Most Jews do not spend a great deal of time thinking about Jesus. But, given the decisions I have made in my life, Jesus has always been someone I have had to address. In the gospels, Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?” This is a fine question. Here is my response.
I teach Religion at Augustana University because I respect the Christian tradition. I also teach there and respectfully disagree with that tradition. So, who do I say Jesus was?
First of all, let me state the obvious: Jesus was Jewish. Jesus was not a Christian. He was Jewish. He was an apocalyptic Rabbi. His message was very similar to the Jewish prophets. He got in people’s faces and spoke the truth to them as he saw it. He called on people to repent and turn their lives around. He urged people to trust in God and stand with the poor, the outcasts and the neighbor in pain. He came to teach Jews and non-Jews what it meant to live like a human being, a mensch. He came to make non-Jews as Jewish as possible. The letter writer, Paul, says non-Jews have been grafted into the Jewish covenants and traditions. (Romans 9-11)
Jesus’ early followers were also Jewish. The writers of the gospels were Jewish. The apostle Paul was Jewish. I may be wrong here but it seems important to remind ourselves that Christianity was invented after Jesus. For Christians it is less important that Jesus was Jewish, then he was and is the Christ, the messiah that came to save the world. According to the gospels and Paul, the cross and resurrection are central and they proclaim Jesus is the long awaited messiah. This is their faith. I respect that faith. I understand it. I respectfully disagree.
From a Jewish perspective, when the messiah returns, he will accomplish four things: the Jerusalem temple will be rebuilt, all Jews will move to the land of Israel, there will be peace all over the world and non-Jews will flock to Jerusalem to study Torah with Jews. Since this has not happened most Jews who think about such things have a problem talking about Jesus as the messiah. As for me, I agree with Wiesel, when he says, it’s a bit late for messiahs. Too many people, including so many children, have been murdered. I like the idea of someone coming and fixing everything but I'm afraid it’s too late for messiahs!
Many Christians might respond by saying that these Jewish expectations and opinions are not binding on God. And they would assert, God can do whatever God wants even if it does not meet Jewish expectations. They assert that Jesus is the incarnation of God. This is the Christian faith. I respect that faith and I respectfully disagree.
Let’s be honest with each other. This is what we know about Jesus. He was a prophet. He was killed by the Romans. His followers believed God raised him from the dead and one day he will return to complete his work. Near as I can tell, after this happened, all sorts of beliefs, creeds, doctrines, and traditions have been cast upon this man. I am not sure what he would think of all this but I do understand it. In human history, for good and for bad, Jesus has become the messiah for many non-Jews. I respect that faith and respectfully disagree.
So, could I be wrong? Of course. Can you admit, you could be wrong? I assume I am justifying my opinions as best I can. After all, that is what we all do. We have our beliefs and we work at justifying why we are right. I may be blind to the truth. I know only this: I am Jewish because I could not run away from who I am. But, I will say this. I would not and could not turn my back on Jesus. Jesus was Jewish, a Jewish prophet, a Rabbi, a brother in the tribe, one of our boys. I have returned to the religion Jesus himself practiced. For all of this, I am at peace with God, my community and myself.
No comments:
Post a Comment