Meriweather
Not all who wander are lost
- Oct 21, 2014
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Jews and Christians use the word "messiah,' the meaning of the word is quite different in each faith. The Christian understanding is that their messiah, Jesus, died for the sins of the people. The messiah, according to this Christian definition, is supposed to be a human offering: a blood sacrifice necessary for the forgiveness of sin. But we are taught in our Bible that no one can die for the sins of another. In Deuteronomy 24:16 it says this unequivocally:
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin. [Deuteronomy 24:16]
(Please see Essay #1, 'Jews Believe That No One Can Die for the Sins of Another,' and Essay #2, 'Jews Believe That a Blood Sacrifice Is Not Required for Forgiveness of Sins').
The Bible is clear, in verse after verse: no one can die for the sins of another. Regarding what the Bible says about human sacrifice, please see Essay #4, 'Gd hates human sacrifices.'
Jews do not believe that after forbidding human sacrifice, Gd had a change of heart and decided to require it; and we certainly do not believe that it was the sacrifice of Gd's own human 'son' that Gd wanted. After telling Israel to stay away from pagan practices and pagan beliefs, did Gd change Gd's mind and say, 'Okay, now go ahead and believe in a human sacrifice, just as these very pagans believe?' No -- as we saw in Malachi 3:6, Gd is constant and unchanging. (Please see Essay #1, 'Jews Believe That No One Can Die for the Sins of Another').
Gd tells us that any human sacrifice is an abomination, something Gd hates, and so horrible that it would never even come into Gd's mind to demand it of us. Human sacrifice was practiced by the pagans -- those who worshipped and made offerings to one or more imaginary deities -- it was NOT to be practiced by believers in the One Gd.
It should be understood that the Christian definition of the term 'messiah' is pagan. How do Christians define the term messiah? They understand it exactly as the pagans understood their dying-saving man-gods and heroes. The ancient world is filled with examples. Mithra, Adonis, Dionysis, Attis, Ra, and many others were born in the Winter, died in the Spring, and came back to life. This should sound familiar to anyone conversant with Christian theology.
Alongside this, they believed that their followers would have immortal life, since the death of the hero-god acted as the sacrifice for their sins. This should also sound familiar. The pagan world was filled with gods who were the product of a human mother and a god for the father. Heracles had Zeus for a father, and a human mother named Alcmene. Dionysus’s human mother was Semele, and his father was Zeus; Dionysus was considered a savior god. The parallels to Christian theology are plain to see.
When the earliest Christians would come into the synagogues and missionize, they would get kicked out; they were not allowed to stay and preach. They were rejected because their message was pagan and was recognized as such by the Jews. Thus, they were removed and separated from the Jewish people. This shows the real reason why Judaism and Christianity parted ways, dating from the very beginnings of Christianity. It also shows that one cannot be a Jew and a Christian at the same time. (Please see Essay #9 'Jews' for Jesus, Messianic 'Jews', and 'Hebrew' Christians are not Jews').
What Jews Believe: Essay #3: Jesus Not the Messiah
Your posts are often hard to respond to because of so many misconceptions. The Catholic view is that 'Messiah' means 'Anointed One.' It is my understanding that Jews are awaiting a Messiah (an anointed one) who is fully human and will rule over Judea and have a great earthly kingdom. Nations will look to Jews as the best way to govern and live life.
Catholics believe Jesus is the Messiah. He came to rule over individual lives, to teach us to discern the will of the Father and to follow it. Christ came pronouncing, "Your sins are forgiven." He was met (by some) with scorn. Who gave him the authority to say anything so audacious? Jesus said his authority came from God, whom he called Abba...Father.
As the religious authorities of the day did not believe Jesus, Temple sacrifices continued, and priests of that day brought the sins (and sin offerings) of the people to God for forgiveness. Jesus' life, his total obedience to the Father, had him willingly giving his life for this message. Sins are forgiven. Jesus would not recant. He gave his life, his blood, as the sign of this covenant between God and His people. God confirmed He was the authority behind this message by raising Jesus from the dead.
There are some Christian denomination who have a more far-out view of what Jesus did. But the vast majority of Christians--as do Jews--believe in repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This is what Jesus taught--he did not teach animal or cereal sacrifice.
God forgives sins. We have a covenant that every Jew should understand. I understand most covenants make-do with animal blood, but for this one, Jesus gave his own blood, and in doing so set the stage for God to raise him from the dead.
The other belief Christians have is that in turning from sin (repenting), they do all it is possible for them to do make restitution for what they have done wrong. Often times, what we can do is not nearly enough, and we turn this part, this gap, over to Jesus to bridge for us.