I’m a Jew Who Believes in Yeshua

As I wrote those words, I knew that some who would read them would become triggered. Some of my family and friends from the greater Jewish community strongly don’t believe that someone can be Jewish and believe in Yeshua. There are also those from the Christian community who would say as some have said directly to me: “You used to be Jewish before you became a Christian right?” So you may ask why am I writing this today if I know it will trigger people? The answer is: Because it is true. I am a Jew who believes in Yeshua. I am a Jew, I will always be a Jew. I will die as a Jew. I will be buried as a Jew and I will one day resurrect as a Jew. Yes, Jews believe in the resurrection, as a matter of fact, Jews pray a prayer three times daily which states: 

"You, O Lord, are mighty forever. You raise the dead. You are mighty to save. You sustain the living with grace, resurrect the dead with abundant mercy, uphold the falling, heal the sick, set free those in bondage, and keep faith with those that sleep in the dust. Who is like You, Master of mighty deeds, and who can compare to You, King, who causes death and restores life, and makes salvation sprout! You are faithful to resurrect the dead. Blessed are You, O Lord, who resurrects the dead." 

I am a Jew. My parents were Jews. My grandparents were Jews and their ancestors were Jews. As a matter of fact, based upon a DNA test, I am 100% Jewish. I am Jewish because I come from a genealogical line of Jews leading all the way back to Abraham. I cannot become “un-Jewished” no matter what I believe. One can be an atheist and still be a Jew. There are even Jewish Buddhists and Jewish Muslims.

So, while my genealogy and DNA makes me Jewish, what about my faith? My faith is Judaism. Judaism is the belief system established and followed by the descendants of Abraham and it derives its name from the kingdom or nation of Judah, the southern kingdom of the divided nation of Israel. So while Jewishness is established by genealogical lineage, Judaism is a faith established by a set of fundamental beliefs that we read about in the books of the Bible. In other words, one can be Jewish and not follow Judaism and one can follow Judaism and not be Jewish; however, there are millions of people like me who are both Jewish and follow Judaism. 

You may be asking at this point what difference does it make if someone is Jewish or not if they believe in Yeshua? Doesn’t their faith in Yeshua become more important than their Jewishness? To answer the way my wise rabbi used to answer many of my questions: The answer is yes and no. Yes, as a Jew who believes in Yeshua, Yeshua becomes the center of my faith and beliefs because without His fulfillment of hundreds of prophesies from the Tanakh and His provided atonement, my Judaism would be unfulfilled. The answer is also no because according to the Bible, my being Jewish is still extremely important not only to me, but also to every human alive. You see the Jewish people were chosen by G-D and given a purpose. According to Romans 3:1-2, the Jewish people were chosen and entrusted with the sayings of G-D:

1 Then what is the advantage of being Jewish? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. First of all, they were entrusted with the sayings of God.

The King James version says it this way:

1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? 2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

So, we see that one role the Jewish people were entrusted with was the preservation of the Word of G-D. We know what Yeshua said in Matthew 5:18:

Amen, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or serif shall ever pass away from the Torah until all things come to pass.

So, if the Torah will not pass away until all things come to pass, then the Jewish people's responsibility to steward and preserve G-D’s Word won’t end until all things come to pass. There isn’t one verse in the Bible that removes that responsibility from the Jewish people. 

A second reason that it is important for me and Jews like me to retain and hold onto our Jewishness is found in Isaiah 49:6:

So He says, “It is too trifling a thing that You should be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the preserved ones of Israel. So I will give You as a light for the nations, that You should be My salvation to the end of the earth.”

The Jewish people were called by G-D according to Scripture to be a light to the nations and that role to be light didn’t end when Yeshua died and rose 2000 plus years ago. Notice that salvation was to go to the ends of the earth as a result of the Jewish people being a light to the nations.

There are many other reasons that it is important for Jewish believers in Messiah to retain and live within their calling as Jewish believers. By providing these two references from scripture, it should let you know why it is so important not just for me to know I am a Jewish believer in Yeshua, but also for me to let others know. It is a part of my G-D-given calling and purpose not just to follow Biblical Judaism, but to do so as a Jew.