{"id":7578,"date":"2024-02-28T15:49:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T21:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nazarenespace.com\/blog\/?p=7578"},"modified":"2024-02-28T15:51:09","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T21:51:09","slug":"is-messianic-judaism-a-biblical-term","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nazarenespace.com\/blog\/2024\/02\/28\/is-messianic-judaism-a-biblical-term\/","title":{"rendered":"Is “Messianic Judaism” or “Nazarene Judaism” the Scriptural Term?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Is “Messianic Judaism” or “Nazarene Judaism”
the Scriptural Term?
By
James Trimm<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In restoring the ancient sect of Nazarene Judaism, one might ask why not use the term “Messianic Judaism” which many Jewish believers in Messiah commonly use?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a few problems with this term. To begin with, so-called “Messianic Judaism” began as an outgrowth of Christianity (I will write a blog on the origins of so-called “Messianic Judaism” in the future) as a missionary effort to bring Jews into a culturally Jewish form of Christianity. By contrast the restoration of Nazarene Judaism is an effort to restore the original sect of Judaism which were the original Jewish followers of Yeshua. There are several issues that arise from the motives and origins of so-called “Messianic Judaism” which are problematic for a true restoration of Nazarene Judaism. (We will discuss some of those in a future blog). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this blog, I simply want to address the term “Messianic Judaism.” You may be surprised to find out that the original Jewish followers of Yeshua were NOT \u201cMessianic Jews\u201d. As Messianic Jewish leader Daniel Juster<\/a> writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No form of Judaism or Christianity\u2026 has used the term \u201cMessianic Judaism\u201d as its appropriate designation.
(Jewish Roots; 1986 edition, p. viii)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original followers of Yeshua were a sect of Judaism known as \u201cNazarenes\u201d (as we read in Acts 24:5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term \u201cMessianic Judaism\u201d was invented in the late 60\u2019s and it is a human invention. Messianic Jewish leader David Stern<\/a> wrote in his Messianic Jewish Manifesto<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Scripture the word \u201cChristian\u201d does not denote Jewish believers in Yeshua at all. The New Testament calls them followers of \u201cthis way\u201d (Acts 9:2, 22:4) and \u201cNazarenes\u201d (Acts 24:5)\u2026 the New Testament does not call Jewish believers \u201cChristians\u201d. According to New Testament usage the term \u201cChristian\u201d is reserved for Gentile believers in the Jewish Messiah Yeshua.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acts 11:19-26 tells how in Antioch some Jewish believers\u2026 did not limit their proclamation of Yeshua as the Messiah to Jews, as had been the norm previously, but broke new ground\u2026 Many of these Gentiles came to believe\u2026 the other Gentiles in Antioch\u2026 coined the word christianoi (Christians),\u2026 Thus the term \u201cChristian\u201d was invented by Gentiles to describe Gentiles in a Gentile environment. The New Testament tells us explicitly that \u201cthe disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.\u201d [Acts 11:26]
(Messianic Jewish Manifesto<\/strong>; David Stern; p. 32)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it is important here to note that David Stern himself in his Jewish New Testament and Complete Jewish Bible, translates Acts 11:26 with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026it was at Antioch that the talmidim for the first time were called \u201cMessianic\u201d. (Acts 11:26 JNT)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his commentary to this passage in his Jewish New Testament Commentary<\/strong><\/em> Stern wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMessianic,\u201d or \u201cMessianics,\u201d Greek Christianoi, which could be rendered\u2026 as in other translations, \u201cChristians.\u201d \u2026the name \u201cChristianoi\u201d was applied to Gentile believers by Gentile nonbelievers. The name nonbelieving Jews gave to Jewish believers was \u201cNatzaratim\u201d\u2026 (\u201cNazarenes\u201d),<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again in his book Messianic Jewish Manifesto<\/em><\/strong> Stern wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMessianic\u201d comes from the Hebrew mashiach, which means \u201canointed.\u201d \u201cChristian\u201d comes from Greek christos, which is the [Greek] New Testament\u2019s translation of mashiach and means the same thing<\/strong>. \u2026in the New Testament the term \u201cChristian,\u201d which appears only three times, apparently denotes being a Gentile believer in Yeshua, so that scripturally \u201cJewish Christian\u201d is a contradiction in terms.
(Emphasis and brackets added)
(Messianic Jewish Manifesto<\/strong>; David Stern; p. 20)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we can see from David Stern\u2019s own words above:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. The terms \u201cChristian\u201d and \u201cMessianic\u201d are alternate translations of the Greek word \u201cChristianoi\u201d \u201cand mean the same thing\u201d.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The term \u201cChristianoi\u201d or \u201cChristian\u201d is used in the scriptures only to denote a GENTILE believer in Yeshua, so that scripturally the term \u201cJewish Christian\u201d is \u201ca contradiction in terms\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Therefore we may conclude that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n