Why don’t Jews believe Jesus is the Messiah?

Jews do not believe Jesus is the Messiah because, in Maimonides’ test, the Messiah is a living Davidic king who brings Israel back to the Torah, rebuilds the Temple, and gathers the exiles, and a claimant who was killed has not done that. Christians say Jesus is the son of David the prophets promised, that he was cut off and raised, and that he is Lord and God.

Key points

• Mishneh Torah, Kings and Wars 11:4, Eliyahu Touger: if a Davidic king keeps the Written and Oral Law, “we may, with assurance, consider him Mashiach.” If he builds the Temple and gathers Israel, “he is definitely the Mashiach.” (1)
• The next sentences: “If he did not succeed to this degree or was killed, he surely is not the redeemer promised by the Torah.” (1)
• The same section names “Jesus of Nazareth who aspired to be the Mashiach and was executed by the court,” and says Christianity “caused the Jews to be slain by the sword, their remnants to be scattered and humbled, the Torah to be altered.” (1)
• Daniel 9:26And 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 Version: “shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself.” Isaiah 53:5But 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 Version: “he was wounded for our transgressions.” (4) (3)
• Mark 14:61–62^14:61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? ^14:62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.Mark 14:61–62 · King James Version: the high priest asks, “Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus says, “I am.” (6)
• Acts 2:36Therefore 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 Version: God has made the crucified Jesus “both Lord and Christ.” John 20:28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.John 20:28 · King James Version: “My LORD and my God.” (7) (8)
• The word itself is What does Messiah mean?. The two religions side by side are What is the difference between Judaism and Christianity?.

The test Maimonides wrote

The twelfth principle, in his commentary on Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1: (2)

The twelfth principle The Messianic era and that is to believe and to confirm that he will come and not to think that he is late.

Maimonides

And included in this principle is that there should not be a king in Israel except from the House of David alone.

Maimonides

Mishneh Torah, Kings and Wars, Touger’s translation: (1)

In the future, the Messianic king will arise and renew the Davidic dynasty, restoring it to its initial sovereignty. He will build the Temple and gather the dispersed of Israel.

Mishneh Torah

If a king will arise from the House of David who diligently contemplates the Torah and observes its mitzvot as prescribed by the Written Law and the Oral Law as David, his ancestor, will compel all of Israel to walk in (the way of the Torah) and rectify the breaches in its observance, and fight the wars of God, we may, with assurance, consider him Mashiach.

Mishneh Torah

If he succeeds in the above, builds the Temple in its place, and gathers the dispersed of Israel, he is definitely the Mashiach.

Mishneh Torah

If he did not succeed to this degree or was killed, he surely is not the redeemer promised by the Torah.

Mishneh Torah

That is a clear test. The king is from David. He keeps both the written Torah and the oral law. He restores Israel’s observance. He fights the wars of God. The definite sign is the Temple standing in its place and the dispersed gathered. A man who is killed before that has failed the test. On those sentences, Jesus did not rebuild the Temple and did not gather Israel home, and he was killed. Mainstream Jewish refusal of the claim starts there, not in a caricature.

The same section then names him:

Jesus of Nazareth who aspired to be the Mashiach and was executed by the court was also alluded to in Daniel’s prophecies, as ibid. 11:14 states: ‘The vulgar among your people shall exalt themselves in an attempt to fulfill the vision, but they shall stumble.’

Mishneh Torah

Can there be a greater stumbling block than Christianity? All the prophets spoke of Mashiach as the redeemer of Israel and their savior who would gather their dispersed and strengthen their observance of the mitzvot. In contrast, Christianity caused the Jews to be slain by the sword, their remnants to be scattered and humbled, the Torah to be altered, and the majority of the world to err and serve a god other than the Lord.

Mishneh Torah

He also writes that the deeds of Jesus of Nazareth “will only serve to prepare the way for Mashiach’s coming.” The judgment is his: Jesus aspired, was executed, and the church that followed scattered Israel and, in his view, taught the nations another god. Christians have to hear that paragraph as he wrote it. The answer is the prophets he says spoke of a redeemer, read in full, and the Gospels’ account of the death.

What the prophets also say

Micah 5:2But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.Micah 5:2 · King James Version, King James Version: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” (5)

Isaiah 9:6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.Isaiah 9:6 · King James Version: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (3)

Isaiah 53:3–7^53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ^53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. ^53:5 But 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. ^53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. ^53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.Isaiah 53:3–7 · King James Version:

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isaiah 53:3 · King James Version

But 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 Version

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Isaiah 53:7 · King James Version

Isaiah 53:9–11^53:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. ^53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. ^53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.Isaiah 53:9–11 · King James Version: “he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.” “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him.” “by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”

Daniel 9:25–26^9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. ^9:26 And 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 9:25–26 · King James Version: “unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks.” “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself.” (4)

Zechariah 12:10And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.Zechariah 12:10 · King James Version: “they shall look upon me whom they have pierced.” Psalm 16:10For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.Psalms 16:10 · King James Version: “neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Psalm 110:1The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.Psalms 110:1 · King James Version: “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand.”

Maimonides’ redeemer gathers Israel and strengthens the mitzvot. These passages also describe an anointed one who is cut off, pierced, silent before slaughter, and whose life is not left to corruption. The Christian reading is that both belong to one person: the son of David who suffers, and the king whose reign is not ended by that death. The resurrection of Jesus is the claim that the tomb did not keep him.

The Temple in Jerusalem has not been rebuilt, and Israel is not fully gathered. Christians do not say those sentences of Maimonides have already happened. They say the definite public reign is still ahead, and that the Messiah has already come, died, and risen. His second sentence, “he is definitely the Mashiach” only after the Temple and the ingathering, is why a Jewish reader still waits. The Gospels’ claim is that the identity was already settled before that day.

What Jesus said, and how he died

Mark 14:61–62^14:61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? ^14:62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.Mark 14:61–62 · King James Version, King James Version: (6)

Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

Mark 14:61 · King James Version

And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Mark 14:62 · King James Version

John 4:25–26The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.John 4:25 · King James Version: “I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ.” “Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.”

Matthew 1:1The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.Matthew 1:1 · King James Version calls him “the son of David.” Matthew 1:21And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.Matthew 1:21 · King James Version: “he shall save his people from their sins.”

Maimonides says Jesus “was executed by the court.” The Gospels say the council handed him over and Pilate’s soldiers crucified him. Mark 15 is that account: a Roman cross, a burial, and women who saw where he was laid. Christians do not relocate the death into a legend that he only seemed to die. Did Jesus die on the cross? is that question as Muslims raise it. Jews who follow this passage in the Mishneh Torah grant the execution and deny that the executed man is the redeemer.

Acts 2:36Therefore 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 Version: “God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Peter says that to “all the house of Israel.” The sermon’s proof is the resurrection, Psalm 16:10For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.Psalms 16:10 · King James Version, and the exaltation to the right hand.

The same God, and prayer

Deuteronomy 6:4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:Deuteronomy 6:4 · King James Version: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.” (9) Jews pray to that God. They do not pray to Jesus. Maimonides’ paragraph says the church brought the nations to “serve a god other than the Lord.”

Christians answer with the same Shema and with John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James Version: “the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 10:30I and my Father are one.John 10:30 · King James Version: “I and my Father are one.” John 20:28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.John 20:28 · King James Version: “My LORD and my God.” John 4:22Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.John 4:22 · King James Version: “salvation is of the Jews.” The claim is not a second god beside the God of Israel. It is that the God of Israel is Father and Son. Is Jesus God? and the Trinity stay on those sentences. Prayer in the letters is to the Father in Jesus’ name. Acts 7:59And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.Acts 7:59 · King James Version also shows Stephen calling on the Lord Jesus. Both belong to the one God. Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God? is the parallel question with Islam.

John 5:18Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.John 5:18 · King James Version says his hearers understood “that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” The objection Maimonides raises, that the nations were taught another god, was already the charge in the Gospel. The Gospel treats the charge as a misunderstanding of the Son, not as a confession of two deities.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jesus according to the Jews?

In this section of the Mishneh Torah he is “Jesus of Nazareth who aspired to be the Mashiach and was executed by the court,” not the king who rebuilt the Temple and gathered Israel. (1) The Gospels call him the Christ, the son of David, and the one Thomas calls Lord and God.

Do Jews believe Jesus was crucified?

Maimonides says he was executed by the court. The Gospels say he was crucified under Pilate, buried, and raised. (1) Mark 15 is the narrative. This page does not quote a Talmudic passage about Yeshu. That identification is a separate argument, and it is not the test above.

Do Jews believe in the same God as Christians?

Both confess the God of Deuteronomy 6:4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:Deuteronomy 6:4 · King James Version. Christians also confess the Son, John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James Version and John 20:28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.John 20:28 · King James Version. Maimonides calls that a different god. The Christian confession says it is the same God, known as Father and Son. (1) (8) (9)

Do Jews pray to God or to Jesus?

They pray to God, not to Jesus. Christians pray to the Father through the Son and confess Jesus as Lord. Acts 7:59And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.Acts 7:59 · King James Version is Stephen calling on the Lord Jesus.

Do Jews believe Jesus rose from the dead?

The test quoted here says a king who was killed is not the promised redeemer. It does not affirm the resurrection. Acts 2:36Therefore 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 Version makes the resurrection the reason Israel should know that the crucified Jesus is Lord and Christ. (7) Was Jesus raised bodily? is the bodily claim.

Keep reading

• What do Jews believe?
• What does Messiah mean?
• What is the difference between Judaism and Christianity?
• Is Jesus God?
• The Trinity
• The resurrection of Jesus
• Can God have a Son?