The Messiah vs The Christ Part 3

B"H

Bezrat HaShem

The Jesus the world inherited and recieved with open arms...

A Lawless Christ..

The early Christian Church emerged in the 1st century CE as a sect within Judaism, with its first followers being Jewish believers in Jesus as the Messiah. Initially, these early Christians maintained adherence to the Torah and participated in traditional Jewish practices. However, as the message of Jesus spread beyond Jewish communities to Gentile populations, a pivotal shift began to take place. The Jerusalem Council, recorded in Acts 15, established that Gentile converts would not be required to observe the entirety of the Mosaic Law, including circumcision and dietary restrictions. While this decision aimed to foster inclusivity within the burgeoning faith, it also sowed the seeds of a theological rift that would deepen over time, leading some to view the Torah as secondary in the life of a believer.

In the following decades, the apostle Paul became a leading figure in advocating for this shift away from Torah observance, emphasizing salvation through faith in Christ rather than through adherence to the Law. In his letters, particularly to the Galatians and Romans, Paul argued that reliance on the Torah for justification was a misunderstanding of the gospel. He depicted the Law as a temporary guardian that led people to Christ, whose ultimate purpose was fulfilled in Him. This theological framing placed the Torah in contrast to the new covenant, fostering an anti-Torah spirit that grew more prominent as Christianity distanced itself from its Jewish roots. Gentile believers increasingly came to view Torah observance as unnecessary and even contrary to faith in Jesus.

By the 2nd and 3rd centuries, Church fathers such as Ignatius of Antioch and Justin Martyr emphasized this separation, framing Christianity as distinct from Judaism and the Mosaic Law. They saw adherence to Jewish law as a relic of the old covenant, replaced by the grace and truth of Christ. The increasing focus on Gentile inclusion and the theological arguments against the Law set a precedent for future generations. The rise of Christian anti-Judaism during the medieval period further distanced the Church from Torah observance. Decrees from the Catholic Church, particularly during the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, further solidified this divide. The council established a Christian calendar that diverged from Jewish observances and emphasized the celebration of Easter over Passover, reinforcing the idea that Christians were to forge a new identity distinct from their Jewish origins.

Also the decrees of the Eastern Orthodox Church also played a role in this evolution. The Orthodox tradition, while maintaining a connection to its Jewish heritage, nevertheless affirmed that the era of the Law had ended with the coming of Christ. Councils such as the Council of Constantinople in 381 CE formalized the Church's position that the Old Covenant was replaced by the New Covenant. These teachings emphasized the idea that the Torah was no longer binding for Christians and promoted a liturgical framework that further distanced the Church from Jewish practices. This divergence laid the groundwork for the long-standing view that Christians were called to live under the grace of Christ, often at the expense of Torah observance.

The Christian Reformation of the 16th century added another layer to this development. Reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin criticized what they perceived as legalistic tendencies within the Roman Catholic Church, focusing instead on salvation by faith alone. While the Reformation aimed to reform internal practices, it also contributed to the anti-Torah sentiment by rejecting any perceived "works-based" elements of salvation. Luther famously denounced parts of Jewish law as burdensome and unnecessary for Christians, embedding the idea that the Torah was no longer relevant. This led to a theological focus on grace and personal faith at the expense of Torah observance, reinforcing the Church's long-standing distancing from its Jewish roots. The Reformation's emphasis on individual interpretation of Scripture also opened the door for diverse views on the role of the Law within Christianity, leading to further fragmentation.

In the 21st century, the anti-Torah spirit remains evident in many Christian denominations, where the focus on grace and faith often diminishes any perceived relevance of the Torah for believers. However, recent years have seen a growing movement to reclaim the Jewish roots of Christianity, recognizing the Torah’s value for ethical guidance and spiritual insight. Groups such as Messianic Jews and certain Protestant movements seek to bridge the gap between Christian faith in Jesus and the moral teachings of the Torah. This resurgence reflects a shift toward a more holistic understanding of Scripture, one that honors the continuity between the teachings of Jesus and the ethical principles rooted in the Law of Moses. Nonetheless, challenges remain as the Church continues to wrestle with its historical rejection of the Torah and the possibilities for a renewed appreciation of its place in Christian life.

Let's look at the Epistles.

Acts 13:39 – "And by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses."

Acts 15:10-11 – "Why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?"

Acts 15:28-29 – The Jerusalem Council decided that Gentile believers should abstain from certain things but did not impose the full Mosaic Law on them.

Romans 3:28 – "For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law."

Romans 4:13-15 – "For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression."

Romans 5:20 – "Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more."

Romans 6:14 – "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."

Romans 7:6 – "But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive."

Romans 8:3-4 – "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do... in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us."

Romans 10:4 – "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."

2 Corinthians 3:6 – "The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

2 Corinthians 3:7 – Referring to the Law as "the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone."

2 Corinthians 3:11 – "For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory."

Galatians 2:16 – "Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ."

Galatians 3:23-25 – "Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law... But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian."

Galatians 5:1 – "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."

Galatians 5:4 – "You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace."

Galatians 5:18 – "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."

Ephesians 2:15 – "By abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace."

Philippians 3:8-9 – "Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ."

Colossians 2:14 – "By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross."

Colossians 2:16-17– "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath."

1 Timothy 1:9 – "Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient."

Hebrews 7:18-19 – "For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God." The writer of Hebrews contrasts the old law with the new hope in Jesus.

Hebrews 8:13 – "In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete."

Hebrews 10:1 – "For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities."

As we see and spoke about earlier these words, brought an Anti-Torah spirit and outlook onto the church; even if it was not the original intent...

Christian Antisemetism runs so deep, this is because of several reasons.

The Church blames us Jews for the following:

The Jews are culpable for crucifying Jesus – as such they are guilty of deicide.

The tribulations of the Jewish people throughout history constitute God's punishment of them for killing Jesus.

Jesus originally came to preach only to the Jews, but when they rejected him, he abandoned them for gentiles instead.

The Children of Israel were God's original chosen people by virtue of an ancient covenant, but by rejecting Jesus they forfeited their chosenness - and now, by virtue of a New Covenant (or "testament"), Christians have replaced the Jews as God's chosen people, the Church having become the "People of God."

The Jewish Bible ("Old" Testament) repeatedly portrays the opaqueness and stubbornness of the Jewish people and their disloyalty to God.

The Jewish Bible contains many predictions of the coming of Jesus as the Messiah (or "Christ"), yet the Jews are blind to the meaning of their own Bible.

By the time of Jesus' ministry, Judaism had ceased to be a living faith.

Judaism's essence is a restrictive and burdensome legalism.

Christianity emphasizes love, while Judaism stands for justice and a God of wrath.

Judaism's oppressiveness reflects the disposition of Jesus' opponents called "Pharisees" (predecessors of the "rabbis"), who in their teachings and behavior were hypocrites (see Woes of the Pharisees).

These ideas are put on us, without a proper understanding of the historical backdrop of the Gospels and Epistles...

This continued with the early church:

Peter of Antioch

Peter of Antioch referred to Christians that refused to venerate religious images as having "Jewish minds".

Marcion of Sinope

In the early second century AD, the heretic Marcion of Sinope (c. 85 – c. 160 AD) declared that the Jewish God was a different God, inferior to the Christian one, and rejected the Jewish scriptures as the product of a lesser deity. Marcion's teachings, which were extremely popular, rejected Judaism not only as an incomplete revelation, but as a false one as well, but, at the same time, allowed less blame to be placed on the Jews personally for having not recognized Jesus, since, in Marcion's worldview, Jesus was not sent by the lesser Jewish God, but by the supreme Christian God, whom the Jews had no reason to recognize.

In combating Marcion, orthodox apologists conceded that Judaism was an incomplete and inferior religion to Christianity, while also defending the Jewish scriptures as canonical.

Tertullian

The Church Father Tertullian (c. 155 – c. 240 AD) had a particularly intense personal dislike towards the Jews and argued that the Gentiles had been chosen by God to replace the Jews, because they were worthier and more honorable. Origen of Alexandria (c. 184 – c. 253) was more knowledgeable about Judaism than any of the other Church Fathers, having studied Hebrew, met Rabbi Hillel the Younger, consulted and debated with Jewish scholars, and been influenced by the allegorical interpretations of Philo of Alexandria. Origen defended the canonicity of the Hebrew Bible and defended Jews of the past as having been chosen by God for their merits. Nonetheless, he condemned contemporary Jews for not understanding their own Law, insisted that Christians were the "true Israel", and blamed the Jews for the death of Christ. He did, however, maintain that Jews would eventually attain salvation in the final apocatastasis. Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170 – c. 235 AD) wrote that the Jews had "been darkened in the eyes of your soul with a darkness utter and everlasting."

Augustine of Hippo

Patristic bishops of the patristic era such as Augustine of Hippo argued that the Jews should be left alive and suffering as a perpetual reminder of their murder of Christ. Like his anti-Jewish teacher, Ambrose of Milan, he defined Jews as a special subset of those damned to hell. As "Witness People", he sanctified collective punishment for the Jewish deicide and enslavement of Jews to Catholics: "Not by bodily death, shall the ungodly race of carnal Jews perish [...] 'Scatter them abroad, take away their strength. And bring them down O Lord'". Augustine claimed to "love" the Jews but as a means to convert them to Christianity. Sometimes he identified all Jews with the evil of Judas Iscariot and developed the doctrine (together with Cyprian) that there was "no salvation outside the Church".

John Chrysostom

John Chrysostom and other church fathers went further in their condemnation; the Catholic editor Paul Harkins wrote that St. John Chrysostom's anti-Jewish theology "is no longer tenable [...] For these objectively unchristian acts he cannot be excused, even if he is the product of his times." John Chrysostom held, as most Church Fathers did, that the sins of all Jews were communal and endless; to Chrysostom, his Jewish neighbours were the collective representation of all alleged crimes of all preexisting Jews. All Church Fathers applied the passages of the New Testament concerning the alleged advocation of the crucifixion of Christ to all Jews of their day, holding that the Jews were the ultimate evil. However, Chrysostom went so far to say that because Jews rejected the Christian God in human flesh, Christ, they therefore deserved to be killed: "grew fit for slaughter." In citing the New Testament, he claimed that Jesus was speaking about Jews when he said, "as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me."

Jerome

St. Jerome identified Jews with Judas Iscariot and the immoral use of money ("Judas is cursed, that in Judas the Jews may be accursed [...] their prayers turn into sins"). Jerome's homiletical assaults, that may have served as the basis for the anti-Jewish Good Friday liturgy, contrasts Jews with the evil, and that "the ceremonies of the Jews are harmful and deadly to Christians", whoever keeps them was doomed to the devil: "My enemies are the Jews; they have conspired in hatred against Me, crucified Me, heaped evils of all kinds upon Me, blasphemed Me."

Ephraim the Syrian

Ephraim the Syrian wrote polemics against Jews in the 4th century, including the repeated accusation that Satan dwells among them as a partner. The writings were directed at Christians who were being proselytized by Jews. Ephraim feared that they were slipping back into Judaism; thus, he portrayed the Jews as enemies of Christianity, like Satan, to emphasize the contrast between the two religions, namely, that Christianity was Godly and true and Judaism was Satanic and false. Like Chrysostom, his objective was to dissuade Christians from reverting to Judaism by emphasizing what he saw as the wickedness of the Jews and their religion.

Also with the split between eastern and western churches:

Eastern Christianity

The Holy Friday liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Byzantine Rite Catholic churches, uses the expression "impious and transgressing people", but the strongest expressions are in the Holy Thursday liturgy, which includes the same chant, after the eleventh Gospel reading, but also speaks of "the murderers of God, the lawless nation of the Jews", and, referring to "the assembly of the Jews", prays: "But give them, Lord, their reward, because they devised vain things against Thee."

Western Christianity

A liturgy with a similar pattern but with no specific mention of the Jews is found in the Improperia of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. A collect for the Jews is also said, traditionally calling for the conversion of the "faithless" and "blind" Jews, although this wording was removed after the Vatican II council. It had sometimes been thought, perhaps incorrectly, that "faithless" (in Latin, perfidis) meant "perfidious", i.e. treacherous.

As well as the infamous Protestant Reformation:

In the treatise, Martin Luther describes Jews as a "base, whoring people, that is, no people of God, and their boast of lineage, circumcision, and law must be accounted as filth". Luther wrote that they are "full of the devil's feces ... which they wallow in like Jewish swine", and the synagogue is an "incorrigible whore and an evil slut".

In the first ten sections of the treatise, Luther expounds, at considerable length, upon his views concerning Jews and Judaism and how these compare to Protestants and Protestant Christianity. Following the exposition, Section XI of the treatise advises Protestants to carry out seven remedial actions, namely:

to burn down Jewish synagogues and schools and warn people against them

to refuse to let Jews own houses among Christians

to take away Jewish religious writings

to forbid rabbis from preaching

to offer no protection to Jews on highways

for usury to be prohibited and for all Jews' silver and gold to be removed, put aside for safekeeping, and given back to Jews who truly convert

to give young, strong Jews flail, axe, spade, and spindle, and let them earn their bread in the sweat of their brow

Luther's essay consistently distinguishes between Jews who accept Christianity (with whom he has no issues) and Jews who practice Judaism (whom he excoriates viciously).

The tract specifically acknowledges that many early Christians, including prominent ones, had a Judaic background.

In conclusion, the historical trajectory of Christianity's relationship with Judaism reveals a complex interplay of theological evolution and socio-political dynamics. The early Church, rooted in Judaism, initially embraced the Torah, but as its message spread to Gentile audiences, a significant theological shift occurred. The decisions made in councils such as the Jerusalem Council were pivotal, aiming to welcome Gentile believers but inadvertently fostering a distancing from the very roots of the faith. This shift laid the groundwork for a pervasive anti-Torah sentiment, which would echo throughout the centuries and shape Christian doctrine. Thus, it can be stated that the church inherited a Jesus against Torah, one that diverged from the very teachings that informed his life and mission.

The writings of early Church leaders played a crucial role in furthering the divide between Christianity and Judaism. Figures like Paul emphasized salvation through faith rather than adherence to the Law, framing the Torah as a temporary measure that was supplanted by the grace of Christ. While intended to clarify the nature of his (i.e. Paul) understanding of a new covenant, these teachings often cast the Torah in a negative light, contributing to the perception that observance of the Law was incompatible with genuine faith.

This mischaracterization has persisted, influencing both theological discourse and the lived experience of believers.

The impact of the Reformation in the 16th century cannot be understated, as reformers like Martin Luther reinforced anti-Torah/anti-Christ sentiments by rejecting perceived legalism within the Church. The emphasis on salvation by faith alone further marginalized the role of the Torah in Christian life, creating a theological landscape where adherence to the Law was viewed as unnecessary or even detrimental to the faith. This departure from the Jewish roots of Christianity has had lasting repercussions, manifesting in various forms of Christian antisemitism that have contributed to centuries of misunderstanding and conflict between Jews and Christians.

However, this understanding is not without

its challenges. The deeply entrenched historical narratives that portray Judaism and Jews as obsolete or inferior still very strong and resonate in many Christian denominations today. Overcoming these prejudices requires a commitment to dialogue, education, and a genuine willingness to confront and address the biases that have shaped Christian perceptions of Judaism. It calls for an acknowledgment of the shared roots and values that underpin both faiths, fostering an environment of mutual respect and understanding.

As we strive for a more holistic view of the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, we must be vigilant against the anti-Torah/anti-Christ spirit that has historically permeated the Church. It is essential to remember that the teachings of Jesus were deeply embedded in the Jewish tradition and that the ethical principles of the Torah. By embracing the teachings of the Torah, an individual can reclaim a richer, more nuanced understanding of their faith and its historical foundations.

Ultimately, fostering a relationship grounded in respect and understanding is essential for healing past wounds. Recognizing that Judaism offer unique insights into the divine and moral living can pave the way for a more collaborative and supportive dialogue. In doing so, we honor not only our respective tradition but also the shared quest for truth, justice, and spiritual fulfillment that binds us together.