was the lord jesus a jew

8/3/2019 Was the Lord Jesus a Jew

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Was the Lord Jesus a Jew?

In response to someone who denied that the Lord Jesus was a

Jew.

Dear friend, of all the points which you have raised. The second

one really stood out. I was intrigued to know whether the fact

that Jesus was a Jew is a biblical truth or just an ‘assumption’.

And having done a little homework here is what I found the

Bible asserts -

One of the twelve sons of Jacob was Judah

[Gen. 35:23, Matt. 1:2] and it is from his name that we get the

word 'Jew'. Although Judah was only one of the twelve, by 700

BC, because of the course of Israel's history, the word Yehudahor Jew came to mean any person descended from Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob. ‘Jew’ is used synonymously with ‘Hebrew’ inJeremiah 34:9. Mordecai was called a ‘Jew’ although he was

from the tribe of Benjamin [Esther 2:5]. And even Saul who

later became the Apostle Paul was of the tribe of Benjamin

[Romans 11:1] yet he self-identified as a Jew [Acts 22:3].

According to the Bible, the Messiah must be descended from

the tribe of Judah [Gen. 49:10] as King David was

[1Sam. 17:12, 1Ch. 28:4] and descended from King Davidhimself [2Sam. 7:12-13, Isa. 9:6-7, Jer. 23:5-6]. That is why the

Messiah is called Son of David [Matt. 21:9].



Jesus is from the Tribe of Judah [Heb. 7:14]. His earthly father

was descended from David [Matt. 1:6-16] and His mother was

as well [Luke 1:27, 32-34, 3:23-31].

In addition, Jesus was born King of the Jews [Matt. 2:2]. TheKing of the Jews must Himself be Jewish [Deut. 17:15]. His

aunt Elizabeth was Jewish [a descendant of Aaron, Moses'

brother] and His uncle Zachariah was a Jewish priest

[Luke 1:5, 36]. Jesus was circumcised according to Jewish law

[Luke 2:21, Lev. 12:2-3], and redeemed according to Jewish law

[Luke 2:22-23, Num. 18:15]. His mother atoned according to

Jewish law [Luke 2:24, Lev. 12:6-8]. He is called TheConsolation of Israel [Luke 2:25] and The Glory of Thy People

Israel [Luke 2:32].

Although He was born in Bethlehem [Matt. 2:1, Micah 5:2 ],

Jesus was raised in Nazareth [Luke 2:39-40 ]. Both were Jewish

towns at the time, according to archeologists and historians.

Jesus's parents made the 140 mile [225 m.] round trip to

Jerusalem every Passover [Luke 2:41] in observance of Deut. 16:16. In adult life, His disciples were Jews

[John 1:47, Matt. 20:25-26] and they called Him 'Rabbi'

[John 4:31]. Mary called Him 'Rabboni' [John 20:16]. They

sought Him because they believed the Torah and the Prophets

[John 1:45]. A Pharisee who had not yet come to faith in Him

also addressed Jesus as 'Rabbi' [John 3:2], as did a crowd of

people [John 6:25].

He regularly attended synagogue [Luke 4:16] and His teaching

was respected by the other congregants [Luke 4:15]. He taught

in the Jewish Temple [Luke 21:37] and if He were not a Jew,



His going into that part of the Temple would not have been

allowed [Acts 21:28-30].

Jesus not only taught others how to live a Jewish life, He lived it

Himself. The outward signs of this were such things as wearingtzitzit [tassles] on His clothing

[Luke 8:43, Matt. 14:36, Strong's # 2899] to serve as a reminder

of the commandments [Num. 15:37-39]. He observed Passover

[John 2:13] and went up to Jerusalem [Deut. 16:16]. He

observed the Jewish feast of Tabernacles [John 7:2, 10] and

went up to Jerusalem [John 7:14]. He also observed Hanukah

[John 10:22] and probably Rosh haShanah [John 5:1], going upto Jerusalem on both those occasions as well, even though it isn't

commanded in the Torah.

When he met the Samaritan woman at the well, she right away

recognized Him to be a Jew. “How is it that thou, being a Jew,

askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the

Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans”. [John 4:9] Did the

Lord say, “no woman, you got it all wrong. I am not a Jew asyou suppose”! No! In fact He asserts His Jewish identity by

saying- “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we

worship: for salvation is of the Jews”! [John 4:22] I think this

alone should settle it once and for all that Jesus was a Jew and

identified Himself as one.

Jesus not only identified Himself as a Jew, when Pilate asked

Him if He was the King of the Jews, He said – “Thou sayest it”or as some translations have it – “You have said it”! From His

birth to His last Passover seder [Luke 22:14-15], Jesus lived as a

Jew.



Not only did He live as a Jew, but He died as one!

When Jesus was taken prisoner [John 18:12], He was delivered

into the custody of the Jewish priests, elders, and scribes

[Mk. 14:53]. The Roman soldiers would not have placed Him

under Jewish jurisdiction if He were not Jewish.

Later, Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish

council [Luke 22:66]. He was charged with an offense against

Jewish Law [Matt. 26:65-66, Lev. 24:13-14, John 19:7]. Pilate,

head of the Roman occupation, also recognized Jewish

jurisdiction over Jesus [John 18:31]. This was because Jesuswas a Jew! [John 18:35]

He unequivocally identified Himself as the Messiah [Mk. 14:61-

62] and the Messiah must be Jewish. He said He is the King of

the Jews [Matt. 27:11] and, the King of the Jews must Himself

be Jewish [Duet 17:15]. The Jewish crowd also called Him

'King of the Jews' [Mk. 15:12]. He was mocked, spat on and

beaten by the Roman soldiers as ' King of the Jews' [Mk. 15:16-20] and when they crucified Him, their charge was ' King of the Jews' [Matt. 27:37].

Joseph of Arimethea, who took custody of Jesus's body, was

Jewish [Luke 23:50-52] and he laid the body in his own new

tomb [Matt. 27:59-60]. Therefore, Jesus was buried in a Jewish

cemetery. He was also buried according to Jewish custom of the

time [John 19:40]. Without doubt, Jesus died a Jew.

I think any open minded Christian who reads the above will

plainly see that the fact of the Lord Jesus being a Jew is no

‘assumption’ but established scriptural truth!

was the lord jesus a jew

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