Do We Need Jesus

7/30/2019 Do We Need Jesus

1/6

Do We Need Jesus?Some Jews today, and some Catholics back them, want to say that

Jews have no need or obligation to accept Jesus. This is quite

unfortunate, in fact, it is being unfaithful to the fullness of Jewishtradition.The Old Testament prophecies, especially if we read them with the

help of the ancient Jewish Targums, give us a remarkable picture of theMessiah to come. Most graphic among them is the prophecy of Jacob,dying in Egypt, that the scepter would not be taken from Judah untilthe Messiah would come (Gen 49:10). Jacob Neusner, one of the bestJewish scholars today, has written that at the time of Christ, there wasintense expectation of the Messiah. And no wonder. The Jews hadalways had some sort of leader from the tribe of Judah, until theRomans imposed on them Herod, who by birth was half Arab, half

Idumean. Yes, Herod did claim to follow the Jewish religion, but sobadly that the pagan Emperor Augustus made the pun that it was saferto be Herod's pig than to be Herod's son. And for sure, no one couldclaim Herod was of the tribe of Judah. But when the Magi from the Eastcame to Herod wanting to know where the new King was to be born.Herod with the help of the Jewish scholars, unhesitatingly said he wasto be born in Bethlehem. and so He was.

Rabbi Israel Zolli, Chief Rabbi of Rome, famed as a Jewish scholar, inthe time of Pius XII, became Catholic at age 65, even though it meantfinancial poverty. When asked if he still considered himself a Jew hesaid: "Once a Jew, always a Jew. Did Peter, James, John, Matthew and

hundreds of Hebrews like them cease to be Jews just because theyfollowed Jesus the Messiah? Emphatically no." Some modern converts,like Father A. Klyber (from whose book Once a Jew, on pp. 144-5, wegathered this information on Rabbi Zolli) have called themselves"completed Jews". And quite rightly, for without Christ their Messiah,the Jews are unfulfilled.

In fact, to continue to be a member of the People of God, thisconversion is necessary. Yes, we know that St. Paul in Romans 11:1and 28 wrote: "Has God rejected His people?. Of course not!.... God'sgifts and His call are irrevocable." How then could the same St. Paul, inthe middle of the same chapter, give the image of the two olive trees,

the tame tree standing for the People of God, the wild olive standingfor the Gentiles - how could Paul give that imagery which clearlyimplies the Jews who reject Christ have fallen out of the People of God,like the branches broken from the tame olive? The problem is notdifficult: God's call to them to be His people still stands, will alwaysstand. But it is one thing for Him to call - another for them to accept. Ifthey do not accept, they are out of the tame olive, the People of God.The Pharisees understood this to their horror when Jesus had finished


2/6

giving the parable of the unfaithful tenants of the vineyard that wasIsrael, when he said: (Mt 21:43): "The kingdom of God will be takenaway from you and given to a nation that will yield a rich harvest. "

In Romans 9:25-16 St. Paul quotes their prophet Hosea: "Those whowere not my people, I will call my people" In the original setting. Hosea

was saying that the Jews, because of their sins, brought on theBabylonian exile, and had fallen out of the People of God. But aftertheir repentance, God would gladly take them back: "Those who werenot my People I will call my People. In the original words of Hosea 2:23:"I will say to lo ammi [not my people]": "You are my people." For theyhad ceased being God's people, and had remained many days (Hosea3:4) "without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod orteraphim," but when they repented, He would gladly say to them thewords just cited: "You are now my people again".

So St. Paul looks forward to the day when the same words will beapplied to the Jews who rejected their Messiah (Rom 11:25): "A

blindness in part has fallen upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentilesenter" the People of God. Then, Paul adds "all Israel will be saved" - willenter the kingdom of their Messiah.

We wonder if this time is not approaching? In Luke 21:24 our Lordhad said: "Jerusalem will be trodden by the Gentiles, until the times ofthe Gentiles are fulfilled." But now Jerusalem has again become aJewish city, not one just trampled by gentiles. We think of Daniel 12:7.Daniel had asked the angel interpreter when all these things wouldcome to pass, and heard the answer: "When the shattering of thepower of the holy people comes to an end, all these things will befulfilled." The shattering of power seems to have come to an end now.

So we hope the time for the remainder of the prophecies will be soonat hand.

In the original announcement of the covenant in Exodus 19:5, Godhad said: "If you really hearken to my voice, and keep my covenant,you will be my special people." We notice that key word "if". They hadto obey to be His people. After the dedication of the great Temple, Godhad told Solomon (1 Kings 9:6-9): "But if you and your descendantsever go from me, and do not keep the commandments and statutes... Iwill cut off Israel from the land... and reject the temple.... Israel willbecome a proverb... and this temple shall become a heap of ruins....Every passerby will gasp and ask: Why has the Lord done this to the

land and to this temple?" And he answers: "They forsook the Lord...that is why the Lord has brought down upon them all this evil." Godrepeated the identical threat through Jeremiah 22:5-9. And so the veilof the temple was rent when they killed their Messiah. And they haveindeed remained many days without king or prince or sacrifice, "untilat last they recognize the one they have pierced" - Zechariah 12:10,repeated when the same Jesus appeared to John in exile in Patmos(Rev. 1:7).


3/6

The Jews used to have the blood of goats sprinkled on the oldpropitiatory on the day of atonement, Yom Kippur. Now, as Hosea said,they have been sitting many days without sacrifice or prince. Nor couldthe blood of goats sprinkled really take away sins committed be yadramah, with a high hand. At most, it would remit only sins of ignorance,

sheggagah. But now in Jesus we have the new propitiatory, whoseblood really can and does take away sins, as Romans 3:24-26 tells us.So, all need Jesus. Surely, they cannot forgive their own sins, or makeatonement by their own power.

Some say: We can speak directly to God our Father, we need nointercessor such as Jesus. But the Old Testament is replete withmediators, first of all the great Moses. It was through him that Godspoke to the people at Sinai. God had ordered that the people must notascend the mountain, or even touch it. If anyone did, he must die:Exodus 19:12. After receiving the commandments, Moses found thepeople worshipping an idol. He broke the tablets in anger, and God

wanted to destroy the people: Ex. 32-10. But Moses interceded withGod, and He did not destroy them: Ex 32:11-14. God used to speak toMoses face to face: Ex 33:11. Later Aaron was ordained high priest,and then thought he could go freely into the presence of God in theHoly of Holies. But God warned him through Moses he must not do thatfreely, but only on Yom Kippur, with the proper ceremonies. Otherwisehe would die: Lev. 16:1-28. Can we imagine just anyone going beforeGod to speak to God on his own? Still later, Aaron and Miriam, brotherand sister of Moses said: "Is it only through Moses that God speaks?Does he not speak through us also?" Num 12:1-2. God was angry withMiriam, and struck her with leprosy: Num 12:9. But at request of

Moses, God did heal her in seven days.Korah and Dathan and Abiram still later also became too bold, and

said: "Enough of you! The whole community, all of them, are holy....Why then should you exalt yourselves over the congregation of theLord?" Numbers 16:1-3. Moses then said to the rebels that on themorrow they should appear before the Lord and offer their incense andsee who God would accept. They did so. The earth opened andswallowed them and all their possessions alive: Numbers, 16:4-35.

Over the following centuries, God often spoke to the people throughHis various prophets. To the people directly He did not speak. Evenwith the great King David, God spoke through Nathan the prophet.

When David was having the ark brought back from Philistine territoryto Jerusalem, it was on a cart. It came to a sloping place in the road,and Uzzah feared it would tip over. He put his hand on it to steady it.Yet God struck Uzzah dead in anger because he, not a priest, haddared to touch the ark: 2 Sam 6:1-7.Josephus (Antiquities 9. 22) reports that King Uzziah became so proud

he tried to offer sacrifice in the temple, even though the high priestwarned him. God then struck him with leprosy, and he lived in a


4/6

separate house for the rest of his life, and an earthquake struck at thesame moment. 2 Kings 15:5 reports he was stricken with leprosy andlived apart after that, does not give the other details.

In the book of Job, after Job's three friends had spoken improperly,God was angry. And he told them to have Job offer a sacrifice and pray

for them: then He would forgive them: Job 42:8.Before he died, Moses foretold (Dt. 18:15-19) that God would sendanother prophet like him, to whom God would speak face to face - athing God did not do for ordinary prophets. Moses said God told Moses:"If any man will not listen to my words that he speaks in my name, Imyself will make him answer for it." In the Gospels, both the ordinarypeople (Jn 6:14) and the Apostles (Acts 3:22-23 and 7:37) saw thatJesus was that prophet. So what Moses heard from God Himself comestrue: If anyone will not listen to Him, God Himself will punish such aone, and cut him off from the people of God.

At the Baptism of His Son, God spoke from the sky and said: "Hear

Him." So not even Jews are exempt from this command of God. Unlessa person is excused by ignorance, if he does not speak to the Fatherthrough Jesus, God will, as He told Moses, cut him off from His people.

As we saw above, Jesus is the one God had promised in so manyways over so many centuries. Without Him, a Jew remains incomplete,not fulfilled.

Objection: Jesus did not mean to found a church, He just meant tofulfill Judaism. Reply: He really did fulfill all the Jewish prophecies of theMessiah. But He did a great deal more. He did establish a Church: Mt16:17-20: "You are Peter and on this rock, I will build my church, andthe gates of hell will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of

the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever you bind on earth will bebound also in heaven; whatsoever you loose on earth will be loosedalso in heaven." The word keys in the language of the time meantauthority to open and close. The words bind and loose were wellestablished among the Rabbis, they stand for a decision by one withauthority as to what is right and wrong. Jesus gave the same authorityto bind and loose to all the Apostles, in Mt 18:18. In speaking of thosewho erred morally, he told them to first correct the sinner privately,then with the help of two or three witnesses. If he ignores even them,tell the church, and if he ignores the church: 'Let him be to you as apagan and a publican." Right after His resurrection, in John 20:21-23:

"As the Father has sent me, so do I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit.Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; whose sins youshall retain they are retained." At the end, in Mt 28:18-20: "Fullauthority is given me in heaven and on earth. Go then, make disciplesof all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Sonand of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to observe everything I havecommanded you, and know I am with you all days even to the end ofthe world." In Mark 16:15-16: "Go into the whole world and proclaim


5/6

the Gospel to all creation. He who believes and accepts baptism will besaved; he who refuses to believe will be condemned."

No Old Testament prophet was given authority to bind and loose, orto forgive sins, or to give a baptism such that he who refuses will becondemned.

He also insisted, in John 6:54: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son ofMan and drink his blood, you will not have life in you." To get that fleshand blood we need the Church. Judaism surely does not have it, doesnot claim to have it.

SomeJews for Christseeing He is the Messiah say all they need is totake Christ as their personal Savior, and then they have infalliblesalvation. But that is making the move from incomplete Judaism to thetragic error of Luther. He thought he found justification by faith in St.Paul, chiefly Galatians and Romans. He did. But - he never even triedto find what St. Paul meant by the words justification or faith. Lutherthought we have no free will. We find this explicitly in his major work

The Bondage of the Will (transl. J. Packer and O. Johnston, Revell Co,Old Tappan, NJ, 1957, pp. 273). He also said (ibid. pp. 103-04) that ahuman is like a horse. Either God or satan will ride, and accordingly hewill do good or evil. He has nothing to say about which one rides(recall: no free will), and accordingly goes to heaven or hell. Hethought by faith Paul meant confidence that the merits of Christ applyto me, and so one can sin as much as possible. In his letter toMelanchthon of August 1, 1521 (Luther's Works, American edition, vol48. p. 282): "Be a sinner and sin boldly... no sin will separate us fromthe Lamb, even though we commit fornication and murder a thousandtimes a day." But St. Paul said those who do such things "will not

inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor 6:10). A standard Protestantreference work, Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, Supplement, p.333 describes faith correctly: "Paul uses pistis/pisteuein [Greek wordsfor faith and believe] to mean, above all, belief in the Christ kerygma[proclamation or preaching], knowledge, obedience, trust in the LordJesus. It comes by hearing with faith the gospel message... byresponding with a confession a out Christ... and by the 'obedience offaith' (Rom. 1;5... 'the obedience that faith is. '" So educatedProtestants know that faith includes obedience - Luther said if we havefaith we can disobey a thousand times a day. Faith which includesobedience cannot justify disobedience. In other words, Luther's ideas

are intellectually bankrupt, and grossly immoral, encouraging sin athousand times a day and saying we have no free will.Jesus promised hell would not prevail against His Church, that He

would be with them until the end of the world. Luther thought thatpromise of Christ was such a failure that for most of 15 centuries, theChurch taught the wrong way to salvation. Then the promises of Christwould be a fake, and Christ would be a fake too. And to suppose that


6/6

God would send so grossly immoral a man - urging sin a thousandtimes a day - to restore it!

Documents

Do We Need Jesus