Can I Be Jewish and Believe in Jesus?

If Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, why should they join or start another religion? After all, it’s a Jewish thing to believe in Messiah.

They continued worshiping God on the Sabbath. They continued celebrating Passover, Shavuot, etc. They still identified themselves as Jews and kept the traditions of our people. This makes perfect sense. If Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, why should they join or start another religion? After all, it’s a Jewish thing to believe in Messiah.

Let's take a look into the writings of the New Covenant and see that this is really the case...

Acts 16:3: Paul circumcised Timothy
Paul, one of the leaders of this new Messianic faith, saw a need to have Timothy circumcised. If he did this, there is no question that Paul never taught anyone to stop being Jewish.

Acts 17:2 Paul regularly went to Synagogue
Paul continued going to the Jewish Synagogue. He never stopped worshiping as a Jew.

Acts 18:18 Paul took a Jewish vow
There were vows that Jewish people took at the Temple in Jerusalem and Paul continued taking them after believing that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah.

Acts 20:16 Paul rushed to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish pilgrim festival of Shavu'ot (Pentecost)
Paul continued worshiping God on the Feasts as he had always done.

Acts 21:23-27 Paul paid for other Jews to offer Jewish sacrifices at the Jewish Temple
Paul continued worshiping God at the Temple in Israel.

Acts 25:8 Paul declared to the Roman governor, Festus, that he had "done nothing against the Torah, to which the Jews hold, nor against the Temple." &
Acts 28:17 Paul told a group of Jewish people in Rome, "I have done nothing contrary to the people or the ancestral customs (includes Jewish traditions,)"
Paul made it clear to people that he continued living as a Jew just as he had always done. Paul continued living as a Jew because he still was one. He had only discovered that God was faithful to keep His promise and send the Jewish Messiah to Israel. If Jesus is the Jewish Messiah than there is no need to stop being Jewish.

Have YOU met the Jewish Jesus?

If Jesus is the Messiah, then I don’t have to stop being Jewish or even become a “Christian”. Peter, Paul and most of the original followers of Jesus were Jewish and stayed Jewish after believing in Jesus. They continued worshiping God on the Sabbath. They continued celebrating Passover, Shavuot, etc. They still identified themselves as Jews and kept the traditions of our people. This makes perfect sense.

Let’s consider a few Messianic Prophecies found in the Hebrew Bible. Micah tells us the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 describe a Messiah who suffers and dies for the sins of mankind. Daniel tells us the Messiah would die before the destruction of the Temple. Today rabbis teach that these Scriptures do not refer to the Messiah, but ancient rabbis believed they did. I have found that modern rabbis teach a different Messiah than the one found in the Hebrew Bible.

In light of Messianic Prophecies like these, found in the Hebrew Bible, it appears to me that the evidence is out in favor of Jesus. Jesus did not claim to have any great dreams, revelations, or ideas and ask people to follow Him; this would be subjective. Instead, Jesus did what the Bible said the Messiah would do. Also, some of the things that fulfilled Messianic Prophecy were done by people who did not believe in Jesus. I believe this is important because it prevents anyone from saying that He did things in an attempt to deceive us. The Bible describes the Messiah, and Jesus matches the description. This makes it easy for me to believe in Jesus because it is objective.

You cannot be both a man and a woman and some people think that I cannot be both Jewish and believe in Jesus. To determine if this is true, I believe we must first ask ourselves one question: “Who is Jesus?”

If Jesus is not the Messiah, then I am wrong for believing in Jesus. But if Jesus is the Messiah, then not only can I be Jewish and believe in Jesus, but all Jews should believe in Jesus!