewish or a follower of jesus, but cannot possibly be both!
but the scriptures reveal something profoundly different!

By Messianic Rabbis
Jonathan Bernis and David Levine

In fact, even the apostle Paul, the man most responsible for taking the message of Yeshua to the Gentiles, remained an observant Jew throughout his life! He is quoted in the New testament as declaring that he had never violated the customs or traditions of Judaism (Acts 21:25,28).

The early followers of Yeshua lived as Jews and were recognized as Jews. Such varied writers as Abba Eban and Rabbi Joseph Telushkin agree that these men and women who first followed Yeshua remained part of the Jewish community. Their religion was understood to be one branch-of many branches-of Judaism.

It wasn’t until decades later (after 100CE)-as more and more Gentiles came to believe in Yeshua-that a new, non-Jewish character of “Christianity” emerged (deviating from its Jewish Roots). In 325 CE at the Nicean Council, “Christianity” formally separated itself from all things Jewish.

Thus, today-almost twenty centuries from the time of Yeshua-most people see Judaism and Christianity as two distinct religions. The prevailing mindset remains: one may either be Jewish or a follower of Jesus, but cannot possibly be both!

But the Scriptures reveal something profoundly different. The Messianic Jew considers both the Hebrew Scriptures and the writings of the apostles as the complete, authoritative and inspired Word of G-d. In Messianic Judaism, the Bible is the foundation for both belief and practice. It is the Scriptures themselves-not current opinion, mindsets, commentaries or even traditions-that provide the basis for Messianic Judaism.

“So? What are you?” Someone asks you with a bewildered look.
“A Jew or a Christian?”

This is a typical response after a Jewish person explains that he or she has accepted Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah. For many, the idea that a person can believe in Jesus and still remain a Jew is a contradiction in terms. “either you’re Jewish or Christian, but you can’t be both, because Jewish people don’t believe in Jesus.” This is the mindset held by many Jews and Christians alike.

In contrast, a central tenet of Messianic Judaism asserts that when a Jew accepts Yeshua (Jesus), he or she has accepted the Jewish Messiah! Since Yeshua was born of a Jewish mother in a Jewish homeland, as foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures, Jewish people who trust in him don’t stop being Jewish! Rather, they become “Messianic Jews.” Interestingly, most people with a nominal Jewish upbringing become more observant after accepting Yeshua as Messiah.

Yeshua himself was an observant Jew. All of his teachings were based on the Torah and The Prophets (the Hebrew Bible). Yeshua said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish Torah or The Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Mathew 5:17) All of his initial followers were Jewish- and they certainly never believed they had forsaken their Jewish identity.

Yeshua’s entire earthly ministry was directed towards the Jewish people. After training his twelve disciples, he first sent them out with the clear instruction to “go only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” Although commissioned as the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul still spoke first in synagogues as he traveled, sharing the Good News. “I am not ashamed of the Good News of Messiah,” he wrote, ”for it is the power of G-d for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”(Romans 1:16)

While the origins of Messianic Jewish Movement are almost 2,000 years old (from around 33CE), its visible resurgence as a congregational movement is quite new. In 1915, there were enough Jewish followers of Yeshua to form an American organization: the Hebrew Christian Alliance. Within ten years, this organization-the first of its kind-expanded around the world, becoming the International Hebrew Christian Alliance in 1925.

Before the rise of the Nazis, there was a substantial Messianic Jewish population in Europe. The rabbis of several synagogues had come to believe that Yeshua was the promised Messiah, and had led their entire flocks to faith in him. These Jews-like millions of other European Jews-were killed during Hitler’s genocidal “Final Solution,” now remembered as haShoah (the Holocaust).

As a result of the 1967 Six Day War, Jerusalem was reunited under Jewish rule for the first time in thousands of years. Messianic Jews understand the reunification of the city to be a fulfillment of Yeshua’s prophecy that “the times of the Gentiles treading upon Jerusalem” (Luke 21) would come to a close. Interestingly, it was not until 1967 that the current restoration movement-now widely known as Messianic Judaism-began to grow.

During this period, a broader spiritual revival, known as ”the Jesus Movement,” spread like wildfire among thousands of young people searching for meaning and purpose for their lives in a turbulent and uncertain world. Hundreds of Jewish youths came to faith in Yeshua during those years. These young Jewish believers, spiritually awakened through a relationship with the Messiah, began to rediscover their Jewish identities! Out of this fervor, modern-day Messianic Judaism was born.

Messianic Judaism is a congregational movement made up of people from both Jewish and Gentile backgrounds who live out their relationship with G-d in the context of Jewish lifestyle and identity. It is a movement of people returning to the faith and practice of the early followers of the Nazarene. And finally, it is a restoration movement-as G-d fulfills his promise to restore his people Israel to himself in these last days.

The Messianic Vision is a revelation and understanding of...

• God’s continued faithfulness to Israel and the Jewish people and His plan to use the Jewish people to be a light to all the nations.
  
  
• God’s only plan for salvation through a commitment to Yeshua HaMashiach.
  
  
• The value of Messianic Congregations as a prophetic witness both to the Jewish Community and Gentile Christians.
  
  
• The harmony between being Jewish and believing in Yeshua, and the continuity of the Jewish scriptures (Torah & Tenach) and the writings of the New Covenant (Brit Hadasha).
  
  
• The end-time revival of the Jewish people.

Learn more!
Come rejoice with us, Jew and Gentile alike! Come celebrate God’s Salvation – YESHUA - through Davidic Worship & Dance, while we study the Torah (Hebrew scriptures) and Brit Hadasha (New Covenant) together!