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Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: New Testament Objections

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The stakes are certainly VERY high on this one.

I predict that Michael Brown's four volumes on ANSWERING JEWISH OJECTIONS TO [The Messiahship of] JESUS, will rank as one of the most important apologetic works of this or any century. (and let the fur-fly all you like, I'm convinced of it). Just look at some of the topics covered in this fourth volume in his extensive review of Jewish and Rabbinical objections:

5.3. Matthew 2:23 says that when Jesus moved to the town of Nazareth, this "fulfilled what was said through the prophets: `He will be called a Nazarene.'" There's only one problem. The prophets never said this! Matthew actually made it up.

5.4. Matthew 27:9-10 is totally confused. First Matthew quotes part of a prophecy from Zechariah, then he says it comes from Jeremiah, and then he takes the whole thing totally out of context. What a mess!

5.6. The New Testament is full of historical inaccuracies.

5.7. None of the important historical writers of the period--Roman or Jewish--make mention of Jesus. It's questionable whether he even existed.

5.8. Modern scholars are in complete agreement that the Gospels portray a mythical Jesus. There is very little that we can really know about his life.

5.9. Jesus was not born of a virgin. In fact, we have traditions that actually tell us who Jesus' real father was--and it wasn't Joseph! Anyway, the idea of a god being born to a virgin is just one of several pagan myths that made its way into the New Testament.

5.10. The genealogies of Jesus given by Matthew and Luke are hopelessly contradictory.

5.11. The Messiah is David's son. If Jesus were really born of a virgin, then Joseph was not his father and he is really not a descendant of David, even according to Matthew's genealogy. And if you claim that Luke's genealogy is that of Mary, Jesus still doesn't qualify, since the genealogy in Luke goes through David's son Nathan, whereas the Messianic promises must go through David's son Solomon. Therefore, Jesus cannot be the Messiah.

5.12. Jesus cannot be the Messiah because he is a descendant of King Jehoiachin. God cursed both this king and his offspring, saying that none of his descendants would ever sit on the throne of David.

5.13. Jesus did work some miracles, but they were not by God's power. We have traditions that tell us he learned magical arts in Egypt.

5.14. Jesus didn't fulfill any of the Messianic prophecies. We know that the New Covenant writers actually reconstructed the life of Jesus so as to harmonize it with certain predictions made by the prophets.

5.15. When Jesus failed to fulfill the prophecies, his followers invented the myth of his substitutionary death, his resurrection, and finally, his second coming, which, of course, they completely expected in his lifetime.

5.16. Do you want irrefutable proof that the authors of the New Testament didn't know what they were talking about? Well, look at Matthew 23:35, where Jesus states that the last martyr spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures was Zechariah son of Berechiah. Actually, that was the name of the biblical prophet (see Zech. 1:1); the last martyr was Zechariah son of Jehoiada (see 2 Chron. 24:20-22). So, either Jesus, your alleged Messiah, didn't know his Bible, or else Matthew (or the final editor of his book) didn't know the Tanakh. Either way, this is a glaring error that cannot be ignored.

5.17. The New Testament is self-contradictory (especially the Gospels)!

5.18. Matthew claims that when Jesus died on the cross, "the tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people" (Matt. 27:52-53). This is obviously complete nonsense, without any hint of historical support. If such an incredible event ever took place--something like "the night of the living dead" in ancient Jerusalem--someone would have recorded it.

5.19. The teachings of Jesus are impossible, dangerous, and un-Jewish ("Hate your mother and father," "Let the dead bury their own dead," "Give to whoever asks you," etc.). There's no way he should be followed.

5.20. The New Covenant is anti-Semitic. It is filled with negative references to the Jewish people, and it blames them for the death of Jesus.
.22. Jesus was a false prophet. He claimed that his apostles would live to see his return, a prediction he missed by two thousand years. He also predicted that not one stone in Jerusalem would be left standing when the Romans destroyed it. Well, have you ever heard of the Wailing Wall?

5.23. Jesus was a cruel and undisciplined man. He violated the Torah by cursing--and hence, destroying--a perfectly good fig tree for not bearing figs even though the New Testament writers tell us that it was not the time for figs. So much for your wonderful Messiah! He even called a Gentile woman a dog when she approached him for help.

5.24. Actually, Jesus also taught that salvation came through obeying the Law. Just read Matthew 5:17-20; 7:21; 19:16-30; 25:31-46. This whole "gospel of grace" message is the invention of Paul and the other writers.

5.25. The teachings of the New Testament may have started out Jewish, but before long, they became totally pagan. This was done intentionally, since the Jews rejected Jesus as Messiah and only the pagans would listen to the message.

5.26. Jesus was really all right. He was a good Jew and a fine rabbi. It was Paul who messed everything up and founded Christianity.

5.28. Jesus abolished the Law.

5.29. Paul abolished the Law.

5.30. The Torah is forever, every jot and title, and only traditional Jews keep it. In fact, even the so-called new covenant of Jeremiah 31 says that God will put the Torah in our hearts. Therefore, since Jesus abolished the Torah, he cannot be the Messiah.

5.31. Anyone who changes the Law--no matter what signs or wonders he performs--is a false prophet. That applies to Jesus!

5.32. Observance of the Sabbath has been the hallmark of the Jewish people, separating us from other nations and identifying us with the covenant of God. Since Christianity changed the Sabbath, Christianity is obviously not for the Jewish people.

5.34. If the death of Jesus really inaugurated the new covenant spoken of by Jeremiah the prophet, then why hasn't it been fulfilled?

- These are what you call, "THE MAJOR-LEAGUE QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIONS."
Dr.Brown answers them (often briefly, yet WITH DEPTH in addressing the problem or objection) by both logic, reason, and historical scholarship and documentation.

I highly recommend all four of these books to any serious student of Jewish and Christian relations and the very important reasons for the long-held objections and misunderstandings between both camps.

This is the fourth volume of a planned 5-volume set. (This review is basically the same as for the previous volumes.) Collectively, the set is a ground-breaking resource of first-rate scholarship. Unfortunately, the subject matter is incredibly arcane.

Dr. Brown is the leading expert on responding to objections to Jesus and Christian theology raised by knowledgeable Orthodox Jews. He has a doctorate in Semitic languages, the books are well-researched and well-written and he covers the material in detail, going into Talmudic interpretations, Rashi, Maimonedes, etc. Although such Jewish theologians are unfamiliar to most Christians, their names are as familiar to knowledgeable Jews as Moody and Scofield are to Christians.

Although most purchasers are gentile evangelists, material is arranged essentially as dialogues between an Orthodox Jew and a responding Messianic.

Unfortunately, the books are rather pointless. Why? See Evangelism Explosion. If a person is not open to the gospel, no amount of arguments will matter. You can see similar debates in Internet newsgroups between Protestants and Catholics, Protestants and Mormons, Messianics and non-messianic Jews, etc.

I took Brown's course on Messianic Apologetics in 2003. He started by having two Messianic Jews try evangelizing him and he responded as an Orthodox Jew would, with arguments from his books. One of the evangelists is an Israeli graduate of the Jewish Studies program at Christ for the Nations and a Messianic rabbi experienced at Jewish evangelism in Israel and the U.S.

Responding like a non-messianic Orthodox, Brown "wiped the floor" with both of them, with things like "Are you Jewish?" "Is your mother Jewish?" "Is HER mother Jewish?" "Do you keep kosher?" (Contrary to the Bible, the Israeli Supreme Court says a person only is Jewish if their mother is Jewish. Hence, if the mother's mother wasn't Jewish, the mother isn't Jewish, so he's not Jewish, etc.)

It then moved on to, "Numbers 23 says, 'God is not a man'. Since Jesus can't be God, all your so-called 'messianic prophecy proofs' are worthless. Also, they can't be proofs, since Messiah has not come yet. Where do Hebrew Scriptures say Messiah will be God? He will be anointed, but only a man. Where does Isaiah 53 talk about Messiah? It's not a messianic prophecy; it's talking about Israel."

One evangelist said, "Since the Temple is destroyed, sacrifices can't be offered. How do you get atonement for your sin?" The response was, "After Solomon's Temple was destroyed there were no sacrifices. How were Daniel's sins forgiven?"

For non-Christians reading this review, understand that Brown didn't "wipe the floor" with them because their arguments were wrong. They had never heard arguments from "anti-missionary" experts such as Tovia Singer and were not prepared to respond "off the cuff". Brown's books show that many Orthodox arguments contradict Scripture or historic Jewish interpretations or both.

For gentiles considering Jewish evangelism, an argument often raised by Orthodox Jews is, "If you could read Hebrew you would know that's not what it says." Brown studied Semitic languages because he kept getting that argument even though he's Jewish. He said materials written by Christians for Jewish evangelism routinely have Hebrew errors. Brown is also knowledgeable in biblical Greek and often debates "anti-missionaries" about both the Hebrew and Greek texts.

Sadly, despite claims to the contrary, what comes across in the 18-hour course and books is the attitude of "I am going to convince THAT person." An informal survey has indicated it is EXTREMELY rare for a Jewish person in the U.S. to accept Jesus unless the person (1) was raised secular or (2) marries a Christian. Such people are willing to listen to and honestly evaluate the beliefs of Christianity. Missiology studies show that 80% of people raised in a religion stay in that religion. Anyone who is Jewish, doesn't believe in Jesus and knows many of the arguments Brown is refuting has already made up their mind and this won't matter.

Jesus interacted with religious leaders who disputed him but he did not get into extended debates like those in Brown's books. Also see Matthew 10:14

Although Dr. Brown is VERY active in evangelism, I can't help thinking, "How many HUNDREDS of times MORE people could have been brought to Jesus if time spent researching and writing for a VERY small audience almost TOTALLY RESISTANT to the gospel had been spent reaching out to the MILLIONS of people who are simply indifferent and uninformed but are willing to listen if someone tells them?"

If you are a Christian considering Jewish evangelism, review the sample pages, examine the books if you get a chance and visit "anti-missionary" websites, e.g., Tovia Singer. You'll see this is EXTREMELY unproductive SUPER-specialized work requiring responses to arguments you won't hear ANYWHERE elsewhere.

But don't let that deter you from GENERAL Jewish evangelism. MANY Jews are quite secular. Their main arguments are "I'm Jewish. Jews don't believe in Jesus." and "What about all the persecution the Church has done against Jews?" They are open to the gospel if you hang in there and honestly address their concerns with sensitivity.

And if YOU think Jesus or the apostles CONVERTED from Judaism to Christianity, YOU need to learn about the history of the Church BEFORE 100 A.D. In Acts 15 the apostles created "Christianity" for GENTILES, as a religion PARALLEL to Messianic Judaism.

TELL your Jewish friends that JESUS IS JEWISH. He was born Jewish, he was Torah-observant, he died Jewish, came back from the dead Jewish and he's STILL Jewish.

Hebrews 4:14 ... WE HAVE A GREAT HIGH PRIEST who has gone through the heavens, JESUS ...

THE HIGH PRIEST ISN'T CATHOLIC AND HE ISN'T PROTESTANT--HE'S JEWISH!

Check these out:

Our Hands Are Stained With Blood-Michael Brown
Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel-David Stern
Messianic Jewish Manifesto-David Stern
Complete Jewish Bible-David Stern
Evangelism Explosion-D. James Kennedy

Shalom!

This is amazing book. It gave me a lot of information and objective reasons to believe in Jesus Christ. I recommend everybody to read this book. It is a must-read book.

Jewish Objections to the New Testament can be broken down into several categories. The New Testament misquotes and misinterprets the Old Testament, at times manufacturing verses to suit its purposes; the genealogies of Jesus given by Matthew and Luke are hopelessly contradictory and entirely irrelevant anyway; the NT is filled with historical and factual errors; the teachings of Jesus are impossible, dangerous, and un-Jewish; the NT is even self-contradictory. To sum up: only a fool would believe in the divine inspiration of the NT. All this and more like that is in the consciousness of religious and non-religious Jews who do not believe in Christ. But the author, himself a Jewish scholar can convincingly prove that these are misconceptions, misinterpretation and misquotations and self-contradictions. Such questions are answered at length: Did Jesus abolish the Law? Did Paul abolish the Law? Was Jesus born of a virgin? Is Jesus the Messiah? Is the NT self-contradictory? Are the teachings of Jesus Jewish? Was Jesus a false prophet? Is the Jesus of the NT a myth? Is the NT full of historical inaccuracies? Does the NT misquote the OT?
In parts the book is distinctly written for Jews and other scholars who want to go into detail even where the average reader is already convinced by the fourth example or fifth proof. Sometimes it is getting a little overambitious. For example when the author explains how careful the traditional Jews observe the rules to the rules to the commandments of the Torah. They can open a fridge on Sabbath day, but they cannot close the door, since then they switch out the light which is work. Hence they derive the logic to regard Jesus` teachings about the Law as anti-Jewish. The authors logic is not simply that the Lord should know himself best how to deal with the Torah, he shows that all the New Testaments teachings are notwithstanding typically Jewish, the traditional Judaism being rich in so many different teachings, that exclude one another sometimes.
Sometimes, the author says, the Jewish objections lack fairness. It is impossible to prove to a sceptical reader that the Gospels depiction of Jesus is accurate, just as it is impossible to prove to a sceptical reader that God spoke to Israel on Mount Sinai. But this much can be offered to the serious seeker: 1. The Gospels are presented as historical accounts, replete with historical and cultural detail, inviting honest investigation, 2. the more archaeological evidence that is discovered, the more confirmation these accounts receive, and to the extent that the Gospels can be placed against the cultural background of the day - especially the Jewish background - the more they ring true, 4. the movement that Jesus began continues to this day, growing at a faster rate than at any time in history, it should also be noted in this context, that many Christians claim to have experienced the atoning power of Jesus and the reality of his divinity in their daily life, which, must be a disturbing stumbling block for Jews who are still waiting for a Messiah. This Messiah should have come according to old rabbinic traditional conception at around the time when Jesus lived. The author utters the hope that all Jews who are truly open-minded and in search of the truth, should not exclude his responses from their judgment.
In summary one can say that the Jewish objections in the field of opposing to the New Testament testimony is nowhere substantial, so that by human standards, one could say that Jews have a difficult stand against even secular scholars, who often have to back up the views of the Christian scholars out of sheer respect for the true evidences. Judaism is apparently a world in itself. This is also something which is made clear in this volume. And it is not a strange coincidence that one is reminded to Acts 28, where Paul made the same statement two thousand years ago.

Brown is the foremost Christian expert on Judaism, and I highly recommend this 4-volume set. This volume centers on common objections Jewish believers have with the NT. It can either be read as a reference source (looking up different objections in the book is not hard using the index) or read all the way through. I have chosen the former method, so while I haven't read every page, they're on my shelf whenever a question on Judaism arises. The thing about Judaism is it is so different moving from Orthodox all the way to Reformed. But the general ideas in this book cover all the branches. Every Christian should be able to talk to their Jewish believer friends, family, and co-workers, because the topic is of utmost importance.

Great book, good condition, really helpful in understanding Jews and defending faith in Jesus (Yeshua) as the Messiah

All four of Brown's Jewish Objections to Jesus are just great. Lot's of insights and explained in easy English and is understandable.

Christians have been trying to shoehorn Jesus into the Torah for almost 2000 years, and no matter how they try, the bottom line is that all their "proofs" are painful and transparent contortions of the facts, mistranslations from the original Hebrew (into Greek, the language of the New Testament), out-of-context misunderstandings, or outright falsehoods. Two excellent sources of this are to be found in the books "Twenty-Six Reasons Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus" by Asher Norman, and "Why the Jews Rejected Jesus" by David Klinghoffer. In these books, one will find concrete and convincing examples of why Jesus could not have been the Messiah, and why Jews, most pointedly the Jews who lived with and knew Jesus personally, rejected his claims. The reader will find that in the Torah there are six absolute requirements for Messiahship, none of which Jesus fulfilled. To be the Messiah, one must fulfill these requirements. For example, the Messiah MUST be a direct descendant of King David. Since Christians claim that Jesus had no Earthly father (as in Matthew, first page), this eliminates him from consideration as Messiah. When reading the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew and Luke, one will find that the two are totally different and contradictory; in fact, they differ by 15 generations. This eliminates Jesus from consideration. Another Messianic criterion is that the Messiah will rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus did not do that, since the Temple had not yet been destroyed during Jesus' lifetime; this eliminates him from Messianic consideration. Another requirement is that the Messiah will be annointed King of Israel, and oversee the "gathering of the exiles back into Israel." Since Jesus was not annointed King of Israel, and in fact soon after his death Israel was destroyed by the Romans and the people exiled into the Diaspora, it eliminates Jesus from consideration as Messiah. There are many other examples that provide absolute and incontrovertible proof that Jesus could not possibly have been the Messiah. The reason why Christians are generally not aware of these facts is that their religious education STARTS with the New Testament, and their knowledge of the Torah is only through "the lens of a Christian," which by definition includes all the errors, misunderstandings, and lack of fundamental knowledge inherent in that religion. It turns out that the story of Jesus became entwined with the local pagan mystery cults of the time, including the mythical men-gods Baal, who was killed and resurrected "on the third day," and had a supposed virgin mother; Attis, who also had a virgin mother, was resurrected after three days, and whose birthday was December 25th; Isis, whose religion included sin being forgiven through immersion in water, and whose birthday was also December 25th; and Mithras, who was regarded as a "mediator between God and man, who performed miracles, whose birthday was also on December 25th, and who killed the "sacred bull," which provided life by consuming its body and blood. Mithras held a "last supper" with his disciples, who all had to be "purified by baptism." One can start to see that, at the time of Jesus, it was very unlikely that Judaism, with its commandments for circumcision and kosher laws, could spread to the pagans without some "tweaking," which included the elimination of laws of ethics and morality, and a certain blending with their comfortable beliefs.

For all Christians who genuinely want to understand their own religion, and especially for any Jews who have sadly fallen for the convoluted manipulations of the Jews for Jesus movement, the two books cited above are a must. I believe that anyone who sincerely reads these two books will come away with a much clearer picture of Judaism and Christianity, and why Jesus was and will always be rejected by the Jewish people.

V'Da Mah SheTashiv: Know What To Answer (To Missionaries) A Thorough Jewish response To Missionaries
I read the author useto be a drug taking fully irreligous Jewish youth, and then he suddenly came to religoun- of Christianity. It is indeed easier to meld with the large majority and not haveto keep all those many Jewish laws. But then again in Moslem lands its easier to be Moslem. For those truly seeking the Truth, volumes of volumes are way too much. It's really not that difficult.