Thanks, Wondering
--Anonymous
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Dear Anonymous and Wondering,
What a perfect time of year for your question because the annual date for Easter is completely dependent upon the start of the Jewish Feast of Passover. Why? Because Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was the historical reality to which this Jewish feast points to, ever since the first Passover lamb was slain in Egypt during Moses’ time! Therefore they are tied together, forever, the Jewish prophecy and the Christian fulfillment. True Christians should honor and respect Judaism as one would honor and respect an ancient caring nursemaid or grandfather or faithful family historian. They have protected and cared for the truth of God down through the centuries, sometimes at horrific cost. Many Christians even celebrate Jewish festivals and customs, using them to teach how all truth ultimately points to the promise of God’s salvation through Messiah, Y’shua, Jesus! However, Christians do not normally practice Judaism and there are several reasons why.
Jesus , while embracing the spirit of his own religion and race (especially its faithfulness to the truth of there being only one true God), harshly rebuked what it had become. Judaism had morphed, as all “religions” (including Christianity) eventually do, into a hierarchy of power-mongering people clawing to keep themselves over and above others. The entire 23rd Chapter of Matthew records Jesus’ words concerning the leaders of the Jews. Jesus brought something better than the Hebrew commandments, He brought the ability to actually live them fully and freely, through His Spirit of love and power. If everyone became free in God’s love, then the religious leaders risked losing their place on the ladder of prestige. Therefore, Jesus’ own Jewish leaders had him killed. We follow Jesus’ example by choosing to pursue the “relationship” with God that Judaism aspired to rather than simply follow a “religion.”- It (practicing Judaism) is no longer needed. Jesus’ sacrifice did away with all religions. Jesus fulfilled all the requirements of Jewish purity for us, since He knew none of us were perfect enough to keep all the laws ourselves. He was the one and only perfect Jew and now it is our relationship with Him that enables us to come to God, not our own righteousness. In Hebrews (8:6 & 13) we read, “But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs (the Jewish priests) as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises….he has made the first (Jewish) covenant obsolete.”
- It is an unnecessary burden. When the same question you asked came up among the 1st Century believers, some thought every Christian would have to first become a Jew (shown by means of circumcision and adhering to other laws) before they could follow Christ. There was a huge discussion about this and the outcome is recorded in Acts (15:27). “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything (Jewish) beyond the following requirements…” which could be summed up by clean eating and sexual purity. Our time and energy can be spent on loving and serving God and people much easier when we are not forced to focus on adhering to hundreds of Jewish laws.
I hope this is helpful! Oh, and “THANK YOU, ANONYMOUS AND WONDERING,” for caring enough to ask!
The Pastor’s Wife
