Why the Jews Rejected Jesus by F.C. Gilbert

[Gary K]

Frederick Carnes Gilbert (1861-1946) was born of Hebrew parentage in London, England. Emigrating to America, he accepted the Advent Message in Boston in 1889 and was baptized that year.

After attending the South Lancaster Academy (1890-1894),  he was married to Ella M. Graham in 1896, and two years later was ordained to the ministry. For the next thirteen years he labored in the Atlantic Union Conference, and in 1911 he began work for the Jews under the aegis of the North American Division office. In 1918 he transferred to the General Conference, where he continued this work. From 1922 onward, he traveled all over the world in evangelistic work—that took him to Europe, Asia, Central and South America.

His books were unusual. If you can obtain copies, you will be blessed. Unfortunately they are now out-of-print. His published works include “Messiah in His Sanctuary,” “Judaism and Christianity,” “Divine Predictions of Mrs. Ellen G. White Fulfilled,” and two autobiographies, “From Judaism to Christianity,” and “Gospel Work Among the Hebrews.” The first of these is of special significance.

Elder F.C. Gilbert was an expert in both the Hebrew language, and in ancient and modern Jewish culture. The following article is abridged from an essay published in the December 1933 issue of “Ministry” magazine. The abridgement was reprinted in the December 15, 1983 issue of the “Adventist Review.”

Come see how the scholarship of the world destroyed the Jews:

Why did the Jews fail to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, when the Old Testament Scriptures were filled with prediction, type, and prophecy regarding His advent into our world? The refusal of the Sanhedrin to acclaim Him is especially difficult to understand, since the apostles repeatedly state that, had these people known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Their sacrificing of His life was done through ignorance. It seems well nigh inexplicable for some to harmonize the rejection of Jesus by the Pharisees while they were recognized as the leaders who sat in Moses’ seat.

The Scriptures present the Jewish people as honest, zealous, and sincere. Paul says of them: “I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.” (Rom. 10:2). And of his own training and education, even before he accepted the Saviour, he adds: “Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward man” (Acts 24:16). “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Tim. 1:12,13).

Because of the bitter experience through which the seed of Abraham passed in the captivity of Babylon for seventy years, after their deliverance from Babylonian exile the leaders determined never again to reject the counsel of God’s word. Influential men of Israel feared the serious consequences that might overtake them if they were again led away from the true God. The following statement from Ezra is to the point: “Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? Shouldst not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?” (Ezra 9:14).

In a Jewish treatise entitled Ethics of the Fathers, written about the second century before Christ, we read, “Be deliberate in judgment; train up many disciples; and make a fence for the law.” The sages of Israel put forth their best effort to fence in the law. They multiplied comments, explanations, treaties, targums, and other religious helps in order that the people might better understand the teaching of the word of God. Unfortunately, in their endeavor to familiarize the people with the requirements contained in Scripture for following God, they stumbled over a great stumblingstone.

According to the Jewish historian Josephus, after Alexander the Great worshiped in the Temple at Jerusalem following his reception by Juddua the high priest, a spirit of friendliness developed between the Greeks and the Jews. Alexander’s generals found it difficult to understand why their chief should embrace the high priest when they met on Mount Scopus, instead of putting him to death. Alexander told his officials that what occurred that day was shown to him in a vision when he was in Macedonia, and he wanted the privilege of entering the Temple and worshiping the God of Juddua (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 11. 8. 5).

The Greeks assured the Jews that they desired to be their true friends and benefactors. They desired to learn more of the God of the Hebrews. An arrangement was entered into that allowed a large number of rabbis from Jerusalem to go to Alexandria in Egypt and translate the writings of the Jewish Scriptures into the Greek language. Greek scholarship and learning was seeking in every way possible to enhance the value of its own culture and refinement. It was also suggested by the Greeks that the Jews send their talented young men to Alexandria for training and instruction in the philosophies, sciences, and learning of the Greeks.

Many of the elders of Israel feared the results of such a course, the sages remembering the sorrows of their ancestors who came into contact with heathen manners and customs. They counseled the younger men against such a procedure. These, in turn, argued that it would be an advantage for strong, thoughtful, vigorous young men to enter the schools of Greece, as they might influence the philosophers and Greek scholars to see the value and beauty of the Jewish religion, and some of the learned Greeks might embrace Judaism. Still, the aged men of Israel advised against it. They maintained that should the younger men come into contact with the learning of the heathen, it might be ruinous to the future of the Jewish race.

The Greeks assured the fathers in Israel that they could hold to their own standards of religion. They were encouraged to believe that the synagogues where the children were taught their religion would not be interfered with; their Beth Hamedrosh (house of learning, their high schools), where their young people received preparatory training, would continue as heretofore; the Talmud Torah (their colleges where advanced studies were conducted) would be strengthened if the teachers of the law could draw from the wisdom and learning of the scholars of Greece; and by receiving recognition from Greece, at that time the world’s greatest nation, the graduates of Jewish schools would be greatly advantaged.

Many of Israel’s influential men yielded to Greek urging. They said that God would help their young men to be true to their religion, and the training schools of Jewry would have a better standing in the eyes of the nations. The men of Israel were made to feel that the advantages of the Jewish scholars would be immeasurable. The young men would gain knowledge, influence, prestige.

Gradually the Jewish schools came to confer degrees upon their graduates. There were the Rav, or rabbi, the Tana, the Gayon, the Sadi, and the Rabbon. It was thought necessary for the graduates of the rabbinical schools to display their rank by wearing different clothing. Little by little an educational aristocracy was formed, which was called the Sanhedrin. This term is of Greek origin, the Hebrew name being Beth din ha-go-dol, Great House of Judgment.

The religious schools continued to operate, but a marked declension in spiritual influence and power was apparent. Year by year the word of God was studied less, as studies based on culture and philosophy increased. Human concerns became exalted and God was less thought of. The rabbi was extolled; the unlearned were depreciated. Piety gradually diminished as form and ceremony increased. Many laws were passed favoring rabbinism and school customs, yet students were encouraged to love and obey God.

In Ethics of the Fathers the rabbis taught “A child of five years should study the Bible, at ten the Mishna, at fifteen the Gemara.”

The Mishna is a voluminous commentary on the Bible; the Gemara is the commentary of the Mishna. So as the student advanced in years and developed in mental acumen, he studied God’s word less and human writings more.

In order for leaders to be accepted by Jewish assemblies, they must have completed a course in the rabbinical schools. Those who failed to follow the procedure mapped out by the Great Sanhedrin (or by the lesser Sanhedrin located in cities and towns of Palestine outside Jerusalem, headquarters of the Beth din ha-go-dol, The Great House of Judgment) received no recognition by the populace. The graduate rabbi was known by his garb. It was imperative that rabbinical qualifications be met in order for a person to gain a hearing by the children of Abraham.

Such were conditions in the land of Judea at the time John and Jesus appeared.

“By the Babylonish captivity the Israelites were effectually cured of the worship of graven images. During the centuries that followed, they suffered from the oppression of heathen foes until the conviction became fixed that their prosperity depended upon their obedience to the law of God … After the return from Babylon, much attention was given to religious instruction. All over the country, synagogues were erected where the law was expounded by the priests and scribes. And schools were established, which, together with the arts and sciences, professed to teach the principles of righteousness. But these agencies became corrupted … In many things they conformed to the practices of idolaters.

“As they departed from God, the Jews in a great degree lost sight of the teaching of the ritual service … The Jews lost the spiritual life from their ceremonies, and clung to the dead forms … In order to supply the place of that which they had lost, the priests and rabbis multiplied requirements of their own; and the more rigid they grew, the less of the love of God was manifested. They measured their holiness by the multitude of their ceremonies, while their hearts were filled with pride and hypocrisy.”— The Desire of Ages, 29.

Since John and Jesus were not the products of rabbinical schools, the people would not recognize their authority as teachers. But God gave these men a message filled with divine power and with the heavenly Spirit. Because the leaders of Israel failed to accept the message of John as coming from God, they were unprepared to receive the message of the Saviour, although He assured them that His life and advent were based on the sacred Scriptures. The rabbis argued: “How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” (John 7:15).

Since the members of Jesus’ family were loyal to the synagogues, His own brothers did not believe on Him as Messiah (see John 7:4, 5). Because the standards of learning were established by the Sanhedrin and no one who refused to accept the teaching of the rabbis was given recognition, it is not difficult to understand why, when the Saviour came to those who were custodians of the oracles of Gad, they failed to recognize Him as the fulfillment of the types and prophecy spoken of by Moses and the prophets.

By mingling human philosophy with the Word of God, the spiritual force and power of the Scriptures was lacking in the lives of teachers and laymen. They did not have spiritual discernment. Alexandrian and Athenian culture had sapped the spiritual strength of the house of Israel. The influence of worldly religious training unfitted all classes to meet Him when “He came unto His own.” “His own received Him not.” His claims were heavenly; the people were of the earth, earthly. Heaven and earth did not harmonize.

At the beginning of His work Jesus told the people that the populace would kill Him. The Pharisees accused Him of being a Samaritan and of having a devil. Blinded by sin, influenced and hypnotized by human learning and rabbinical tradition, the masses were lacking in spiritual intuition. In the end they rejected their only hope, their one source of deliverance. No honesty, zeal, or earnestness could deliver or save them from sin. Only Jesus, the light of the world, the Saviour of men, could bring deliverance.

To a great extent the leaders of Israel had yielded to the demands of Greek culture and learning, thereby hoping to gain prestige and influence. They had been led to believe that they would be advantaged by assimilating worldly standards of education more than by clinging tenaciously to the standards bequeathed to them by their godly ancestors. So the Jews lost much of their influence, failed to retain their prestige, and rejected their long-looked-for Messiah and Saviour.

 

 

So why did the Jews reject Jesus?  Because they believed themselves too wise to accept the Bible as it reads, due to the influence of Greek education.  Sounds familiar doesn't it?  Our educational systems today are based upon Greek reasoning.  Anyone who goes down the same route the Jews did in trusting education and worldly wisdom over the revelation of God will end up in the same place they did.

A word to the wise ought to be sufficient. 

[Ron Amnsn]

It's true that the current situation in the Christian churches, universities, and seminaries is quite similar to the conditions among the Jews who did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

However, one premise of this story is misleading -- the Jews as a whole did not reject Jesus -- it was only the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem who rejected Jesus.  To say that "the Jews rejected Jesus" would be similar to saying that "the Americans rejected the Bible" if the US Congress were to reject the Bible by a small majority.  The politicians are not the people, and the majority of the people probably believe differently than the members of Congress.  (However, most Americans do reject the Bible in a different way because they have been taught that portions of the Old Testament have become obsolete and they have been taught that popular misinterpretations of the New Testament overthrow the Old Testament religion that Jesus created, lived, and endorsed.)

In the case of the Jews though, the assertion "that the Jews rejected Jesus" is even less true, because only a small minority of the Jews and Israelites lived in Jerusalem and Judea at the time of Jesus.  Most of the Jews and Israelites were still scattered in the diaspora after the exiles, had little or no contact with Jerusalem, and never had an opportunity to accept or reject Jesus because they never heard of him.  Of those that did meet Jesus or his followers, the New Testament tells us that many tens of thousands believed in Jesus as the Messiah (Acts 21:20).  There are several other passages in the New Testament that show the acceptance of Jesus among the Jews.

The false accusation that "the Jews rejected Jesus" also causes modern Jews to resist accepting Jesus for at least a couple reasons. 

First, when a Jew hears that "the Jews rejected Jesus," the Jew feels accused by Christians.  Whether the accusation is true or not, it hampers evangelism because it initially causes Jews to distance themselves from Christians.  Who wants to listen to someone who is accusing you and your people-group of something bad?  Nobody.

Also, when a person who identifies as a Jew hears that "the Jews rejected Jesus," they think, "I'm a Jew, therefore I will stand as a Jew by rejecting Jesus too."  It becomes a matter of Jewish patriotism and loyalty to stand with the Jews on this issue.

If all Christians would instead testify truthfully about the Jews and say, as the New Testament says, "You see, brother, how many ten thousands there are among the Jews who have believed, and they are all zealous adherents of the law," (Acts 21:20 LEB) it would make evangelism among the Jews more successful.

[Gary K]

Ron,

Are you an Orthodox Jew, or raised by parents who were even more pious than Orthodox Jews?  Were you raised to be a rabbi in the Orthodox Jewish tradition from the time you were very young as you were born seven days before the Day of Atonement, and circumcised on the Day of Atonement?  Are you an expert on all things Jewish including the Hebrew language? Were you educated from your infancy in Judaism and began studying to be a rabbi at age five?   Are you an expert on Jewish society, both ancient and modern?  If the answer to all of these questions is not yes, then I will take what F.C. Gilbert wrote as his answers to all of these questions would have been in the affirmative. 

Gilbert's autobiography, From Judaism to Christianity, can be found online.  It's a very interesting read.  Read it.  You will learn a lot, if you will set aside your biases. 

[LifeHiscost]

On 7/27/2017 at 11:45 PM, Gary K said:

 

 

 

So why did the Jews reject Jesus?  Because they believed themselves too wise to accept the Bible as it reads, due to the influence of Greek education.  Sounds familiar doesn't it?  Our educational systems today are based upon Greek reasoning.  Anyone who goes down the same route the Jews did in trusting education and worldly wisdom over the revelation of God will end up in the same place they did.

A word to the wise ought to be sufficient. 

  

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it definition. Studying history is necessary to avoid repeating past mistakes. This saying comes from the writings of George Santayana, a Spanish-born American author of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries  

True, in my estimation. Especially if we don't have the information God left for us.

11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come....1 Corinthians 10

God is Love!~Jesus saves!    

 

 

[JoeMo]

On 7/28/2017 at 0:45 AM, Gary K said:

So why did the Jews reject Jesus?  Because they believed themselves too wise to accept the Bible as it reads ...

I disagree.  The Jews rejected Jesus because the OT was very cryptic about the suffering Messiah.  It was so cryptic, that even satan and his minions had no idea that Christ's death would result in abject defeat for the spiritual forces of evil. Paul says:

"No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.  None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (1 Cor. 7-8)

If those who dwelt in the spiritual realm - who had been in the presence of the Almighty -  didn't recognize Jesus' mission, why would the Jewish leadership?  It's easy for us with 20/20 hindsight to judge Israel; but iChrist's mission wasn't even obvious to His own apostles until after His resurrection.  It is the same way with us on eschatology.  We all have our pet theories about how the end will come about; but none of us really "know" how and when.  Chances are likely it won't fit any of our pet theories.  We'll know how eschatology unfolds as it unfolds.

You can be sure that God will honor His Abrahamic promises to all of Israel - not because they have been faithful, but because God is faithful.  They are unconditionally God's chosen people.  And those Israelites who turn to Him in the end will inherit life eternal along with the true believers of us Gentiles.

[Gary K]

3 hours ago, JoeMo said:

I disagree.  The Jews rejected Jesus because the OT was very cryptic about the suffering Messiah.  It was so cryptic, that even satan and his minions had no idea that Christ's death would result in abject defeat for the spiritual forces of evil. Paul says:

"No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.  None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (1 Cor. 7-8)

If those who dwelt in the spiritual realm - who had been in the presence of the Almighty -  didn't recognize Jesus' mission, why would the Jewish leadership?  It's easy for us with 20/20 hindsight to judge Israel; but iChrist's mission wasn't even obvious to His own apostles until after His resurrection.  It is the same way with us on eschatology.  We all have our pet theories about how the end will come about; but none of us really "know" how and when.  Chances are likely it won't fit any of our pet theories.  We'll know how eschatology unfolds as it unfolds.

You can be sure that God will honor His Abrahamic promises to all of Israel - not because they have been faithful, but because God is faithful.  They are unconditionally God's chosen people.  And those Israelites who turn to Him in the end will inherit life eternal along with the true believers of us Gentiles.

Odd.  Here I thought all this time that you were a Gentile just like me.  How do you figure you know more about Jewish thought, Jewish beliefs, Jewish history, Jewish writings, and Jewish socieity than a man born and raised in an ultra Orthodox Jewish family and whose family had their hearts set on him becoming a rabbi?  I find your assessement of your own knowledge to be a little, shall we say, egotistical.  It's sort of like saying you know more about being a woman than a woman does.

The Orthodox Jews live, think, and bellieve just like the Pharisees of Christ's day.  And you think you know more about it than an Orthodox Jew?

[Ron Amnsn]

3 hours ago, Gary K said:

The Orthodox Jews live, think, and believe just like the Pharisees of Christ's day.

Jewish history shows this is not true.  Don't let anyone fool you. 

Orthodox Judaism is not homogeneous nor is it static. Orthodox Judaism varies from region to region, century to century, and even from rabbi to rabbi.  For examples of some differences that existed in the time of Jesus and changes that occurred shortly after the time of Jesus, see the short Wikipedia article "Hillel and Shammai". 

John 7:1 tells us that the Jews of Galilee were enough different from the Jews of Judea that Jesus could move about freely in Galilee even while the Jews in Judea were trying to kill him.  Today, Orthodox Judaism practiced by Sephardic Jews (of Middle East and Mediterranean origin) is quite different from Orthodox Judaism practiced by Ashkenazi Jews (of eastern European origin), while the Orthodox Judaism practiced in America has a unique flavor of its own.

As an example, one difference between the Pharisees of Jesus' day and the Orthodox Jews of a few centuries later was the method of determining the yearly calendar.  According to the Talmud, during the Second Temple period, since each month could have 29 or 30 days, the beginning of each month was determined by witnesses sighting the first sliver of the new moon soon after sunset, with the Sanhedrin questioning the witnesses to determine if the sightings were reliable, and if so declaring that a new month had started.  Since a year could have either 12 or 13 months, the new year was determined by examining the readiness of the barley crop around Jerusalem (Mature barley is necessary for the wave sheaf after Passover) and other factors. After the Jews were driven from Jerusalem, when the Sanhedrin was disbanded, they switched to a calendar calculated from the conjunctions of the moon with the sun.  As a result Jewish months switched from starting when the new moon was visible to starting when there is no moon visible at all, and the new year is now predetermined by a fixed 19-year cycle of 12 and 13-month years.  Orthodox Jews today usually celebrate the OT feasts a day or two earlier than the Pharisees would have, and sometimes celebrate a month earlier or later than the Pharisees would have. The nascent Sanhedrin in Jerusalem is aiming to return to the older method of determining the calendar but they do not yet have enough influence among Orthodox Jews, even though the group is made up of Orthodox Jewish rabbis.

For the past several months I have been listening to and reading the writings of a retired Orthodox Jewish rabbi who was asked to serve on the nascent Sanhedrin when he lived in Israel.  He teaches on Judaism and the history of Judaism.

Gary, it is encouraging to see that you have an interest in what the Pharisees believed and lived at the time of Jesus, because that does help us know how Jesus and the apostles lived out the Christian life.  However, you're wasting your time trying to belittle those who disagree with FC Gilbert.  He left Orthodox Judaism and accepted the teachings of Adventism, so his teachings are necessarily quite different from the Orthodox Jews. His teachings  are also influenced by the man-made Christian traditions and doctrines handed down from the church of the Dark Ages.  Orthodox Jews themselves differ so much from each other that they commonly quip "Two Jews, three opinions," meaning that if you have two Jews in a room you can expect to have at least three different opinions on an issue.

[8thdaypriest]

IMO, I can think of two main "reasons why" the rulers of Judea (not all Jews) rejected Jesus. 

1.  They were AFRAID of the Romans.  They did not want to give the Romans any excuse to wipe them out.  If Jesus was seen by the Romans, as a mobilizer of men, and "King of the Jews", then the Romans would crucify him.  The Jewish rulers did not want to share His fate, so they distanced themselves from Him.  "Better that one man die, than the whole nations perish." 

2.  They were ANGRY at the way Jesus criticized their ways, and showed them up as corrupt.  They feared Jesus would diminish their authority over the people.   That would bring chaos and again - Roman destruction.

[JoeMo]

16 hours ago, Gary K said:

The Orthodox Jews live, think, and bellieve just like the Pharisees of Christ's day.  And you think you know more about it than an Orthodox Jew?

No; I don't think I know more; I'm just stating my current opinion based on what study I have done, which has been considerable.  Some of it I have learned from Messianic Jews, and much of it I have learned from studying scripture.  We have the advantage of 20/20 hindsight when looking at the OT to see how it predicts the Messiah.  The Pharisees obviously could not decipher the scriptures sufficiently to recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

[Gary K]

On 7/29/2017 at 11:56 PM, Ron Amnsn said:

Jewish history shows this is not true.  Don't let anyone fool you. 

Orthodox Judaism is not homogeneous nor is it static. Orthodox Judaism varies from region to region, century to century, and even from rabbi to rabbi.  For examples of some differences that existed in the time of Jesus and changes that occurred shortly after the time of Jesus, see the short Wikipedia article "Hillel and Shammai". 

John 7:1 tells us that the Jews of Galilee were enough different from the Jews of Judea that Jesus could move about freely in Galilee even while the Jews in Judea were trying to kill him.  Today, Orthodox Judaism practiced by Sephardic Jews (of Middle East and Mediterranean origin) is quite different from Orthodox Judaism practiced by Ashkenazi Jews (of eastern European origin), while the Orthodox Judaism practiced in America has a unique flavor of its own.

As an example, one difference between the Pharisees of Jesus' day and the Orthodox Jews of a few centuries later was the method of determining the yearly calendar.  According to the Talmud, during the Second Temple period, since each month could have 29 or 30 days, the beginning of each month was determined by witnesses sighting the first sliver of the new moon soon after sunset, with the Sanhedrin questioning the witnesses to determine if the sightings were reliable, and if so declaring that a new month had started.  Since a year could have either 12 or 13 months, the new year was determined by examining the readiness of the barley crop around Jerusalem (Mature barley is necessary for the wave sheaf after Passover) and other factors. After the Jews were driven from Jerusalem, when the Sanhedrin was disbanded, they switched to a calendar calculated from the conjunctions of the moon with the sun.  As a result Jewish months switched from starting when the new moon was visible to starting when there is no moon visible at all, and the new year is now predetermined by a fixed 19-year cycle of 12 and 13-month years.  Orthodox Jews today usually celebrate the OT feasts a day or two earlier than the Pharisees would have, and sometimes celebrate a month earlier or later than the Pharisees would have. The nascent Sanhedrin in Jerusalem is aiming to return to the older method of determining the calendar but they do not yet have enough influence among Orthodox Jews, even though the group is made up of Orthodox Jewish rabbis.

For the past several months I have been listening to and reading the writings of a retired Orthodox Jewish rabbi who was asked to serve on the nascent Sanhedrin when he lived in Israel.  He teaches on Judaism and the history of Judaism.

Gary, it is encouraging to see that you have an interest in what the Pharisees believed and lived at the time of Jesus, because that does help us know how Jesus and the apostles lived out the Christian life.  However, you're wasting your time trying to belittle those who disagree with FC Gilbert.  He left Orthodox Judaism and accepted the teachings of Adventism, so his teachings are necessarily quite different from the Orthodox Jews. His teachings  are also influenced by the man-made Christian traditions and doctrines handed down from the church of the Dark Ages.  Orthodox Jews themselves differ so much from each other that they commonly quip "Two Jews, three opinions," meaning that if you have two Jews in a room you can expect to have at least three different opinions on an issue.

You're right.  I'm not going to let anyone "fool" me.  Just because a Jew became a Christian does not mean he forgot, or he misunderstood, what is involved in Judaism.  That the Holy Spirit worked with him until he accepted Christ means he became more capable through the work of the Holy Spirit, which he was obviously listening to or he would never have accepted Christ, of distinguishing between truth and error.  

What was Jesus referring to in the following scripture?

Quote

Matthew 23: 25  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 
  26  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Luke 11:37  And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.
  38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.
  39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. 

 

[Gary K]

23 hours ago, JoeMo said:

No; I don't think I know more; I'm just stating my current opinion based on what study I have done, which has been considerable.  Some of it I have learned from Messianic Jews, and much of it I have learned from studying scripture.  We have the advantage of 20/20 hindsight when looking at the OT to see how it predicts the Messiah.  The Pharisees obviously could not decipher the scriptures sufficiently to recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

Considerable?  In comparison to what?  To a man who was educated as an Orthodox Jew from his infancy and spent years training to be a rabbi? 

Yes, it's obvious that the Jews couldn't see Jesus in the Torah.  But the question is why?  Do a Google search on Greek influence on the Jews.  The number of links you find will surprise you, and these are just academic studies that do not take into account the Greek influence upon the religious teachings of the Jews. 

Take a look at the following that comes from the first chapter of the Jerusalem Talmud.

Quote

Halakhah 7: In the name of Rebbi Yohanan: The words of the
scribes are related to the words of Scripture and are pleasant like the
words of Scripture. (Song of Songs 7:10) "Your throat is like the good
wine"; Simeon ben Abba in the name of R. Yohanan:  The words of the
scribes are related to the words of Scripture and are more pleasant than
the words of Scripture. (Song of Songs 1:2) "Since your f riendship is
better than wine"; Rebbi Abba bar Cohen in the name of Rebbi Judah ben
Pazi: You can know that the words of the scribes are more pleasant than
those of Scripture because if Rebbi Tarphon did not recite at all he would
have transgressed only a positive commandment.  But because he
transgressed the words of the school of Hillel he should have suffered
death since it says: (Proverbs 10:8) "He who breaches a fence will be
bitten by a snake."

(now I skip a few pages but remain in the same chapter and Halakhah)

Rebbi Ismael did formulate: In the Torah there are forbidden matters
and permitted matters. There are easy parts and s e v e r e parts. But in the
words of the Sages all are severe .  You can realize that this is so since
we have stated (Mishnah Sanhédrin  11:5): "If he says  there is no
obligation of Tefillin  against the words of the Torah he is not criminally
liable. If he says that Tefillin  have five sections, to add t o the w o r d s of
the Sages, he is guilty." Rebbi Hananiah, the s o n of Rebbi Ada , in the

name of Rebbi Tanhum the son of Rebbi Hiyya: The words of the Sages
carry more weight than those of the prophets, since it is written (Micah
2:6): "Do not preach, they preach; Do not preach to those, that shame does
not reach you.187 " And it is written (Micah 2:11) "I shall preach to you
for wine and liquor." The relation of prophet and scholar can be
compared to the case of a king who sent two of his palmatars to a
province. About one of them he wrote, if he does not show you my seal
0and σημαντήριον , do not believe him. About the other one he wrote,
even if he does not show you my seal, believe him without seal and
σημαντήριον. So about a prophet is written (Deut. 13:2) "He gives you a
sign or miracle." But here it is written (Deut. 17:11): "According to the
teachings that they will teach you" .

 

This is only a portion of Halakhah 7 which addresses this subject, and Halakhah 7 is only a small part of the Talmud that teaches this.  And you think the scriptures were too cryptic?  They were only too cryptic because the rabbis made them so under the influence of Greek thought. 

I can show you parts of both the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds that just make me laugh.  The reasoning is so convoluted and circular it is funny, yet these people spent hundreds of years coming up with this stuff.  It was their academic pursuit to study the thoughts of the rabbis and to regard their own, and other rabbi's teachings, as the Word of God, and even above the Word of God.  What the Holy Spirit revealed was to them of less importance than their own ideas.  Sound familiar? 

[Ron Amnsn]

8 hours ago, Gary K said:

Just because a Jew became a Christian does not mean he forgot, or he misunderstood, what is involved in Judaism.

That would be relevant if my disagreement with the article were something that the author had explained from a Jewish perspective.  But my disagreement is with one of the premises that the author assumed to be correct without defending it at all from a Jewish perspective.  He simply accepted the anti-Jewish Christian tradition that "the Jews rejected Jesus", which is inaccurate and misleading.  How much time does a Jewish rabbi spend studying the New Testament?

[Ron Amnsn]

7 hours ago, Gary K said:

I can show you parts of both the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds that just make me laugh.  The reasoning is so convoluted and circular it is funny, yet these people spent hundreds of years coming up with this stuff.

Maybe you should have a Jewish rabbi explain it to you.  If you were to read Christian writings from the same time period, you could probably find some humor, circular logic, convoluted arguments, and contradictory beliefs there as well.  The difference is that we as Christians don't generally study our historical documents, but simply accept the traditions, doctrines, and interpretations that were concocted centuries ago by men we might scorn if we met them today. And we accept those handed-down teachings without testing them by Scripture, and without even knowing what other traditions, doctrines, and interpretations preceded the ones we accept.

It sounds like you think studying the Talmud is a waste of time, yet that is what your rabbi-turned-Adventist author was educated in from his youth.  You seem to mock the Talmud, yet you insist that by spending decades studying the Talmud and other Jewish literature your rabbi-turned-Adventist author somehow gained a huge over-powering advantage as a scholar over those who spent decades studying Scripture instead. 

Yes, a Jewish rabbi will know much more about Jewish thought and culture than I do, so I wouldn't disagree with them regarding their area of expertise. But when the person who was raised a Jew leaves his area of expertise and ventures into the area of Christian doctrines and traditions (such as the inaccurate premise that "the Jews rejected Jesus"), a Christian shouldn't feel over-powered by a former Jewish rabbi.

One of the comments made by the rabbi I've been listening to was that when he meets someone who knows a lot about [Old Testament] Scripture he says to them, "You're not a Jew are you?  You know too much about Scripture to be a Jew."  He doesn't mean that there are no Jewish scholars who know Scripture well, but that in general being raised an Orthodox Jew often gives a person a lot of knowledge about Jewish folklore, Talmud, and tradition, rather than a knowledge of Scripture.