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Judaism

Claims that come up in conversation about Judaism, with a short answer and the texts to open.

  1. What you will hear

    Jesus is not the Messiah. The Messiah will be a Davidic king who keeps the Torah, rebuilds the Temple, and gathers Israel.

    That is Maimonides’ test in the Mishneh Torah. Daniel 9:26 says Messiah is cut off, Isaiah 53 says the servant bears iniquities, and the Gospels say Jesus rose and is Lord.

    • Mishneh Torah, Kings and Wars 11:4
    • Daniel 9:26Daniel 9:26 · King James VersionAnd after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.Daniel 9:26 · King James VersionOpen source
    • Isaiah 53:5Isaiah 53:5 · King James VersionBut he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.Isaiah 53:5 · King James VersionOpen source
    • Acts 2:36Acts 2:36 · King James VersionTherefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.Acts 2:36 · King James VersionOpen source

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  2. What you will hear

    Christians worship a different God, because they worship Jesus.

    Jews and Christians both confess the God of Israel and the Shema. Christians also confess that Jesus is that God, the Son, not a second deity beside him.

    • Deuteronomy 6:4Deuteronomy 6:4 · King James VersionHear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:Deuteronomy 6:4 · King James VersionOpen source
    • John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source
    • John 20:28John 20:28 · King James VersionAnd Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.John 20:28 · King James VersionOpen source

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  3. What you will hear

    Judaism does not believe in heaven. The hope is only this world, or a vague memory of the dead.

    The Mishnah says all Israel have a portion in the world to come. Maimonides says that life has no body and that the righteous delight in the radiance of the Divine Presence. Daniel 12:2 says the dead will awake. John 14:2 is the Christian sentence about the Father’s house, and it is not the same paragraph.

    • Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1 · Dr. Joshua KulpAll Israel have a portion in the world to come, for it says, “Your people, all of them righteous, shall possess the land for ever; They are the shoot that I planted, my handiwork in which I glory” (Isaiah 60:21). And these are the ones who have no portion in the world to come: He who maintains that resurrection is not a biblical doctrine, that the torah was not divinely revealed, and an epikoros.Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1 · Dr. Joshua KulpOpen source
    • Daniel 12:2Daniel 12:2 · King James VersionAnd many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.Daniel 12:2 · King James VersionOpen source
    • John 14:2John 14:2 · King James VersionIn my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.John 14:2 · King James VersionOpen source

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  4. What you will hear

    Judaism began in the Middle Ages, after the temple fell.

    The Bible places Israel’s worship with Abraham and with the law at Sinai. The temple’s fall in 70 is later. Rabbinic life continues that confession. It does not start it.

    • Genesis 12:1Genesis 12:1 · King James VersionNow the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:Genesis 12:1 · King James VersionOpen source
    • Exodus 20:2Exodus 20:2 · King James VersionI am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.Exodus 20:2 · King James VersionOpen source
    • Deuteronomy 6:4Deuteronomy 6:4 · King James VersionHear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:Deuteronomy 6:4 · King James VersionOpen source

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  5. What you will hear

    Jews do not believe in God.

    The Shema says the LORD our God is one LORD. Maimonides’ principles begin with the existence of the Creator. That confession is quoted on What Do Jews Believe? and summarized on When Was Judaism Established?

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