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Jesus Was a Jew

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This excellent book is recommended reading for both Jews and Christians alike. Indeed, people of all religions would do well to access the information detailed here.

The author, Arnold Fruchtenbaum, himself a Jew & having received Orthodox Jewish training, addresses the apparent `controversy' surrounding the person of Jesus.

The writer addresses the many questions pertaining to the characterization of Jesus of being either just a `good teacher', a `prophet', a `well-meaning but confused religionist', or whether in fact Jesus was/is the Son of God, the Hebrew Messiah prophesied in Scripture.

At the beginning of this superb book, the learned writer acknowledges that Jesus of Nazareth effectively stands as an enigma in Jewish history. Whilst being hailed by countless millions as their Saviour/Messiah, the name of Jesus has also been used by some in relation to the condemning of innumerable Jews and as an excuse to take countless Jewish lives.

Subsequently, Jesus has been largely ignored by Jews except for a few references in the Talmud and in some Jewish legends. The author illustrates that there is no uniform Jewish opinion concerning the person of Jesus, with views ranging from 'he never existed' to him being 'a great Jewish prophet'.

The book analyses the life of Jesus including his birth in Bethlehem of Judea and how he taught his small group of disciples who were all as Jewish as himself.

The author states that anyone who sets themselves the task of studying what the Old Testament has to say about the coming, prophesied Jewish Messiah will find in the Book of Isaiah numerous predictions that portray the Messiah as one who is going to suffer humiliation, physical harm and finally death in a violent manner, with the death being stated as a substitutionary death for the sins of the Jewish people.

On the other hand the author also states that one will likewise find the Jewish prophets also speaking of the Messiah coming as a conquering King who will destroy the enemies of Israel and set up the Messianic Kingdom of peace and prosperity. A seeming paradox and a stumbling stone to many Jews, but which Christians interpret as the first and second coming of the Messiah....Jesus. This issue is studied in depth in this book and is excellent reading, with reference also made to sections of the New Testament.

The Jewish 'objections' to Jesus are also examined in detail as are the 'definitions' of what exactly is a 'Jew', a 'Gentile', a 'Christian' and a 'Hebrew Christian' and how they relate to each other. A classic study.

The book also includes interviews on this subject with almost 40 Jews concerning what they each believe about Jesus. These embrace Rabbis, actors, homemakers, hairdressers, indeed people from all walks of Jewish life.

The book contains a wealth of information and a variety of differing opinions, which are studied in light of Scripture.

As a Christian my own beliefs are self evident, but no matter how you view this subject, the Jewishness of Jesus cannot be denied. Highly recommended.

This book is a great introduction for those who want to know the truth about Jesus the Messiah. First, Fruchtenbaum documents what Jewish leaders say about Him. Then there is a very well written and in-depth study of the famous Isaiah 53, analysing the text itself and Jewish interpretations throughout the ages. The vast majority of Jewish commentators, including Maimonides, believed that the passage is Messianic. The supposedly 'Jewish' view that it's referring to Israel is a fairly modern revisionist interpretation (started by Rashi) that was fiercely resisted by Rabbi Crispin as 'forced and far-fetched'.

The next chapter looks at other OT passages, and the following one shows how the NT compares with the OT. While very deep, I strongly suggest that those wanting to find out more about the OT prophecies should read Fruchtenbaum's far more detailed book "Messianic Christology", also available from Amazon.

The following one is the very important question of why the Messiah had to die as our Substitute for our salvation.

Then Fruchtenbaum deals with Jewish objections to Jesus, and provides correct definitions of the terms "Jew", "Gentile" and "Christian". He shows that there are almost as many definitions of "Jew" as there are Jews! So to define a Jew as a "non-Jew" or "so-called Jew" simply because he or she believes in the Jewish Messiah and believes a totally Jewish book is just a self-serving stipulative definition. Fruchtenbaum presents the only definition that matters: the biblical one, that a Jew is a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, regardless of whether this person is a believer in Christ, an Orthodox Jew or an atheist.

It's indicative of anti-christian bigotry that some Orthodox Jews will call a Hebrew Christian like Dr Fruchtenbaum (or myself for that matter) a "non-Jew", although we are descendants of Abraham, believe in one God and in the divine inspiration of the Old Testament; but somehow an atheist who believes none of these things is still recognised as a Jew (many Israelis are atheists).

For more information about such topics, I recommend Fruchtenbaum's "Hebrew Christianity", also available from Amazon.

The last chapter contains testimony from Jews who have come to know Jesus as Messiah, Saviour and God. And they were real Jews, and still are!

While this was quiet an indepth look at the Jewishness of Jesus, it is a must read for serious bible scholars.
Dr. Fruchtenbaum is a leader in this area of biblical exergesis.
It is not a big book, but certainly not a bedtime read.
There are a lot of quotes from the Rabbi's and Rabbinical writings which at times can get monotonous, but are essential.
It certainly gave me a better understanding of Israels place in theology.

"Jesus Was A Jew" explored what the traditional Jewish view was of what the Messiah would be like and what he was coming to do, then it examined how well Jesus matched these expectations. The target audience seemed to be Jews, but Christians will find this information very interesting as well, especially if you wish to discuss Jesus with non-Messianic-Jews.

The author examined what the Hebrew scriptures said about the Messiah with a focus on those passages that modern Jews are usually taught have nothing to do with the Messiah. He quoted the Talmud, Midrash, Targums, Septuagint, and more to show what pre-Jesus Jewish teachers taught about the Messiah (especially in reference to these passages).

The author also explained why Jesus had to die, answered Jewish objections to Jesus, and explored the definitions of what it means to be a Jew, Gentile, and Christian.

The book was well-written, interesting, and easy to understand. Overall, I'd highly recommend this book to those who want to know how to respond to Jewish objections to Jesus as the Messiah or who want to know a little more about the pre-Jesus view of the Messiah.

This small but complte book details you through a jewish perspective of Jesus, what the old testament says and the new testament also. If you want to have a good overview of how the jews see Jesus, read this book.

Sorry for the mistakes, i'm french canadian, and the book is just as good in french

Arnold Fruchtenbaum (born 1943) is the founder and director of Ariel Ministries. He has also written Hebrew Christianity: Its Theology, History, and Philosophy, Messianic Christology, Footsteps of the Messiah, Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology, A Study Guide of Israel: Historical and Geographical, Jewishness and Hebrew Christianity, A Passover Haggadah for Jewish Believers, etc.

He writes in the Introduction to this 1981 book, "at the turn of the 1970's, the Jewish community was again wrestling with the question of Jesus as Jewish people, young and old, began to accept him and claim him as their Messiah... Soon, every Jewish newspaper across the United States and many of the secular ones began reporting on this new movement of Jews for Jesus. Jesus became an issue in the Jewish community and again it was debated as to exactly where Jesus fits into Jewishness. This book, rising out of these conflicts in the Jewish community, is an attempt to deal with that very issue."

Here are some additional quotations from the book:

"That the Old Testament presents these two lines of Messianic prophecy was something that all the early rabbis recognized. The Old Testament never clearly states that there will be two Messiahs. In fact, many of the paradoxical descriptions are found side by side in the same passages, in which is seems that only one person is meant. But for the early rabbis the two-Messiahs theory seemed to be the best answer." (Pg. 24)
"During this time, we have for the first time ... the idea that this passage (Isa 53) was not in reference to the Messiah but in reference to the people of Israel. It was first propounded by ... Rashi." (Pg. 31-32)
"So while it is true that Jesus did not bring peace, that was not the purpose of Messiah's first coming. So this is not a valid argument against his messiahship. For Jesus will yet come again and will yet bring peace." (Pg. 91-92)

DO NOT read this book expecting a true Jewish point of view.

I read this book with an open mind, but found the author to be harshly opinionated and brutal toward the religion of Judaism. He exemplifies this with his lacking knowledge of Judaism and what he perceives as the Jewish beliefs in God (and the coming of the messiah). He even goes as far as to say that Jews of today are not practicing REAL Judaism. Unfortunately, Mr. Fruchtenbaum fails to explain his reason(s) for this point of view...

Early in the book, the author attempts to provide various testimonies of Jewish leaders and rabbis and their thoughts on the significance of Jesus Christ, both historically and religiously. Reading on, it becomes evident that these testimonies may not be from actual Jews, but "Jews who believe in Christ." Because of this, the author loses credibility with the reader in providing true Jewish thoughts regarding Jesus.

Mr. Fruchtenbaum then repeatedly resorts to conversion tactics that claim "a Jew is more Jewish when he believes in Jesus." In reality, the Jewish religion has nothing to do with Jesus Christ, which is why there is a religion called Christianity. Of course, the author attacks this argument throughout the publication...

Additionally, the last section of the book is filled with testimony's of supposed Jews who discovered Christ in one way or another. Most are comical, hard to believe and actually become a sad insult to the reader's intelligence.

Conclusion: Please seek other publications to get a true Jewish perspective of Jesus and Christianity. Find something more challenging and truthful.