Messianic Judaism Defined

WHAT IS MESSIANIC JUDAISM?

“The [UMJC] envisions Messianic Judaism as a movement of Jewish congregations and groups committed to Yeshua the Messiah that embrace the covenantal responsibility of Jewish life and identity rooted in Torah, expressed in tradition, and renewed and applied in the context of the New Covenant. Messianic Jewish groups may also include those from non-Jewish backgrounds who have a confirmed call to participate fully in the life and destiny of the Jewish People. We are committed to embodying this definition in our constituent congregations and in our shared institutions.”

--Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations
Basic Statement on Defining Messianic Judaism
Revised July 2005

WHO ARE WE? WE ARE JEWS!!!

We are natural descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We were raised in Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and even secular Jewish homes. For some of us, we went to Hebrew School, had Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, received Jewish education, learned Torah, etc. Especially in light of the Holocaust, which some of us lost family in, our Jewishness was driven into us, and we were impressed to never forsake it. For some of us, the Jewish community of Memphis is home, where we were raised, while others of us have moved here from different places. We all have different stories, and each of us has different experiences. But at some point in each of our lives, each one of us had a life-changing experience. We discovered the Moshiach (Messiah)! What Good News! We now understand the joy that the disciple Philip shared with Nathaniel when he said,

"We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,
and about whom the prophets also wrote--
Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." (John 1:45)

For some of us, our families shut us out or were dismayed at our decision to follow Yeshua, and our Jewish community no longer considered us as members. Some of us ended up in churches, and found strength as we learned how to follow Messiah, but something was missing. As we read the New Testament, we saw where Yeshua said,

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. I tell you the truth, 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. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same 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. 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” (Matthew 5:17-20).

The churches were kind, and we grew. But eventually many of us were discontent. Where was the joy of Sabbath, the fresh-baked challah, the singing of Eliyahu haNavi? Who would Bar Mitzvah our children? How could we fit in with traditional Christianity while our longing for Jewish identity went unfulfilled? Traditional Judaism was no longer an option. Yet we did not seem to fit in traditional churches. Our longing for our roots and heritage was a deeply engrained conviction. Where could we go?

For each one of us, the Messianic Jewish synagogue has become that place for us to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, enjoy Jewish space, enjoy the Hebrew language, stand for kaddish, have Jewish weddings and burials, hear the Torah read and shofar blown, sing Adon Olam, celebrate the Jewish holidays, bar mitzvah our children, and to keep our connection to Judaism all while maintaining our Messianic distinctives. In Messianic Judaism, we seek to preserve and proclaim our Jewish heritage and values in light of the person and teachings of Yeshua the Messiah.

WE ARE NON-JEWS

Some of us are not Jewish, and we come from various ethnic and religious backgrounds. For some of us, traditional Christianity was home: Christmas, Easter, communion, baptism, church choirs and Sunday School were our background. Each one of us has a different story to tell, but for each of us there was a discontent. Something inside us nagging. Why do we worship on Sunday instead of the Biblical Sabbath? Why do we observe holidays that neither Christ or the apostles knew? Why has God preserved the Jewish people? Since Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the Law of Moses (Matthew 5:17), and that “salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22), and Paul wrote that the Torah is “holy… righteous…good” and “spiritual” (Romans 7:12,14), why do so many Christians fear the Torah or Judaism? While many followers of Jesus love Israel, have respect for the Jewish faith, and abhor anti-Semitism, we have also learned that some Christians express subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) forms of judeo-phobia and anti-Semetism.

For some of us, we studied Judaism, and found pieces that seem to complete the puzzle for us. We disagreed with the rabbis about Messiah, but so much of what we learned was so meaningful to us that we developed a love for Israel and the Jewish people, as well as a new respect for what the Jewish faith stands for. We found good news! Some of us began to share what we learned with our families, our Christian friends and people in our churches. Some appreciated these new insights while many were dismayed. For some of us, in time, we no longer fit in with traditional Christianity. Our hearts were longing for something deeper and richer than the norm. Like the Godfearers of the 2nd Temple period (who lived according to Jewish law without formally converting to Judaism) we became caught between two worlds. Where would we go? The synagogues wanted us to give up Jesus, and the churches typically wanted us to give up Judaism. Where could we go?

For each of us, the Messianic Jewish synagogue has become that spiritual home and mishpocha (family). It is a place which acknowledges that the Messiah has come, yet connects us non-Jews with Jewish people by allowing us to hear the Torah, observe the Feasts of Israel, see the connections between the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, and join with Israel at large by supporting Eretz Yisrael and Jewish causes at a variety of levels. In Messianic Judaism, we seek to follow Yeshua the Messiah and His teachings according to the pattern of Jewish culture and tradition.

WE ARE PEOPLE

Whether Jew or non-Jew, we are just ordinary people who serve an extraordinary God who has changed our lives forever. We come from many different walks of life but we all share a unity made possible only through God's Messiah, Jesus (Yeshua) of Nazareth.

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Comment by Pamela Jones on November 1, 2010 at 9:15pm: Christianity divides in "Denominations" Judaism divides in Schools of thought .. my question then is :
Where or how do we find unity ?
Each expresses a thought of a teacher or founder .. each offers an oppinion . but what opinion was ever asked? ....

Our challenge is not to convert you as to us there is no conversion.. you are or are not. a follower is simply as easy as it gets. You will in time with God's (Elohim) help with the guidance of the Holy spirit (Ruach ha Kodesh) find your way home. In the mean time we will make our selves available to you art all times until our death to assist yo in that journey to reconcile you to Abba

I'm just a little bit curious myself here, Daniel, forgive me for bringing it up again, but... indulge me if you will. Going back to your earlier statement on this thread, highlighted above, is Unity and Reconciliation a goal of your creed with the other schools of thought that you mention within Christian and Jewish shuls? And if it isn't, should it be? Why or why not?

Secondly, As a Messianic, is it not your primary mission and purpose to bring the gospel first to the Hebrew (in your terminology,) first, or is your goal to be a missionary to convert Christian and Jewish (Hebrew) alike to the Netzari creed? In your opinion is it really necessary to believe as you do in order to be saved? Or as you say, you either are or you aren't a follower of the Netzari way. Fair enough. But how do you determine and what makes you so sure it's the only way. Is it because it's the most direct path to the Savior that you know of, in imitating his walk when he lived? And if you're in submission to His divine will, to such a degree, is that your way of reconciling the mortal self and frailties that go with that, to being saved? Are we not all entitled to that same saving grace as believers in the same Messiah?

I know you have an answer ready to be heard. You are a devout believer if there ever was one. So I look forward to your reply. Hope all is well in your world. Take care and I pray for your peace and wellbeing.

Shalom.

Comment by Pamela Jones on November 1, 2010 at 9:12am: I agree 100% with what you say too. I have my own reservations about Dan's religion per se, and will be interested in seeing what he follows up with if and when he chooses to respond. Hopefully he'll be able to provide more insight and feedback to the serious issues you raise.

On a sidenote, I also ask that you keep Daniel in prayer as he has some ongoing personal matters that could use divine intercession. He needs blessings in almost every facet of his life and prayer does help. Don't we all for that matter? But Dan more than most has been tried and tested beyond what most people consider normal, even by Christian standards. So please remember this man in prayer. Shalom!

Comment by Pamela Jones on November 1, 2010 at 7:03am: Yeah, I see Dan was replying on both threads. He mentions Messianic movement, and Hebrew movement, and Netzari movement in one reply on this thread. I haven't heard of the "Hebrew movement" as long as I've been a practicing Messianic; unless Dan is referring to "Jews for Jesus."

The Netzari is a much smaller offshoot of the Messianic movement, and are not officially recognized by the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America, and seems to predominate in certain parts of the country and in Canada of loosely organized members. There is no set synagogue but as Daniel teaches, the synagogues and churches are suspect of being in apostasy, and the only way to Yeshua is the walk of the first century apostles. Sans religious organizations such as abound today.

I do understand where many religions have gotten away from the pure message of the apostolic ministry of Jesus himself. So Daniel does have some valid points to consider. I just don't accept all Christian denominations are apostates in teaching or practice, as I've previously stated. But if Daniel is comfortable in his Christian walk and ministry, and tries to follow the Savior in teaching and principle, then he is not wrong either. What would Christ himself say if he were here today? "Pick up your cross and follow me...." was his teaching when he lived on earth. It was pretty simple compared to some religiosity known as some churches today. But not all churches are alike; so it does pay to be discerning.

Comment by Pamela Jones on November 1, 2010 at 6:32am: Barry,
I see you're trying to get this message through to Daniel, but this is not his thread or blog to question him on that. Perhaps he'll see your questions better directed to him on "The Final Call," thread that he has on his own page. I don't mind you post it here, but it's being directed to my attention, rather than Daniel. (Just a thought....) Have a blessed day. :-)

Comment by Pamela Jones on October 31, 2010 at 9:14pm: Jews and Gentiles are distinguished scripturally and biblically. The Gentiles are grafted into the Olive Tree spoken of in the bible, and the Jews are the natural branches. There's an article on that from a Messianic congregation in Haifa, Israel. I will find it and re-post it online here for your mutual edification if you'll allow me to. I don't have time to get into semantics, but it is important if one does study the Hebraic origin of the gospel to understand that semantics are very important in the bible. Hebraic origins of words when translated into other languages have lost some of their meaning over time because of language barriers. Words are important; and some are scholars on the subject. I am not. I can't speak for Daniel, but I do know he has alot on his plate, and some health issues that may prevent him from responding as timely as you would like. So be patient with him. He'll come around when he's ready to. Daniel knows alot more about the nuances of the bible from his perspective as a Netzari than I can comment on. The Netzari defers to the original Aramaic translation used when Christ was upon the earth. The key difference between the Netzari and the Messianic Alliance I associate with according to my rabbi, is that the Aramaic New Testament teaches that the "new" covenant is really the old covenant (Torah) renewed. The Messianic Alliance believes the New Testament is a continuation of the old covenant (Torah) but is new because Messiah came to not only replace the law but to fulfill the law. I will post what I can dig up but it won't be tonight.

Comment by Pamela Jones on October 31, 2010 at 7:24pm: It's important to note, Carol Ann, that there are different groups of Netzari Messianic Judaism. Daniel may not adhere to the one website you've drawn your sources from. So Daniel will need to speak for himself to clarify any misunderstanding regarding what you've found on the internet.

There are groups who claim to be followers of Yeshua and practicing what they describe as Messianic Judaism, or Netzari Messianic Judaism, but in fact are doing their own thing contrary to biblical teachings or God's will. Not all groups come in the name of Yeshua, although they "come with their lips and their preaching, yet their hearts are far from me." Says the Lord in scripture.

There's some fringe (emphasis on fringe again,) groups that proclaim to be Messianic of some sort or another who practice polygamy! Well we can all agree that's not condoned by Christian standards. So I checked with my Rabbi, where I live (he is the President of the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America for two straight years in a row,) and is very knowledgeable about all things Christian, Jewish, and Messianic. He told me polygamy is not ordained or condoned by the Messianic movement and anyone who teaches that is practicing heresy.

Daniel does not believe in polygamy either, or his belief system as far as I know. But there are some on the Netzari websites who proclaim otherwise. So I've found one needs to be very discerning where to go for resources on the internet; because not all groups are the same or teach from the same precepts who proclaim to be Messianic. So that's just a word of caution on internet resources. There are deep divisions I've come to find out between the Netzari groups on the internet.

The best website I can recommend is the Refinersfire.org. It is ran by a Netzari Rebbetzin, (female rabbi) who edited the Aramaic translated version of the New Testament, which the Netzari holds as the standard for their Bible. It is the very best site I know of personally, so check it out and see what you might find. The lady who runs it would surely answer any questions you may have as well. She is very personable. She also gets death threats and hate mail however, so is selective who she responds to. :-)

Comment by Pamela Jones on October 31, 2010 at 6:20pm: Barry,
Without going through line by line of your comment, because I am simply running out of time here (no offense intended,) but the PURPOSE AND MISSION OF MESSIANIC JUDAISM IS TO BRING THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL TO THE JEW! IT IS NOT INTENDED FOR CHRISTIANS TO CONVERT OR BELIEVE OR FOLLOW THE TRADITIONS OF YESHUA WHEN HE WALKED THE EARTH. It is the Gentiles, biblically speaking, who will provoke the Jews to jealousy for want of what they themselves are missing in the message of the Gospel.

Messianic Judaism is not intended to replace Christianity or any of its teachings. It is to be a light and an emissary to the Jewish people first and foremost, to prepare those who are ready to receive the Gospel as a Jewish expression of their faith. The divine purpose is to help Jews see they don't have to give up who they are to receive the Messiah. For centuries the Christian church has persecuted and slaughtered the Jews because they refused to follow Christian teachings. So you really can't blame them for not wanting to associate with Christianity even if they come to believe in Messiah.

Most Messianic synagogues are a combination of Jewish and non-Jewish people. For the non-Jewish, they are willing to come on board and embrace a Jewish expression of their Christian faith. They are not asked to give anything up. But being Messianic isn't intended to proselytize to the Christians in their world, but to the Jewish in the world. I pray that makes some sense as it is the primary mission of Messianic Judaism.

Comment by Pamela Jones on October 31, 2010 at 5:42pm: LOL Daniel, Jews call themselves JEWS, first and foremost. We do not find that a negative connotation, and are Jews all our lives! You may describe being Jewish as an Assyrian term, but I've never heard that given as the reason Jews call themselves Jews. We are not necessarily Assyrian, we may be Hebrew but that term is not used by Jewish people as much as the term Jew is. You are so rigid on calling a Jew a Hebrew, I know you have your reasons but to us Jewish people we are and always will be Jews! But I forgive you because in a sense you do mean well. You involve yourself so much with semantics and lose the essence of a message sometimes. But you strive to be a serious student and I give you credit for that.

Comment by Daniel Baumet on October 31, 2010 at 5:18pm: Oooooppps forgot School Three
People like my self that in spite of our surroundings just marched to the beat of a different drummer.. Initially I was raised to be Atheistic, but stumbled into the out stretched hands .. even though I began attending a Adventist congregation .. I could not agree with every thing .. I then wandered as a "Full Gospel " Evangelist Teacher , but still could not connect my dots .. it was when I first stumbled into a Messianic Congregation, that I began to connect dots and feel more at home.
Being Messianic it seemed was not enough (As being a Christina was never enough to many congregations I attended .. I had to be a Baptist , Pentecostal ,, etc ...) but my teacher offered me the simplest thought . remove every thing that I was not, and what I was left with had to be what I was
.. WORKS FOR ME LOL

Comment by Daniel Baumet on October 31, 2010 at 5:12pm: I will put this thought here ..
Christianity divides in "Denominations" Judaism divides in Schools of thought .. my question then is :
Where or how do we find unity ?
Each expresses a thought of a teacher or founder .. each offers an oppinion . but what opinion was ever asked?
Messianic are Three bodies of water ..
1/ The Messianic Movement or as Pam calls them Messianic Jews who are ethnically Hebrew . (Pam uses the Assyrian Term Jews)
2/ The Hebrew Roots Movement - More common in North America but spreading where Christians are coming away from the "Blond Haired White, Blue Eyed Jesus" back to the Hebrew (or as Pam would say Jewish lol) roots of the faith. It is a shock to some to find out Jesus did not speak Greek, He spoke Hebrew or Aramaic . When the Alexandrian wanted text in their own language they did not take into account that not all Hebrew can render a Greek word.
I agree with Barry , Constantineizm and later more those that wished a script in the language they spoke had a dim view of these "Jews" that killed their "Jesus" . Any thing then in the mind of the scholars that was Jewish had t be wrong and Jesus must have rejected the Jews or Jews Jesus."
Facts not known then are now revealed and many know now the truth that neither really happened.
As Netzari we have done more to reach out to both sides seeking to "Unify" but a lot of mistrust continues to divide.
Our challenge is not to convert you as to us there is no conversion.. you are or are not. a follower is simply as easy as it gets. You will in time with God's (Elohim) help with the guidance of the Holy spirit (Ruach ha Kodesh) find your way home. In the mean time we will make our selves available to you art all times until our death to assist yo in that journey to reconcile you to Abba .
For you Carol Ann take your quote of English from Greek and render it in English from Aramaic .:
/For Elohim is one and the mediator between Elohim and man is one; (namely) the man Y'shua the Mashiyach who gave Himself a ransom for every man . a testimony that arrived in due time.
Your quote was incomplete .. it should also use your verse 6 .. for it is that which the foundations of both our faiths .. ideologies .. can grow .. or as you say we are meaningless and Babylonians (babbel on yawns ) lol