Is Jesus a Jew?

What does the Bible say?

Chapter 1

Is Jesus a Jew? Well, sort of, but not exactly.

Here is John chapter 1 from the Holy Bible, Hoehn Version--

___John chapter 1

1 The Word was there in the beginning, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him, and nothing that was made was made without him.

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shined in darkness, and the darkness didn't understand it.

6 A man was sent from God whose name was John.

7 He came for a witness, to testify about the Light, so all men through him would believe.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to testify about that Light.

9 That was the true Light, that illuminates every man that comes into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world didn't know him.

11 He came to his own, and his own didn't receive him.

12 But to as many as did receive him, he gave power to become the sons of God, to those who believe on his name,

13 Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word was made flesh, and lived among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as of God's only child,) full of grace and truth.

15 John testified about him, and shouted, "This is the one about whom I spoke, He that comes after me is preferred before me, for he was before me."

16 And of his fullness, all of us have received, and grace for grace.

17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

18 No man has seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.

19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"

20 And he confessed, and didn't deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."

21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you that prophet?" And he answered, "No."

22 Then they said to him, "Who are you? So we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

23 He said, "I am the voice of someone shouting in the wilderness, Make the way of the Lord straight, like the prophet Isaiah said."

24 And those who were sent were from the Pharisees.

25 And they asked him, "Why do you baptize then, if you aren't the Christ, nor Elijah, nor that prophet?"

26 John answered them, "I baptize with water, but someone stands among you whom you don't know.

27 He's the one, who coming after me, is preferred before me, whose shoelaces I am not worthy to untie."

28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, "See, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

30 This is he about whom I said, after me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.

31 And I didn't know him, but that he would be presented to Israel, that's why I've come baptizing with water."

32 And John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it stayed on him.

33 And I didn't know him, but he that sent me to baptize with water said to me, On whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he that baptizes with the Holy Ghost.

34 And I saw, and testified that this is the Son of God."

35 Again the next day John stood, and two of his disciples,

36 And looking at Jesus as he walked, he said, "See, the Lamb of God!"

37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi," (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) "Where do you live?"

39 He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he lived, and stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

40 One of the two that heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

41 He first found his own brother, Simon, and told him, "We have found the Messiah, which when interpreted is, the Christ."

42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he said, "You are Simon the son of Jona, you'll be called Cephas," which is by interpretation, a stone.

43 The day following, Jesus went into Galilee, and found Philip, and said to him, "Follow me."

44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

45 Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the law, and the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

46 And Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, "See, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceitfulness!"

48 Nathanael said to him, "Where do you know me from?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

49 Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel."

50 Jesus answered him, "Do you believe because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree? You'll see greater things than these."

51 And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, After this you'll see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending from and descending on the Son of man."

Chapter 2

In John Chapter 1, verse 1, above, it talks about the Word.

The Word is one of the names of Jesus. Another of his names is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, another is “The Lamb of God” who takes away the sins of the world.

But your sins are not blotted out until you accept Jesus as savior, and become a Christian (get born again.)

More on getting born again later in this book.

I grew up in sort of a divided home. My Mother was a Christian, but my Dad claimed to be an Atheist.

My Dad retired from an aerospace company, and drew a pension from it, in addition to his Social Security benefits.

But in one of his jobs prior to the aerospace company, Dad worked for a man who was a Jew. Dad's employer was not nice to him, so Dad came to the incorrect conclusion that all Jews are bad.

My Dad was a smarter than average guy. Significantly smarter than average. So it surprises me that he would jump to the wrong conclusion that all Jews are bad.

I guess that there are some bad Jews, but there are many good Jews.

Albert Einstein was apparently a genius Physicist, and a Jew. He gave us E equals M C squared, from which we get nuclear electric power generation.

Wasn't Jonas Salk a Jew, who gave us the Polio vaccine?

My trumpet teacher, Gabriel Bartold, was a Jew.

In High School, Aaron Rosenzweig was an excellent band and orchestra teacher.

My Geometry teacher, Mrs. Rosen was just great. I do not see how there could be a better Geometry teacher anywhere in the world than Mrs. Rosen.

But it's too late. You can't have Mrs. Rosen for Geometry because she was a Senior Citizen back then when I was in High School, and now, I'm a Senior Citizen, so no doubt she has gone to the afterlife.

Your best Chess players are often Jewish.

Bobby Fisher, World Chess Champion, was half Jewish.

But, as a boy, I heard my Atheist Dad say to my Christian Mother, “You worship a Jew?”

It is not good Theology to say that either God the Father or Jesus is a Jew.

Both of them were present at the creation of the world. At that time, there were no Jews. The first Jew that we know about was Abraham, the Hebrew.

It is simply not correct to say that God is a Jew.

When Jesus came down from heaven to be born as a man child, he was born into a Jewish family because of God's covenant with Abraham.

So does Jesus' being born into a Jewish family on earth make him a Jew?

No, because for the previous four thousand years or so, from the time of his being begotten by God, until his coming down to earth, he was not a Jew. Nor is God the Father a Jew.

Which carries more weight, the four thousand or more years before Jesus being born on earth, or the thirty three years of his life on earth?

Does his getting born on earth suddenly make him a Jew? I don't think so.

However, there is scripture that says--

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world didn't know him.

11 He came to his own, and his own didn't receive him.

12 But to as many as did receive him, he gave power to become the sons of God, to those who believe on his name... (John 1:10—12)

And the Bible teaches “to the Jew first, and also to the gentile.”

It's salvation to the Jew first because of God's covenant with his friend, Abraham.

And God promised Abraham that his descendants would be like the sand of the sea, uncountable. That promise has already been fulfilled.

And beside the many Jews, many of the Arabs have also descended from Abraham, who remarried after the death of his wife Sarah, and the new wife bore Abraham six sons.

Those six sons are not Jewish, for it is written, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called.” But they are descendants of Abraham.

And then there are also the descendants of Ishmael that are very numerous.

Even if we didn't count the Jews, but just counted the Arab descendants of Abraham, that would still be very hard to do.

It is unfortunate that many of those Arab descendants of Abraham have fallen into a false religion called Islam.

People with the religion of Islam are called Muslims.

But the Muslims don't know that Jesus is the Son of God. They say he's one of their prophets.

So then, if the Muslims believe that Jesus is a Prophet, wouldn't they then want to know everything that the Prophet Jesus said?

But to find out all that Jesus said, YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE BIBLE, because the Koran doesn't provide very much of what Jesus said.

I haven't read the Koran and don't plan to, but a Muslim man I knew and played Chess with told me that Jesus never said that he's the son of God.

Maybe he never said that in the Koran, but he surely did in the Bible.

If they would read the Bible, they would see that Jesus said that he's the Son of God to the Jewish High Priest, and also to his disciples, especially Peter.

You don't have to be born into a Jewish family to get saved and go to heaven.

I was born into a gentile family, but I'm going to heaven.

It is a sad thing that most Jews don't seem to be able to recognize that Jesus is their Messiah (Savior).

What will happen is that a counterfeit Messiah will come along who is called "The Beast" in the book of the Prophet Daniel, and is called the "Antichrist" elsewhere in the Bible.

Jesus was present with God the Father at the creation of the world.

Notice here verse 2 of the first chapter of Hebrews.

___Hebrews chapter 1

1 God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in the past to the fathers by the prophets,

2 Has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds,

3 Who, being the brightness of his glory, and the specific image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

It says, God the Father made the worlds by Jesus.

But if we go back further in history than the creation of the world, at some point, God the Father begot Jesus, for it is written,

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him won't be destroyed, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

So then Jesus had a beginning. If we go back in history further than the begetting by God the Father of Jesus, then there is God the Father and no Jesus.

But in view of the fact that God the Father begot Jesus before the creation of the world, we see that there was no woman involved in that begetting.

The first woman was Eve, Adam's wife.

Adam was created on the sixth day, and then God rested the seventh day.

Sometime after the week of creation, God put Adam to sleep, and took one of Adam's ribs, and made a woman out of it, Eve.

So how did God beget a son without a woman?

Well, you see, God is the God who speaks things into existence.

For more along these lines, please see my book, “Is Mary the mother of God?”

Mary was the mother of the physical body that Jesus had during his life on earth of about thirty three years.

Romans 10:9,10 tells us how to get born again--

“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you're saved. For with the heart man believes for righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made for salvation.”

Pray this easy prayer, "Jesus, save me!"

The Bible says, "All that call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Joel chapter 2)

___James chapter 1

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes that are dispersed around, greetings.

2 My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into various temptations,

3 Knowing this, that the testing of your faith works patience.

4 But let patience have its perfect work, so you'll be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God for it, who gives to all men liberally, and won't find fault, and it shall be given to him.

6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and tossed.

7 For let that man not think that he'll receive anything from the Lord.

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted,

10 But the rich, in that he is made low, because as the flower of the grass he'll pass away.

11 For the sun has no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withers the grass, and the flower of it falls, and the grace of the fashion of it perishes, so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.

12 Blessed is the man that endures temptation, for after he's been tested, he'll receive the crown of life, that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

13 Let no man say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God," for God can't be tempted with evil, nor does he tempt any man,

14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.

15 Then when lust has conceived, it produces sin, and sin when it's finished, produces death.

16 Do not err, my beloved brothers.

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, nor shadow of turning.

18 He chose to father us with the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

19 So, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger,

20 For the anger of man doesn't accomplish the righteousness of God.

21 So, lay apart all filthiness and the unnecessary naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like a man seeing his natural face in a mirror,

24 For he sees himself, and goes his way, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

25 But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

26 If any man among you seems to be religious, and doesn't bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is for nothing.

27 Pure religion and undefiled before God the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

___James chapter 2

1 My brothers, don't have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

2 For if a man with a gold ring comes to your assembly in fancy clothes, and a poor man in dirty clothes comes in also,

3 And you have respect to him that wears the fancy clothes, and say to him, "Sit here in a good place," and say to the poor, "Stand there, or sit here under my footstool,"

4 Aren't you then partial in yourselves, and have become judges with evil thoughts?

5 Listen, my beloved brothers, hasn't God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?

6 But you have despised the poor. Don't rich men oppress you, and bring you before the judgment seats?

7 Don't they blaspheme that worthy name by which you're called?

8 If you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor like yourself," you do well,

9 But if you have respect of persons, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as sinners.

10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

11 For he that said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not kill." Now if you don't commit adultery, yet if you kill, you've become a breaker of the law.

12 Speak in such a way, and do, as those who'll be judged by the law of liberty.

13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that has shown no mercy, and mercy rejoices against judgment.

14 What does it profit, my brothers, though a man says he has faith, and doesn't have works? Can faith save him?

15 If a brother or sister needs clothes, and lacks daily food,

16 And one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you don't give them the things that are needed for the body, what good is that?

17 Even so faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead, being alone.

18 Yes, a man could say, "You have faith, and I have works, show me your faith without your works, and I'll show you my faith by my works."

19 You believe that there is one God, you do well, the devils also believe, and tremble.

20 But don't you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

21 Wasn't Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son on the altar?

22 Do you see how faith worked with his deeds, and by works faith was made perfect?

23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God."

24 You see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

25 Likewise also wasn't Rahab the prostitute justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?

26 For like the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

___James chapter 3

1 My brothers, don't be many masters, knowing that we'll receive the greater condemnation.

2 For in many things we offend all. If any man doesn't offend in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

3 See, we put bits in the horses' mouths, so they'll obey us, and we turn around their whole bodies.

4 Look also at the ships, which though they're so large, and are driven by fierce winds, yet they're turned around by a very small helm, wherever the captain wants.

5 Even so, the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. See how great a matter a little fire kindles!

6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of sin, so is the tongue among our members that it makes dirty the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire by hell.

7 For every kind of animals, and of birds, and of snakes, and of things in the sea, gets tamed, and has been tamed by mankind,

8 But no man can tame the tongue, it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

9 With it we bless God, the Father, and with it we curse men, who are made after the likeness of God.

10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be.

11 Does a fountain send out at the same place sweet water and bitter?

12 Can the fig tree, my brothers, produce olive berries? Or a vine, figs? So no fountain can yield both salt water and fresh.

13 Who is a wise man, possessing knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good lifestyle his works with meekness of wisdom.

14 But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, don't glory, and don't lie against the truth.

15 This wisdom doesn't descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be reasoned with, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

18 And the fruit of righteousness is planted in peace by those who make peace.

___James chapter 4

1 Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don't they come from your lusts that war in your members?

2 You lust, and don't have, you kill, and desire to have, and can't obtain, you fight and war, yet you don't have, because you don't ask.

3 You ask, and don't receive, because you ask wrongly, so you can consume it on your lusts.

4 You adulterers and adulteresses, don't you know that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world is an enemy of God.

5 Do you think that the scripture says for nothing, "The spirit that lives in us lusts to envy?"

6 But he gives more grace. So he says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he'll run away from you.

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded.

9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and cry, let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he'll lift you up.

11 Don't speak evil about each other, brothers. He that speaks evil about his brother, and judges his brother, speaks evil about the law, and judges the law, but if you judge the law, you're not a doer of the law, but a judge.

12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy, who are you that judges someone else?

13 Go on now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we'll go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and make a profit,"

14 Actually, you don't know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is a puff of steam, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.

15 For you ought to say, "Lord willing, we'll live, and do this, or that."

16 But now you rejoice in your boastings, all such rejoicing is evil.

17 Therefore to him that knows to do good, and doesn't do it, to him it is sin.

___James chapter 5

1 Go on now, you rich men, cry and howl for your miseries that shall come on you.

2 Your riches are corrupted, and your clothes are moth eaten.

3 Your gold and silver are rusted, and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh like fire. You've heaped treasure together for the last days.

4 See, the wages of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which you've kept back by fraud, shouts, and the shouts of those who've reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath.

5 You've lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton, you've nourished your hearts, like in a day of slaughter.

6 You've condemned and killed the just, and he doesn't resist you.

7 Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and has long patience for it, until he receives the early and latter rain.

8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is getting near.

9 Don't grudge against each other, brothers, so you won't be condemned, see, the judge stands at the door.

10 Take, my brothers, the prophets, who've spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

11 See, we count them happy that endure. You've heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

12 But above all things, my brothers, don't swear, not by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath, but let your yes be yes, and your no, no, so that you don't fall into condemnation.

13 Is anyone among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is anyone merry? Let him sing psalms.

14 Is anyone sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord,

15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he has committed sins, he'll be forgiven.

16 Confess your faults to each other, and pray for each other so you'll be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man is does a lot of good.

17 Elijah was a man subject to the same kind of passions that we are, and he prayed earnestly that it wouldn't rain, and it didn't rain on the earth for three years and six months.

18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

19 Brothers, if any of you strays from the truth, and someone converts him,

20 Let him know, that he that converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.