Messianic Jews and Christianity: A misguided struggle--Part I

I want to expand on something I only touched on in my last pair of articles. Many in the Messianic Jewish community tend to spend an inordinate amount of time arguing with the Christian community over doctrines, traditions, and ideas. As I wrote before, they are not so quick to create such heated disputes with the unbelieving Jews, but let’s focus on the Messianic/Christian relationship for now:

In his book Jewish Roots: A Foundation of Biblical Theology, Dan Juster lists several dangers that face the Messianic Jewish movement. All are important problems that Messianic Judaism must address, but it is my personal belief that the greatest problem facing Messianic Judaism can be found on page 250 of his book:

“One of the dangers in the national and international scene is a feeling that we have the right sense. When a group has the attitude of superiority, even if they are superior (in age, by numbers, etc.) they alienate others. We all have much to learn from one another. God can unify and blend us without any group or individual controlling and manipulating others.”[1]

That last line represents the greatest problem facing Messianic Judaism: not so much a sense of superiority, but the desire for control. In Messianic Jewish literature, I have noticed one consistent trend: authors intensely try to justify Messianic Judaism while heaping—sometimes almost bitterly—numerous criticisms on Christianity. Whether or not this criticism is deserved, it comes as a surprise, again, that Messianic Jews criticize Christianity—which accepts the Messiah Jesus—much more harshly than Judaism, which rejects Jesus as the Messiah and hates Him.

To be honest, it sometimes appears that Messianic Jews are as antagonistic to Christianity as traditional Jews are. It’s true that Christianity contains errors and has also not done what is right in being supportive of Messianic Judaism, but for Messianic Jews to respond with such a level of disdain brings to mind the words of Paul, “You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?”[2] And, “If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”[3]

I fear that Messianic Judaism has become so preoccupied with justifying its existence to Jews and Christians, that it is now obsessed with taking over from both religions, especially Christianity. My mother once attended a Messianic Jewish Purim celebration during which the desire for Messianic Judaism to replace Christianity was explicitly stated. This is a dangerous notion that removes the focus of Messianic Jews from their relationships with God and places their focus on worldly endeavors.

Continue to Part II

[1] Dan Juster, Jewish Roots: A Foundation of Biblical Theology, 3d ed., (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers, Inc.), p. 250

[2] 1 Corinthians 3:3—NIV

[3] Galatians 5:15—NIV