The 10 Biggest Lies About Jesus - Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of the series.  Again, I would like to express my thanks to Rabbi Jonathan Bernis, as this blog entry is inspired by his message.

If you haven't read Part 1 you may wish to do so first.  It's located here.

... continuing; I have decided to combine the next 3 lies into one section as they are so closely related.

Lie Number 4 - Jesus Christ is the God of Christianity

Lie Number 5 - Jesus Began a New Religion Called Christianity

Lie Number 6 - Jesus Never Claimed to be the Messiah

Revelation Ch. 11 gives us a very stark picture of two witnesses.  Many theologians have claimed to decipher who these two are.  Some believe they are actual people, testifying in a street, who will ultimately be cut down - killed!  Still others see them as purely symbolic.

For me, the best expressions of who these two are go something like this;  they are Elijah and Moses, the Old and New Testaments,  or my favorite - Jew and Gentile.  You see, I believe spiritual, biblical events happen over time throughout history.  I tend to be an Historicist instead of a Futurist, so it makes good sense to me that Yeshua (Jesus) is presented in both the Tanakh (Old Testament) and the B'rit Hadashah (New Testament) by the Old and New Covenants, by the Old and New Priesthood (Aaronic and Mel'chizedek - although Melchi'zedek has been there all along!).

A Jewish person has trouble with this idea.  He looks at the Torah and sees the One True God.  He cannot accept God becoming human, a child who became God, and a God that splits into 3 persons; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

The truth we "Christians" know is that Jesus the Christ is Yeshua Ha'Mashiach - Jesus the Messiah!  He is not the son of Mr. and Mrs. Christ, as the old joke goes!

Jewish children are taught early on that God is One and there is no other god.  They sing and/or recite the Shema.  Christians are taught that God is one also, although I've personally met Christians who seem confused by this. Yeshua the Messiah (God) is the same yesterday, today and forever, as it states in the N.T. (Heb. 13:8)  Where does this come from?  The "Shema"!  From Deut. 6:4-9:

Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Eh-lo-hay-noo Adonai eh-chahd,

(Ba-rooch shame k'vode mahl-choo-toe l'oh-lahm vah-ed)

Hear, O Israel!  The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!

(Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom for all eternity.)

(Note: the second sentence is usually a liturgical response)

Deut. 6:4  "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!

Deut. 6:5  "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deut. 6:6  "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.

Deut. 6:7  "You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.

Deut. 6:8  "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets on your forehead.

Deut. 6:9  "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

And it is also customary to recite Lev. 19:18:

V'ah-hav-ta l'ray-ah-cha ka-moe-cha

And you should love your neighbor as yourself

Here is a short video singing the first two lines of the Shema.

BTW, the admonition to "Hear, O Israel" means more than just "listen"!  It means, "to understand and obey"!  From the point of view of the B'rit Hadashah there is no problem here, nor, I would argue, from the Tanakh!  Yeshua proclaimed himself God and Messiah (Matthew 26:63-64) (John 8) (John 10) (Matthew 16:15-17).  The Tanakh speaks of the Messiah in many places; Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, 2 Samuel, Psalm, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Hosea, Micah, Zechariah, Malachai - the list goes on and on!

Look at Jeremiah 31:1-14, for example, for it describes the New Covenant with the Messiah!

 Another point is the use of "3"s everywhere in the Tanakh.  Jewish scholars don't always understand why "3"s are used, but we know why - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Look at Isaiah 6:1-3.

Isaiah 6:1  In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.

Isaiah 6:2  Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  (3 wings on each side)

Isaiah 6:3  And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory."  (3 "Holy"s)

Now... look at Rev. 4:8,

Rev. 4:8  And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME."

Wow!  Folks, Yeshua IS NOT a "made up" God of Christianity! He DID NOT create a new religion (although some Christians even make that mistake)!  He DID claim to be the Messiah and God HIMSELF!

One of the reasons, I think, that some Christians get this "oneness" of God wrong, is incorrect teaching from their Priests and Pastors.  Look at this passage from Romans 8:34:

Romans 8:34  Who punishes them? Certainly not the Messiah Yeshua, who died and — more than that — has been raised, is at the right hand of God and is actually pleading on our behalf!

Several passages in the New Testament speak of Yeshua being, "at the right hand of God".  Some people envision a set of 3 thrones in heaven; one for the Father, one for the Son, one for the Holy Spirit.  This, of course, is absurd!  There is only One God!

The Observer

... coming next,

- Jesus Taught Against the Law of Moses

- Jesus Did Not Fufill the Messianic Prophecies In the Tanakh (Old Testament)

- Jewish People Do Not Need Jesus for Salvation

- The Jewish Identity of Jesus is Meaningless Because He's Spirit Only